August 31, 2006
WF Mother Warrior's Private Intensive With Coach; Set To Zen
"The trouble is that you think you have time."
- Jack Kornfield, zen teacher
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zen quotes provided lovingly by HP Yogini Leslie
superb effort during her Private WF Intensive provided by
WF Online Student (Clan Haku) and Sunrider Herbal Warrior Mother; Wendy Cooper of Indiana who also takes HP Yoga-inspired instruction under WF Teacher Chris "Ko" Roche.
photos provided by Ananda or Coach
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"Begin at once to live."
- Seneca
Ananda and i finally meet our several year Online WF Student "Coop". After our initial Powwow, Ananda lead Coop on their 3-mile "cardio yoga" along Rocky Ridge. Along the route, Ananda provided customized meditations for Student Coop to Practice which immediately yielded profound performance and emotional insights for Coop, who is President of Promotion Fitness, Inc. The Transmission is strong up here, beneath the Sacred Peak.
"Stillness-
soaking into the rocks,
the cicada cries."
- Basho
"Even if our efforts of attention seem for years to be producing no result, one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the soul."
- Simone Weil
after a heart thumping and heartspace opening effort on Rocky Ridge, a picnic meeting with coach ilg and wildflowers beneath the dacite cliffs of Mt. Elden was enjoyed.
"There is no end to the opening up that is possible for a human being."
- Charlotte Joko Beck, zen practitioner/writer
Challenged by depth perception, two things seemed nearly impossible to Student Coop; rock climbing and mountain biking. Well, she came to the right Temple to overcome those Fears. "The best way out is straight through." Tapasaya, baby. To straighten by fire.
"Men cannot see their reflection in running water, but only in still water."
- chuang-tzu
Coop must have been rooted beneath this initial overhang for 30 minutes before she found the answer within; CHI!
the WF Warrior must learn to see beyond the obstacle. body, you see, follows the mind. 
having thus Danced with exquisiteness one of her two Fears, it was time to return to the Temple H(om)e for a bodywork session and meditation clinic before an Evening Mealtime lovingly prepared for our noble Student Coop.
go(o)d thing; because tomorrow Coop would be invited to Dance the Mountain Biking Dragon.
i looked forward with much might to coaching biking skills to someone who 'couldn't see'.
so, i began my coaching dialogue with call backs to our work in Meditation. turned a few knobs here.
adjusted a couple of things there. tweak some Yang with Yin. i never understood why people pay so much money for 'retreats' and 'workshops' and 'outdoor performance' camps where the Coach to Student relationship is sometimes 1 to 15 or worse! for this mountain yogi, genuine Teaching Transmission can only be done in the way of the Ancients; one to one. Teacher to Student. Our WF Private Intensives usually are done in reverse to the monetary-based retreats. Our Students get both Ananda and myself to themselves.Maybe it is because our Love for you is too spoiled; we want you ALL for ourselves!
the result of such close training together?
well, take a look at Student Coops smile and aura in these shots and you tell me if one-on-one ain't the true Way of Teaching!
"For others to approve me is easy; for me to approve myself is hard."
- Yuan-cheng
Student Coop would reveal to us after doing Ai Imawa beneath the Sacred Peak;
"You know, i know all about the ongoing failures of other Online Fitness businesses. Though many other Personal Trainers, and athlete coaches attempt to do what you do but they fail. They might try to mimic WF, but they can't. You wanna know why?"
i smiled at Coop's growing radiance in that alpine meadow and responded, "No, why?"
"It's simple," she smiled, "You simply cannot Teach what you do not embody."
With that, Ananda, Coop, and i pedaled off into the Kachina Wilderness whereupon we learned how to do a paceline workout among Wapiti, Hawk, and shimmering aspens leaves beneath a Padmasambava sky.
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have you scheduled YOUR WF Private Intensive? taking reservations now for time spots in 2007. Significant price increase for these utterly unique and unmatched Intensives anticipated in January, 2007. make your Deposit for 2007 now to lock in your price and date.
"The trouble is that you think you have time."