February 26, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
"I want to have a balance between my inner being and my outer being as
well as a balance between my mental strength and my physical strength."
-New Student Chen on why she chose WF as her Personal Training method.
*
i KNOW i promised you a bunch of GREAT input from our newest crop of online students...and it�s coming...and it is great...and i can�t wait to share it with you for my email overflows with so much of your fantastic input about Wholistic Fitness and HP Yoga....but i just want to express something first...
IT�S SO DAMN FUN BEING FIT!!!!!
i know, i know, i�ve spent 20 years saying - in often convoluted and haphazard Eastern/Western ways - the same thing over and over again...but really...
i cannot BELIEVE that more people don�t enjoy simply breathing and moving in their bodies!
the Teacher, coach, husband, friend, business owner, healer, and feeble force that i can be is always so much greater after i have allowed my mind to mingle with my breath. the simple fact rings truer each passing year; i�ve got to make sure i give no great credence to any thought that has not yet been tempered by my breath and conscious movement.
i just got word that i am to be photographed for the cover of my new book on FRIDAY!!!! New York City first told me that i had until APRIL to get into shape...so i had just embarked on a Wholistic Fitness program to have my fat ass in PEAK shape come April. ilg would really show what a forty(one) year old could do using WF as a personal training system. i was stoked and began working out like i was once again training for a World Championship.
then - three days ago - the Publicity Department at Hyperion called. �We have to shoot you for the cover on Friday.�
�As in, THIS Friday?� i answered.
yes, this Friday.
thanks a LOT for the advanced notice!
so, i did what every other LA Fitness Guru would do in this crisis; i calmly but immediately arranged High Priority appointments with my Plastic Surgeon, Make Up Coordinator, and Computer Enhancement Specialist.
kidding.
but when you guys see me on that cover just know this: i had less than a week to prepare for it, okay?
hey, within the last 3 days i�ve lost 4 lbs and my muscles are swelling in size and my skin is growing thinner than turpentine! gotta love it, baby! it�s all in the mind, herbs, and....and staying hungry!
all i say is thank you GOD for creating Dr. Chen who created SUNRIDER HERBS which has Slim Caps, Action Caps, Sunbars, and Fortune Delight baby...the PROVEN WHOLE FOOD RECIPE for getting LEAN AS FAST AS POSSIBLE! stuff is incredible.
anyway, the point is, the past few days i�ve had to double up on my cardio workouts to drop some fat. in fact, the day i got the phone call i rode my mountain bike, Grunt, to the ocean and back over the Santa Monica Mountains. 3.75 hours. that�ll burn some bodyfat.
and as i write this mud is drying like plaster across my face. just cranked off an exquisite 11.2 mile loop in my Santa Monica Mountain backyard in an hour with Grunt. notice i wrote, �with� and not �on� Grunt. he and i were ONE baby! it may have only been an hour but it was an hour filled with mergence, transcendence, and inner peace.
so much magic arises whenever we are brave enough to cross the most Difficult of all Spiritual Thresholds (the front door...just getting OUT THE DOOR TO DO THE WORKOUT!). if we can summon that energy from within, then sure enough the Divine steps in, takes over, time slows, and inner space expands.
and magic arises.
Grunt and i spent Brahmamurti (sunset or sunrise) darting into and out from slits of sunset quivering within mountain shadows. Grandfather Sun nestled next to the ocean. Manzanita scratched at me as if to slow my witness to the miracle around. wave after ecstatic wave of fading sunlight illuminated scintillating shades of green. pausing briefly on top of �Shelby Ridge,� i gazed over Valley and ocean. both presented themselves with such synergistic grace the moment became for me an operatic twilight of becoming. intensity of foliage burst forth from all around - and seemingly within. such lusty pranic force shook me as if i were but prey caught in the jaws of the Divine.
President Bush needs to ride mountain bikes with me.
you know how many other people i saw during this hour?
four. four people.
and my whole ride took place within easy view of downtown LA...a city of several million. you do the math.
what exactly are people PRIORITIZING if it is not getting out into nearby nature and breathing and moving and dancing in their bones beneath red tailed hawks and sandstone cliffs?
watching �Joe Millionaire� and the Evening News?
let me tell you where the real News is; it�s not on the TV nor on paper from raped trees. it�s in the climbing path of thunder clouds, it�s in the molecular mystery of whereupon sweat turns into spirit. it�s in the centrifugal desire of heart over ego...that my fellow Peaceful Warrior, is where the true News can - and should - be heard.
just listen within. ride your bike. feel the barbell with your skin. breathe into a yoga pose. and listen - and don�t ever stop listening - within.
stop back here by Sunday. i�ll have posted the wisdom falling from the New Wholistic Fitness Students. they truly have some gems dropping from their souls.
i�ll also let you know how the cover shoot goes...and buy something from our Tribal Catalog, will you?
there are Plastic Surgeon bills to be paid...
thanks for choosing to Be Here Now,
i bow to you,
coach ilg
founder/Wholistic Fitness
February 20, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
"Following what we know to be essential for our growth may mean leaving unhealthy relationships or jobs and taking risks that jeopardize our own comfortable position. It may mean making choices that are not supported by consensual reality or ratified by the outer culture. The truth is rarely convenient. . . ."
Donna Farhi, Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit
�
Those who seek the easy way do not seek the true way.
Dogen
�
It�s been over a month and a half since many fitness warriors made their �New Year Resolutions.� Wholistic Fitness Online Training Services has welcomed a strong number of new Students each of whom have embarked on their one-on-one guided Journey into the guts of the world�s most transpersonal fitness method; Wholistic Fitness.
We are fierce but loving Teachers who staff my humble, but powerful, Temple. I make sure of it. World-class training is what each and every Student receives when they undertake my style of training. I oversee all my Staff�s training and coaching.
Ability level matters little in WF online training. All are welcome to apply for entrance. Ages range from 80 to 14. Some are elite athletes. Others are dying. In this Temple, podiums are used in the same exact way disease or dying is; as Vehicles of Awakening. i have never trained a person in my life. i train their spirit.
In other words, a potential student�s Attitude is what matters most along the WF Path.
A love of learning is also essential.
Humor, too, must be quick at hand. The ability to laugh at our folly and embrace our weaknesses is a trainable one and certainly keeps the Journey fun! Otherwise, why get up and dust yourself off, if you know more laughter is not up ahead, around the next Corner? Why do anything that does not ignite Higher Play?
The dance of wide spectrum personal fitness is perhaps the most Noble action a human can undertake. When i use the term, �wide spectrum,� i mean �fitness that is practiced across the physiologic continuum.� Endurance as well as flexibility. Strength as well as agility. A calm, controllable mind as well as a low percentage of bodyfat. Appreciation of your car as well as your tenacity to bicycle an errand or two. These are qualities associated with wide-spectrum fitness, or Wholistic Fitness.
A good number of New WF Students will quit their training in the coming months. Their once idealized notion of having a body and mind that is geared for Higher Consciousness and displays growing caliber in my Five Fitness Disciplines: Strength, Cardio, Yoga, Meditation, and Nutrition will have proven a bit more than they can handle.
Another batch of New Students will quit as they feel the inconvenience of a spiritual Path treading into their cherished comfort zones. This usually occurs after i teach a New Student how to merge their Fitness Discipline into everyday life through my Four Lifestyle Principles; Breath & Posture, Mindfulness, Appropriate Action, and Practice. It is at this time, that WF philosophy hits New Students really hard like a Tyson body blow, i would imagine. Suddenly, they realize that WF means they can no longer sit, stand, walk, or eat without paying attention to their posture. Nor can they now linger unconsciously in showers wasting water or look past a store clerk without a smile.
My WF maxim, �Your workout is everywhere,� threatens the average fitness enthusiast. Such a common �worker-outer� has not yet been taught how to �work-within� and thus keeps their practice of fitness within the confines of a gym or yoga studio. Such a person rarely brings - let alone cultivates - fitness within the fabric of their daily Moments. It is much easier to read about Meditation in SHAPE magazine than it is to rise early and sit in the cold upon achy knees.
This is how my WF Temple has remained so small over the 20 years since i introduced it in Boulder, Colorado. Ours is a difficult Path and most will not last long enough to earn even my Intermediate Level �Warrior Student Inka� like Scott Adams of New Mexico just did under Teacher Sheader. Even fewer will persevere to attain a �Master Student Inka.� Becoming a Green Beret is probably easier. Master Student �Fit Kit� Johaneson of Vernon, B.C. said, �I came to WF to train for Ironman triathlons. Now, I do Ironman triathlons to prepare me for WF study!�
i prefer it this Way. my fitness training for even one of my World Championships pales in comparison to doing my daily WF awareness studies, which is basically �making what used to be unconscious, conscious.� Observing my thoughts, reactions, posture, breath, tendencies, and karma.
The inherent barrier of ego fatigue that i�ve built within WF philosophical teachings coupled with my infamous body withering workouts keeps my Temple simple, clean, powerful, and full of genuine body/mind fitness Warriors. Monks of musculature and mind study here. We enjoy the Buddhahood of Intensity, the Personhood of Daily Practice. We don�t give a crap about living longer; just Higher.
Just outside my Temple is another, much larger sangha. This global community of curious onlookers is full of yogis, athletes, and fitness enthusiasts. They enjoy watching us crazy wisdom warriors of WF do our thing. These people are probably like you: they enjoy reading DIRECT LINES, maybe use my HP Yoga video, and read THE WINTER ATHLETE. Maybe every now and then they fall to wondering what it would be like to sign up for WF Online Studies and begin formal Practice with a Certified WF Teacher. Come on in, my Temple Door is ajar. We are waiting for you!
Come next January, when my fifth book is released through Hyperion Press, the CHI and the BEAUTY and the unparalleled POWER of Wholistic Fitness will soar from the hard covered pages and hit thousands if not millions like a prana-seeking missile. As in years past, many Seekers will again arrive at my humble Temple, wishing to take this strange Training. I will turn most away. I don�t do what i do for money. The wise should enter the Temple now, before the rush. i am a mountain yogi, i don�t like people that much anyway. crowded Temples foster bickering instead of silence. i prefer pine trees and raven streaked skies simmering above talus torn arroyos.
And, so the cycle dances.
Besides, I�m not gonna be around forever, you know. Well, at least in THIS form! When feeble ilg goes, WF goes. My lifework will be like a Tibetan Sand Painting...gone into the winds of the world. Perhaps, my Certified Teachers will carry on our WF Ways, but the Temple will have been demolished by Shiva to make room for new Growth. So, begin your study today because those SUV�s are getting bigger every month and my bicycle commuting gets more and more dangerous in this crazy city of cell phone addicted Angels. In fact, i think i was safer when i was a free soloist in the high mountains!
Then, again, we are all free soloists.
And, we are all climbing our various mountains.
Inner ones.
Lovely ones.
Magnificent ones.
Divine ones.
May you in-Joy your climb Higher,
and may all beings benefit from your attempts in self-cultivation.
i�m going skiing.
�
COMING UP NEXT UP IN DIRECT LINES:
Dharmatalk from some of the New Students now taking formal online training in Wholistic Fitness.
i bow to you,
coach ilg
wholisticfitness.com
February 17, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!!!!
�The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you.
Don�t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don�t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth
Across the doors where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don�t go back to sleep.�
- Rumi
�The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you.
Don�t go back to sleep.
� Students new to Wholistic Fitness training often blow off my prescribed morning meditation sessions. I guess they think like i once did as the cold wake up alarm tried unsuccessfully to pull me from the warmth of my bed sheets; �Meditation is not really fitness training, there is no reason for me to wake up this early just to sit and do nothing.� What takes time - and what requires perseverance to earn - is trust that the internal breezes of the breath during morning meditation is what truly blows Truth throughout your day. those who do not begin their day with some sort of meditation - no matter how few minutes or how tremendous seems the sacrifice - will not ever see what most never do. It�s your choice; not mine. hit the Snooze button. don�t Awake. but don�t say you practice Wholistic FItness if you choose to sleep.
�You must ask for what you really want.
Don�t go back to sleep.�
� When i lived in Pagosa Springs, Colorado there came several years of drought which withered the grasses and dried alpine lakes yet still the crickets sang and birds still danced. when the rains came and the snows weighed heavy again upon the land, mountain creeks roared their appreciation and clouds thundered in applause. never doubt your Highest fitness seeks only your permission to prance. so too, all Joy and Abundance resides within you. �Ask, and It shall be given.� but you must be Awake to ask. how do you Awaken? meditate. do the inner work with as much passion as you pray. the Gods help them who help themselves.
�People are going back and forth
Across the doors where the two worlds touch.�
� Most of us spend our lives coming and going never realizing where we stand is Here. most people flirt with the dance between Heart and Mind but few are true to their Heart and the shouting of the outer World wins out. only artists and a very very few athletes of the Heart ever honor the inner whispers.
�The door is round and open.
Don�t go back to sleep.�
� At the root of the spine sleeps a round and fiery bulb. Her name is Kundala. she swings to and fro upon your every step, upon your every conscious breath, like a wavering Moon eclipsed by a tawny Sun. so which will you Prioritize this time around/ will it be the pleasures and strivings of the outer world or the refined release into the Divinity of the Inner? when i sleep i am inelegant and ignorant of so many moons.
when i am Awake diverse planes of Wisdom, Humor, and Happiness collide with such gleeful Intensity that every turn of my feeble life takes on the magnificence of tiger lilies, full moons, and caribou journeys.
love life
be Awake.
don�t go back to sleep.
fitness
is
key.
because
when you don�t feel good,
you
don�t
feel
God.
Enjoy the following Tribal Dharma from Wholistic Fitness and High Performance Yoga Warriors...
just like
you...
and keep your insights,
comments,
and
questions
coming...
because
ripples
make
waves.
May your Practice be full like the moon and fiery like the sun...
i bow to you,
coach ilg
�����
�Coach Ilg.
Thanks for your insights. I certainly hear you loud and clear.
I do believe an injury can be a good thing. Besides I should be meeting all my difficulties, including injuries, with my breath and posture. Sometimes I get too focused on the goal and not on the day to day journey, the present moment! Thanks again.
- Namaste,
student trevor
���
�What you are doing by starting along this path of Wholistic Fitness is something to be proud of. The training will challenge you, uplift you and expand your health beyond your wildest dreams. I like to think of it as giving yourself tools to be in the present moment...giving your-Self presence!
Trust in the process; ask questions and most of all Practice.�
- WF Certified Teacher, Grant Couture
���
�Hey Steve,
I am a member at Powerhouse, and I'll be a bigger yoga enthusiast again when my work schedule calms down. I truly love all of your yoga classes (Kathy and Trina, too). Anyway, I am a Christian, and so I often don't agree with your spiritual point of view in your emails, but I always read them because you're such an interesting guy. Anyway, I had to respond to this one because I TOTALLY AGREE with you on this! Now I believe in prayer over meditation - I find it much more pro-active, and after all, I believe that we are meant to have a relationship with the Creator of the universe, and any relationship takes work, which means, in this case, prayer. But truly, if we knew that our U.N. leaders made it a priority every day to seek out guidance from above (I know you would say from within, but we're allowed to differ, right?), what a different world we might live in. I also wholeheartedly agree with you that spirituality cannot be legislated. When people are coerced to believe in anything, it becomes empty and meaningless. God must be chosen. I partner with you in wishing that our political leaders would acknowledge their need for wisdom from a higher source than their own frailty. And gratefully, we can do more than just "wish", we can pray for change.
Have an awesome and blessed day!
- Jan�
{Note; look for more on the Christian/Yoga connection in future DL columns, but remember, I am a teacher of spirit, not religion.}
���
�Happiness is not a matter of intensity, but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.�
-Thomas Merton
���
On Finding Happiness Through Body/Mind Fitness:
�Stand knee deep in the flow of life, and pay attention.�
-Coach Ilg
���
On Steep, Technical Downhill Running:
�Be quick with your feet, high with your elbows, soft in your breath, and fearless in your mind.�
-Coach Ilg
���
On Being A WF Teacher
�My style of fitness teaching is based more on remembering than inspiring. i am at my best as a Teacher when my students connect their own and most ancient dots. i do my best to make people remember what it once meant to be human which is to be capable, to cope, and to adapt: to carry water, squat close to the earth, endure cold, breathe heavy, appreciate sun, gather herbs, and stalk what is truly needed. Stalking fitness is stalking our most ancient and beautiful self. It�s all yoga, we�ve just forgotten our Higher Union largely due to an addiction to comfort.�
-Coach Ilg
���
The following is another in a series of contributions from HP Yoga Teacher, Grant �Heikosan� Couture linking classical yoga precepts with my Wholistic Fitness system.
February 13, 2003
Ahimsa � Listening and Speaking
Wholistic Fitness Daily Meditation Practice: �LISTEN to your word choice today. Before speaking ask your-Self: IS IT KIND, IS IT TRU(E)TH, IS IT HELPFUL? IF NOT, DON�T SPEAK�
When we LISTEN and then SPEAK or NOT SPEAK we have an opportunity to practice ahimsa. If we do not Listen we can not Speak from a space that is kind, tru(e)thful or helpful. If we are listening and at that same moment forming an opinion we are not listening, we are forming an opinion. Are you with me?
We are so well trained in our society to have an opinion about what is the tru(e)th of a situation such that we rarely see what is going on in the moment. An opinion lies in the past, it is based on what happened to us. It is not based on the moment. Think of something that was REALLY important when you were younger and NOW well, it is irrelevant.
So here is a Way to Practice the above meditation. To Practice Listening is to Prepare the Ground for Speaking. In this practice simply repeat what a person says to you, word for word if you need to when you start to practice. You can tell the person you are practicing Listening to them, to be with them in a more authentic Way. I have found that people appreciate being actually listened to without an opinion about what they are going through. It is a simple form of communication that ensures that you are Here Now listening. The practice is to just repeat, to be present, AS IF you did not know the tru(e)th. In this Way you do not put your own spin on the situation, you do not ADD to it or INTERPRET what is meant by this�the Ego will rise up to defend your opinion, its important to say your opinion, right? To have opinions, right? This is indeed a difficult thing for the Ego to handle, to sit back and just listen to another.
As we cultivate this listening ability �for the love of another� it will start to translate into �listening more deeply within�. When this happens we will need to Speak less and we will Act more consciously in the World. When we speak we will Speak from a space of not knowing, we are acting in that moment with appropriate action.
I am fortunate enough to be a yoga teacher, a husband, a brother and a son and I am also fortunate to have a lot of opinions! So I get to practice this a lot, in fact every day I come to the yoga studio and a student asks me something I have the opportunity to practice non-harming in the way I respond. Ahimsa with the Way I Listen is the practice.
So when you practice Listening then Speaking in this way you Will be practicing Kindness by letting them he(a)re what they are saying; you will be speaking Truth as it is seen from their eyes and you will be practicing being helpful as you will help them �he(a)re� themselves more clearly. What else can a bodhisattva do?
The Wandering Yogi
Vancouver, BC
{You can train directly under Heikosan through WF Online Training Services. Sign up now: wholisticfitness.com}
February 12, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
I�ve gotten many emails over the last couple of weeks asking for spiritual insight into the most recent versions of the World�s WarGames.
Before my insight comes a wish.
I wish it law that United Nation leaders must share in fitness workouts, yoga, and meditation before they assemble. Body follows the mind. Those old wrinkled men with so many agendas need to move and breathe and dance a bit in their bones before making worldwise decisions.
Spiritual wisdom cannot be legislated into people any more than can common sense. We have all sorts of laws, but only Awareness and an individual�s relation with their Higher Guidance animates political and social well being.
When bicycle commuters get killed by cars, the drivers weren�t disobeying laws for the most part. They just weren�t practicing Awareness or respect for others. Norm got killed by a kid in a SUV who was changing CD�s. Tribal Brother Shane got paralyzed when the car driver who hit him prioritized her cell phone conversation with her girlfriend about shopping. Melanie had her pelvis shattered as the truck driver who struck her was sipping coffee. Laws and politics only point toward Harmony. Individual integrity and fitness of body/mind actualize Harmony.
What will it take to bring the Light of Awakening to the old men who initiate young wars?
You.
Me.
Us.
Our personal Practice is what matters most.
Traditionally, Karma Yogis are decidedly apolitical at best. Yogis are firmly ensconced in the global sangha, and do not consider themselves citizens of a country but of Atman - the Godsource within.
Yet, i am one Karma Yogi who cherishes �Turtle Island� - as the Native American�s called the land upon which our Nation now resides. Perhaps my devotion to the United States is not very Yogic. But it is a true love born from Colorado alpine meadows and frost tinged mountain creeks giggling under an sea of stars. It is a love born from being Blessed to live in a country where i could single-handedly create my own Path, call it what i want, take it to the Marketplace, and share it with others without fear of reprimand or reprisal. It is a love born from being able to voluntarily practice simplicity and energy conservation instead of having no other choice.
If anything, my professional and personal practice of Yoga has made my political perspectives as aqueous as this rainstorm thundering through Los Angeles. Any staunch political position i once held has steadily dissolved like a tight hamstring restriction into a heated Ujjayi breath. I�ve lost interest in the Political Storyline because of the ocean of Work to be done within the Moment. Since a society is but a manifestation of the individuals in it, my duty as a Karma Yogi, is to take the Light of Yoga to the people. One by one. Individual by individual. Never, not once, forgetting that my own Personal Practice is what empowers my ability to carry the Light to others. �We must first ourselves glow, if we are to enkindle others,� so the saying goes.
So, at forty years old, having lived my entire life in a world threatened by narrow minds and weak spirits wielding mighty weapons, i still ride my cycle among the big cars and in-Joy my own courage to be as brave as noble and as elegant as i can in difficulty. I hear birdsong instead of the traffic. I feel the wind instead of insulating myself from her. I do my best to stay involved in the outer world only in those Ways most measurable to my spirit.
Fifteen years ago i created a
Wholistic Fitness maxim that offered me confidence during extreme mountaineering and climbing adventures. I think i can offer no better counsel to those who seek spiritual security in this era of insecurity:
"Prepare for the worse,
visualize the best,
commit to the Present,
and enjoy the Moment."
May the rest of this update inspire you...it beams with your words and your ever growing Awakening.
from the helm of our humble Way,
coach ilg
wholisticfitness.com
���
Dear Coach,
i would like to start to contribute to Direct Lines, as part of my continued practice with the yamas and niyamas, and the 8 fold path and how WF Warriors can use this to help along the way to knowing ourselves better.
February 8, 2003
II Sutra 35 of Patanjali�s Yoga Sutras- �On being firmly established in ahimsa, there is abandonment of hostility in his vicinity.�
from Four Chapters on Freedom by Satyananda:
Ahimsa � Keywords: love, harmlessness, non-killing, non-violence; absence of enmity (disapproval), hostility and harm; and lack of harmful intentions; compassion.
There are many ways that Wholistic Fitness� warriors can practice ahimsa (one of the yamas of Patanjali's raja yoga � refer to Crash Course! at the Yoga icon at wholisticfitness.com!) in our daily life. How can we make our environment a less harm-ful place to live?
Start with the Shower
When showering this morning, I was having a great old time, soaping up, getting all the corners cleaned out then as I was going to take my SUNRIDER Shampoo to get my hair cleaned it came to me to turn the water off. That�s it, turn the water off while you are shampooing your hair. Simple? You can even turn the water off while you soap up. Why not? You will be saving a ton of water. Mother Earth will be grateful so will your water bill!
Garbage or Opportunity?
As I was walking back from teaching High Performance Yoga this morning I was given the opportunity to bring �less harm� to the earth. There is this garbage can in the park and by Saturday of each week it is full. It is so full it is run over by garbage and spilling over its edges. I have walked by this many times saying to myself, �man what a mess, I should phone someone to clean this up.� Then I would keep walking. Today for some reason, I stopped, rolled up my sleeves and cleaned up the garbage. I started to practice the action of ahimsa. If it is kept in the mind it will pass through us and out, not really that helpful.
As I was cleaning up a police officer, who just arrested someone for being intoxicated in a public place, not more than 20 feet away from where I was working, thanked me for cleaning up the mess. He suggested I call the city to get �them� to clean it up. I smiled, thanked him and continued to finish the job.
To take action in ahimsa is to allow for harmlessness to be an appropriate response to what you see in front of you. Instead of how can I defend my position, one can ask how can there be no harm here? It is easy to get someone else to pick up the garbage, but that will just continue my illusion that I am separate from all that is around me. This practice extends to how we think about ourselves and others; how we act in our relationships and with strangers. All of our worldly interactions are asking us to be more aware of our impact on those places, people and things around us.
- heikosan
{note by Coach -
Heikosan is the Master Student name i gave to Grant Couture after he completed five years of intensive study in WF. Grant now owns and operates The Wandering Yogi studio with his wife, Rhonda, in Vancouver:
1707 Grant Street @ Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC V5L 2Y6
(604) 251-1915
practice@wanderingyogi.com
www.wanderingyogi.com}
�
�Unless you do the work that is close to your heart you will remain unfulfilled.
And the meditator finds immediately what his work is.
The meditator finds intrinsically that this is his work; he does not have to think about it. It is so clear and so loud that he knows that he has to be a musician or he has to be a poet or he has to be this or that. It comes so clear that there is no question of doubt. And then he starts working; that work is his meditation.�
- Osho
�
As some of you know, one of my spiritual mentors and most beautiful friends, Stephan Frease, passed away recently. His ashes now grace my puja table in my Practice room. i converse with a dear friend of Stephan�s, Diane, a beautiful Soul who sings her Way in the world and helps children in Uganda among other places. together, her and i recollect moments of our time spent with Stephan. most of these recollections are humorous, for Stephan had a Tibetan like flair for mining humor out of the most serious of any situation and certainly of intellectual spiritualism. Diane found this, which was Stephan�s response to her question about what kind of Buddhism he had practiced. That is, during those times when he considered himself a Buddhist. As Diane writes, �It's packed full of that special Stephanian brand of humor that I miss so much!�
Diane and i hope you enjoy it...i think it is a classic �Stephanism�:
�Darling, i am a hereavada. if one is a thereavada one would have to be there instead of here. i am here now. i am a hereavadanowavada. yogananda was a mayananda because yoga and maya were his parents. the important thing is to be a vada or a nanda. vada represents vadism...nanda represents nandaism.
if one were a thereananda as opposed to a hereananda, he or she could never marry a vada. hereanandas do not marry people, they marry Time because they are the epitomy of hereness and nowness. no one comes to their weddings.
their children are known as littlemerryhowynowyherytheryeverythingvedaanandas
which makes them rather unacceptable in society because no one can pronounce their names. no one has yet come up with a nick name.
happy to clarify this question for you sweetheart, s.�
�
I�d like to welcome back to formal Online Study,
Master Student Blair �Konryu� Lyon, a Physical Therapist in Pennsylvania.
In his ReActivation Application he writes,
�
�Just to update you on a few things, i was the series champion in my age group in the solo division of the Ohio Adventure Race Series. i attained the podium in 5 of the 7 races.
i would like to comment on the Direct Lines portion of the website. it is extraordinary, such a wonderful way for the tribe to maintain and to deepen our connection with you and with each other. it has been there for me in the darkest of times and always sheds light. a while back, a student of Coach Sheader's mentioned having some foot problems. Coach Sheader gave some excellent advice and i would like to add that stretching the calf/plantar fascia before weight bearing in the morning usually helps with the early weight bearing pain that is associated with the heel pain symptom package. one of the better ways to do this is to do paschimottanasana while passively dorsiflexion the ankle and the toes of the involved leg with your hand.
should this student or any other student want any additional injury advice, please let them know to email anytime. i will answer quickly. that is enough for now. ai imawa! konryu
�
got a question for a professional Physical Therapist who also happens to be a WF Master Student? ask Konryu at:
konryubl@yahoo.com
February 04, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
�
"Forget whatever you did yesterday. Find your most beautiful art today."
- Jim Maxwell
an acknowledged Teacher of new WF student Allan Ludgate, NYC
�
what i enjoy most about life is its unmistakable versatility. my Highest and ongoing challenge in my own life, is to �practice elegance in difficulty.� and if i trust in anything about life, then it is the remarkable, undeniable capacity to change my inner self. in the flicker of an instant, if i am ready, i can let go of troubled past, embrace what i am, and jump with Joy into my becoming.
small wonder i created Wholistic Fitness, which is nothing if not a Path of personal becoming. WF reflects my love, my challenges, and my potentiation.
it is a big wonder, however, that my humble approach to body/mind training has attracted so many beautiful Warriors of the Spirit...
like you.
you are why i have an undying faith in humanity.
Perhaps what i love most about Wholistic Fitness is the same thing i trust in and therefore train in people: an ability to consciously encounter and grow from a wide-ranging inner territory.
thank you for choosing to Be Here Now.
This entry is filled with your input, questions, and inspirations.
head bowed,
spine straight,
breath low...
coach ilg
tarzana, ca 2/4/03
�
Hey coach
Direct lines on 1/30 brings tears to my eyes, it feels like your talking to me, how do you do it?
You've said, falling off the path is part of the path, then I'm still on it I haven't fallen off I'm just standing in a turnout wondering about it, this path dose not feel new to me but why did it take 36 years in this life to find it and why is my fat head (my egos name) giving so much resistance to this way.
time for herbs - an ilg supreme - and some
HP yoga ;-)
Warrior Todd
Aumsville,OR
�
FOR THE SPIRITUAL MATERIALIST WITHIN...
we just got in some GORGEOUS teal-colored "Ultra Sticky Yoga Mats"...these high quality mats are 78" long and 1/4" thick and come guaranteed to add more pranic power to your poses! Of course, each come emblazoned with the dynamic, unique calligraphy of coach ilg's hand-drawn "HP Yoga" logo. THIS MONTH ONLY or until supplies last: save 15%! Your cost without shipping: $29.75
order today: 818 345 9027 or through ilgtrain@aol.com
or through the online catalog at www.wholisticfitness.com
�
new supply of my HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA videos! comes with notesheet to describe the HP Yoga Sun Salutations for you to practice on your own! $25 each includes shipping.
��
A dialogue between WF Teacher Sheader and Student M -
Dear Coach,
My wife asked me the other day what the point was of all my training.
She was referring mostly to ST/Cardio. I didn't really have a good answer, other than "it makes me feel good," and "I want to get in shape for racing this year." This question reverberated this morning as I awoke at 5:00 to do 40 minutes of Cardio before work. Why am I doing this? I'm not really sure. I could just do Yoga once a week, workout a couple times a week, Meditate every so often, and I would maintain an acceptable level of fitness. So why am I doing this "extreme fitness" type of thing. Is this just my ego talking, trying to get out of it? Or is it something else?
- Student M
Dear Student M -
You actually answered your wife with two most direct reasons for training and WF Practice. The second one...I want to keep in shape for racing...is a practical and penultimate response. WF is surely about the best the path you can take in this regard. Its integrated approach has proven itself again and again.
Your first response contains the foremost reason for the practice...You feel good...This is much more than merely experiencing the benefits of health a fitness lifestyle imparts. It is about feeling something much more expansive, much deeper...feeling go(o)d. For feeling "god" is what being alive is all about, no matter your spiritual or religious orientation. WF training provides a means to shed the encrustations that hinder that
realization and affirm the higher self within.
As far as training goals and volumes these can always be adjusted to the needs and intentions of each student...be
they world class athletes, someone disabled, or even someone who is
terminally ill. If you want to focus more on overall wellness for now and feel the pursuit of more competitive athleticism is not quite appropriate then we can easily adjust your training that direction.
The important thing is not what level of training you decide to pursue but rather whatever decision you make that it is appropriate action affirming your higher self instead of the ego.
In the end, I agree with Kazantazkis... "Only those who obey a rhythm
superior to their own are free." In each and every moment this is your
choice; the rhythm of your ego or the superior rhythm of your higher self.
Be noble,
Coach Sheader
�
�Hi Kathy,
I finally met your husband on Super bowl Sunday at Power House and took your class today with Steve. He's as wonderful as you are. You were meant for each other.....I intend to commit myself to yoga. The benefits seem endless. Not to mention someday I'll be able to touch my toes and possibly learn to relax!
....See you soon. Pam�
�
"Dear Steve and Kathy-
My spirit has been so lifted once again as I partake in the breath of life-the practice of Yoga. I knew I would find myself again in your classes and I feel you both are gifted in your teaching. I have more strength in my spirit that just soars when I am in class. My mind turns to all the things that bring calmness to my soul. Yoga makes me grasp onto every moment of today and savor the goodness and the peace. I look forward to growing stronger in your classes. Thank you for sharing your gift of teaching.
- Sincerely,Beverly"
�
Ecological Sports Nutrition
Read the latest in how an athlete eats ecologically sustainable nutrition at www.organicathlete.com/raw/training.html
�
Dialogue between Student F and Coach Ilg -
Dear Coach -
I have a concern about my training...
CI:
Student F: in WF, we have no "concerns."
a concern implies anxiety.
WF accepts and embraces "challenges" or perhaps "considerations" or certainly, "questions" but never "concerns." �Concerns� are what plagues worriers, not WF Warriors. delete the word, �concerns� from your vocabulary. thank you.
Student F:
HOW MUCH TIME IS A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME TO SPEND ON MY GYM WORKOUTS?
CI:
30 minutes for upper body, 20 minutes for lower body. GO!!!!!!!! your HR should remain elevated nearly the entire time!
Student F:
I'M USED TO THE TRADITIONAL WORKOUT WITH HOURS BEING SPENT
CI:
yeah well, WF ain't traditional...it's revolutionary.
Student F:
I RANGE BETWEEN 25 AND 30 MINS.; AND I'M REALLY CONCENTRATING ON THE FORM AND BREATH MOVEMENT. IS THIS ENOUGH TIME?
CI:
wonderful! although you will be to move even faster with more fluidity as your focus and fitness increases.
Student F:
� IN GENERAL, I FEEL STRONGER AND I HAVE MORE ENERGY.
CAN'T QUITE GET THE HEAD STANDS IN TRINA'S YOGA CLASS EVEN IF I START FROM DOWN DOG AND HURL MYSELF AGAINST A WALL BEHIND ME.
CI:
this is my fault if Trina is teaching you HeadStands by using a wall in the first place. there should NEVER be any "hurling" on oneself in yoga!
your shoulder girdle and �center� must be steadfastly trained to develop adequate strength and openness before Headstands arrive in your asana practice. focus on your shoulders and backbends. work on Dolphin Pose and a slow control from your core to lift the legs first a few inches, then a few feet, and finally, in time, elegantly overhead. no hurling, you hear me? that is not yoga. at least, it is not HP Yoga! the Sanskrit word for Headstand is Adho Mukha Vrkasana or Downward Facing Tree Pose. Trees do not �hurl� themselves into maturity. they grow from developing deep and strong roots. so should you. learn the lesson of Tree Medicine and quit hurling and using walls.
Student F:
I'D LIKE TO DROP MORE FAT FROM MY ABDOMEN. MY DIET IS GREAT. COULD THE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE MEDS BE DOING THIS?
CI:
relax. just keep consistent with your Training. you want too much, too fast, all the time. stop pushing the River. let your Practice flow on her natural course. delve into the moment and find peace and trust in your Training.
Student F -
DOES SR HAVE ANY NATURAL HERBS THAT WOULD LOWER THE PRESSURE?
CI:
yes, Lifestream.
Student F:
I WAS READING ABOUT SOME HERBAL PRODUCTS THAT ARE SAID TO LOWER BP. I READ ABOUT THIS IN THE JOURNAL FOR LONGEVITY.
CI:
well, WF is not about "longevity" but rather about the QUALITY of life, or more appropriately, the quality of the moment. what is the use of living longer, if the QUALITY and FUN and SACRED HAPPINESS has not been cultivated?
Trust your Practice and Breathe with Peace...
Namaste,
Coach Ilg
��
Coach Ilg,
Here in Maine, we're enjoying some of the
best snow in years, and I'm humbled by my increased fitness that has come about from WF and SR.
Thanks so much for All.
Student Michael
��
Hello Coach Ilg,
Yes, i want to become your online Student of Wholistic Fitness! Great starts are important. At the best universities the most effective professors teach the freshman classes. They open doors to learning in ways that go beyond information.
My athletic prowess is very modest being a semi-sedentary 52 year old Scoutmaster living a life with enough imbalance, stress and financial pressures to kill a buffalo at 300 yards.
I would be honored if you were to help me start this journey.
I would also be content if you suggested that one of your certified teachers would be wise and sufficient.
- Karl�
�
�Dear Steve,
I now realize that WF is about focusing the mind, performing softer, not harder. Most importantly, like yoga, you link breath with movement concentrating all the while.�
excerpt from new Student Fusano�s first WF Cycle Summation.
��
Are you an Online Student of WF?
Why not?
Life is short
but
Enlightenment is endless...
go for it!