A strictly forbidden learning experience....

    My journey into the world of martial arts has been interesting, as well as educational, to say the least. I have often been the lone female in a testosterone filled environment, but I've gotten used to it. I've even learned to enjoy it, but that's probably because I'm a natural born flirt.

    However, I love training with other women, and I am fortunate to be in a school where there are several other women who train. Women seem to have a natural ability and spirit, which is something my Sensei told me during the three years that it took him to get me on the mat. I didn't believe him then, but I certainly do now. I just wish more women would train in some form of martial art, but I know how intimidating it is to walk into a male dominated Dojo. .

    Which is why I began teaching self defense classes for women only. It's a lot less intimidating for women to enter a safe and fun environment, learn from another woman who's been around the block a few times, and also knows her way around the mat. It's an idea that came to me early in my training, and something that developed through the years.

    During the course of my training, I became acquainted with a group of men that practice an art that is different from mine but has similar roots. I've been invited to their seminars and workshops and have attended several of them. Even though I was from another discipline, I was always invited, and they continue to update me on upcoming events.

    Since they always keep me in their circle I sent them my information regarding my women's self defense classes. I thought they might be interested in what I was doing, and I'm sure they know plenty of ladies who would like to learn a few things to protect themselves. I received a terse response from one of their instructors.

    He told me, "Well, we don't have any women students, and I do teach men and women." I giggled. If they have no women in their school, how could he possibly teach them? And, if they did have women in their school, why would those women need of a basic self defense class? That's just silly. Then I wondered why they didn't have any women in their school.

    He informed me that the lineage of our arts are different. Of course, I've always known that. So has he. He concluded by telling me that while he has the utmost respect for my art, he must follow directives which strictly forbid cross training between us. Yikes! I wish I had known that before I took their training seminars. If I had known I was engaging in an activity that was strictly forbidden, I would have enjoyed it more. It would have been even more fun, and I would have felt a little naughty.

    I guess the flow of information is a one way street. How disappointing. Even more disappointing is the women who may have benefited from just a few classes who will now never receive this information. I understand that he was trying to protect his territory. But, he doesn't understand is that I am trying to protect women. Or at least teach them how to protect themselves.

    The ability to learn how to defend yourself should be easily and appropriately available to everyone, regardless of their age, gender, level of ability and personal belief system. We should be encouraging those who are vulnerable to find their power and strength, not holding them back because some one's ego got in the way.  Hmmm, maybe that's the reason there aren't any women in their school.

    Opportunities to learn are everywhere. Each one should be supported and celebrated rather than discouraged or tossed aside. No learning opportunity should never be strictly forbidden, for anyone, but especially to those who can benefit the most.    

 

Be healthy, and keep learning!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

Adding the minutes on the hands of time....

    Changing the clocks twice a year seems like a huge waste of time, so to speak. It doesn't matter if we fall back or spring forward, I always feel like I've lost an hour. Even worse, I can't find it anywhere, no matter how hard I look.

    Time is a funny thing anyway; it seems to slip away when you're not looking. Add that pesky one hour time change and it's amazing how it gets away from us. It disrupts our schedule and our circadian rhythm. On the other hand, if one hour can mess us up, doesn't it make sense that one hour can work to our advantage?

    A lot of my clients tell me that they are simply too busy to exercise. Between work, family and other obligations, they just don't have the time. I know, and I understand. However, I explain that just a few minutes of exercise a day quickly adds up and can have a huge positive cumulative effect on their basic fitness goals. Certainly they can manage that.

    They usually look at me as if they don't believe me. After all, conventional wisdom tells them that they should go to the gym five days a week or at least get down on the floor and do an hour of tedious exercises to get into some sort of shape. But, small changes have a huge impact. And, they are easier to implement and result in longer lasting healthy habits. 

    If you exercise just ten minutes a day, six days a week, you'll log in an hour a week to get started on a path to fitness and better health. It might not seem like much at first, but it's a start. If you already have an exercise routine, try adding an additional ten minutes of light weights, core strengthening, stretching or balance training. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel, and that is a powerful motivator to keep going. It's worth a try. After all, the time is going to pass anyway. Why not make good use of it?

Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

Louie and his special shoes....

    Several weeks ago I was touched by the story of a young policeman in NYC and his act of kindness and compassion when he bought a pair of shoes for a barefoot homeless man on a freezing cold night. It triggered a memory for me that I just had to share.

    I was in my early 20's, and working at a local hospital in ICU. One of my patients was an elderly gentleman who had been on a ventilator during his entire stay in ICU. He really touched my heart, mostly because he never had any visitors. No one. No family, no friends, no pastor, no neighbors. Nobody. His only human contact came from the hospital staff that took care of him.

   He was unable to speak because of the ventilator and his trach tube, but the day came when he was finally weaned off of the ventilator and I was able to cap his trach. I encouraged him to talk to me, anxious to hear what he would say after being unable to communicate for so long. He surprised me. He said, "I have no shoes!"

    He continued, "What am I going to do? I don't even have any shoes!" I tried to reassure him that he didn't have to worry about shoes right now. But he couldn't stop worrying. Which got me worrying, and really upset.

    I worried about Louie and his shoeless state. But what could I possibly do about it?  I had a sudden inspiration. I went back to my department, told my colleagues about Louie's first words, and said, "Let's get him some shoes!"

    Dollar bills started piling up on the table. Two of my colleagues ran upstairs to measure Louie's feet. Heaven only knows what he thought about that!  Our secretaries took the money, the measurements and left the building. An hour later they returned with a brand new pair of tennis shoes. There was even enough money left over for a few pair of socks.

    As a group, we all trooped up to ICU to give Louie his shoes. When he opened the box, his eyes filled with tears as he stared at his shoes. I asked him if he wanted to try them on, but he declined, and held his shoes to his chest as he thanked us for the gift.

    Our story (and Louie's) spread through the hospital like wildfire. The PR department was contacted. Eveyone was deeply touched by our act of kindness and compassion for this man who was alone and destitute.

    I got a call a few days later from the head of the PR department. He thanked me and my colleagues for what we did for Louie. However, he informed me, we didn't need to buy Louie shoes. Louie had enough money to but our entire department new shoes.

    Apparently Louie owned a large ranch about five hours outside of Denver. He and his wife were quite wealthy and had a huge family. His sons worked the ranch, it was their busy season, and that's why no one had come to visit him. Oooops! We took a lot of good natured teasing about buying such a wealthy man tennis shoes, but we took it in stride, so to speak.

    I still had a special place in my heart for Louie, and I often visited him after he was transferred to the general floor. His shoes were always on the bedside table, on the window sill, and even in the bed next to him. Obviously, those shoes meant a lot to him, and they sure did mean a lot to me and my colleagues. Our PR director said that we didn't need to buy Louie shoes. I disagree; I think we did. What do you think?

   
Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

Back to the basic$ of financial neuroplasticity.

    After several months of implementing the principles of Feldenkrais to help us move more easily through our financial environment, we were ready to enjoy the fruits of our effortless saving. It was time for a few home improvement projects.

    We carefully planned a few things, including our projected budget for each project.  First on the list was updating the master bathroom. What girl doesn't just love the idea of a new bathroom? Since the plumber was coming and the dogs were safely tucked away at Little Doggie Day Care, we arranged for a window cleaner to come the same day. To round off the day, we had the electrician come to give us an estimate on two small jobs. What fun!

    I was having a great time until we received a shock. A really big shock. You may even say an electrical shock. It appeared that our fuse box had to be replaced and the entire house rewired. Yikes! Our electrician meticulously explained the problem to us and showed us where we had already had something called a burn. I didn't understand what that meant, but I knew it didn't sound good. What I did understand was that my new bathroom just went down the toilet. But at least my house would be safe, from an electrical stand point. And my windows were clean. What more could I ask for?

    The cost of the work left me speechless. Which has not happened more than a few times in my life. But I recovered from the shock (so to speak) and was ready to move forward. You would think that such a huge expense would break the bank. The truth is, it did take a hit. But, thanks to our new sense of financial neuroplasticity and our new habits of saving and spending, I could figure out how to recover. I went back to the drawing board. Time to make a few adjustments. I looked back at the budget I had written up last summer. I made a few changes, still allowing for the most important things like food, gas, wine and hair color.

    The good news is that our electrician told us that if we had been considering replacing any light fixtures, now was the time. Since they had to pull all of the fixtures anyway, they would replace any upgrades free of charge. Keep in mind "free" is a relative term considering the cost of the entire project. Hmmm....time to go shopping, at least if it fits in the budget. I may not be getting my bathroom as of yet, but I'll get a new light fixture and I already have a clean window. At least I'll see my bathroom in a whole new light, so to speak. That's a start.

    When one of my sisters commiserated with me, she assured me how pleased I would be that the work was done. But, unfortunately, for all that money, I wouldn't even have anything nice to look at. Oh, contra ire, I told her. Once all the work was completed, I was going to go through the entire house, turn on every light, go outside and admire the show through my sparkling clean windows.

    So, just in case you see a strange light from the Rocky Mountains, no worries, it's just me enjoying my home improvements. And, don't worry, it will be a brief light show that doesn't last long. After all, I am on a budget!

Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

I can see clearly now....

    Spring cleaning started a little bit early this year. Well, I have to be honest. This is only the second consecutive year that I have subscribed to the idea of spring cleaning. But that's another story.

    Anyway, one of the first items on my agenda were my windows. I have cleaned them before, of course. Or at least, I've tried. Many times. But instead of getting them clean, all I've ever managed to do was to rearrange the dirt and grime. But I kept trying.

    Taking the windows apart to clean them was difficult enough. Putting them back together was a nightmare. And yet I kept trying, doing the same thing over and over with the same grime streaked results. Finally, I gave up. If my windows were gong to be dirty, at least I had the satisfaction of doing nothing about it. But then the glorious morning sun would come beaming through my windows, clouding my view and mocking me at my failure to get them clean. I thought about getting professional help.

    I once mentioned in front of my father that I needed to hire a professional window washer. He was horrified. He said "You're kidding me! Can't you clean them yourself?" Apparently I can't, which is why I was considering having a professional clean them for me.

     But he did get me thinking. Why couldn't I clean them myself? Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough. Maybe I was doing something wrong. Maybe there was something wrong with me. My windows were representing a part of my belief system and my self image that I am not a very good housekeeper. It sounds silly, but it really bothered me. So, I quadrupled my efforts and tried again. And still I failed.

    I finally hired a professional window washer two weeks ago. And he did a wonderful job! My windows are clean, crystal clear, with not even a streak left behind. The morning sun coming through my windows is beautiful, giving me a clear, uninterrupted view. So much light is coming through, I can see the corners of the house that need to be cleaned. And I am attending to them with a new sense of enthusiasm and awareness.

    Life's a lot like those windows. Sometimes we get layers of muck that we simply can't clear away on our own. Sometimes we can't see clearly through the layers of dirt that we have accumulated through the years. We get stuck in patterns and we can't find our way out. It may have a negative impact on our self image, even if it seems trivial to someone else. And it takes away our ability to really enjoy the most simple things in life. Sometimes we all need a little professional help to improve our awareness and see through our problems more clearly. All we have to do is remove the judgment, stop worrying about what other people may think of us, and open ourselves up to new possibilities.


Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

Play at work.....

    Last week I offered some suggestions on how to incorporate more exercise into your daily routine at home. Just a few minutes of exercise each and every day can have a huge positive impact on your overall strength, flexibility, health and well-being.

    However, incorporating more physical activity at work may be a bit more challenging depending on your work environment and job-related activities. And, unlike your home environment, you may not be the person in charge. So, what can you do?

    If you have a sedentary job, try doing isometric exercises while sitting at your desk. Abdominal contractions, gluts, quads and hamstring sets as well as ankle pumps can be very effective and easily done in a chair.

    Speaking of chairs, really slow down when you get up and down from your chair. Feel your weight shift over your legs and feet, gently contract your abs and gluts as you slowly straighten your legs and come to your full height. The simple act of getting up and down from a chair using this much focus and attention can improve your strength, balance and posture.

    Stretch your back, neck and shoulders often during the day, especially if you do a lot of computer work. Do a few mini-squats in the break room. Go for a 20 minute walk during your lunch break. Use your imagination, and consider recruiting a co-worker to support each other and come up with creative ideas.

    If you have a job that is active or physically demanding, the best thing you can do for yourself  is to be meticulous about using good body mechanics. Healthy ergonomics will not only prevent injuries, but will improve your posture, strength, flexibility and decrease aches, pains and fatigue at the end of a long day.

    If you are fortunate enough to work for a company that has a wellness program, take advantage of this terrific benefit. If not, perhaps you and your colleagues can request a series of "wellness inservices" from a variety of different health care specialists to give presentations on how to achieve fitness, health, balance and wellness. The possibilities are endless!


Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

A New Year........

    As I was driving home a few days ago, I saw a sign in front of a local health club boldly advertising "A New Year, A New You"! I was struck by the implication that the "old you" wasn't good enough, and if you would join this gym, you would be transformed into the "you" that the health club thought you should strive to be. I started wondering how many of us made New Year's resolutions to join a gym (or actually go if you already have a membership), exercise more, get into better shape and transform ourselves into a stronger, healthier person in 2011.

    Here we are, already in the second month of the New Year. Our resolutions may have sounded quite reasonable during the festivities of the holiday season, but now it's February. The cold bleak weather, demands of work, family and the reality of time constraints may sabotage our efforts to achieve our goals. Perhaps we are even overwhelmed by our goals and have already given up.

    But here's another idea: why not change your strategy to make your goals more achievable? Start with small, simple changes at home and at work that could easily be incorporated into your daily routine. Just a few minutes of exercise each and every day can have a huge, positive impact on your strength, flexibility, overall health and fitness.

    Let me give you a few examples. Keep a set of light weights at home for your arms and shoulders. Do a few mini squats and lunges for your hips, thighs and buttocks. Sit and gently bounce on an exercise ball while watching TV to improve your posture, balance, stimulate circulation and strengthen your low back and abdominal muscles.

    While doing household chores, slow down and really focus on the quality of your movements as you move about your work. The simple act of cleaning the kitchen then turns into an opportunity to improve your gait, balance, strength, flexibility, posture, body awareness and body mechanics. And it surely makes cleaning the kitchen more interesting! The possibilities are endless. Use your imagination; be creative and design a program that is unique for yourself. Make it fun, playful and interesting.

    Remember, if it's physical, it's therapy, and every move counts!

Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP