May 30, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
"In meditation you are neither "for" nor "against" your experience. That is, you don't praise some thoughts and condemn others, but you take an unbiased approach. You let things be as they are, without judgment, and in that way you yourself learn to be, to express your existence directly, nonconceptually. That is the ideal state of relaxation, which allows you to experience the nowness of the cosmic mirror."
- Chogyam Trungpa
�
"That's the way, uh hu, uh hu...I like it...That's the way, uh hu, uh hu...I like it..."
Lyrics from KC and the Sunshine Band bounce to my foremind as i bunny hop my bike over a curb coming back from a 3.25 hour mountain bike ride with my friend, Steve Marlowe. Incredible gift of a day. To have the fitness and to have arranged a life to enjoy such deeply rooted beauty is - to me - priceless. Since Steve has pretty much talked me into doing some training races on my road bike again, we took our time on this long route just to burn some fat and spin our legs in anticipation of harder days ahead. Watching the brave pro riders contesting the 3-week Tour of Italy on OLN must be seeping into my bones and affecting what little common sense i still retain. Once a warrior, always a warrior, i suppose.
As we ascended from the sizzle of the Valley into the marine mist, we lapped up refreshing ocean vapors like children at play in a sprinkler. By the time we descended Temescal Canyon we were pedaling through air thirty degrees cooler then mere moments before. At the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway we began what a local cycling guidebook calls, "a relentless" eight mile, 2,800' climb. Today, the ardous ascent seemed to be but another enjoyable pranayama session. i turned my senses inward from the outer effort and relaxed into the intensity with easy 'ujjayi' breathing.
Several interesting images along the thirty-plus miles: Snake Medicine was abundant today. Steve identified a rare and large type of Garder snake, then came an even larger and very glossy gopher snake lounging in full display across our path, followed shortly later by a rattlesnake, startled by our bikes. These captivating creatures nourished our ride quite well.
I also spotted cowbirds, a phoebe, hummingbirds, hawks, and Sugar Ray Leonard.
Yes, I said, Sugar Ray Leonard, the Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s. An unprecedented five world titles in five weight classes and competed in some of the era's most memorable contests. He was hiking downhill from Paseo Miramar in Pacific Palisades accompanied by two women one of whom was also a 'somebody' but hell if we knew who she was. "Sweetness" still appeared pretty sweet as we exchanged a mutual 'warrior head nod." The concern came through me, "With a detached retina, should the Champ really be hiking downhill?"
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Yes, the rumor is true: You can already purchase my new book, Total Body Transformation for a special prepublication price of $17.95 (Hardcover) through www.amazon.com. We just finished up the strength training photos in post production and you guys are gonna FLIP! i bow in wow of Wayne Williams, my photographer who has poured hours of sincere effort into making these photos the absolute highest standard in the fitness book genre. it would be wise to buy your copy ASAP, because the price is likely to go to the actual price of $25.
�
On the subject of the written word,
check out Wholistic Fitness Student's famous outdoor author and NY Times columnist, Joe Glickman's latest hardcover book:
To the Top; Reaching for America's 50 State Summits (North Word Press; April 2003). It's a truly beautiful book that inspires people to get out and literally Rise Above as we say in WF! "A unique book that combines white knuckle adventure chronicle, a psychological character study and a humorous buddy story." I bow to Joe who has consistently honored my work with him in his Times column, and in several books including the very well done, Idiot's Guide to Weight Training which is peppered with Wholistic Fitness influence throughout thanks to Joe's embrace of our Path. Thank you Joe, humble ilg bows to you! Keep up the inspiring work and workouts! I know how difficult a LifePath it is to lure people away from the many entertainment's of the outer world and into their inner and natural environments. You've been doing a great and noble job helping others Higher.
�
Dear Coach Ilg -
When I least expect it, you blow me away with your elegance and humility as well as your devotion to your students."
- Student T
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Hey Coach...
how is the good Californian Life up there?...we got back from our wonderful trip yesterday and are back to reality...it was like a dream trip in California...LA, Big Sur, Carmel, Stanford, San Francisco, Napa Valley, the whole enchilada...but really what we most appreciate was meeting and getting to know you and Kathy...we felt really inspired in your company, your ways and your teachings...you are a great example for us!...we are really grateful for getting to know you...just regret we could not stay longer and get a fuller introduction to yoga and meditation and the mental/spiritual component of your teachings...we will start with the seeds you gave us!
- fidel y ale
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Please tell Coach Ilg that his Fear of Fitness tape is great, and for me very timely for some family "knots".
Student K
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Speeding Up Life Limits Creative Intelligence
Dear Coach -
during my recent interview with you, i noticed that on your desk you use actual an dictionary and thesaurus. i've noticed this among other published authors...why don't you just use the internet versions of these reference books, it's way faster! or is this just a quirky 'writer thing'?
- SW
Dear Student SW -
like most things intended to make our lives faster, using internet dictionaries are also limiting our creative intelligence. when i pick up my old brawny American Heritage and thumb through its pages in search of my word, my eyes canvass other words along the way...carom, etude, intransigent, matriculate...gems, each of them. I feel that my vocabulary becomes enriched through osmosis when i use the 'old school' dictionaries instead of internet ones.
then again, that might just be the fait accompli of my own intransigence!
question, young writer, anything intended to speed up your life or make it more convenient.
-coach ilg
�
Actual coaching dialogue
with WF Student Lenore:
SL: IT WAS REALLY HILARIOUS IN THE GYM TODAY. SEVERAL PEOPLE WERE CHUCKLING AT MY JUMP SQUATS AND KNEE TUCK JUMPS SQUATS. I HELD MY HEAD HIGH AND KEPT GOING. DIDN'T WITHDRAW OR ALLOW MY POSTURE TO COLLAPSE. EVEN THOUGH I NEITHER
APPEARED LIKE NOR SHADOWED THE PART OF STEVE OR KATHY, I DEFINITELY HAD A PURPOSE."
� i am proud of your warriorism in the gym. next time, just invite those hecklers to join you for even ONE superset of Jump Squats and Knee Tuck Jumps! watch their egos wither as a Vice Principal lady kicks their ass!
SL: I NOTICED THAT HEAD TURNS NOW WHEN I WALK IN THE GYM OR PEOPLE JUST TAKE A GLIMPSE OF ME. WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT ? I CERTAINLY DON'T HAVE THE YOUTHFUL BODY OR FACE OF ANYONE OF ANY SIGNIFICANCE.PERHAPS I LOOK CONFIDENT.
� it's your chi...your pranic field expanding. because of your devoted WF Practice, you are literally becoming a more radiant human being, instead of just a human 'doing'. important: practice humility no show of 'bravado' just because your body is getting fantastic looking and you are strong, supple, focused, and powerful. instead, just like always; stay focused on your workout.
SL: SPEAKING OF BODIES, MINE IS CHANGING.I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I FEEL THINNER, BUT THINGS ARE SHIFTING AROUND. I FEEL LIKE CLOTHES ARE TIGHTER ONE WEEK AND THEN NOT THE NEXT. CAN YOU EXPLAIN OR IS THIS A STUPID OBSERVATION REQUIRING
NO EXPLANATION?
� you explained it just fine; your body is shifting around. bones are moving into alignment. you are gaining height and lean tissue. bodyfat decreasing. you are experiencing the TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION upon which my next book is all about! congratulations to you, for it is YOUR willingness to be consistent in your workouts, ordering and eating your SUNRIDER herbs, and meditating...yeah baby! it only gets better!
i bow to you,
coach ilg
May 28, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
A SUNRIDER HERB Chi Hit for the Coach Ilg Downline
contributed unsolicited by, Patti:
Dear Coach Ilg -
I want to check in with you and share a couple of things with you.
Number one, I have not forgotten the kindness and guidance you have so generously shared with me. I hope one day I can pay it forward so to speak.
i want to share an experience that I have had over the past few days. Feel free to share it with others.
I have been a Sunrider consumer for going on 3 years now and have written to you on occasion to let you know some wonderful thing or another that has happened to me as a result of my Sunrider consumption.
This one takes the cake.
I have been carefully monitoring my intake of simple carbs in hopes of dropping a few pounds. Someone recommended that I try these "wonderful" new Atkins bars that are on the market now. They are tasty and have a low glycemic index, just the thing ( or so I thought) for my sometimes all-too-annoying sweet tooth.
This afternoon I popped open a Chocolate Decadance bar, yummy to be sure, consumed it and went about my day. I had eatne a bowl of lentils for brunch and wanted something just to keep me going until dinner.
About an hour after I ingested this "good for me bar" I began to feel quite ill. Nauseous, dizzy, light headed and not too steady on my feet...hmmm, didn't I feel this way on Thursday when I grabbed one of these to hold me over before dinner????
Sure did.
I eat clean for the most part. No chemicals, no pop, no prepared foods, nothing frozen and zapped. This bar was a chemist's delight. (shame on me).
Well to make a long afternoon short, I am beginning to come out of chemical induced funk, drinking purified water and biding my time.
I know that the reason I felt so crappy was because I am CLEAN on the inside and I ate garbage. I have never reacted so strongly to eating "bad" before, and I know now just how clean I am.
Mny thanks!
Patti
visit DIRECT LINES: Daily Meditations From Coach Ilg
only at:
www.wholisticfitness.com
namaste!
coach ilg
May 27, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
i ain't big on birthdays.
yogis are trained in the flow
not aberration
of life.
besides,
we "age" in so many ways;
physiologically,
psychologically,
spiritually,
egoically,
athletically,
pranically,
emotionally,
karmically...
it seems to me,
that chronological aging
is least significant of all
birthdays, if celebrated with drama in younger years
creates a senseless and often agonizing anxiety
in later years
our society's over-identification with youth
causes suffering
and why so few of us
can age with dignity and grace and fearlessness.
to a yogi
it is resistance and clinging to the past
which is ugly
not wrinkles
the leaf falls from the tree when mature
- after it has grown fully into itself -
we do not spray paint browning leaves green
nor glue them back onto the stem
we enjoy their falling into the next stage
why not learn the same for ourselves?
so it is,
on my 41st birthday
i have a wish...
for you:
be not attached to years passing
whittle away instead
at the immensity of each moment
and live deeply, wonder-full-y, and endlessly.
so it is also,
that i have a birthday gift...
for you:
a poem written by a Canadian student...
"For Coach's Birthday
THERE IS A GRACE
There is a grace in the apparent fragility
Time passing, age adding, death coming
Persistence, dedication over time, cycles
Fragility becomes strength
A thin water channel becomes a canyon
An undersea flower-like animal transforms in a resistant crystal
Wavering, falling leafs add a layer of earth
Argiles, slates, the most common rocks, the most abundant ones
have been mud, have been lively shifting sea bottoms, that now
just now, as hard as they are, are returning to mud, weathered
Endless cycles, between strength and softness
Back and forth, equilibrium always delicate
always in a state of grace, in a state of faith
What's next? More strength? More fragility? One leads to the other
For fragile encourages the growth of strength
For strong teaches that to last, suppleness is necessity
What's next? Certainly not hardness and weakness
for both become washed away, eroded, transformed
toward their pure essence
of strength and flexibility
Passing through ages
always keeping the same essential identity
under many shapes, exploring many forms
Your Faithful Student,
A.M.P."
May your day ring with blessings and abundance from within your Practice...
i bow to you,
your "one-foot-in-the-grave" coach
May 24, 2003
Top Ten Things You Don't Want To Overhear In A Yoga Studio
by Steve Ilg, R.Y.T.
10) You call THAT a Down Dog?
9) Hey, will somebody turn up the air conditioner in here?
8) Does this loincloth make my hips look fat?
7) A Mr. Brahman called. He said to tell you, "Your posture's look great, but you're wearing the wrong incarnation."
6) Here, use this yoga block...and tackle.
5) Hold me a spot, I need to go make a sacred movement...
4) I'm in the second week of an all natural body cleanse.
3) The Navy SEALs called. They're fascinated in your ability to unconsciously hold your breath.
2) I love taking here, it's yogalicious. Do you do Pilates, too?
and
the #1 Thing You Don't Want To Overhear In A Yoga Studio...
1) Patanjali's agent called. He apologizes, but that whole 'Yoga Sutra' thing? Just a joke.
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Enjoy your holiday weekend and do your best to keep your Practice strong, sincere, and most of all FUN! We are BLESSED to be able to even have the OPPORTUNITY to enjoy personal fitness training! Live it, love it, share it!
i bow to you,
coach ilg
founder/Wholistic Fitness
May 23, 2003
Namaste Noble Herb Eaters!
SUNRIDER HERBS; The Official Nutritional Program of Wholistic Fitness Warriors
Sunrider Update Missive: 5/22/03
by Steve Ilg, R.Y.T
An herbal conundrum has evolved within me.
Eating SUNRIDER (SR) herbs makes it feel GREAT to feel so dang good all the time...i mean, AMAZINGLY good...like, King of the World good...
but then,
it feels SAD when i see so many still stuck in their struggles to lose fat, feel energetic, and enjoy a mental state of fitness which hovers with equanimity.
Then there is another component to my conundrum.
If i write too passionately or frequently about my love of SR herbs, people i've never met from far away places
accuse me of being a "snake oil salesman" or some such thing. Why should it be so hard to speak with ardor about something that so easily and quickly accelerates body/mind health and fitness?
It's been well over fifteen years but skeptics repeatedly snip at my love of SR herbs. No sting is felt, however from their paltry, predictable fear-based purging. Only compassion seeps into my bones like incense into plaster when i know i can help a person's well being through SR but I hear only excuses instead of willingness to explore.
"Those herbs are too expensive." What is MORE valuable than feeling and remaining fit, lean, strong, centered, happy, and powerful every - yes, EVERY - day? Actually, just forget about yourself for a minute to ponder: How many beings around you would benefit from you feeling great every day? You know what's truly expensive? Wasting precious life moments by NOT feeling GREAT. What's truly expensive: Being too tired to live fully, love deeply, and let go lightly. Also what's truly expensive: hospitals, medical offices, and "side effects" from prescription drugs.
"Oh, i hate those multilevel companies." SR is Direct Marketing - it deletes the numerous "middle men" which feast like parasites upon mass market retail systems. SR ships wholesale straight to your front door, baby. Homework: Compare SUNRIDER's 58.8% world seamless pay out program with a grocery store's customer pay out. You'll get "Double Coupon Day" as their best response! More homework: Compare grocery store product quality and quality control with SR'S self owned, debt free, 45 million dollar state of the art World Headquarters and presence in another 25 other countries producing the world's most highly concentrated nutritional products made only from the best natural ingredients and all pesticide free, yoga-friendly herbal whole-foods and skin care. Hint: You'll soon see the Light, but be careful, it's blinding!
"Why should I switch to SUNRIDER?" That is why the web address:
http://store.sunrider.com/InfoCenter/Info_WhyChoose.asp
was created!
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I don't speak often of this, but the Ilg Downline CRANKS! currently, in May our downline has generated: $8,024.85
For the 7th straight month.
SUNRIDER sends me invitations to speak at their conventions and such. Sorry, but when i hear the word, 'convention' i reach for my gun. I'm not a Convention Type Of Guy. Too much hecticness for this mountain yogi. Just let me eat and share SR Herbs with those who, like myself, don't want to waste one day of life not feeling GREAT! That's all.
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Summer means it's the season of Iced Calli! Here is how:
Boil water in a standard kettle. Turn off. Steep two Calli Regular teabags in the kettle until cool. Fill a glass with ice and pour in the Calli. Add enough drops of Sunny Dew to make you feel guilty that anything so sweet tasting can actually be good for you.
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What's so good about drinking Iced Calli during hot weather as opposed to soft drinks?
Antioxidants, for one. Calli is chock full of antioxidants, the chemicals found in fruits and veggies (and Fortune Delight!). They include vitamins C & E, selenium, and catechins. Antioxidants ninja "free radicals" - molecular bastards that grab electrons from cells and morph them into cancer causing malformities that also degenerate skin and sap cell energy. Soft drinks are anything but "soft." They're brutal.
Calli's other attributes are far too many to list. It was the original jade-engraved herbal formula for Shaolin monks that imparted mental acuity and stamina for their meditation sessions. Calli pulls heavy metals and toxins from cell basement membranes. Calli inspires cellular respiration. That means, Calli gets you lean. Calli functions like an adaptogen...it will pick you up when your chi is lethargic. It will calm you down when your chi is haphazard and hyper.
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The Real Fortune is Fortune Delight!
The hot weather also signals the time to up the quantity of Fortune Delight which, like Calli, decreases impacted body fat (non-thermogenic adipose tissue) and free radical damage while elevating energy and physiologic efficiency. I constantly drink "FD" during the summer. Yesterday, I noticed I was getting a little short ('only' 2 dozen FD packages left in the cupboard...hey, i have a scarcity complex when it comes to SUNRIDER herbs..what can i say?). I am also man enough to admit that i DO NOT eat 8-12 servings of fruits and veggies per day, so I included the instrumental VITAFRUIT to my order. So today, here was my order:
1 101025 Fortune Delight� Lemon 10/3 g Packs for $6.75�
2 101055 Fortune Delight� Peach 10/3 g Packs for $6.75�
3 101045 Fortune Delight� Raspberry 10/3 g Packs for $6.75�
4 103011 SunnyDew� 1 fl. oz. for $12.45�
5 102011 Sunrider� VitaFruit� 11 fl. oz. for $38.55�
Total $78.78
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No WAY SR Sorbet!
Another one of my strokes of SR herbal genius...try this out:
into a blender
� pour 10 oz of filtered water
� 20 oz of Chocolate flavored Silk Soy Milk
� 1 package of Strawberry VitaShake
� 1 package of Quinary (optimal, but optional)
� nice dollop of Vitafruit
� couple of ice cubes (optional)
� 10 oz of Haagen Dazs Raspberry Sorbet
� blend
� experience a health giving sensation dang close to Samadhi...
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Current SUNRIDER "Stars" in the Ilg Downline:
Jo Ann Neff, Grant Couture, Ken Doyle, newcomer David Goes (they don't call him "Goes" for nothing...this yoga cat of mine is GOING places with SR...he has already lost several pounds through SR and HP Yoga...great job, David!), Dean Krakel, Toby Leeson, Sean Madine, Shawna Schaub, Mark Featherman, and Bryan Hantman.
Good job guys! I know from your emails that you know FEEL the SR Effect! Ain't life GRAND when you Shift!?!?!?
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"There is so much nutrition everywhere!
The least powerful of it
comes in calories."
- coach ilg
(Note: it might take you newcomers a few more SR Shifts before you understand that one!)
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"May each of us
blend the worlds
- the inner and the outer -
so that all beings
may experience Happiness."
eat an herb,
enjoy your day,
read DIRECT LINES at wholisticfitness.com,
and treat yourself well...
i bow to you,
coach ilg
May 22, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
strength training photo shoot went amazing.
10:00 am: wayne and carlin took their first shot of me (Stiff Leg Deadlifts).
5:00 pm: 43 (yep, you read it right: forty three!) strength training movements later, we wrap. huge day.
this is going to be a friggin' book, you know whaddyam sayin' ? if you're gonna do something...you might as well set a new Standard doing it! or else, why bother?
i crashed yesterday. i poured as much of our WF Tribal CHI into each of those 43 gym shots. i kept traditional movements such as PowerCleans in the book as well as plyometrics such as Knee Tuck Jumps. i chanted "Om" between takes to preserve the Dharmic flow linking the shots. giving Fitness Warriors VALUE has always been my main objective when i first set out to write a book. this book carries on the WF tradition...
and raises it to a whole new Realm, baby. buckle up.
i thank Derek Sharlin, owner of POWERHOUSE SPORTS COMPLEX in Chatsworth for letting us blow into your amazing facility and let our CHI vibrate the whole day. i thank the PSG members for being patient as we monopolized machines and weights and space the whole day. i thank the staff of PSG for their support of the shoot. i am blessed by many buddhas in my life and none more elegant and determined that Wayne Williams and Carlin Sundell. visit their websites; www.waynewilliamsstudio.com and www.supersix8.com respectively.
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i'm also edging closer to being able to let you all in on another WF project that i've had up my sleeveless tank tops for the past several months...just stay close to DL for all the fluidity.
i close today's entry with a Blessing that WF Student Dorman and tribal brother Carlin and i made up the other night after a particularly potent Tibetan based evening meditation... Please, use it, share it, and most of all, enjoy it.
with Breath and Posture, i offer you the CID (Carlin, Ilg, and Dorman) Prayer:
"May each of us
blend our worlds
- the inner and outer -
so that all beings
may experience
Sacred Joy."
i bow to you,
coach ilg
May 20, 2003
Namaste Noble Fitness Warriors!
off to spend the day shooting the STRENGTH TRAINING photos with Wayne Williams
www.waynewilliamsstudio.com
i'm feeling pretty fit for an old (41 this week) dude (considering my profession of being a personal fitness trainer in LA!) and i know Wayne's work will make me look even fitter! time to bring the CHI! wish me luck! man, i hope this new book helps some folks, because it's been a work of love, let me tell you!
here is some recent Tribal Firetalk...enjoy your Practice today and in some small way today, be brave.
love,
coach ilg
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Dear Coach Ilg -
My husband has been doing your program for about two months now, and he looks fantastic! After the first month on the program you gave him, I
noticed a dramatic change. He's also setting personal records with his
running and biking.
- Michelle, Pasadena, CA
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Hanging in the Canyons with Teacher Haku Hatsuiku
date: September 28th - October 4th
where: Coyote Gulch and Escalante Canyon, Southeastern Utah
what: a mellow backpack trip including Wholistic Fitness Disciplines
In cooperation with Rainbow Expeditions II
Contact Teacher Sheader (jomanjitrain@earthlink.net) or go directly to www.rainbow2.com for more information and registration.
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WF Tribal Link:
www.organicathlete.com
click on "musa sapientum" at the top.
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Dear Coach Ilg -
The past 8 weeks since my surgery has been an intensive journey into rediscovering and recalibrating my core.
In so many ways I was forced to 'get back to the basics' of wholistic fitness. It is a beautiful thing that I can draw strength and inspiration from such a meaningful path. You continue to inspire me from afar, and as such, I am eternally grateful for your presence in my life.
I am confident of your life's work and the inevitable contribution I can make to it. You remain an integral part of my life as both a friend and mentor. We will have a chance to connect soon, and to that end I am certain.
"ART IS ANYTHING PEOPLE DO WITH DISTINCTION"-------LOUIS DUDEK
LIVE WELL AND STAY REAL-------ALWAYS AND ETERNALLY---------------PANTHER
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"The less time i spend thinking about time
the more of it i seem to have." - ilg
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I really value the effort Coach Ilg puts into updating Daily Meditations. I was thinking about this as I realized the difficulty (I have chosen) in completing a simple weekly cycle summation!
Student L
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COACHING DIALOGUE:
Dear Teacher
Old Dead Legs: Lower Body Thursday + Green Tara yoga Friday + Interval
Saturday + EEE-GAD / Cardio Sunday left my legs feeling like twin blocks
of granite!
� pre Cambrian granite i suppose? as in, 'exfoliating' granite?!
;-)
good job.
it's funny. so many yoga-specific yogis think they have to just do yoga postures deeper and deeper to find their 'edge.' hec, all they got to is bring their edge up to them by hammering a hard leg workout in the gym or do intervals! sure, they wouldn't be able to be supple in the poses, but if yoga is all about exploring the edge and breathing into it...why not learn how to bring the edge CLOSER, instead of further? come, train Legs! do Intervals! get your body really "well trained" THEN breathe into the very available edge!
RE: Really struggled doing the leg extension staccatos yesterday,
due to overall fatigue. I also found I struggled mightily on the squat /
leg extension supersets to keep my breathing under control - I was a
huffing and puffing fool!
� you go Warrior! show those gym rats some WF CHI!!!!!!!!
RE:
Leg Raise technique: I have been meaning to ask this since week 1. What
is your optimal technique for doing raises?
� well, "optimal" would translate into "most noble" and that would mean a ladder of nobility for leg raises:
1) One Arm Hanging Leg Raises (from a pull up bar)
2) Two Arm Hanging Leg Raises (from a pull up bar)
3) "AbOriginal" Hanging Raises (from a pull up bar with arms looped through the AbOriginal straps)
4) Suspended Leg Raises (from an apparatus with forearms resting on pads)
5) Lying Leg Raises (on floor or atop a flat bench)
the primary determiner for what makes a Leg Raise "noble" is control from the center. in #1, it's a fight just to hold onto the bar overhead, let alone lift your legs up and down without swinging. this demands tremendous concentration and midsection strength. #5 sees the assistive musculature completely supported, and thus, is the novice movement of this group.
RE: Suspended leg raises - slip sliding away: I am really struggling with the suspended leg raises.
� good. struggle keeps Practice novel.
RE: I don't know if it is the pre-exhaustion in my upper
body or the fact that much of the padding has worn away from the armrests,
but I have a tough time just keeping my torso from sliding down the
machine. Are their specific technique points I should keep in mind?
� yes, the main technique is two fold:
1) deal with it, and
2) bring Mula Bandha
in other words, there must be an internal lifting up of the heaviness common to the pelvic bowl during such movements. of course, attaining these yogic internal locks such as Mula Bandha can take years, if not decades. so relax into the process and keep Practicing.
RE:
Premature exhalation: In (his book) LOY (Light On Yoga), Iyengar instructs to keep the duration of
exhalation and inhalation constant, saying something like "if you inhale
for 6-8 seconds, you should exhale for 6-8 seconds as well". This brought
two questions to mind. First, should I be consciously counting the
duration of my inhales and exhales?
� if i have not instructed you to do so, you don't need to.
Iyengar was speaking strictly in regard to Pranayama practice, not everyday life. you may count and thus attempt to equalize your breathing rhythm during meditation/pranayama, but don't worry about it otherwise.
RE: I have been, but thought that might be placing my focus in the wrong place.
� see my above counsel.
RE: The second questions stems from
what I found through my counting. Doing the alternate nostril breathing,
my right nostril exhalation takes less time than the other three actions
(right side inhale, left side exhale and inhale). Do you have physicial
or metaphysicial insights into why this might be?
� yes, but i first i want you spell words correctly before worrying about things metaphysical. you had two misspells in your last sentence. focus. your workout is everywhere.
also, i just want to congratulate you on your Awareness of discovering this imbalanced breathing within you. one of the preliminary yogic goals is to equalize airflow between the nostrils.
just know that with every Alt. Nostril Breathing session you do, your entire body/mind is becoming more Balanced, more Whole.
RE: Are there techniques I
should be focusing on to correct it?
� just do the Practice. don't overanalyze.
RE:
The Protein thing: Virtually everybody I talk to WF about inevitably asks
the question: "where are you getting protein from"? Much of that I
attribute to the Atkins influence, but re-reading the nutrition section in
the TWA brought the question back to mind. In that book, you talk at
length about the difficulty of getting adequate amino combinations in a
vegetarian-based diet, and advocate the use of protein supplementation. I
notice that in my training programs and in Direct Lines, you virtually
never mention supplements beyond the occasional PowerBar. Has your
thinking on supplements changed from when you wrote TWA to now?
� more like my "audience" has changed. thus, my counsel must change.
RE: Is it the
difference in your target audience - i.e. do competitive winter athletes
have different requirements than recreational fitness warriors?
� yes. competitive athletes place much more consistent and intense stress and imbalance on their bodies and minds then do fitness warriors. thus, my counsel in regard to protein must change. protein assimilation and use also changes categorically as does a person's cellular clarity. since you are now my formal student and on on the SUNRIDER HERBS, i know much more about your nutritional integrity and can provide counsel to you different from what appears in my various books/published work.
RE: And finally (you knew this would get back to me eventually), is there anything I should do to ensure sufficient protein in my diet? I apologize if this sounds too "consultanty" - I am consciously working on keeping my analytic mind to the side in this work, and focus on just doing the practice, but sometimes the inner analyst creeps through.
� my instructions to you are for you to stop worrying about protein intake.
RE: Heading into the home stretch of this cycle with great energy for the week ahead. WF rocks!
� so you do too!
head bowed,
coach ilg, R.Y.T.
founder, WHOLISTIC FITNESS
www.wholisticfitness.com
May 18, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
"Yoga is more about learning to really stand on your feet, not your head."
- Coach Ilg
I know from past experience, DL readers love hearing actual input from my formal Online Student's responses to their end-of-cycle summations. so, here you go...an actual Cycle Summation with my coaching input. may your own Practice deepen from this exchange with a noble student from New York.
my coaching input is preceded by this symbol: � :
���
The Green Tara Program
Cycle Summation
RE:
Finish this sentence:
My travel through the Green Tara program has given me a sense of...
shock and awe
perspiration
achievement
strength at the core
understanding that strength and flexibility do not need to be an "either /
or" choice
� significant in-sights. well done. now, live the Higher Sight you've attained.
RE:
STRENGTH TRAINING:
Note your consistency during this discipline.
Had to substitute one
home workout for EEE-GAD as gym was closed on Easter. Missed last EEE-GAD because of Mother's Day commitments. Otherwise extremely consistent in focus,effort, and intensity.
� good. keep making deposits in what i call your Workout Consistency Account (WCA). for the student who does this, greater dividends than ever imagined will arrive.
RE:
How did the EEE-GAD Workout go?
I'm starting to be familiar enough with the
EEE-GAD routine to relax into it and flow from one exercise to another.
Had some struggles with "dead legs" - I found during the squat / leg
extension supersets that my legs were not fully recovered from Thursday's
lower body workout, Friday's yoga, and Saturday's intervals. The issue
was not soreness or tightness, but rather pure fatigue, particularly
evident when trying to hold the "stick" position on leg extensions.
� this is common in our Work for the first few years. stick with it.
RE:
Which gym movements seem harder than others? Why?
The ab movements in general, and the suspended leg raises in particular,
are difficult. On the leg raises, my body wants to ooze off of the
apparatus, and on all it is difficult to maintain energy and focus through
to the end.
Two-bench triceps: I still haven't made it through to the end of a 1:00
minute set without needing Escape hatch A. I've gotten close, and am
making progress, but still haven't quite made it.
� you will if you keep your WCA strong.
RE:
Forearm strength, while increasing, is still a constraint. Believe I
could handle more weight on V-handle pulldowns, hang cleans, and deadlifts
if my forearms could step up to the challenge.
� perfect training of the weak link. well done, Noble Warrior!
RE: Any changes in physique?
Weight has stabilized around 156 (down nine
pounds from beginning of Namaste and twenty pounds from just after my
father died 1 1/2 years ago). Exploring new notches on my belts. Seeing
more definition all over my body. Much more prominence for my veins,
especially in my forearms.
� creating a New Being from deep within...this is the hallmark of WF transformation!
RE:
CARDIO:
4) Any standout reactions in this discipline? Just that I am keeping the
faith and doing the work,
� yes, WCA.
RE:
How did the Assigned Intervals go? Which Dragon comes up most often
on these workouts?
I am finding a rhythm to the intervals. Continue to
struggle with pacing - finding a 3:00 pace that is sustainable but at my
edge,and maintaining my energy from beginning to end, are challenges.
� pacing of interval energy = pacing of life energy.
finding the rhythm of interval workouts = finding the rhythm of life.
RE:
How was that 2 - 2.5 hour Cardio workout? What did you do, how did you
feel?
I spent 2 hours on the elliptical trainer at the gym - 1 hour on a
"cross training" program, which was pretty mellow, and one hour on a
"cross country" program, which was a challenge. Found I got in the groove
and did just fine - no difficulty sustaining breath or elevated heart
rate.
� 2 HOURS on the ELLIPTICAL trainer!?!??!!
holy Lord Buddha Within!
feeble ilg bows to you!
hell, doing that alone is nearly worth your Master Student Inka!
RE: YOGA:
Comment on your ujjayi breathing through the postures? Maintaining
steady focus on the breath, and keeping my breathing through the nose and
deep. Do wonder if I am getting it "right" - I try to keep the image of
"goggle fogging" front and center, but it has been a long time since I've
been on skis!
� i have sent you another handout on Ujjayi in a separate email. these breathing techniques can take years, not months, to mature. enjoy the process. just make sure you are not mouth breathing during asana practice, this is most important.
RE:
Name the three poses which you find most difficult. Note any
commonality between them.
Virasana: I am able to sit into the pose, but feel a lot of pain in my
knees. I believe this is partially due to a general lack of openness in
knees and hips, and partly to being extremely bow legged - it is a lot of
work for me to get my knees to touch. I have to exit this pose very
gingerly.
Malasana: Here the challenge is all balance. When I go deep into the
squat, and especially when I try to clasp my hands behind my back, I lose
my balance and fall backward.
Bakasama: Making slow progress here, but still considering your advice to
wear my bike helmet! I can get into position, but lose my balance
quickly.
� perfect.
your struggles in these postures are precisely what it is called yoga practice, not yoga perfect! these postures hold the exact keys to your Gateway Higher...dive deep into them, Warrior!
RE:
Finish this sentence:
My Green Tara excursion into yoga made me realize...
how rewarding a solo (i.e. not tethered to a video) yoga practice can be...and
that Iyengar is one flexible dude (even if he does seem a little pudgy in
his Speedo - what's up with that?)
� precisely my thoughts as a young athlete. i wanted his flexibility and kinesthetic command, but i sure as hell did not want to look like him! this is why i created HP Yoga, a style of asana practice that keeps what is best of Western fitness training principles while honoring the yogic body/mind tradition. if one young person picks up my new book next year and see's the shape of my forty+ year old body doing yoga postures, and knows that i can also have that body win ultra distance events, extreme sports, strength sports, and sustained meditation austerities, then to me, THAT is true fitness...WHOLISTIC FITNESS, baby! if anything, my new book will certainly raise the standard for "certified" personal trainers across the nation! perhaps this is the best way to decrease the poor fitness of Americans; produce more Balanced and Wholistically Fit trainers!
RE:
MEDITATION:
How did the Zazen/Pranayama sessions go? Comment.
These sessions are going great. Per your counsel, I am now keeping my
eyes half-open during zazen, which has been an adjustment. Pranayama
still at the mechanical stage, but a great way to start the day.
Most interesting insight from the Rasa Eating Exercise?
That my level
of awareness of the act of eating is still quite low. My awareness and
care in food selection has increased dramatically through my short time in
WF. However, I have strong behavior patterns tying food consumption to
"multi-tasking" - I almost always am doing something else while eating
(reading, watching TV, talking with my wife / son, etc.). I am finding it
very difficult to undo those and really focus all my senses on my food.
� i am proud of your study in this area. trust that just bringing Awareness to unconscious behavior is enough.
RE:
Note how you felt after taking your items to charity after your
Periodic Renunciation:
I have four jumbo-sized bags of clothes by the door, but haven't made the
dropoff yet. I will this weekend. Using the "eight month" rule forced
productive discipline - I have donated clothes for years, but generally
focused on those clothes that were worn out, instead of those that could
be better used by others. For example, while it is important in my work to
be well-dressed, it is completely unnecessary to have four exact replicas
of the same pants, as I found I did when I looked critically at my
wardrobe. Happy to say three of four are now in the donation bag.
� and, due to your Practice of "Aparigarha"
you're gonna make three other beings,
very, very happy!
this is High WF! well done, Noble Warrior!
RE:
What do you think about being in barefeet around the house?
Has it brought a new Awareness for you?
I have never been a big shoes in the house guy, so
this wasn't a big adjustment. I like the tactile feel of the floor under
my feet, especially the cool feel of the kitchen tile in the morning. It
has also been the source of much family fun, especially for my son, who
announces "let's go barefeet" when he comes into the house.
NUTRITION:
Did you notice any changes in your dietary attractions during this
cycle?
My diet has stabilized, with no caffeine, very little dairy and red meat,
and lost of veggies and a good amount of fish and shellfish. Amazed at
how easy it was for me to make pretty dramatic changes in my diet (e.g.
going cold turkey off a four cup of coffee a day habit with no withdrawal
issues) - based on your writings, I credit that to the herbs.
�
;-)
it feels g(o)d to feel Light, doesn't it?
RE:
Did you order and use your SUNRIDER herbs? How do they feel to you?
I eat vitashake, FD, and sunny dew every day. They have quickly become a
foundational part of my day. In particular, the vitashake / sunny dew /
water / soy milk shake I have when I wake up gives me a great base for my
morning gym workouts.
NUMBER IN PRIORITY, WHICH WHOLISTIC FITNESS DISCIPLINES YOU FEEL TAUGHT
YOU
THE MOST ABOUT WHO YOU REALLY ARE:
Strength 2
Cardio 1
Yoga 5
Meditation 4
Nutrition 3
� good job being honest with which of my Five Fitness Disciplines you are weakest in. you and i will now zero in on those weaker areas in the years ahead and never stop in our mutual Quest for your Highest Body/Mind Balance!
i trust your Recovery Week is being fully enjoyed, because i've almost finished with your PERFECT POWER Update!
yeah baby! ain't living WF fun!
i bow to your Devoted Practice,
coach ilg, R.Y.T
founder/Wholistic Fitness Personal Training
May 16, 2003
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the heads up data on aspartame. I'd heard something was nasty about that stuff but didn't know any details. Is Saccharine just as bad? What about sugarless gum with saccharine? Don't tell me all these years four out of five dentists were wrong.
See you soon in the grotto,
Tim F
LA, CA
�
Yogi Tim -
A few years ago i had my first dental check up in a long time. It's not that i don't like Dentists. I do. I just don't feel like i need to have one poking around my teeth every few months. My practice of WF Nutrition is what cleans and strengthens my teeth for the most part. I suppose if i ate a typical American diet, the toxic gunk that would accumulate on my teeth and gums would necessitate more frequent (and expensive) dental trips.
But i don't eat like most Americans. I eat herbs, baby.
So it came to pass one morning about three years ago, i sat down in a dentist chair. I immediately began using some yoga breathing techniques to relax. I did this because, quite frankly, dentist's offices frighten me more than free soloing Grade 4 Water Ice in whiteout conditions. Something about being tethered to a chair with an interrogation light blinding me while shiny, sharp instruments are inserted and reinserted into my mouth by overly caffeinated strangers. Might also have something to do with that damned scene in Braveheart. Guys, you know the one. Thanks a lot, Mel.
After approximately one eon, a very cute dental Assistant appeared. Then another, even cuter, one arrived. I forgot entirely about my yogic breathing techniques.
"Wow," one of them commented, "no cavities, almost no plaque build up, and really healthy looking gums. When did we see you last?"
"Aououttgheoigighwqxch," i replied.
"Oh, sorry about that," giggled the Assistant after retracting what looked like a sautee skillet from my mouth, "there you go. So, when did you say your last appointment was?"
"Eleven years ago," i answered.
"ELEVEN YEARS AGO!?!??!! oh my GAWD!!!!" Her shouting invited a small crowd, including the actual Dentist, all of whom began hovering over my face like hungry seagulls. I felt like a sideshow oddity as i overheard comments flying around me; "Eleven YEARS between dental visits?" "No signs of peridontal distortion!" "The teeth and gums are in fantastic shape!" "How old is he?" "Why, just look at the lack of tartar residue on that bicuspid!"
An Assistant asked, "What type of dental program do you follow?"
"Dental program?" i countered.
"Yes, do you use a sonic toothbrush?"
"A sonic toothbrush?"
"Yes, you know, a SONIC toothbrush." She pronounced the word, sonic, slowly as if i was mentally challenged.
"Uh, no...i don't use anything sonic that i know of. But i do eat Chinese herbs."
"CHINESE HERBS!??!?!?"
The two words numbed the entire group like a descending veil of Novacaine. I had turned the molar drill on these guys. It was my turn now. How are WE feeling today? That's good. You can spit now. Okay open up. Bite down. A little wider, please...
I realized i had to go slowly here or risk being seen as a tool of the devil or something. They peered at me curiously like so many sheep. So - sheepishly - i continued, "Yes, Chinese food-grade herbs...regenerative whole food powders from an international company called, SUNRIDER. The herbs regenerate every cell of your body from the inside out."
"From the inside out?" The Dentist asked. Evidently, he had not learned the Philosophy of Regeneration in his academic training. An honest assessment of his gut and texture of skin, told me he did not practice much wisdom or moderation in his own eating habits. "What kind of toothpaste do you use?" he asked inflecting a final charge of authority in his tone.
"SUNRIDER's Herbal Toothpaste," i answered. "You can eat it."
"EAT TOOTHPASTE!??!!?!"
Shattered sheep.
"Well, yeah. If you brush your teeth with something, shouldn't it be safe to swallow?"
They looked blankly at each other then back to me. I sensed they were about to flee. Indeed some were creeping away, back into their comfortable, known psychological terriority of cinammon flavored AquaFresh and Crest Original Formula with High Intensity Whitening Agents.
Scuttling sheep.
To your imagination i leave their incredulity as i told them that the health of teeth and gums is just a mirror of one's diet. I told them drinking sodas did more long term dental damage than professional boxing ever could. I challenged them to replace their coffee and sodas with Calli Beverage and Fortune Delight to maintain vibrant skin and tonality. I also told them of Beauty Pearls - a special formula from the essence of pearls that regenerates youthful skin, hair, teeth, and gums. I was going to tell them about the ILG SUPREME but figured that would be too much given their momentary fragility.
Later, one of the Assistants signed up with SUNRIDER. Funny, but once i told her how effective Fortune Delight was for losing bodyfat, especially around her thighs and butt, she just didn't seem that kicked up about the Herbal Toothpaste any longer.
Go figure.
Sleek sheep.
The point of this true story, is that corporations sell us their services and products using scare tactics, from toothpaste (use ours or your teeth will rot) to cars (if you don't buy a Porsche, there is no way chicks are gonna dig you).
That is why i consider Meditation a primary element of personal fitness. Without Meditation you become habituated into looking externally
instead of internally
for genuine health and well being
and you may never realize that the real Porsche is inside you.
Forget what the outer world markets to you...
instead, do this:
FEEL the energetics of your food choices.
FOLLOW the energy of your food as it enters and impacts your physiology.
do this
and you will easily feel the difference
- the True difference not the academic difference -
between
natural, healthy whole foods
and
isolated chemicals.
The former supports the ancient and time proven Philosophy of Regeneration.
The latter sells you the Idea of Substitution.
It can't be more vivid
to the one who meditates
or more confusing
to the one who doesn't.
Don't look outside yourself,
look within.
Eat an herb
and develop your CHI!
Give yourself a big favor and make it a SUNRIDER herb...the Official Nutritional Program of Wholistic Fitness!
Look at it this way,
if you are not worth feeling well,
who is?
May Your Practice Be Strong & Sincere,
coach ilg
www.wholisticfitness.com
visit:
DIRECT LINES: Daily Meditations from Coach Ilg
May 15, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
��
What do you call a Zen Master on ice?
I call him, Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
Go DUCKS!
You know whose Giguere's idol was growing up in Canada, don't you?
That's right, Colorado's Patrick Roy.
��
As for the other "Zen Master"... i've yet to meet a Zen Master who got so stressed out by a basketball game that a massive heart attack was right around the corner. Besides, it would be hard to have 90% arterial blockage if you actually eat a zen diet of miso, daikon, and herbs!
��
AND NOW....back by popular request...
it's time for....
"NEXT SLIDE PLEASE!"
coach's quick fire answers to questions from readers
Q: best thing about moving to LA?
A: finding and marrying my wife, Kathy.
�
Q: best thing about living in LA?
A: my wife, Kathy.
�
Q: the solution to LA's smog and traffic?
A: drive something with two wheels, instead of four.
�
Q: best lower body superset in the gym?
A: Back Squats (heavy) into Knee Tuck Jumps (30 seconds)
�
Q: best single lower body movement ever created?
A: Jump Squats (preferably using my Staccato Technique)
�
Q: best upper body superset in the gym?
A: Dips into Pull Ups
�
Q: best single upper body movement ever created?
A: Clean & Jerk
�
Q: favorite rock climbing route
A: ooof. not fair. Northwest Face, Half Dome, Yosemite Valley.
�
Q: favorite ski run
A: you suck, these are not fair questions to yogis...we are trained to develop equanimity and non dualism...
Q: answer the question, Coach...
A: telemarking: Al's Run, Taos. downhill racing: Peace Downhill, Purgatory. extreme skiing: avalanche chutes, Mt. Hope massif. skate skiing: Upper Basin, Mammoth Lakes. snowboarding: Alberta Face, Wolf Creek. Inline skiing...
Q: okay, stop. let me ask it this way, if you had one place to ski for the rest of your life, where would it be?
A: with compassion in my heart i say this; you suck.
Q: answer the question, Coach...
A: Telluride. it's got high altitude, snow as dry as ash, heart thumping difficulty, scenery beyond Beyond, not too many Texans cluttering things up, the boarders don't shave off the moguls for the tele skiers, and there are three different altitudes and terrain for track skiing. and, the southwest sun, baby!
�
Q: best sport performance counsel
A: "Whenever you can relax, you can perform better." Sensei Kishiyama, Taoist Master.
�
Q: best lifestyle counsel
A: "Never give up yoga. Never eat heavy, unhealthy food. Regulate the breath, be happy." Yoga Master, Krishnamacharya
�
Q: your most difficult teaching
A: "be good, do good." my mom.
�
Q: your most profound Teacher
A: my childhood wolf, Apache.
�
Q: most profound education
A: the San Juan mountains
����
COMING UP NEXT IN DL:
STUDENT INPUT!
be brave in some way today,
thanks for reading,
coach ilg
May 13, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
wow, i guess the CHI from my last two entry's hit a lot of you! that's great! THANK YOU for your amazing words of kindness and appreciation for DL! i've stopped putting in a lot of your beautiful comments because part of me thinks that new readers will think DL just a depository for my ego enhancement! truly, this forum is just an offering from me to you as part of my Practice in Karma Yoga. but thank you and i am enriched by your enjoyment of DL's inspiring ways!
today, before winter slips too far into spring, i want to share this essay from WF Online Teacher, Joseph Sheader (check out his new and constantly rotating photos on the INSTRUCTOR link on my homepage).
Enjoy the essay and thank you, Teacher Sheader for your contribution! i always welcome contributions, not only from my Teachers, but from formal online WF Students, friends, and fans of our spiritual fitness tribe!
- coach ilg
��
I think over again my small adventures
My fears
Those small ones that seem so big
For all the vital things
I had to get and to reach
And yet there is only one great thing
The only thing
To live to see the great day that dawns
And the light that fills the world.
-Ancient Inuit Song
The day broke with wonder as I tapped into the excitement of the dogs. Ootek
(my sled), myself, and the huskies entering perhaps for the last time this
season the dance of snow, pine, storm cloud, mountain sky, cold breeze,
Raven, and the silent music that only winter can make.
The night before provided perhaps the last snowfall. Four new inches, but
the dogs scent the way. I trust.
I am not aware yet of any creature so expressive at displaying joy in the
present moment as the canine. Such joy in the run has always come to me as a
teaching for my own flights along trail and track.
I am presently running with four Siberian Huskies; Tundra, my primary lead
dog and running companion who I have been endeared to since the day she was
born; my rescue husky Balto, a gentle spirit who truly eats like a mindful
monk; and their pups Cheerful Chinle, whom many mistake as all wolf, and his
sister Taiga, red and ornery as a fox.
Siberians (no longer classified as dogs but as a subspecies of wolf) are an
ancient even Paleolithic breed from the indigenous Chukchi natives of
Eastern Siberia; bred for endurance and as companions for their children...
Ideal for many a WF warrior! Humans rank high in the animal kingdom as
endurance athletes, top four or five in fact, a little higher when they
practice Wholistic Fitness, but these sled dogs are numero uno. When
trained, they will run a 100 miles or more day, between 5-6 minute mile
pace, in sub zero temps as low as -70� for days on end, wholly for the love
of running and being alive.
When we all come together it is the pack transforming into a team. There is
a unity and oneness that reverberates with primal memories. The illusion of
separation evaporates in the cold air. When dialed in, even commands like
Gee and Haw become unnecessary. When however, you are less than mindful,
distracted, divorced from the present reality...well then karma happens
fast...sled's tip, dogs get tangled, trees approach at the speed of sound.
Poetry can turn into chaos in a split second. The primarily teaching in such
an instance being akin to one's training in Wholistic Fitness under similar
circumstances... Don't Let Go of the Sled!
On this day, as the dawn expands onto the snowscape before us, my yoga is
expressed here... in the quiet glide of the Ootek thru pines as the husky
prana steams back to mingle with my own breath and muscles pulsate with
life, like invocations to spirit wolves.
I encourage all to read about these Winter Athletes in:
Winterdance. By Gary Paulson.
Its right there on the shelf by Coach Ilg's The Winter Athlete,
Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh, and
Aphorisms of Patanjali.
May your practice be as beautiful and as great as the dawn that fills the
world,
WF Teacher Sheader
May 12, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
"Fall in love with the agony of love,
not the ecstasy
then the Beloved
will fall in love with you."
- Rumi
if you practice Wholistic Fitness you know that my system of personal training conditions you to fall in love with the agony of daily training and day to day challenges.
it's difficult stuff.
but it is vital for the evolution of our human spirit and character. those of us who sense the wisdom of WF commit ourselves to difficulty because we realize only by devoting ourselves to difficulty can we ever truly be freed from it.
if you practice Wholistic Fitness you notice body/mind Awakenings seem to occur every three months as long your Practice is strong within all the Five Fitness Disciplines and the Four Lifestyle Principles.
you must perform the Workouts from your deepest sense of Self. you must be a spiritual warrior and strive for excellence in every workout performed, be it the gym or yoga mat or meditation cushion.
there are no shortcuts to genuine spiritual work.
the last few days, i have had yet another honor to feel within the fibers of my being yet another beautiful Shift...ever upward, ever nudging me Higher toward a fuller realization of what Love truly can be in terms of living it fully.
i bow to this noble Path
i bow to you
enjoy your training today...
and
be brave today in some way...
and
dance!
love from the humble Helm,
coach ilg
May 11, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
"Every moment of your daily life can be a moment of practice. Whether you are waiting for your food or lining up to be counted, you can always practice breathing mindfully or practice smiling. Do not waste a moment of your daily life. Every moment is an opportunity to cultivate your solidity, peace, and joy. And, after a few days, you will see people beginning to profit from your presence. Your presence can become the presence of a bodhisattva, a saint. It is possible."
Thich Nhat Hanh
excerpt from, "Be Free Where You Are."
�
yesterday, I took Kathy, Teacher Q, Student Dorman, and visiting HP Yoga Teacher, Claudia up to my secret boulder nestled with the pastoral ridges in the nearby Santa Monica mountains. the magic which inevitably arises from within movement mingled with breath sang with sweet succulence through our cells as the wildflowers waved in seeming applause.
today, i thank the following beings for making the last few days of my life feel so remarkably Blessed:
Wayne and Marcia Williams, the Emmy Award winning photographers/producers for my next book:
www.waynewilliamsstudio.com
buy Wayne's book, VANISHING LANDSCAPES
meditate with it
Nikki Taylor
a yoga teacher from my old hometown of Pagosa Springs, Colorado who stayed with Kathy and i the last couple of days. thank you Nikki, for filling my spirit with stories of old friends and places from the Land of Healing Waters. when i allow a person to do their solo Practice in my home Zendo/Yoga room, i can tell a lot about their character. the etheral "footprint" which Nikki left in my zendo was as genuine and true as was her smile and her humility. though my ego self tears at me to return to Pagosa Springs or Santa Fe or Tesuque nearly everyday, Nikki's presence graced my home and soothed my pensive pain. i bow to Nikki. if you live ANYWHERE NEAR the Four Corners of our great nation, do yourself a favor and hook up with her for a private session:
970-731-9331
Claudia Cuellar
my most beautiful and devoted Student and Certified HP Yoga Teacher. it takes A LOT of chi to become one of my Certified HP Yoga Teachers. often, entire occupational, life, and/or relationship changes are required. Claudia has stepped up to every inch of it with passionate embrace and acceptance. She now teaches HP Yoga at America's top rated hotel spa: The Peninsula Club in Chicago. you can check the schedule at: www.peninsula.com.
Claudia is hanging out with Kathy and I again in LA to refresh her Practice and our Love of each other within the WF Dharma. Claudia's inner radiance is skylike. if you live ANYWHERE NEAR Chicago, do yourself a favor and hook up with her for a private session if you can...as she is in quite the demand:
claudia@movementunlimited.com
Bill Price
BP...my old bro and student reaffirmed our Conscious Connection thanks to Nikki. here is to keeping it Real, BP. keep training. i'll be out soon and we'll ride up Piedra or Plumtah like back in the day, baby! you gotta keep your Practice strong and sincere, okay? i love you.
Karen
i bow to you. Happy Mother's Day.
D and Q
it's go(o)d having you two back in the Dance.
mi madre's... uno y dos.
feliz madre's dias!
my Beloved, Sexy, Strong, and Loving Wife Kathy...
you remain the Best Part of My Every Day.
you were fantastic bouldering yesterday...i fell in love with you all over again as i watched you fall off repeatedly but go for that hard move over and over again on "Perfect Baby." the multilayered Ways you bring your Yoga into your life astounds and inspires me. i bow to you. i learn from you.
may the Dance of life
Shiva and Shakti
yin and yang
hard and soft
breath and posture
continue to deepen your sense of self...
may all beings feel as Blessed as i on this magnificent day...
i benefit from you all,
thanks for reading....
coach ilg
���
May 08, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
yesterday, photographer Wayne Williams and i transferred and edited 107 yoga asanas onto two CD disks headind for my NYC publishers. 107 asanas, baby! rack �em up! they are so beautiful. it is an honor to contribute to the popularity of yoga on behalf of the fitness community. i recall my first few times leafing through Iyengar�s book, LIGHT ON YOGA. although his physique certainly did not inspire me, his utter command of his kinesthesia astounded me. i made a promise to myself to practice those same yoga postures after i got �too old� to compete in outdoor sports at an elite level. that is precisely what i am doing. and i hope some other person somewhere will pick up my book when it is released next year, and be inspired to one day, too, become a student of the most beautiful thing we have; our body.
now i got to shift fitness disciplines for the strength training photo shoot coming up in another week or so. i�ll let you know how that one goes.
the following is a reprint of a popular piece i wrote several years ago. it is included here to facilitate some of my online students working through some outer and inner challenges they are experiencing in their training...
enjoy...
and thanks for reading DL!
i bow to you,
coach ilg
�
Windsong
"Your going and returning takes place nowhere but where you stand." - Hakuin
Caught in a New Mexican spring wind storm on my bicycle. So what else is new, I think to myself as I hunker into an aerodynamic-as-possible riding position. I reflected on how much wind I've dealt with in my years of outdoor athletics. That's when Roy came to mind. The wind often evokes thoughts of Roy.
In the same year that Greg LeMond won his first professional bicycle race, Roy Poteet and I were pioneering a new free climbing route on Chasm View Wall in Rocky Mountain National Park. Having dawned gray and misty, rain pelted the magnificent, alpine wall. Though our chosen line of ascent took on dry, overhanging rock, tiny waterfalls slipped down the elegant granite, saturating our clothes and making the climbing more difficult. The sound of our climbing equipment was muffled in the great cirque as though the rock spirits did not wish to be disturbed by our antics. Roy's vaporous image led up and over a roof, then, out of sight. I shivered and hung my head trying to preserve body heat. I longed for the sun baked walls of Yosemite or the heated rocks of Joshua Tree. A shriek of wind soon swept away my assorted reverie.
An incoherent sound from above. Roy was off belay and preparing to bring me up. I did not shout that I was ready. Roy and I did not need words, we talked through the veracity of rope and kinesthetic movement. I trusted him. But not entirely, which is funny since climbing partners hold each other�s lives in their hands. Roy puzzled me. Frizzled, red hair surrounded his wire rimmed spectacles. Tall and lanky, he crawled up rock in rather ungraceful but effective movement. Roy's personality seemed restrained. I remember sleeping next to him under the stars wondering if he was a serial murderer. And I his next victim? He fit the stereotype. He also smoked a lot of pot. Maybe that�s why I kept a grain of distrust for him. He was often stoned on climbs. Like other seasoned climbers, Roy sought me out because I was young, stupid, and strong. My naivet� was the ideal catalyst for his own climbing . . . a rope boy. A belay slave.
I didn�t care if I was a mere rope boy, as long as I was climbing upward on steep rock, I was happy. I was already hooked into the vertical world. My young adrenal glands pumped an addictive hormone into my spirit. When I was not climbing, I would read Rebuffat, Brown, and Tillman which added literary kindling to my fire within. Those first climbs with Roy were frightening yet they left me fulfilled in a way my family, friends, or school did not. Climbing with Roy provided a chilling amazement which intoxicated me. I had fallen in love. Obsessed with the delicate artistry and ferocious mental and physical gymnastics required to climb the great rock walls.
As I pulled the roof, I popped into the midst of a tempest. Snow, hard and cold, stung my hands and face. Most of all, I recall the roar of the wind. Roy, numbed by the relative inactivity of belaying, motioned downward, toward the climbing hut perched on the moraine several hundred feet below. A surge of despair and heated disappointment shot through me. Already I was developing a stubborn summit-or-plummet philosophy. Knowing that Roy was the elder and supposedly the wiser of us, I agreed to descend. We threw the ropes down, into the blizzard, and began the first of several wet rappels. Our route would have to wait for another day.
It is said that a few failures early in one's career is required to attain mastery. In my early years I climbed from anguish. To my emotionally turbulent outlook, failure of any form intensified this hostility. I did not like Roy's remoteness but craved his experience and creativity on the rock. My deeper feelings for Roy marked the first of my understanding that patience and perspective is needed in society. That friendships were to be cultivated, not guaranteed.
Roy would soon die in an avalanche. The fact that he died before we finished our route on Chasm View Wall mattered more to me than his passing. The bizarre complexity and power of my emerging fitness on vertical terrain seemed to have been rooted in an insecure and dangerous mentality.
I've yet to befriend wind. Like Roy, wind seems to possess a remoteness that I am unable to bridge. It moves away from me while moving me away from my center. Blurring my kinesthesia and obscuring my hearing, wind makes me feel insecure in an insecure world. Two summers after Roy died, I stood on top of Devils Tower in Wyoming - one of many places he and I had climbed. Provoked by spontaneous emotion, I built a small rock cairn in memory of him on top of that famous monolith. That same night, a prairie storm shredded the high plains. When I revisited the summit, wind had demolished my memorial to Roy. Looking out over the Belle Fourche river valley pregnant now with tall, wispy grasses and soaring birds, I cried. Turning into the bright sunlight, I began uncoiling the rope to rappel. The rope smelled good to me. I enjoyed the feel of its well-worn, dirty sheath. Tossing the rope over the edge of the spire, I was pleased that it fell down straight and untangled. "No wind," I smiled to myself and stepped backwards into the delightful void.
PostScript: Several years later, i returned to Chasm View Wall and completed the first (roped solo) ascent of the route he and Roy had begun. i named the route, "Windsong" and dedicated it to Roy Poteet.
�
May 05, 2003
Namaste Noble Fitness Warriors!
"Doubt is the mother of all Hindrances...it stops us before we start."
- Buddhist
��
every now and then i do my best to watch morning TV.
ooof.
the other day, some "News" program was interviewing two Playboy models - that's right, Playboy models - who were also on Playboy's Team Extreme or some such thing. the two models said that they competed in extreme sports. when asked which extreme sports they did i learned the following which is news to me;
Mountain Bike Racing, Off Road Triathlons, Skateboarding, Rock Climbing, Snowboarding, and Wind Surfing are all now considered "extreme."
how funny.
when i wrote THE OUTDOOR ATHLETE in 1985 and provided training prescriptions for all those sports plus many others, i did not refer to those sports as, "extreme."
to me, they are all just simply very beautiful and common outdoor sports.
when did they suddenly morph into "extreme" sports?
if anything, with improved technology such as fully suspended mountain bikes and parabolic skis, the sports have become LESS "extreme" if anything!
to me, having once specialized in true extreme sports: free soloing (without a rope) in rock climbing, free solo ice climbing, back country colouir descents, and solo high altitude winter mountaineering, the only thing i find "extreme" about today's "extreme" sports are the egos involved in them.
it's as if today's outdoor athletes can't even go out on a board or bike without having the "session" be videotaped and put on TV for christ's sake.
why all the fuss?
can't we all just enjoy the outdoor sports at our own personal and dare i say, spiritual, levels?
but here was the kicker about the interview; the Playboy models then began telling us all about the Playboy Protein Power Powder or some such nonsense that the admittingly fetching models used in their training!
boy, have times changed.
it's all good though...
i think.
Enjoy the update...
and thanks for reading DIRECT LINES!
i bow to you,
coach ilg
�����
dear coach -
i am doing my best to become a Master WF Student some day. you have inspired me since i first read about you in THE NEW YORK TIMES and OUTSIDE MAGAZINE.
i know that right now, for me, this means i need to step up to the plate like you and the other Master Students of WF and do more of my errands on a bike or inline skate or just walking.
i hate driving cars.
it makes me feel weird and powerless and not brave enough to be a fitness commuter.
i hate polluting more than i have to.
my car gets 18 mpg...that sucks. it bugs me.
this is very hard.
your teachings are forcing me to face deep fears about my occupation and lifestyle choices.
thank you for gifting me these deep and true lessons about TRUE personal body/mind fitness. i want to do better. i pick up litter all the time.
anyway,
i think i can do better and want to start in line skating some of my errands and fitness workouts.
i know you were once sponsored by ROLLERBLADE...do you still use them? if so, which model(s) would you suggest for me?
"i bow to you" coach ILG!!!!!!!
- rick
Dear Noble Warrior Rick
great letter.
even better question.
it shows me that YOU are really taking into your EFFORT a sincere ENDEAVOR to stretch out of your comfort zones and start really living Lightly upon our dear Mother Earth...
though no longer sponsored by ROLLERBLADE, i still find the
ROLLERBLADE evo 07
a REALLY fine, price effective skate for both commuter and cardio fitness training. for commuting, the pull up hook for the inner boot and the
quick release button on the front cuff makes for easy, fast in and outs. on the fitness side of things, the boot is light, supportive, and fast! i do a lot of inline skiing which includes high speed downhills, and this skate tracks like a Porsche on steep asphalt descents. on the flats, the "big toe" push off feel is almost magical!
check it out at: www.rollerblade.com
or ask a local personal trainer for their input.
i bow to you,
coach ilg
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Yo Coach Ilg Guru Sri Yoga Vishnu Athletica
always great to get mail from you. Best wishes with your new book. I have a
new website at Boulderclimbs.com. It lists new routes in the Boulder area
and has a photo gallery. this is all rather undeveloped at this point and
much is missing, but check it out (the gallery especially).
- rr
�
i got that email the other day.
"rr" is Richard Rossiter, my old climbing bro from Boulder and the one who -in 1982 - introduced me to the SUNRIDER herbs which changed my life. Richard is also the artist who did those stunning B&W line illustrations for my OUTDOOR ATHLETE BOOK.
if you visit his website, you'll get a fine hit from the old CHI from which i crafted much of WF and HP Yoga.
my personal favorite on Richard's slide show program at the above website is the one of Richard (whom i called, Ri Cha Do..."the way of tea") wearing the special SUNRIDER HERB lycra rock climbing pants that he and i designed!
check out ilg's old bros at: www.Boulderclimbs.com/climbing/gallery20.html.
���
Coach,
I have battling a cough and cold since Saturday. I got a laugh out of "my workout is everywhere" lessons you gave me today, when in the middle of a coughing attack I became very aware of my abs and made it an ab workout!
I also worked with my posture when coughing but it has stopped me in my tracks.
Namaste,
New Student Mackel
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(NOTE: The following has been reprinted by request:}
Namaste Noble Sunriders!
SARS is a natural manifestation of unconscious overpopulation and underappreciation of Mother Earth.
the immunity of the world's people degenerates due to pollution, poor nutritional quality due to mass distribution based on global economic drivers, and poor nutritional awareness due to corporate manipulation based upon monetary gain instead of wholeness.
SARS may well be an acronym as far as i am concerned:
Shoulda
Ate
Regenerative
SUNRIDER herbs!
i hate to tell you "i told you so,"
but...
IMMUNITY is everything...
drinking one simple but powerful 'ILG SUPREME' using the SUNRIDER herbs
per day
makes one virtually bulletproof to the dis-eases of the common eating man!
stay strong and powerful, eat SUNRIDER herbs for the best immune system response!
the best cure?
prevention, baby!
order your SUNRIDER herbs today
and eat POWERFULLY tomorrow!
May Your Practice Be Strong & Sincere,
coach ilg
www.wholisticfitness.com
visit:
DIRECT LINES: Daily Meditations from Coach Ilg
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May 04, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
beautiful yoga workshops yesterday. i thank those of you who attended both physically and spiritually.
planting continual Seeds of loving peace found through body/mind fitness.
of all the Five Fitness Disciplines which make up Wholistic Fitness, it is Meditation that is the most important and yet, the least practiced by even my most devout students. today, i wish to challenge each of you to take the few minutes from your Doing day, and just sit.
practice being still.
and listen
to
who
you
genuinely
are...
�We are taught how to move and behave in the external world, but we are never taught how to be still and examine what is within ourselves. At the same time, learning to be still and calm should not be made a ceremony or a part of any religion; it is a universal requirement of the human body. When one learns to sit still, he or she attains a kind of joy that is inexplicable. The highest of all joys that can ever be attained or experienced by a human being can be attained through meditation. All the other joys in the world are transient and momentary, but the joy of meditation is immense and everlasting.�
- Swami Rama, in Meditation and Its Practice
i bow to you,
coach ilg
May 02, 2003
Namaste Noble Warriors!
Kathy and I hope to see you tomorrow in 'the Grotto" for our back-to-back workshops.
Spiritual warriors jump on opportunities to deepen their Practice...why? because they know greater knowledge decreases the energy of aversions which keep us from moving Higher:
May 3
L.A. Workshop Series: Yoga 101
Powerhouse Gym
4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
and
May 3
L.A. Workshop Series: Yoga Breathing; A Pranayama Workout
Powerhouse Gym
5:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.
May your Practice be strong and sincere,
coach ilg