The Feldenkrais Method(R), and spreading the word....

    As a Feldenkrais Practitioner, I feel that one of my responsibilities to the Feldenkrais community and the general public is to help spread the word of this remarkable Method. After all, why should those of us who have experienced it have all the fun? I want to share it, with as many people who are willing to listen to me. I want to give everyone the opportunity to experience the magic and reap the benefits of Feldenkrais.

    As a result, I never pass up an opportunity to give presentations on The Feldenkrais Method. I include a brief description of the Method, but since Feldenkrais is experiential and difficult to describe through words, I follow with an example of an Awareness Through Movement lesson. However, in my enthusiasm to spread the word, I have found myself in some very difficult, challenging, strange and uncomfortable situations.

    I recently gave a presentation to a professional group during their breakfast meeting. I found myself teaching a lesson to forty people who were taking turns ordering, receiving and eating their breakfast. My attention was divided between the lesson, the participants, their breakfasts and dodging the servers flying past me carrying huge platters of food. But, I spread the word.

    I gave another presentation to a group of student personal trainers. It was a beautiful summer day, and they chose to experience their lesson outside, next to a small lake. It seemed like a good idea at first. But, I underestimated the competition from the heat, the mosquitoes, and the bellowing voices of other students directing their clients through their workouts right next to us. But, I spread the word.

    I gave a presentation to a psychologist, his partners and his horses. Yes, I said horses. As a result of that presentation, I was invited to teach a workshop to his training group that specialized in Equine Therapy, applying the principles of Feldenkrais to their psychology practice and their horses. I taught the workshop in a beautiful meadow surrounded by mountains, wildflowers and horses. What a lovely environment to spread the word!

    I am fond of horses, but I never had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with them. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous and apprehensive at first. I was amazed to learn that horses are the most gentle, sensitive creatures I have ever been around. I also discovered that a horse is a powerful teacher, but that is a story for another day. The point is, it would have been a shame if I had missed out on such a glorious and rewarding learning experience. Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there, even if it's challenging or uncomfortable. You never know what wonderful new learning experience may unfold for you as well as your audience. All you have to do is spread the word.



Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

The Feldenkrais Method(R)....the science and the magic.

   I am passionate about Feldenkrais, and I love being a Feldenkrais Practitioner. My greatest reward is witnessing the magic of this method as it helps my clients improve the quality of their lives. However, my greatest challenge is trying to explain what Feldenkrais is, how it works, and why it is so effective.

    Feldenkrais is not magic; it's science, and is based on the scientific principle of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity means that we are able to change and learn new things during the course of our entire lifetime. I don't mean the kind of learning that we get from a book, or the kind of learning that we get from school. It's the kind of learning that takes place deep in our nervous system, and it is more of a visceral, organic type of learning that changes our neural pathways, strengthens our neural connections, and actually grows more nerve tissue in our brain.

    Feldenkrais uses the concept of neuroplasticity to access our nervous system in a very gentle but powerful way, through movement. Feldenkrais lessons gently interrupt current patterns and habits through movement explorations, thus allowing for new patterns to emerge. The learning and integration of new patterns are not limited to just movement, but include moving, sensing, thinking and feeling as well.

    What does this mean to you? Perhaps you have chronic back, neck or joint pain. You may have habitual patterns of moving, standing and sitting that may not only be exacerbating your pain, but actually may be causing it in the first place. The Feldenkrais Method(R) can help you discover new movement patterns through your own experience of the movement lessons.

    With Feldenkrais, you can eliminate aches and pains, improve your flexibility, posture, and balance. You can discover new ways of moving effortlessly and more efficiently. You will be able to improve your proficiency in all of your functional and recreational activities, regardless of your age and current level of function.

    It does sound like magic, doesn't it? It is, and it isn't. It is the science of neuroplasticity, and the magic of our nervous system to discover our inner wisdom and realize our full potential. I don't know about you, but it feels like magic to me. The magic of the Feldenkrais Method and the science of neuroplasticity.

Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

Reddy Kilowatt meets Mr. Sparky

    When I was a little girl, I did what a lot of kids do out of interest and curiosity when the opportunity arises. I took a hairpin and stuck it in an electrical outlet. I wasn't a fast learner in a lot of life's experiences, mostly because of my incomparable stubbornness. I figured if something didn't go my way the first time I tried it, I'd do it again until I got the outcome I wanted.

    However, the shock I got was a pretty immediate and lasting learning experience. I never did that again. I also learned that the cute and sparky little fellow that represented our power company had a mean streak. And one heck of a bite. For years, we all remembered the day that Reddy Kilowatt bit me.
       
    Here it is, over fifty years later, and I am having electrical issues again. We have known for a long time that our wiring was outdated and not up to code. We had an electrician tell us several years ago that we needed to rewire the entire house. Okay, we knew we would get around to it, someday. But we didn't worry about it too much, until the day I watched as flames shot out of a neighbor's fuse box. So, the electrician had a point.

    Enter, Mr. Sparky. No, I'm not kidding. That's the name of the company that we hired. Actually, I hired them to do two small jobs. That changed when he opened our fuse box. The two small jobs evolved into a major (and expensive) project. He showed us what the problem was, and where we had already had two burns. Again, visions of flames shooting out of the neighbor's fuse box and the power of Reddy Kilowatt flashed in my mind. It was time to git 'er done.

    It took three visits and a team of electricians to get the work done. At least I had an idea of why it cost so much. On the second day, they started changing the old outlets and pig tailing the wires. Whatever that means. One of the electricians saved an outlet to show us what it looked like. She told us, "This was a bad one." The top half of the top outlet was black and the plastic had melted away. It looked like Reddy Kilowatt was messing with me again.

    Anyway, Mr. Sparky took charge of my childhood nemesis.  He got control of that zippy little rascal, reigned him in and got him hog tied. Or pigtailed. You get the idea. The important thing is that the work is finally completed, and my home is safe. It was an expensive home improvement project that no one can see, and only we can appreciate. But it beats flames shooting out of your fuse box. And at least all of the new wall plates look pretty.

    Funny, I was writing this post while Mr. Sparky was putting the final touches on the new wiring. I had finished the story and noticed that I was having a problem saving it. It seems Mr. Sparky had cut off the power to my computer and I lost the entire post. I think Reddy Kilowatt was the culprit, just letting me know that he still has some power over me.

    I saved the burned outlet. I might have it made into a necklace. Or maybe I can use it for the grown up version of show and tell. I will keep it as a reminder to enjoy a major home improvement project that no one can see. And as a gentle reminder to listen the next time some one tells me I have a problem with my wiring. I'll apply the life's lesson that I learned as a child. Which is that just because Reddy Kilowatt is cute, he still needs to be respected.
     
        At this point I have to put a plug in for Mr. Sparky, so to speak. They do a great job. So, if you are in the Denver area and looking to have some work done, keep them in mind. Their team of electricians are very professional, respectful, friendly, always on time and clean up after themselves. Even better, one of the electricians was a girl. That in itself made Reddy Kilowatt shake in his hot little yellow boots. What more could I ask for?

     So, that's the story of the day that Reddy Kilowatt met Mr. Sparky. It looks like my old nemesis had met his match. It wasn't exactly a match made in heaven, but at least sparks aren't flying.

Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

Reflections and confessions of a techno-moron.

      Don't you love to laugh? I certainly do. I especially love to laugh at myself, and at some of my patterns of reluctance in trying new things. Just as I had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the world of martial arts, it was the same story with technology.  

     The truth is that just a year ago all I could do on a computer was check my email. I didn't even know what a blog was, let alone imagine myself having one. I had no idea what Facebook was or why anyone would ever want to be on it. I spent two years traveling a lot, and in the airports I noticed how many people had their computers with them. I wondered why anyone would possibly want or need their computer. And almost everyone was actually using them. I would glance curiously at the people busily tapping away at their keyboards. Funny, I noticed many of them watching me as I worked my magic with my knitting needles. They were probably wondering how I managed to get them through security. Just as I wondered how all those computers got through.

     My cell phone was a mystery to me. It's a hand me down, so it is not exactly state of the art technology. But it was still above my level of understanding. I finally learned how to text two years ago because my youngest sister made me. I discovered that my phone had a "memory" and I could program frequently used numbers into an address book. Who knew? I found that nifty little tool while I was babysitting my niece and nephew. I took them to their baseball game, and entertained myself during lulls in the game by toying with my phone. After all, I ran out of conversation with the young Moms pretty quickly, and I noticed they all kept looking at their phones for some reason. Not wanting to look out of place (and cursing myself for not bringing my knitting), I kept glancing at my phone, too. Then I noticed they kept playing with the keys. Not wanting to be out done, I started playing with mine. Viola! I now had an address book full of names and numbers, even though it took a few days to learn how to retrieve them.

    A year ago my marketing advisor set up a blog for me. I didn't even know what a blog was, but I knew I didn't want one. Notice how I made that call before I even discovered what a blog was. Fortunately my youngest sister explained it to me. She sure is smart. Then I found out my friend also set up a Facebook account for me. No, no....don't do that. I didn't even know what that meant, but I certainly didn't want any part of it. This time all of my sisters tried to explain it to me. They sure are smart. I still didn't get it, but I tried to look intelligent as I listened to them, even though I didn't understand a word they said. Good thing I have so many sisters. I figured with enough repetition I would eventually get it. In the meantime, my inbox quickly filled up with friend requests. Uh-oh, now what do I do? I mean, if someone sends me an invitation, the polite thing to do is to reply to it, isn't it? The problem is, I didn't know how.

    The point is, no matter how many times people tried to explain this world of technology to me, I just didn't get it until I finally started playing with it on my own, with a sense of interest and curiosity. I discovered a lot more on my own than I ever could with someone else instructing me every step of the way. Did I make mistakes? Of course I did. But I sure did learn a lot. And once I let go of my belief system that I couldn't possibly understand technology, my mind opened up to new learning experiences. Huh, sounds a lot like the Feldenkrais Method(R) and neuroplasticity, doesn't it?

    So, here I am, sitting at my computer with my cell phone next to me. I'm shooting texts back and forth between sentences. Every now and again I give myself a break and see what my Facebook friends are up to, even though I have a few files to download and I could be working on an important document.  And I laugh at myself as I wonder what's next around the corner. Perhaps one of those new fangled phones that actually take pictures, videos and can access my email. Maybe I'll even learn how to copy and paste, a phrase I used to think was a cute reference to my kindergarten days. Oh, no, that was cut and paste, wasn't it?


Be healthy, and stay curious!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP

What I learned on my Thanksgiving vacation.

    My three day Thanksgiving vacation was rich with learning experiences. I discovered how restful, restorative and rejuvenating three days can be, if you just let go of expectations. I found out how much fun winter hiking is, as long as you dress appropriately. I realized that it really is possible to cook a full Thanksgiving dinner in an unfamiliar kitchen, no matter how small it is.

        Life is full of opportunities to learn. All we have to do is let go of expectations, dress appropriately, and get a little adventurous! 

Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP