August 31, 2004
OF WHOLISTIC FITNESS WARRIOR HEALING!
�� WF Teacher Joseph "Haku" Sheader has shared the podium of mountain running races
with Coach Ilg throughout the Rocky Mountains. Both have relied upon herbs and
natural intuition to overcome many running injuries. Photo; Sheader archives. ��
Steve,
This is what I would suggest for Tendonitis...your thoughts as well as any
other treatments...
SUNRIDER HERBS:
* Joi
* Wu Chi Pi
* White Willow
Also a thought... in my own case I have on and off again history of Achilles
Tendonitis. There have been times though in which I am liberated of it in
one day..for instance last summer it bugged me for months as I prepared for
Imogene {a brutal 14 mile, 14,000' mountain running race in Ouray, Colorado}.
Then when I did Imogene it loosened up during the first few miles
as it the norm...however, when I finished the race it was gone completely and did not
return until February.
My hunch is that the long steady climb opened it up, broke down the scar
tissue and flushed things out...?
love,
Haku
��
Noble Haku!
i have, in my competitive running days, noticed the SAME phenomenon!
what particularly 'warrior healed' my Achilles condition was Sport Snowshoeing up
ski runs at night and snowboarding back down. How did this heal me?
the continual uphill movement up the steep ski slopes
superstretched the Achilles, breaking down the adhered CT (connective tissue)
in a very natural alignment conducive to the healing matrix. Snowboarding
back down negated any torsional or compaction on the stretched fibers, yet allowed
blood, oxygen, and the SUNRIDER herbs to permeate the tissue.
The end result was a classic example of WHOLISTIC FITNESS HEALING!
'Most of us don't need to heal.
We need to Listen to and Learn from the pain
and Grow!"
-Coach ilg
Regarding the SUNRIDER herb intake for CT injuries;
i would still use ESE with JOI. remember, the ESE
relaxes the neural agitation within inflamed CT so that the tissue saturation of the
JOI herbs can penetrate the inflammation harmoniously. So, use JOI and ESE for Weeks
1&2, then pump at least 6 caps of WU CHIA PI 3x daily for Weeks 3&4.
Extra intake of ALPHA 20C for the immune system will send more healing energy
to the injury site as well.
head bowed from the humble Helm,
coach ilg
August 30, 2004
OF SWEAT and STILLNESS, STUDENT's MEDICAL EXAMS, EXERCISE TEST RESULTS, BEAUTY ARISING, and RJ's CHI! ���
Namaste Noble Fitness Warriors!
i trust you are reading this with at least one of the Five Fitness Disciplines under your belt today. Unless you've broken a sweat within the past 24 hours, my words are paltry instead of empowering. You will receive the astral Teachings of WF, when your breath rate is higest or your mind quietest. Those are the Realms; Sweat and Silence, in which i transmit these Teachings*. Rule #1; Solo Practice is everything! One MUST take care of one's personal Practice before we can help others. Do whatever it takes to CARVE OUT the time to sweat and/or be still each day. I know you cannot be any busier than me...so if i can do it, so CAN YOU! I call this forum, "Direct Lines" because these Lines are a direct feed from the Higher wisdom which arises directly from my sweat and yours.
Do not intellectualize the WF Path.
Practice it with the sweat of your inner desire to Rise Higher.
5 Fitness Disciplines + 4 Lifestyle Principles. That's it baby; now, GO! DANCE YOUR FITNESS!
For those of you who are truly 'getting it', i mean the Practice of WF, then you realize how starting your morning with meditation, yoga, or a cardio or gym workout slips a Higher Insight and Meaning into the most mundane of activities, be it eating a meal or walking down the street. Feeling the foot feeling the earth is more than walking, it is being.
Feeling the elegant posture of your spine while sitting is more than sitting, it is being. Without Awareness, life slithers by us as fast as Michael Phelps skims across Olympic pools. With Awareness, our moments expand with meaning and joy and gratitude.
Awareness knows no depression, anger, fear, judgment, jealously, greed, or doubt. Awareness is only Aware of such qualities, yet is not identified with them. My real assigned workout for you today, Noble Ones, is for you to remain within Awareness. Why? Because by just being Aware, we invite Transformation.
i bow to Awareness on this Blessed day...
your feeble teacher,
coach ilg
* as an example of this "Ilg Transmission" through Sweat, listen to these words from my email box this morning from
Ron Jones after a grueling bike ride:
"Out of desperation I sat down and tried to just torque and push into my pedals but I was pulling so hard on my bars that my front wheel was starting to get light and lift�my God!� Back out of the saddle to finally just friggin� muscle it man, not speed and power, just low-end fundamental strength and torque that seemed capable of pulling the crankarms right off my bottom bracket �as I�m dancing on my pedals, suffering like a bastard, I suddenly had a vision of Steve Ilg dancing on his pedals like this in the 508 Furnace Creek Race back in 1996 when we raced together�I had never had that vision until today then it came back to me�I felt the fucking chi baby!!!� Yahoo!� Funny how the Universe drops chi hits at the most interesting times�.��� :o)� Allez Bros!�
Humbled rj"
�
����
"Steve,
You are an amazing writer. Your prose and poetry just seems to pour out in such an easy flow, and is so full of wisdom and especially great humor. You must continue to write, and at some time, more than fitness books and blogs. And now that I know you can love a cat (one of god�s most amazing creatures) you are truly a hero in my eyes!
See you Tuesday at class.
Love
Student Diana"
���
Steve:
YEAH BABY!!! THAT'S IT!!!
"Expecting the Best Things in the World to be 'easy' and 'comfortable' to attain and maintain... that is not the Tao...that is not the Way Things Work. the Best things in the world - Teachers, herbs, insights, partners - require from us tremendous patience and understanding of the Tao. that is the Teaching itself.
El Coache Ilg"
love,
ww
���
Coach Ilg:
Your Blessed Mala is beautiful, filling me with "ki."
In an article in the New York Times weekend supplement Sunday, it was
noted that the Japanese typically describe emotional states in terms
of the affect on their ki. The article remarked that prior to about
five or ten years ago, there was no work for what we would call a
"mild depression." A word had to be invented by the pharma companies
to describe the feeling, so then, of course, they could presribe meds.
Sales of paxil etc. have grown exponentially since. One person noted
that in Japan the concept of "happiness" differs from ours, since
there is no expectation of it, as the Buddha reminds that suffering is
part of life.
For the record, I stopped taking 'Celexa' about six months ago, and am
fine, the reasons for it having subsided a long time
ago.
Peace
WFS F
���
ACTUAL EXCERPTS FROM STUDENT KARL'S MEDICAL UPDATE...
{WF Online Student Karl Kerschner, an Online Student under WF Teacher Haku
since February, 2003 just finished his "Shamantha" Training Program...here are some of his insights to his
Teacher. I gotta tell you...our Online Students are amazing people...if you are not an
WF Online Student yet, please, sign up today and get TRANSFORMED through WF Formal Online
Training!}
"To Teacher Sheader
EXERCISE TEST RESULTS
My family doctor almost freaked with delight today after the results of this morning�s exercise test and heart echo. According to their measurements I have lost ten pounds in four weeks, my blood pressure has dropped significantly from 132/80 to 120/70 and my resting heart rate is a little lower. After the exercise test, my blood pressure and resting heart rate both quickly returned to the same readings taken before the exercise test. The doctor�s prescribed max heart rate of 155 was maintained during the test longer than during the same test of four years ago. �
Dr. Hoang smilingly asked me how I accomplished the big changes in just four weeks. I described the last WF cycle for him and reminded him that I have been doing the WF program for more than one year. I emphasized that I did not try to lose weight and did improved the quality of my nutrition but while eating moderately more than I had the previous two months.
The doctor prescribed more blood analysis to determine if he should reduce some of my prescriptions to align to my body�s new state.
Oh happy joyous happy day!
Student Karl"
���
"All are clear, I alone am clouded."
- Lao-tzu
Coach Ilg,
Beautiful vision. Inspiring indeed!
A reminder, of sorts...
I currently the webmaster for the university of
maryland school of nursing -- and I have been
developing and designing multimedia and web-based
projects for over 9 years. So if you need assistance
for getting the WF project off the ground... I am here
to serve you (and the tribe) in any way: online or in
LA. Just ask.
Bowing,
Student BH
���
ACTUAL EXCERPTS FROM STUDENT MICHAEL THOMPSON's
Cycle Summation...
{WF Online Student Michael Thompson, an Online Student under WF Teacher Haku
since the fall of 2002 just finished his "Jamin' Jomanji" Training Program...here are some of his insights to his
Teacher. I gotta tell you...our Online Students are amazing people...if you are not an
WF Online Student yet, please, sign up today and get TRANSFORMED through WF Formal Online
Training!}
"What has come to me in meditation (both sitting and running), is this. �I have learned that
Stories are important and that I should honor my own story. And when it
is the appropriate time to share it, I should tell it with Heart. �In
telling our story, it is easy to focus on our hardships on the trail and
the difficulties that we've overcome. �It is far too easy to ask for
sympathy, too, or to seek solace. �Our hardships are part of our
journey, but the enlightenment that we've found along the way is the
most important part. �And sometimes we overlook opportunities for
enlightenment. �The Beauty of the Universe, and our relationship to that
Beauty, is what sustains us, not the having of something or someone that
is Beautiful."
"In my own life, I have focused on the hardships for too long and I
haven't been thankful enough for the lessons that I've learned,
especially from these hardships. �I've also sought to hold Beauty rather
than to just let Beauty Be. �I've lead a blessed life and I should be
more thankful for that. �I also must not cling to past difficulties,
seeking sympathy or solace. �Instead I have an opportunity to embrace
the lessons that have come to me via these travels and use them to
transform my life into its own path of Beauty. That is what I've learned so far from this story."
���
A CLASSIC RON JONES CHI HIT:
"My humble thanks Ilgbro�speaking of chi�did you feel a chi hit about 6AM this past Saturday?� I went back up to Helen, GA for the mountain training.� My partner could not make it, so I set out alone.� We had a hard rain the night before, so while it was not raining, everything was glistening wet and overcast but not cold.� I had you on my mind riding my crank arms more than normal this day�I set out to ride more of the infamous �Hog Pen Gap� seated instead of struggling the WHOLE way up the 3 mile 15% climb like last week.� I stayed and spun the first 1/3 then graciously danced on top of the peddles while standing the next 2 miles.� Your presence was everywhere Bro�there were precious few bodies out due to the previous night�s rain�basically it was me, my �Trusty Steed� and the thousands of forest noises�I breathed, I danced, and I spun to the top then let out the tribal yells, �Feel the chi ILGBRO�feel it baby!!!�� I rode hard, but smart and steady up the next two climbs then after the long decent my body was numb from the waist down�I had pushed harder and stronger than I have in MANY moons.� One more steady but slight 2 mile climb before dropping back down into town.� Being inspired by your Rama da �hard work� lessons, I was inspired for one thing and one thing only�a very narrow focus upon what I refer to as going �blue collar.�� I hoisted my tired but inspired legs, stood on the big ring, and kept standing the next 2 miles climbing up and out and just flat ass working baby. I was letting out cries of glorious pain but remained true, or as Sebastian Bach said back in the day, I was a �slave to the grind� for a while that morning.� Fuck it man�I remember one day when Norm rode with a group of us for three hours in the mountains.� One of the guys was preparing for Team RAAM in 1998.� Fucking Norm had a growth cut out of his ass the day before and it had many stitches�the bastard simply could NOT sit on his saddle so he STOOD the WHOLE fucking ride!� We were all speechless.� When he got back his whole upper body was shaking from the EXTREME fatigue but he never once showed or spoke of weakness�my feeble 2 mile stomp wasn�t shit but glorious nonetheless�I bow to your inspiration this weekend and to humble teacher Norm who still rides through us�
Cranking, rj
PS:
Just in case you or East Coast WF Warriors need some rain forest riding with the 3 WF warriors in Atlanta, check out the infamous 6 Gaps Century:
Sunday, September 26 2004
Six Gaps Century
Event: Six Gap Century Bike Ride
When: 9/26/2004 - 9/26/2004 at 7:00 AM-6:00PM
Where: The Dahlonega/Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce and the Bicycle Assoc
It's more than a bike ride in the mountains. A Lot More!
The 16th annual Six Gap Century and Three Gap Fifty bike rides through the mountains. These challenging rides ascend and descend three or six of the steepest climbs in the North Georgia Mountains. The Six Gap Century ride is 100 miles with over 10,700 feet of vertical climbing. The toughest climb is Hogpen Gap. The Hogpen Gap climb averages 7% for 7 miles, with sections as steep as 15%. In 1998 we added a three gap, 50 mile alternative to the century. Plan to be a part of this year's ride the last Sunday in September!
www.dahlonega.org
August 27, 2004
ONE TESTIMONY and TWO SUNRIDER HERB LETTERS AND MY RESPONSES...
{Note: SUNRIDER� Herbs have been the official nutritional program of Wholistic Fitness and High Performance Yoga
since 1982)
"Sunrider is a very spiritual company, in the same way Wholistic Fitness is; the Journey is going to test (and eventually develop) your willingness to Rise Higher. If you are addicted to comfort, you'll likely fade away, complaining of difficulties or...you will Rise Higher like a Warrior." - coach ilg. photo/wayne williams
UNSOLICITED TESTIMONY:
"Those herbs (Sunrider) really work!!!!".� Student Scott Callahan's FIRST words to his WF Teacher Chris "Kodanda" Roche,�after completing a recent�12 hour mountain bike race.� Scott followed his Wholistic Fitness Personal Training Program with the utmost devotion leading up to the race AND followed the event nutrition program created by Coach Ilg (which consisted almost entirely of Sunrider Herbs).� Scott completed 107 miles during his event.� Not bad considering this was his first 12 hour race.�
�
Scott�reported to Teacher Kodanda that he felt GREAT throughout the race and that his WF Training served him well.
�
Way to go�Student Callahan.� you honor our Humble Path...
�
In Awe of It All,
WF Teacher Ko
�����
LETTER #1: PISSED OFF AT SUNRIDER
&
LETTER #2): CHILDREN'S INTUITIVE WISDOM DRAWS THEM TOWARD THE HERBS! HEALTHY KIDS!
��������� LETTER ONE:***************
Hi Coach,
I just received an email from a good friend of mine telling me that he is giving up on Sunrider because they have poor customer service and I totally agree with him because as I recall when I was signing up, I had lots of trouble doing it, but I persevered and finally got it.� He, on the other hand, is giving up really soon because�he got so mad at them that he does not want to deal with it.�
I am very disappointed that this happens at Sunrider.� My friend called them sometime last week and tried to give them my right I.D. number so that he could be put under me, but the person that he talked to said that she could not do that and that my friend needed to send an email to that guy John whom Sunrider put my friend under to get his permission.� My friend immediately became irritated and felt that it was unfair that they were making him go through all this since probably Sunrider made the mistake to begin with.� It's all a mess and my friend is very disappointed.
Anyway, I feel like I need to call Sunrider and talk to a manager at customer service and complain about ths incident, but at the same time I think "how important is it?"� My friend's comment was that he will try to order under me if he has to or he will just take other products similar to Sunrider and I know for sure that there are no products out there similar to the quality of Sunrider products, but he somehow thinks there are.� He had already ordered stuff through Sunrider and has been taking it for maybe a month and he started to feel good and healthy, but I am so sad that now he has chosen not to continue and that he is so upset that he has given up.�
I know that I cannot control what Sunrider does or not do,� and that it requires a certain type of person that is patient and is serious about this stuff to put up with bad service from this company.� Maybe my friend is not this type of person and I just have to understand this.
I just wanted to share.� I saw your book at Borders.� You look really good and I was bragging about you to a friend that was with me that day and how great you look for your age.
On another note, I am doing really well with the herbs.� Gosh!!!!!what a savings in food it is.� I only eat in the moring after Calli tea and some fruit during the day.� A shake before I leave my office at about 4:00 p.m. and go do my work out, then I am not hungry when I get home and I am energized even though I DON'T EAT THAT MUCH.� People around me who watch what I do and how I eat constantly tell me that how I eat is not healthy because I don't eat enough.� I ask them to tell me if they think I look unhealthy and the answer is always a big NO, so then I ask, so why do you feel that it's not healthy if you can sit here and tell me that I look very energized, glowy and healthy.� I really think that people are very used to the consumeristic type of society and cannot get used to watching somebody not eat because food it's used sometimes by some people as an emotional and spiritual escape to real issues that they are not willing to look at.� I am so happy of how I feel and how little I eat.� I lost even more weight.� I used to weigh at least 117 pounds, now I weigh about 108 pounds.� I believe the extra weight I had was all water and toxins retention.� My body is definitely working more effectively now.� I can feel it everyday.� I love the slim caps.� I take six of them before I go to bed.
Take care.
Namaste,
Rosa
Noble Herb Eater Rosa -
Evidently, your friend is not willing to do what is required to enter the Temple of the Sunrider Herbs and eat the best nutrition on the planet.
He just doesn't want it bad enough. His anger that arises is testimony to an unbalanced body/mind....something that the herbs could heal.
Do this: 1) call Distributor Reps (310 781 8096) and plead your case
or,
2) shrug your shoulders and give up on your friend. his anger about SUNRIDER will then lodge and fester somewhere in his body while his mind eventually forgets about Sunrider. he will keep eating like crap and then, later in life perhaps, a major health crisis hits him. then, you and your beaming health and fitness will re-enter his consciousness. in red alert mode and a compromised immune system, he will contact you again about getting on "those herbs."
i see it happen frequently. people don't understand that 'later' is NOT the time to get on the herbs! NOW is! DO whatEVER it takes...sell a car, reduce some luxury in your life, but GET ON THE HERBS!
incoming people get all pissed off at Sunrider, expecting the Best Things in the World to be 'easy' and 'comfortable' to attain and maintain.
That is not the Tao...that is not the Way Things Work. the Best things in the world - Teachers, herbs, insights, partners - require from us tremendous patience and understanding of the Tao. that is the Teaching itself.
Sunrider is a very spiritual company, in the same way Wholistic Fitness is; the Journey is going to test (and eventually develop) your willingness to Rise Higher. if you are addicted to comfort, then you will more than likely fade away, complaining of difficulties or...
you will Rise Higher like a Warrior, overcoming your negative reactions and addictions to that which is easy but stagnant.
Rosa, you came into the herbs because you trusted in me. You came to my High Performance Yoga classes, you saw me in the gym working out, you read my books, you read DIRECT LINES...you then chose to activate your trust in me by getting on my 3-Phase Approach to the herbs...and now...look at how much more beautiful your body, mind, and emotions are! Your final paragraph is a testimony to how effectively ACCURATE nutrition works; we don't need to eat A LOT,
just
eat powerful, potent, and concentrated whole foods...
low volume; high nutrients!
Chi, baby! the herbs are all about the CHI!
one day,
perhaps,
your friend will realize this and stop whining and
start dining on the herbs!
in the meanwhile, i will forward your letter to Trish,
perhaps she can help you iron out your friend's
difficult entry into the Sunrider garden.
i won't even tell you what i have been through with Sunrider...
in the early years - over 20 years ago -
just GETTING the herbs took about 3 weeks and several phonecalls to non-English speaking operators at SR!
"The best way out
is always through."
- Emerson
i bow to you,
coach ilg
Director/SUNRIDER
��������������������������� SUNRIDER LETTER #2 ***********************
Dear Trish,
I am part of your downline under Coach Ilg.
I've seen that you've written previously about babies being given
NuPlus. I don't recall if that was in place of formula or as food once
they were beyond infant stage?
At the present time my 15 month old daughter is choosing to literally
run away with and drink large quantities of my SR herbs when they are
in a water bottle. She's consuming either Calli, FD, or an FD/Quinary
mixture usually from a mixture in a 20 oz water bottle. (1 pkt each
fd/quinary into 20 oz.) What wisdoms can you share in this regard?
How much is too much for a little 20 # body?
Next Question:
Alpha 20C has worked amazingly well at keeping the flu bugs away from
me. Now heading into her second flu season in daycare, the question is
- Can a child handle Alpha 20 C? Citric C? How much ? Anything else
to help her ward off cold and flu season this year? (Can you tell it
was really really bad last year? We're already planning ahead for it
in August :-)! )
Thank you for sharing.
Sincerely,
Wendy C
Hi Wendy,
Glad to hear from you & that your daughter is choosing the herbs so early in
her life.
NuPlus? Feed it to her just like you feed it to yourself, it can be instead
of an occasional meal, if she's not wanting to eat other foods. However,
Vitashake can be eaten anytime, in place of a meal. I'd just cut the portion
down for her.
How much is to much? She will tell you, remember, there is nothing in any of
the herbs you are giving her that will cause her a problem. In fact, having
her consume the Quinary this early is already helping beef-up her immune
system.
Quinary already contains the Alpha -20, for the immune system & Conco for
the respitorary system, but it won't hurt to add 1 or 2 capsules of both to
her NuPlus shake & drink it all day long, if she wants it. Children have an
innate sense about what their little body needs, we grown-ups usually ignore
our body messages. It's exciting to me to see you & she are listening so
well.
Citric -C is wonderful for children, it tastes just like oranges...if she
has trouble chewing it up, throw it into the blender with her other herbs.
How many?
I eat 4 to 5 a day when I've had to much stress, otherwise a "cold" find me.
Generally, I only eat 1 or 2. She can't eat to many...well the whole bottle
might create a huge bowel movement, but that's about all. One a day should
be just fine, or again, let her body decide.
I think it's great that you are arming yourself & your whole family for the
fall season. Have you talked to some of the other mothers at the daycare
about the herbs? Wouldn't it be great if all of them could get their
children ready like you are...there just might not be a "flu-season" at your
daycare.
It's to bad the "we" have corrupted our environment so bad, that all these
illnesses just can't go away. But, we all do what we can, right?
finally, one major product...the Kandesn Hand Cleansing Gel. The best way to
keep germs away is to kill them on contact...before they reach her mouth.
Give her her own tube & teach her how to clean her hands with this magic
formula. Make sure it goes with her to day care...or any place you take her.
Most kids think this is great fun, especially if she also cleans her dolls
hands, too.
Good luck,
Trish
August 24, 2004
"Authentic Chakra Awakenings come from sweat, awareness, and perseverance of willingness to look within."
- Coach Ilg
Multi-World Championship Athlete And Registered Senior Yoga Teacher
���
WHOLISTIC FITNESS
�America's Original Fitness Driven Spiritual Path��
Coach Ilg and CyberCrew Prepares To Enter 2005 At The Speed Of Enlightenment...So Should You!
The rumor is true. By next year, WholisticFitness.com will be a Membership Only site. For the past 25 years, I have given freely of my time via handwritten correspondence in the old days, to now days, which can mean several hundred emails sent to me each day.
Due to my karmic yogi vows, i am required to Serve all who ask. Yet, that has recently not only become impossible, it has decreased my coaching and teaching skills, rocked my personal world into oblivion, and the Work of Wholistic Fitness herself has stalled because my creative energies are tapped out by trying to keep up with being overwhelmed.
Something must change and it will. For the Way, Way, WAY Better! For ALL of us!
Our treasured jewel of the WF Path will radiate ever more Brightly in the next few years...I have been and will continue to pour every ounce of my physical energy, financial resources, and personal chi in readying our humble yet Powerful Temple to serve millions of noble warriors over the next 25 years.
{While you are sleeping, Coach Ilg is pioneering ways to insure our optimal chance at gaining Enlightenment Through Personal Training! Digital snapshot of another late night "iChat" meeting with Wayne Williams and a member of the WF Online filming/computer team. Photo by Coach Ilg�s iSight camera.}
���
With the devotional genius of Wayne Williams and a hand picked, extremely talented crew of computer yogis and Seers, I will bring to our Tribe - as well as our planet - a Wholistic Fitness "Legacy" website early next year.
Before i leave my Mission In The City and return to my beloved high mountains (and quiet clear air!), i must do my best - whatever the expense and effort - to record the Essential Sacred Teachings and Interactive Core Programs of Wholistic Fitness.
Next year, at the WholisticFitness.com website, you will be treated to what will amount in volume to over 50 DVDS of intensely inspiring training footage in High Density Online Streaming Technology.
Over the past decade of my Big City experience, i have felt directly the pain and suffering of our people disconnected from their nobility.
I figure, there are enough goddamned porn and gossip sites on the Internet...someone has to restore some semblance of nobility, common sense, and Higher Chakra vibration to the Internet. As the originator of �Online Fitness Training� i feel obliged to push this envelope of Appropriate Internet Presence, whatever it takes. There is WAY too much degenerative garbage on the Internet and i plan to do something about it!
Next year, the Internet will have a healthy, Wholistic Fitness refuge. A spiritual sanctuary for those who realize the joy of lifetime exercise and get excited about following a Proven, Higher Fitness Path toward Enlightenment.
Someone's gotta do it. It is up to you and me, baby! i will be desperate for your support in the next several years.
Get ready, because soon be freaked out at just how deep runs the beauty and power of our Path...
at WholisticFitness.com you will soon have access to:
� The Technique Temple; where all our principles are clearly filmed and demonstrated in the Five Fitness Disciplines of
Strength, Cardio, Yoga, Meditation, and Nutrition (including my unique 3-Phase Approach to the SUNRIDER Herbs)
� The Kiva Room; where you can chill with a cup of Calli tea at your side and chat 24 hours a day with WF Students worldwide! Where each day a WF Teacher holds live online chats with our worldwide sangha and i make regular appearances in the Kiva Room with "DharmaTalks" ...interviewing and discussing with experts in various fitness and spiritual backgrounds taking on physical and metaphysical fitness topics!
� The Inka Chamber; recorded for eternity your name and accomplishments along your unique journey in the Wholistic Fitness Path.
� The WF Online Museum; browse through unique historical tidbits of my childhood and adventures in the high mountains and extreme sports, read excepts from "The Best Of Ilg" to access hundreds of my body/mind and sport performance training articles, book excerpts and features and covers, download training posters, etc.
� The WF Pro Shop; purchase High Performance Yoga and Wholistic Fitness retail clothing, training equipment, books, CDs, DVDs, and Warrior Pathway Tools for Transformation.
� Five completely self-paced interactive core Wholistic Fitness Programs; The Namaste, The Green Tara, The Cosmic Yang, The Frugal Realm, and The Jeweled Lotus.
� The Chi Tapes; startling training and coaching footage with Coach Ilg and his whacky brand of crazy ass Warriors as they take on classic workouts across the nation! Everything from the infamous Tuna Canyon road cycling workout to extreme nordic skiing up and down the "Morderbakken" in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado! Rock climbing in Yosemite and ice climbing in Canada...it'll all be here. In the years to come, Coach will travel to you and train with you on your favorite workouts and record them for inclusion into the Chi Tapes for others to be inspired...so keep training hard and perhaps one day, you'll have Coach and his film crew at your side!
This is just the tip of the 'Ilgberg"... i promise you this Noble Warriors, i am stopping at nothing to show the world just how beautiful is the art of a genuine Body/Mind/Spirit Path that fuses Personal Fitness with Spiritual Training.
I need to bring the Sacred Teachings of WF undiluted to you. In this Big City i have been approached by the biggest names asking me to do infomercials and TV pilots...yet, the closer we get to the money, then the Big Wigs start flying in and trying to change my Teachings and intensity for the "sake of regular fitness people who will be too intimidated by you." screw that. i know damn well that deep down inside everyone there lies an all too often dormant Warrior...a Buddha of Intensity that CRAVES for the vital need to Sweat and to See God through his or her own Sweat!
For many years, i have been an easy target for plagiarists and WF wannabes, and opportunists. With WW's (Wayne Williams) help, we are going to side step all the bullshit of the TV and book and magazine media. I will once again, pave my own unique Path for our Noble Tribe of WF Warriors!
I trust you will enter into the next Phase of our combined march toward Enlightenment two-gether.
Start preparing now:
Here is what you will need to the hold the wheel of Wholistic Fitness next year as She spins her spiral Way up the Mountain:
� A powerful laptop or desktop computer (preferably a Mac)
� Broadband, High Speed Internet access
� a home gym with a basic barbell and dumbbell selection and a flat bench or a gym membership.
� quality cardio training equipment such as good running shoes, a bicycle, treadmill, etc.
� a yoga/meditation space in your home, preferably where you can bring in a laptop to follow along with me on the screen.
� a commitment to your best self cultivation in body and mind and spirit in this lifetime for as long as we have each other.
More updates as we get closer. Don't ask me a ton of questions about this. Just trust that i have all-ways and will all-ways do my best to do as much good for as many of you as humanly possible.
Maybe even a bit beyond what is humanly possible!
i bow to you,
your feeble teacher
tarzana, california 8/24/04
August 23, 2004
"It is not the worship of a person that is crucial, but the steadiness and depth of your devotion to the task.
Life itself is the Supreme Guru; be attentive to its lessons and obedient to its commands.
When you personalize their source, you have an outer Guru; when you take them from life directly, the Guru is within."
-- Nisargadatta Maharaj
Our decidedly non-aquatic Coach deciding once again NOT to jump into the Animas River at "Baker's Bridge" near his hometown of Durango, Colorado. The cliff in the background is what Robert Redford and Paul Newman jumped off in the movie, 'BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID". Photo/Ananda
���
Coach ILG, I received your basic strength yoga dvd about a week ago and I wanted to let you know that I love it! Please keep making more dvd's so those of us that do not have access to your classes can still benefit through a home practice. I would gladly pay for an audio recording of a class. Thanks again and looking forward to more good stuff to come!
- Kasi Reilly
���
Dear Coach -
Here�s my CV haiku:
�
Breathing in, gasp out, (5)
Pushing through is hard to do (7)
Letting go is best (5)
�
- love,
Student D
���
Dear Student Karl,
It is your devotion...your obedience to the path that produces effects. We WF Teachers are but fingers pointing to the heavens.
I bow,
WF Teacher Haku
���
August 22, 2004
OLYMPIC TRASH, JUNK AND JEWELS,
CHAKRAS SPINNING, and RUMI SINGING...
Ahhh, finally the "real" Olympics graced the airwaves this morning!
Not that "Beach Volleyball" or 38 different swim events don't deserve precious and historically
significant
Olympic Medal Status...
Ahh...the endurance arts arrived...the Marathon...finally, a non-junk sport graces the airwaves
from Athens! A true, authentic Connection to the historic root of Competition (that which must arise from within).
You hear Trash Talk from the sprinters after their race.
You see Warriors throwing up from the endurance warriors after their races.
Arrogance defines the sprinters while
Humility hallmarks the marathoners.
When the going gets tough...
the sprinters stop.
You run over 100+ mile per week for a few years.
You'll get humbled too.
You won't have energy for obnoxious trash talk.
Or drugs.
Here is a wager:
I bet anyone you know who is obnoxious is
not training in the endurance arts.
People who are boisterous, who can't sleep well, who are picky about their food, who have lots of
mood swings, therapists, opinions, and finicky preferences in their lives?
They just ain't training hard enough or long enough in the Cardio Discipline.. the Endurance Arts.
I promise.
You need a Therapist?
Here, lace on your running shoes and start running, baby!
Did you see the Women's Marathon this morning? i trust you saw Deena take the Bronze and the obvious WF
Principles of Form and Alignment take the three Jewels of Gold, Silver, and Bronze of the Women's Marathon?
Each of the Top Three Athletes ran with such beauty, race, and fluidity..
while the top billed Paula Why-Should-I-Change-
My-Bouncy-Head-And-Ridiculous-Running-Form" Radcliffe become physically, mentally,
and spiritually unglued and self-destruct?
Noble Paula.. you've have won races in spite of your horrible running form, not
because of it. You should not defend your lack of yoga! Work on it!
Paula; listen to me; do yoga; do Structural Bodywork. Get your Alignment
and Form and Breath into a state of harmony...take a year, take two.. to find this Balance and then,
with your AMAZING genetic Gift for running, you will SHATTER your own World Records...i promise!
Fundamental coaching flaws is what i see when i watch so many athletes like Paula.
Athletes limiting their optimal longevity and performance by refusing to work on their
weaknesses.
On the other hand. Deena - who is coached by Coach Vigil of Alamosa, Colorado who also coached
our own WF Online Teacher Joseph Sheader (you guys DO realize just how
world class WF is, don't you?) - is very WF in the wisdom of her training;
Deena cross trains three times per day:
a hard run in the am;
core training (yoga) and Strength Training (including Plyometrics*) in the afternoon,
then another easier run with her dog in the evening.
That is pretty Wholistic Fitness, wouldn't you say?
Did you SEE how BEAUTIFUL
Deena's biomechanics and spiritual intensity were?
Did you SEE how she friggin' CLOSED DOWN THE 2 MINUTE GAP over the last few miles!!!
Her Form was singing! Her arms driving her legs (sound familiar, TBT and TWA readers?)!
She was accelerating over the last kilometers when all the other girls were combusting!
You've heard me teach my HP Yoga Classes, you've been reading my Teachings since 1982...
Learn the Art of Pacing! in whatever you do!
Start wisely, FINISH STRONGLY!
Study how the graceful Form and Alignment (yoga) of the top three women of today's Marathon
conserved their energy over the hilly, hot race while the Unawakened Athletes in the back of the
pack ran with unconscious, choppy strides and lacked the Deep Fiber Fitness that Deena gained
from the gym, baby!
WF Teachings are everywhere...just Look!
i bow to the inspiration of the Olympic Warriors...all of them...
even...
yes,
the Beach Volleyballers...geez....
May your Practice be strong and swift,
coach ilg
* PLYOMETRICS; Explosive Power Training
by Jimmy Radcliffe
and edited by Steve Ilg
is available through
HUMAN KINETICS PUBLISHERS
��� DON'T PUSH AWAY DIFFICULTY!
when most people say they want to have their Chakras aligned, they usually only want to have
someone wave incense and rub crystals over their bodies. the REAL Chakra work is evident in our
lives was we begin the WF Journey of Self Cultivation through personal fitness. Once we start
truly becoming aware of our negative tendencies and various ways of running away and rebellion
at becoming a Higher Conscious being, then we start noticing that things get tough. It's hard to pick up
litter. It's hard not to linger in the shower. It's damned hard to sacrifice major life changes for the sake
of Elevated Practice time; including less money, new places to live, cardio commuting, spending money on
SUNRIDER instead of sushi.
Authentic Chakra Awakenings come from sweat, awareness, and perseverance of willingness to look within.
as Noble Student Eden writes to WF Apprenticeship Teacher Ananda:
"Hi Ananda
Great {HP Yoga} class last night � thank you. And thanks too for introducing your father. How lovely that he came to your class.
Today is intervals day. �As I was thinking about it and dreading it, I read the DL, and saw this �message to me�:
"The stress of difficulty is positive. Repeat it three times to help counter your conditioning from the mainstream consciousness. Difficulty - be in workouts or life - better enables us to cope with whatever arises. Difficulties are like spiritual dumbbells. The more often you lift them, the stronger you become and notice a fundamental shift in the texture of our outlook. Before this shift happens however, difficulty pushes our buttons. We want to curse and blame everything and everyone for the difficulty. If we our Teachers taught us well, we can manage to see through this egoic rebellion and begin to Awaken. To be sure anger, fear, doubt, skepticism all might arise as we re-act to difficulty. My Teachers said that this is a fantastic tool and even a sign of positive Higher Growth..They called it, �The spirit of rebellion.�
- Coach Ilg
So I breathe in, smile as I breathe out, and think that I love you both.
Student Eden
Can you sense the authenticity of Student Eden's chakral energies Awakening? Can you feel her willingness to explore and mine her everyday life and yoga practices for beacons of growth? I can. This is the real stuff of Spiritual Work. It is not different from sweat.
on this note; i close with Rumi:
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
--Rumi
August 21, 2004
Namaste Noble Warriors!
I am back in LA, begging of Patience from all of you whose requests
and programs are backlogged ever further from my extended stay in NM.
Many of you have sensed and written me about how valuable it was to see
me draw not only physical workouts and yoga into the building of the Rama-da,
but also of the unique spiritual teachings which arose from the endeavor.
I share with you this much about my parents reaction to the Rama-da...
they were late on their flight back, so my great plans for a homemade meal
+ presentation of the Rama-da were foiled...
yet their reaction...
was so utterly full of love and tears and surprise,
i truly felt another depth layer arise from the phrase;
"Family First!"
Whoever you are,
no matter what little may remain of your biologic family
or whatever grievances and gaps there may appear to be...
do this for feeble ilg...
kill the grievance and love whatever remains
close the gap; for in doing so lies your Highest Yoga.
true,
spiritual family may differ from your biologic family...
yet,
within the love you can produce and cultivate within your blood family
lies Great Divinity
particular to your karma...
so enter into your family
like you enter into your workout;
with sweat and determination to perform elegantly
in difficulty
intent upon
balance,
form,
and
alignment.
Family First Forever...
i bow to your family
and to the One Tribe
of
us
all...
coach ilg
ps: and NO! you CANNOT have Spencer Smith! i know how damn cute he is!
even my Love for you has boundaries... and i draw the line at my cat!
he's 'mine'! so there! visit your Humane Shelter today and save a life of a
cat or dog (they are High Teachers of the Dharma)...just be sure to spay/neuter.
STUDENT INPUT>>>>>>>>>>
� ON NALANDA:
On Aug 13, 2004, at 5:50 AM, Mark Featherman wrote:
Noble Cross Riding Coach:
With that rig, you should be hitting and winning the cyclocross circuit. It's the WF of cycling - you need bike fitness, running fitness, strength to carry the thing up hills, and bike handling skills.
Dig the bike. Have you ever considered a suspension seatpost? I have a specialized on mine, which is more of a traditional seatpost with an elastomer insert. Just enough to take off the edge.
- WFS Feather
Noble Student Feather!
thank you for your letter and kind words!
I have yet to meet the suspended seatpost whose dampening abilities
outweigh their extra weight and disturbance of chi lines transmitted from Mother Earth
throughout the frame's geometry.
to each their own edge, that is what feeble ilg says!
love from the humble Helm,
coach ilg
��
POTENT DL CHI
Coach Ilg,
That's some mighty potent chi I just got off your most
recent post.
In the spirit of rebellion I thank you.
In the spirit of the Tao I bow.
Gassho,
Warrior BH
��
ON BEING KIND AS A PRACTICE
dear coache',
"Be kind to everyone you meet,
for everyone experiences difficulty
in their lives.."
...coache'
you floored me
with that one ...literally..
i had to roll of my
swiss ball that i use for chair
at the computer desk,
and drop in child's pose...
�
thank-you....thank-you
love,
student dansan
August 19, 2004
Rama-da Saga; Part III
A photo essay...
�Trees dying/grass grows (5)
Santa Fe Peak does not care (7)
wake up from inside!� (5)
- steve ilg
8/18/04
spontaneous haiku poem enroute to Santa Fe
� a very tired yet inwardly beaming mountain yogi after 4 days of work on the Rama-da creation
Yesterday was yang. The Tough Love day.
Today was yin. The Spiritual Amp Day.
Our Rama-da project is done. What began as a gift idea for our parents 50th Wedding Anniversary by us ilg kids; a simple Garden Shelter has now been transformed into a veritable Rama-da (House of Rama).
�my �little� brother by 6 years and our Head Engineer for the Rama-da Project; Craig �Two Man� Ilg. Here, two days ago, we have just finished the main physical construction. Note our "Two Man" mudra! Photo; Self Timer, can you tell?
Mom and Dad arrive tomorrow (Thursday) evening....i will stay here to await their reaction to their �Extreme Backyard Makeover.� I have built many things in my Blessed Life, including the nation�s first rock climbing wall, my own boxing/martial art/bodybuilding gym (called, The 15th Athletic Club) in Boulder, and the HP Yoga Studio in LA...yet this simple little structure has stolen my heart and has amplified my spirit and my bond to my sister and brother.
�detail; �corvelle� cut made my Two Man into 5�x5� pine. Photo; ilg
Yesterday: the easiest hardest day of manual labor I�ve ever done. Deep spiritual victories were made available to my soul as i insisted upon walking my talk of finding my Workout Everywhere; i switched hands as i shoveled, hammered, and pulled things. I yoga squatted as often as possible. I chanted yogic sutras and held loving images of my parents while busting my ass to build this structure with my sweat and breath. No other parents shall have bestowed upon them such a personalized �Golden Anniversary� gift! Our gift to our parents was no way going to be created by a Hallmark Card sent with gold raped from Mother Earth! Here, in their own children�s sweat shines their true gold, their allure of our love for them throughout these years! THANK YOU MOM AND DAD for STAYING TOGETHER, for PERSEVERING, for TEACHING me to be utterly me! By calloused hand and happy heart, i rejoice as i sweat in this daily sun with my little brother!
� looking East at 10, 678� Sandia Peak from the Rama-da. This and all other remaining photos by ilg.
Smiling, joking, and treating Two Man with Sunrider herb drinks to empower our long hot day of labor. I followed my little brother�s requests with Navy Seal like demeanor. Ever the �leader� in my Teaching life, i encountered quaint and undeniable joy in simply being a worker bee or a �karma yogi� - one who finds Unity in selfless action.*
� detail; a prayer soaked special Tibetan Yak bone mala Blessed from the Kagyu Shenpen Kunchab Stupa where i Practice. the mala is immersed with 27 years of meditation and Blessings for my parents.
Today: Worked on the Rama-da until early morning, yet i awoke with my natural southwestern pranic vigor after an auspicious Dreamstate with one of my Tibetan Teachers. I knew in my bones that today i was going to be �Hooked Up.� Today was a mystical day, perfect for spiritually empowering all the hard physical accomplishments already done on the Rama-da. Driving toward Santa Fe, I soon enter her Vortex and am commanded by years of tears and sweat in these beautiful Sangre de Christo mountains shimmering before me. A seventeen (5/7/5) syllable �Haiku� poem spontaneously comes to me:
trees dying/grass grows (5)
Santa Fe Peak does not care (7)
wake up from inside! (5)
Soon enough, i find my legs spinning a synthesis around the yoga of the last few days. My morning meditation is an elite pilgrimage: a Time Trial on my bicycle up the notorious Santa Fe Ski Basin Hillclimb, one of the world�s most lung bursting race courses which covers 4 climate zones in 15.2 miles. By comparison, the summit of the highly regarded Alpe d�Huez climb that Lance just showered with a victory in the Tour de France is only 6,000�...a thousand feet lower than the start of this time trial! The finish line here is a breathtaking (literally) 10,350�. I�ve known the podium in this race during my younger years yet am happy with my time today given the hard physical labor of the previous days and low caloric intake. 1:11:38 was my time for today�s 3000� ascent; about 20th place in this year�s Pro Class (thank you SUNRIDER herbs!). I used a special mantra during my effort as Graced by my Dreamstate Teacher. My effort seemed to pass with no great suffering; i was floating on the Pran! Below my airplane height, i see stretched beneath me Poaquque mesa and the volcanic tuft of the Jemez. So easy on the eyes this southwestern land! Such a Blessing to the soul! Now nearly sixty miles distant, Sandia Peak stands like a king wrapped in white robes of mist. Diagonal sun shatters forth from a celestial sky like God�s own gleam! How blessed am i to witness, let alone dance with such a day? God it is GREAT to be FIT!!!!!! Insight comes Highest when ones Heart Rate is highest! Thank you, Brahma for allowing feeble ilg so many Blessed Moments like this one! Please help me, God, help me to show others how FUN, how BEAUTIFULLY SPIRITUAL it is to be Wholistically Fit!
� Tibetan �Lung Ta� or �Windhorse� Prayer Flags grace north and south sides of the Rama-da, while a rendering of Amithaba Buddha, my lineage Dhyana Buddha, anchors the west pillar. Green Tara picture can be seen on far left post.
� my cat-son, Spencer Sandis Smith llg. he has to live in New Mexico while i am in LA. i miss him everyday. he is orange, sweet, mild-mannered, and nearly 22 pounds of pure love!
After my Time Trial, i head straight for the Kagyu Shenpen Kunchab Stupa. I have arranged for some ritual items be set aside for me. I take the items with me into the Stupa and mediate for 45 minutes. the cross-legged position stinging me with Lactic Acid rebellion and bloated musculature from my effort up the high peak as the Buddha permeated Stupa imparts the Transmission into my items. Finally, i arrive at the Rama-da and go about a special placement of the Blessed items; a Tibetan Yak bone mala which is to face Sandia Peak, two Lung-Ta prayer flags in appropriate position, a picture of Amithaba Buddha and Green Tara for their respective pillars. Ahhhhh....
this Garden Shelter
is now a Vehicle of Protection
a monument to their enduring marriage,
and a Craft toward delivering my Parents
all the Joy they deserve...each day
in their
backyard.
if you are going to do something...
by God,
do it from your heart and spirit, baby!
that is all.
i bow to you,
coach ilg
��� Coming Up: Olmpics and Coach�s parent�s reaction to the Rama-da!
��� Since i know you will ask, YES, Two Man and i will build you your own Backyard Rama-da...fully Blessed and fully Amp�d with WF Chi straight from Coach�s own stupa, sweat, and prayers. serious inquiries only. i reserve the right to refuse. for pricing contact: ilgtrain@pacbell.net.
*Such kind behavior toward my kid brother was NEVER the case when i was the Captain of �Fort Horny Toad�...our childhood play fort in Durango, Colorado. More than once during the heat of summer, i commanded (the then much smaller) Two Man to ride his bicycle to town and fetch me giant red licorice ropes and Fanta Red Cream soda. �Town� was four miles away on a twisting country road! When the soda arrived too warm, i made Two Man haul granite rocks, steal timber, and dig excavations for future additions to F.H.T. Karma...can�t escape it, baby!
August 17, 2004
�I have enjoyed reading the Direct Lines the last few weeks, the positive energy is amazing. I am excited to start the path to Wholistic Fitness.�
- Cristi
OF ILG�s HOME & GARDEN; Part II
by coach ilg
{our Reality Story thus far:
Us three ilg children (Connie, Craig �Two Man�, and myself) see our notion of building a backyard �ramada� as surprise for our parents while they are on their 50th Anniversary vacation hit reality and threaten to become yet another classic Ilg Kids Epic. Pandemonium, in the form of lumber construction, rules throughout the once lovely backyard and home. Only Two Man and I are left. Connie, having superbly finished her duty of hauling and prepping lumber, is back in LA nervously awaiting word of our progress. Two Man, an architect and new first time father, is orchestrating this project during limited and stressed time.}
Day Two; Coach field tests the stability of our surprise Garden Shelter support beams. Photo, Two Man Ilg.
This dandy little garden project is going to take longer than we anticipated. Much longer.
I attempt to pacify Two Man as he prowls among fractured and fused timbers. As if caught in an ancient Anasazi warrior spell, he stares fiercely at our four Bunyanesque 5� x 5� x 10� timbers we somehow plunged China deep into Mother Earth. As we did not hit oil or a molybdenum vein, I figured that Two Man had dug the holes so deep because,
A) he watched too much Hurricane Charley coverage and feared 420 mph sustained winds might topple the Garden Shelter
or,
B) he was wisely thinking ahead and providing for our family a nuclear fallout shelter for World War III.
�Okay,� Two Man admitted while shielding his eyes from the sun in a futile attempt to see the top of the foundation poles, �so maybe it IS a tad overbuilt.�
�No, hell no...� I shored up his faltering optimism, �the girth of it will complement the geologic magnitude of Sandia Peak in the background!�
Stabbing indecently upward from formerly polite gardens, these foundation totems, each the size of adolescent Sequoia�s, seemed cursed by unexpected subjective factors. Pacing around the giant posts, i could overhear Two Man mumbling things like, �proportionally inaccurate� and �shit� and �this is a technical error of paradigmatic degree.�
I, meanwhile, returned to my assigned work of dirt/gravel hauling and pounding to let Two Man writhe in his intellectual quicksand. Doubt was not in my cells. I trusted that Brahma would provide and that my very smart little brother would confidently use his vast academic schooling to solve any intellectual challenge inherent to what is basically a picnic table covering. I mean, he builds award winning public elevators for christsakes! How hard could this be? I thus contented myself with the moment by moment nature of my �donkey work� which chiefly consisted of hard physical labor beneath a sizzling sun...or �outdoor yoga� as i like to look at it. Just for added measure however, I began chanting some of my most potent Tibetan Blessings as i worked.
Every enterprise involves difficulty, including building a Garden Shelter. The difficulty is mandated by Divine (and often karmic) design. The various challenges (what the Unawakened call �problems�) loosen our fixation upon comfort or stagnation of spirit. Anything that is habitually comfortable stagnates our spirit. Think here of always using your dominant hand, or always being defensive, or using water without appreciation. There are many such examples as we begin to Awaken.
The stress of difficulty is positive. Repeat it three times to help counter your conditioning from the mainstream consciousness. Difficulty - be in workouts or life - better enables us to cope with whatever arises. Difficulties are like spiritual dumbbells. The more often you lift them, the stronger you become and notice a fundamental shift in the texture of our outlook. Before this shift happens however, difficulty pushes our buttons. We want to curse and blame everything and everyone for the difficulty. If we our Teachers taught us well, we can manage to see through this egoic rebellion and begin to Awaken.
To be sure anger, fear, doubt, skepticism all might arise as we re-act to difficulty. My Teachers said that this is a fantastic tool and even a sign of positive Higher Growth..They called it, �The spirit of rebellion.� Working through this ego agitation is vital! Why? For once we quiet the egoic shouting, our True Nature can be felt! Then we start questioning everything which lies outside us: prescription pills, recreational drugs, TV addiction, attachment to injuries/illness, negative habits, media opinions or fashions...all such things start faltering in their vapor like decay of our genuine nature and warrior strength.
The metaphorical reach of building a Garden Shelter and of Spiritual Awakening is an easy one. We start building from the center: our heart with her four chambers are like the four foundation timbers. We take what we got, baby. Think of this center as genetics or our karmic workload. We alone then, must do the gut and grunt work from that center. As we work, we allow ourselves grow organically outward. Along the way, mistakes and painful circumstances may happen from what we had planned. Big deal. Let go of them, adapt, and keep moving on. This process of learning how to let go is a spiritual Practice known as �Detachment.� We may even learn to one day love all the rough edges, disproportions, and blemishes. Then, everyone and everything is seen as beautiful.
���
The Screw Guru
Four critical wood screws fastened each support beam to the two cross beams of our Garden Structure. Zen drilling was required; overhead drilling at arms length on a ladder maintaining an awkward upward angle to get those 6� long screws into the massive timber without stalling the screw�s momentum or stripping the screw head. I totally lost focus on one. I stripped the sonofabitch, big time. I couldn�t get the screw deeper and could not reverse it out. Two Man laughed and laughed. Now that screw is sticking out of the beautiful wood like the Florida panhandle. That stalled, stripped screw is for me, my guru of Detachment and the source of endless ribbing from Two Man. I gotta let it go and smile with the flow of It All.
���
We are what we are. All things decay, including Garden Structures and humans. No matter how fit or strong or beautiful, we all age and we all die. And more times than most of us would care to admit, we just get screwed by circumstances. The spiritual work is to detach as soon as possible and just enjoy the day of hammering and hauling. Appreciate the process of adaptation to the flow of life.*
from near the Rio Grande
feeble ilg bows to you
with
hands calloused
sunburned back
screwed up screws
and
heart
wide
open
to the songs of birds
and
of
your
ever
growing
perspective
of what
personal training
should really be...
namaste,
coach ilg
Stay tuned to DL for the completion of the Garden Shelter�s spiritual and physical quest plus coach�s take on the Olympics.
*My audio CD, �My Workout Is Everywhere,� speaks and provides a meditation based largely upon this concept.
August 15, 2004
OF BIRDS, BEES, AND KEYS -
"When the body, mind, and emotions are in balance; the Soul is free to dance."
Those words, uttered i think, by B.K.S. Iyengar make for beautiful insight while on the yoga mat. When we take our equanimity and test it into the Real Yoga Studio (the phenomenal world) we begin to see the Humor and elite intricacy inherent to God's testing of our true willingness to rise ever Higher. Nowhere is the WF Warrior tested in his or her Practice then during travel.
Namaste from New Mexico! i arrived late last night after a hilarious series of Brahma (God/Higher Source/Supreme Reality) testing my Practice. First however, give me a moment...i just woke up in my parents casa in Rio Rancho, New Mexcio...the town that Intel built...located just upwind from the beautiful hamlets of Bernalillo and Crralles which are cozied up next to the mighty Rio Grande. Intel, the computer monstrosity, wisely built their Capitalistic Kingdom on top of a mesa, so all their toxic fumes can engulf the once internationally renown healthy air of Bernalillo and Coralles. Bernalillo in particular has lodged within my spirit. The town of a few hundred people and three Native Amercian pueblos has weathered storms of glacier cold, Mohave drought, Spanish inquisition, and a true testimony to this little town's spiritual werewithal, it even withstood, yes, that's right, the Lillith Fair! Hec, even former President Clinton hung out in Bernalillo! Now THAT is perseverance to be appreciated! Today, the one-street town (and the one street that passes through it is none other than Route 66) boasts both a New Mexico Wine Tasting (i know, i know, i sense the oxymoronic phrase) and a wonderful Iyengar Studio, Atmabodh, facilitated by senior Iyengar Teacher, Anil Poovadan. Zen Teacher Joan Rieck also instructs regularly here, including Sesshin in October. So, the Dharma is anywhere, if you see the Dharma everywhere you look.
I spoke earlier of my Yoga Practice in the outer world, right? Check out these 'phenomenal chaturanga's' that Brahma threw into my Practice yesterday:
*) just before leaving a bee stung me, swelling my left pec up like a water balloon. now, before SUNRIDER beefed up my immune systems to the SuperHuman quotient, i was fairly allergic, in a near antiphlactic manner of speaking, to bee stings. thanks to SUNRIDER herbs, the sting just feels like a bullet wedged near my heart. The swelling is receding quickly. This one bee was angry....the fierceness of his sting and resultant effect was admirable. i bow to that bee and may he/she incarnate in a more friendly being. wow. so, light headed with Bee Medicine coursing through me, i load up my Kawasaki z1000 (Sukhavarti) and fly toward Burbank, pleased that i am about to help my little brother build a cute little garden shelter for my parent's 50th Anniversary.
*) at Southwest's counter the very beautiful Jessica informs me with an absolutely delightful smile,
"I am so sorry, Mr. Ilg, these Flight Coupons have expired. That will be $387, please."
"Uhhhh,....excuse MEEEE, Jessica. For I must take a moment and BREATHE here..."
oooof. that'll put a dent in one's pocketbook while elevating one's capacity for Practice...
*) enroute to Las Vegas before Albuquerque, i treasured the flight time to whittle away at the 353 emails lying like panthers in the cybergrass of my laptop. Not a chance. Another lovely young female creative seductively crawled into the seat next to mine and for the next 65 minutes i was privvy to her most intimate drama affecting her dramatic life. Much of being a teacher of yoga means being a nonjudgmental sounding board for non-practictioners. Wow. I breathed, worked my Mala Beads, smiled a lot, and spoke the Dharma as best as i could fit It between her acoustical purge. Buddha was so right; "Be kind to everyone you meet, for everyone experiences difficulty in their life."
*) upon landing, my older sister, Connie, who visited here just a few days ago to help Two Man (see DL yesterday) with our Garden Shelter Project, had left one of my parent's car, a Honda of course, in the $2.84/per day lot. $2.84? Per day? In LA you can't even park on Melrose for a minute for $2.84. Well, we could not find the car. Great. You get what you pay for, right? "Hey mom and dad! Welcome back! Hope your trip was fun! Oh, by the way, your car got stolen from Airport Parking! Care for some Cali tea?" It was nearing midnight and many more Mala Beads passed through my fingers before the car was found.
*) ahhh...pulling up to my parents home, where at 5,000', the stars were screaming overhead. i was stoked to be home finally. visions of riding Alphie (my Trek road bike i keep down here) for a ride tomorrow dancing through my head as i fit the key into the door. At my feet appeared my beatiful cat-son, my orange tabby cat, Spencer Sandis Smith Ilg!!! i witnessed extreme happiness as i fitted the key into the house...and re-fitted it...and re-fitted it...) Okay, a moment whereupon i witnessed myself laughing to Brahma as i realized he was still testing my Practice on this journey home. i actually was EXPECTING the key to fit! Nah, my sister had left me with outdated keys. i so wanted to lose my Practice and not be elegant in diffculty as i realized in my fatigued state that i was locked out of the empty house late at night, with my cell phone dying, my little brother in possession of the only other key at least a half hour away...Spencer, swirling happily at my feet like a drunk furry shark, looked up at me as if saying, "Well, open the goddamned door...i'm starving!"
*) after a fiasco to awaken a neigbor for a key late last night, i woke up and saw...Good Lord awlmighty!! Two Man, my little brother the Architect has transformed my parent's backyard from Hunnington Gardens into friggin' Ground Zero! My god! There are timbers the size of telephone poles strewn out like a Colorado spring runoff log jam across the ground and onto the back porch...and i do believe he has moved a Table Saw into the living room...oh man, this is waaaaay worse than the old parties we used throw when my parents left...hah...GODO MAN, TWO MAN!!!!!! HA! this will show all parents everywhere the same old lesson:
Never, ever leave home with your children in charge.
No matter how old are your children,
we are still children and...
You will NEVER know what we will do to your treasured house!
Next installment of Ilg's Home and Garden coming soon! I've got to go ride Alphie through some ancient pueblos..
via con dios muchachas y muchachos!
your feeble teacher
ps: Two Man is bringing his digital camera today...pictures of Garden Shelter Ground Zero in future DLs!
August 14, 2004
Namaste Noble Warriors!
"We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us."
- John Steinbeck, from TRAVELS WITH CHARLIE
This just in...
"Coach,
Just got back from a ride over Topanga to Santa Monica and back, some 40 miles. My wife, M, had to take a photo after my return... and she said my butt looks just as tight! Ha ha... not bad for being 50 yrs young and putting some 4800 miles on my road bike over the last year, no?
- ww"
Not bad at all, my Peaceful Warrior of The WF Way!...not bad at all. Much of WW's ripped muscularity has been helped by a full on devotion to my 3-Phase Approach to the SUNRIDER Herbs. How 'bout you other 50+ year old Warriors out there? Wanna have WW guide you along your SUNRIDER Journey? Evidently, he can help you! Send me an email and I'll forward it to WW.
Life ain't no fun without good buns!
���
A heartfelt thank you to WF Warrior, Matt Miller. Matt, an actor, was visiting LA and Santa Barbara and just "had to" stop by yesterday at the HP Yoga Cave to jump into my HP Prop Workout. Matt, who has faithfully completed both Green Tara and Cosmic Yang training programs in TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION, said that he absolutely had to stop by for a class from Coach Ilg himself because, 'He is just out of his mind."
Hmmmm. I reckon i'll take that as a compliment. Matt, your Practice was sooo beautiful and strong and supple and your chi was absolutely the hallmark of this Path. Thank you...and go(o)d luck on THE FRUGAL REALM program!
���
I am leaving for New Mexico today to help my little brother, Craig "Two Man" Ilg, build some type of a garden shelter for my parents 50th...yep, 5-0...Wedding Anniversary. Two Man, being a professional architect, this task looks a bit daunting...i may have to rely on some yogic siddhis to pull this off. I plan to be back in LA to teach my Tuesday night love/sweatfest.
���
Very auspicous training ride this morning*. WW (see above) and Tom and I have been knocking ourselves silly filming the Sacred Teachings of WF for next year's WholisticFitness.com Legacy website. After Prop Workout last night, my legs and chi needed some spinning in the mountains. I am glad i got my well trained butt out the door, for Omens were everywhere. Always seems this way when i am about to travel. First were three Ravens who, like dolphins beside an ocean craft, kept my company on and off during my entire 30 mile ride...like Brahman, Shiva, and Vishnu at my side. At the headwall of Old Topanga, a rickety old hippie bus sputtered by me, barely able to match my 9mph pace up the steep wall. I saw a brand new baseball cap on the road. Not one to normally stop a training ride for nothing, i found myself stopping, turning around and fetching the item. Above the visor it read:
"IMMORTAL RECORDING"
laughing at Brahma's humorous affirmation that risking so much money and time and effort on the new website was absolutely the most Appropriate Action for me to be doing. Thank you, Brahma! i prayed as i picked up the cap happy to have a cool new cap. just then, in a similar attempt to turn around on the narrow mountain road was the hippy bus. it's driver, a scraggly looking chap just like that crazy one person helicopter pilot in MAD MAXX AND THE THUNDERDOME.
"Did you drop this?" i said, slow pedalling toward him.
"No, no...but i did see it and..."
"Well, here! It's yours now!"
"Oh no, you found it...you keep it..." if he would have had teeth, a smile would have appeared with the words.
i insisted he keep it and cranked up toward the summit, pleased with the omen and the give away.
then, just after the knee breaking climb up Santa Maria Road, there in the canyon narrows, a tortoise. the creatures shell had been hand painted by someone in the color of the Throat Chakra...Communication and Compasssion. The Medicine of Tortoise is, of course, "Earth Medicine." as the Native American's call North America; Turtle Island. Finding a turtle is a sure sign that whatever you are doing is good medicine and if you persevere like the turtle, Abundance will surely visit your lodge.
That is why i love riding my bicycle up in the mountains and along the quiet back roads. You never know what Abudance is around the next curve...
i bow to you,
coach ilg
* for those DL readers who live or lived in LA and are interested in Coach's unique training rides, this 30 mile ride is an on/off classic:
� Start at HP Yoga Studio; West on Ventura, left onto Topanga Cyn, right onto Mullholland Drive, Left onto Mullholland Hwy.
� Mullholland Hwy to Stunt Road (paved with a couple of big rollers; 9 miles to here)
� Left up Callabasas Peak (dirt fire road; big time steep; 1.5 miles @ 18%)
� Right; descent Red Rock (dirt fire road; soft dirt into sketchy paved road;3)
� Left onto Old Topanga (paved; steep climbs; 3 miles)
� Right at summit onto Summit to Summit Road (dirt; rollers ridgetop riding 3.5 miles)
� Right onto new Topanga Cyn (paved; descent 2 miles)
� Left onto Santa Maria Road ('paved' insanely steep with over 25% sections; 2.5 miles)
� Right onto Dirt Mullholland (dirt/gravel road, middle chainring climb 3.5 miles)
� Left onto Reseda Spur trail, onto Reseda Blvd.
����
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include payment/shipping address
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August 11, 2004
OF FLAT FEET AND DESIRE TO TEACH
Coach,
��� What's your experience been with otrhotics?� I have had trouble with my lower legs for years (tendancy to strain muscles).� I am a bit on the flat- footed side and my feet often get tender and cramp-up. Do you think they could be beneficial?
�Peace,
- Student Mike C
Noble Student Mike -
no...WF considers orthodics
an external band aid measure. another form of looking externally instead of internally.
training your feet back into Balance is a big part of your karmic Work in this lifetime.
see pages 45-46 of TBT for more on the metaphysics of lower body "troubles."
instead:
� pour your self into HP Yoga routines in TBT book.
� always do Stiff Leg Deadlifts to uplift the talocrual cruciate ligamentous network.
� cardio train on road and mountain bikes to strengthen the internal lacing muscles of the arch and neural feeds to them.
� refuse the addiction to shoes; most of your day as possible should be spent barefoot.
� use the SUNRIDER herbs to lubricate the myofascial sheath; Phase I and Phase II with supplemental Wu Chia Pi
� your healing is in your mind, so VISUALIZE what you want! this will force you to research foot anatomy, etc.
� keep the Party going baby; consistency is EVERYTHING!
from the humble Helm,
coach ilg
���
Hello Steve how are you?
I received your HP yoga DVD yesterday and woke up at 6 AM this morning to do it for the first time.� I have experimented with different yoga style over the past few years including Bikram.� In addition I hit the weights, run, meditate and x-country bike several times a week.� I have been putting together programs that involve yoga, weights, meditation and cardio for the past 3 years and have been wondering why nobody has included the four disciplines in a single program.� Well somebody has, you!� I own your Total Body book and have finally found a concise program for what I have been experimenting with for years.
Your program very challenging and effective.� It was more difficult that the other "power yoga" videos I have used.� A true mental exercise as well as physical.� Now it took a single lesson to get me hooked. Half way through your HP yoga course I was looking at my watch wishing the course was over.� The course was so invigorating now I'm at work waiting for the chance to go through the course again.� Great job!
I am interested in becoming a HP yoga instructor.� How do I go about doing this?
- Adam
Noble Student Adam -
i bow to your sweat animated by the intelligence of your spirit.
you may one day reach the level of being a HP Yoga Instructor by beginning long years as a formal student of Wholistic Fitness Online Training. Our humble Temple is busy these days, so fill out an WF Application to begin Formal Study asap:
http://www.wholisticfitness.com/online_app_form.html
This, a gesture of your sincerity and necessity to one day teach this humble, yet Powerful Path...
head bowed,
coach ilg
COACH ILG RANTS WITH DEEP TRIBAL BROTHER RON JONES!
{Caution: Major Deep DharmaSpeak Ahead...R-rated!}
a shining and MOST IMPORTANT example of Ron Jones's Work in the outer world...
an action shot of senior High Performance Yogi's taught by Ron Jones in Bakersfield, CA
before the Race Across AMerica record holder moved to Atlanta, GA to spread
the WF/HP Yoga chi!
ILGBRO!!!!!!!! I am in Atlanta now and man, i need an ILG CHI hit!!!!!!!!!
RONBRO!!!!!!!!!
man,
dude
what have we DONE?
we have not severed our Sacred Circle have we?
i sometimes TAF (WF lingo for �Think And Feel�)
i am the World's Worst Best Man....
i swear to Lord Buddha...if this new WholisticFitness.com project i am working on does not pan out...
i am moving back to the Mountains and Deserts and getting go(o)d with you and other Deep Bro's and my personal friends and biologic family of whom i have forsaken
during the last almost ten years of Big City Work...
i fear the Speed of my LA life has forced me into Flakiness...
RE: Hey man I need one of the cool WF jerseys for the South�sign me up!� If you think a medium would fit then that�s cool�if not a large.
� i am thinking Large...but let me know. you may Gift the Large to some other Warrior more in Need.
let me see if we are breaking even on these jerseys, if so, i will comp you one, of course. if not, i can get you one at Cost.
more on this later.
RE: Chi is down a bit as I�m back into an English classroom remembering to breathe�I need to follow my heart and the path Bro�I�m giving myself until December to land another gig.� I�m going to need some time to build my business back up again so will opt to also land myself into one of the high-end gyms down in the metro area of Atlanta.� I�d rather deal with the gym than students that don�t want to have any discipline at a fucking high school.�
� fuck.
whatever happened to the Love of Learning?
why has our Western Education flunked our youngsters in such deep Ways?
why does our Western Way of Education insist on What To Learn
instead of the
Love of Learning?
i bow to your dukha {suffering}...
RE: On the upside, workouts have been flowing well considering me changing gears to work on literature lessons again.� Tonight after work I jammed out to the Stone Mtn. park and ran around the Cherokee Trail.� It�s a walk/jog only single track that swings around the mountain following along the banks of the various streams and small lakes�the rest is through the heart of the forest.� Virtually no one was on the path tonight with exception to two hikers at one point.�
� i know dude...i am not surprised.
nearly every day in these magical Gift of Mountains, the Santa Monica's
i see nearly no one...
yet the moment i descend from the high ridges into the bustle of the Valley,
i see hundreds of people
washing cars
honking horns
thinking they are doing something
yet going deeper into the Illusion
RE: Dropping down away from the road you can only hear your breath, your feet, and nature�s sounds of birds and insects�I�ve really been getting into this loop.� I ran around the 5 mile+ in about 41 minutes then charged up the steep granite path to the summit which is another 1.5 miles and a friggin� Ilgster thigh burner man!�
� YEAH BABY!!!!!!
RE: What glorious cardio and muscular pain!� Seriously though Bro�what a joy to feel that kind of push.� How many mofos in this country even come close to that level of awareness!� What a fucking shame man!� It�s great!� When I started running here I had to go summit first then drag my ass around the park along the regular jogging path.� Now I�m running a strong pace around the park on single track dirt and rocks �then� cranking to the summit and letting it go coming back down.� It is the most technical running I have ever done�there is NO fucking room for mindlessness because of the tree roots, rocks, and constant turning on the contours here�I�ve had to really focus which has been good.� No focus and in about five seconds you�re turning your ankle�really�it�s intense running�thank God for my Wholistic training because I would have fucking shredded myself by now with all the extreme ROM {Range Of Motion} and stability challenges in my joints.� The people on the summit trail look at me like I�m fucking crazy�friggin� shirtless rj leaping from boulder to boulder like a wild child up the trail that others can barely walk�just a day in a WF warrior man.� This weekend�off again to the Northern mountains for more chi building on my trusty steed.
� GOD I LOVE YOU RJ!!!!!!!!
Run NAKED in the friggin' woods, baby!
Ancient Yogi's walked in the high Himalaya
barefoot
wearing but loincloth
knowing how to control their thermoregulatory system
from within! not relying upon GoreTex� fabric and other such crap!
What has HAPPENED to our National Tribe, RJ?!?!?
i do my best to 'water down' the WF Sacred Teachings
and still the Media Types tell me,
"Oooooh no! You are being far too intense! Do what you just did but with less intensity."
Jesus walked and fasted for miles in the desert, nearly naked, meditating for long months
as the desert sun cracked His skin...
why should we be exempt from such inner and outer pilgrimage should we desire Enlightenment?
people want happiness (fleeting/temporary/sensual)
yet shun their natural incarnate right of Joy (ananda/endless/spiritual).
truly,
what good is JOINT STABILITY if you are too damned scared
to TEST it!?!??!
Day after day...root after root, rock after rock?!??!
the young Certified Personal Trainers talk awlmighty like about "Stability Training" and shit...
let them RUN DOWN A MOUNTAIN for Buddha's Sake!
i am proud of you, RJ.
you Honor my humble Teachings of WF!
RE: Got a hit through Wellcoaches for a fucking reality show.� A producer wants to do a show with the new generation of coaches and do some sort of fitness challenge stuff�no word yet but I was personally recommended by the Wellcoaches CEO and dropped him a line.� Fuck it man�I�ll take it to the ring of fire!� Charge right into the fucking evil mindless reality of reality shows if that�s what it takes�
� dude,
Brother Warrior...
you have been bucking the Mainstream's notion of what 'fitness' is
for as long as i...
i bow before you
i offer my Life Teachings to you
for your use
for i know your Heart...
i have raced 500 mile bicycle races through the Mohave with you...
i was the Best Man at your beautiful wedding...
high in the alpine mountains
you married Candace barefoot
with Butterflies dancing their Transformational Medicine
around you both...
trust me,
you DESERVE to be heard!
you DESERVE abundance!
you can bring back the Chi of the true Strong and Supple Fitness Warriors like Sandow...
"The easiest way to experience a bit of what the wild was like is to go into a great forest
at night alone. Sit quietly for awhile. Something very old will return."
- Jack Turner/The Abstract Wild
RE: Alas I seem to have stalled here regarding health/wellness but I�m trying to regain my chi and generate energy once again.� I�m starting from scratch.� No one really knows me here.� The South is different with a different pace and flow too�still trying to figure that whole thing out.
� use Wolf Medicine for the next several months.
Observe the new rhythms of a new Din� (people).
do this and Brahma will show you a Way to touch them...
Practice Patience.
get them on the {Sunrider} herbs...that is the fastest Way to do long term go(o)d for them.
RE: The new WF jersey will help though!� Let me know�do you need the money now?� Keep me posted.
� send no money yet. will keep you posted.
RE:
Humbled Bro, rj
Ron Jones, MS
Atlanta, Georgia
ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor
Licensed Corporate Wellcoach
www.ronjones.org�
"High-Performance Health"
� i bow to you,
my Dearest Brother
Fellow Warrior on the Front Lines of W(holistic) Health and Fitness...
you and i are Rare
too Rare
Amitabha Energy...Lifelong Passion for the Cause...helping others experience the JOY of the Wholistically Fit Being...
i bow deep as can ever be to you...
your humble servant
faithful companion of the Way
and
"Best Man"
in the Dance of It All...
your
feeble ilg who knows absolutely nothing
August 09, 2004
Coach:
It looks like your retreat was refreshing. I just got back from
spending some days in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I like being in places
where there are others that are equal or higher on the food chain.
Bernadette is wanting to get me a bike for my birthday. I have been looking
at Treks and Moots. I have been trying to find something I can use on and
off road. My off road is pretty serious logging roads. I saw that your new
bike is all terrain. What does that mean? Would you take it off road? The
cyclo bikes look too weak that I have seen. Any advice from the confused.
Pat
Noble Student Pat -
indeed i take �Nalanda� my ATB (All Terrain Bicycle) off road. please understand however, that many years of high level mountain bike racing in the Rocky Mountains helps deliver me the bike handling skills required to ride what is essentially a road bike on mountain bike trails and logging or fire roads.
"Nalanda" recovering between bouts of commuting and training. Coach Ilg's living room.
I am absolutely inhabiting a Heavenly Realm whenever i ride Nalanda. I can stay with the front group of a club road training ride and then wave goodbye to the road-tethered peleton as i turn off onto some Santa Monica ridge top single track or fire road and dice it up with mountain bikers.
With Nalanda�s versatility, i can combine unique segments of pavement and dirt which keeps my training scintillatingly vicious and beautifully poised above the smog of LA. i can ride the road with my road bike friends to pre-fatigue my legs and then go off road and climb some gnarly mountain to push my fitness ever higher.
while traveling, Nalanda makes the ideal cardio companion; She is tough and can be knocked around in the car yet is super adaptable to both road and mountain bike terrain.
Nalanda makes an IDEAL commute bike; sturdy as a ponderosa yet swift and nimble as a glacier wind. She looks forward to taking a pounding and coming back for more. She is supple under duress and elegant on pavement.
Nalanda's primary suspension: large carbon fork, cross style wheelsets, and knobby 700cc tires.
Nalanda�s �suspension� however, only comes the impeccable Winwood Carbon Fiber Cross Fork, the astonishingly light yet indomitable Mavic Krysrium Elite Wheelset and the 33c knobby Conti Twister Pro Cross tires I chose. of course, consistent High Performance Yoga practice helps me breathe consciously and thus float over the rough terrain while my Wholistic Fitness strength training mitigates the concussion on my bones. No way around it though, riding a road frame on dirt ain�t the most comfortable thang in the world, but OH how many beautiful places you can get to and enjoy! Compared to mountain bikes, even if i manage to keep Nalanda�s wheels going around, then i am at least going 5-6 mph even up the steep dirt climbs such as Paseo Miramar or Calabasas Peak. I�ve shattered nearly all my mountain bike loops around here thanks to Nalanda�s incredible capacity to generate speed on dirt.
The epitome of Nalanda's grace. Able to average 13mph on this gut busting 7% gravel, washboard road section was key to recording my fastest ascent and roundtrip time for Sandia Peak. The 22.5 mile ascent covers both pavement and dirt, beginning at 5,000' and summiting at over 11,000' in 2 hours 32 minutes. Round trip: 3 hours, 53 minutes.
I cannot say enough how much fun Nalanda is...it is hard to stay off of Her! The training effect is fantastic and an ATB like Nalanda would be a welcome relief to beginning or intermediate road riders who want a super smooth ride on the road, yet also enjoy nontechnical dirt.
Wanna build one? Call SchwabCycles at: 800-343-5347.
you can check out the 3lb alu Torelli frame still on sale for about $500 (limited sizes...usually about $800) at:
http://www.schwabcycles.com/cgi/wc.dll?SCHWAB2~catalog~DETAIL~1455
...here are the components that i chose to give birth to my more treasured Nalanda:
Ultegra Crankset Triple 30/42/52: $154.99
Ultegra STI Flight Deck 9spd: $191.99
Ultegra Triple Bottom Bracket: $45.99
Ultegra HG92 9 spd: $23.99
Ritchey Pro Bar 26.0: $64.99
Crank Brothers Egg Beater Candy pedals: $139.99
Ultegra Triple Front Deraileur: $38.99
Ultegra Triple Rear Deraileur: $67.99
Ritchey Pro Road Seatpost: $49.99
Selle Italia Flite Gel Saddle: $109.99
Ritchey Scuzzy Headset: $65.99
Neo Ritchey Cross Brake: $173.98
Winwood Carbon Cross Fork: $249.99
Mavic Krysrium Elite Wheelset: $549.99
Conti Twister Pro Cross: $79.98
Michelin Cross Tube 700cc: $41.94
I had to build Nalanda without a lot of money. the only difference I would make if I was going to upgrade these choices would be a move from Ultegra components to DuraAce. Nalanda, in the end cost about $3,000...a tiny price to pay considering the Herculean body, mind, and spiritual joy and health and fun She has already gifted me.
If I did not already have Sudhamani (my Trek road bike) and Grunt (my Kona mountain bike), I would definitely invest in building Nalanda as my one and only bicycle. Like a Wholistic Fitness Master Student, Nalanda can dance across the fitness requirements without addiction to specialization. That, to me, is the definition of Noble Fun!
May this input help move more people out of cars and onto their legs and into their Higher Self!
i bow to you,
steve ilg, ryt/cpt
United States Cycling Federation Coach
Coach-
I send you good thoughts and wishes from warm and sunny NYC. �I was psyched to see the prop workout will be available for home consumption - sign me up! �I also would like to order a WF cycling jersey - make mine a medium.
Took on the cardio dragons with a full frontal assault today. �Sunday is my "sleep day", where my wife takes the early shift with the kids (I reciprocate on Saturdays). �This morning, instead of rolling over and going back to sleep when she got up, I arose, did a Neti wash and quick pranayama, downed an Ilg Supreme and a banana, and headed out the door on "Old Faithful" (Specialized hybrid bike that has taken everything NYC has to offer for 10 years and is still kickin'. �It doesn't ride fast or smooth, but it does the job). �I rode the full NYC Greenway, a (mostly) car-free bike path following the circumference of Manhattan island (mostly) along the water. �Being NYC, the ride ain't always green or smooth, but is was a glorious morning and the chi was upon me. �Got off the bike once, at the southern tip of the island, and ate a Sunbar while gazing out upon the Statue of Liberty, then pedaled up to my place at the northern end of the island. �Coming on the heels of a Frugal Realm Yang Lower Body workout a couple of days ago, it left my legs feeling exceedingly well trained, and my soul at ease. �Thank you.
Namaste
- Student L
August 08, 2004
Noble Herbs Eaters...
man i love being involved with this amazing Source of far more than just good, healthy whole foods...
i bow to Dr. Chen once again for these improvements and investments in OUR life quality!
thank you Trish, our amazing Upline Group Director for this newsletter...
in strength and spirit,
coach ilg
founder/Wholistic Fitness
director/Sunrider International
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Patricia Childers"
Date: August 8, 2004 11:30:32 AM PDT
Subject: Trish's TidBits August
Trish�s TidBits August 8, 2004
Trish Childers, SR Group Director http://my.sunrider.com/PatriciaChilders
Convention Highlights
This was a very exciting convention for me on several different levels. I remember the very first convention I attended. I didn�t know anyone, the Chens only had 4 children, the location was in Orem, Utah and there may have been two hundred people from just a few states in attendance. The headquarters was very small; maybe about 3,000 square feet which included manufacturing. The product line was also very small�Nutrien Concentrate (now called NuPlus), Calli (only one flavor & size), Prime Again, Conco, Lifestream, TruSweet (now called Sunector), Sunbreeze Balm, but no Alpha 20C.
No Kandesn Line, no Vitalite line, no SunSmile line, no liquid formulas, no Fortune Delight, Sunny Dew, Veros, Bella�well you get the picture. "We�ve come a long way baby" is an understatement!
That year DR Chen led the tour through the manufacturing building, which was right behind the headquarters�we walked there, a bus weren�t necessary. This year I was able to visit with many SR friends and there were 3,500 people in attendance from at least 35 countries; it took two days and a couple dozen buses to take the tour to see the Headquarters and the two manufacturing facilities. And we had a big surprise�a brand new manufacturing site.
This newest location is within a few blocks of the headquarters, and it is just a hair short of being a 1 MILLION square feet! This thing takes up about 40 acres of land & has two buildings on it, a far cry from the first building in Orem. Chen said, he could land a plane on the pavement between the two buildings & I believe him! I�ve never seen anything so huge!
And, why does Chen need all this space? Why is he investing about 100 million dollars to purchase it and another 2 or 3 hundred million dollars more to basically gut it & rebuild? Well, we don�t need it TODAY�but.
The answer to that "But" is very simple�our planet is in big trouble. The pollution problem is worldwide; all herbs have contamination problems no matter where they are grown. Acid rain, contaminates in the soil, polluted oceans are producing heavy metal contaminates that are now binding with the herbs & foods grown worldwide. SR is rejecting one out of every three containers of raw products because of the contamination. Virtually all foods currently grown are contaminated one way or the other.
We can no longer just wash the herbs off, even our 5 or 6 step method of cleaning the herbs isn�t enough. Makes you wonder about all the other manufacturers who don�t even wash their herbs once. I�ve heard a few companies are being shut down because of the level of contaminants found in their products. And, then we need to think about the foods we buy in the store�Fruit & Veggie Rinse is an absolute must these days. Just think how much healthier everyone would be, if they just used FVR daily!
DR Chen has been watching & studying this problem for quite some time, last year he was looking at a 250,000 foot building to research it more. But, that was before he began designing a new method of sterilization & concentration. He knew that 250,000 feet wasn�t going to be big enough, so he went shopping.
We�ve already experienced the beginning stages of his new concentration method in Bella & Veros; it�s about 100 to 1 ration. He�s using around 700 to 1200-PSI equipment for this concentration method. This requires lots & lots of herbs, and lots & lots of storage space. Chen intends to change ALL our formulas to this new method.
He will also need all this space for his new sterilization equipment & method. All he said was that he�s not fumigating or radiating the herbs and there are 3 different levels of sterilization, which has taken him & a team of scientists well over a year to develop. Maybe by next year�s convention, we will get to see it all in action. Doesn�t take Chen long when he gets started on something. SR is a very fast response company.
Yep, I had a great time this year�start planning now, so you make it next year.
PRODUCTS & MORE PRODUCTS
NEW SunBright Glass Cleaner
Made without ammonia, so you can get squeaky-clean glass without holding your breath. All your glass; dishes, windows, mirrors, stainless steel & yes, eyeglasses, too.
It�s highly concentrated, environmentally friendly ingredients clean without streaking. Helps remove fingerprints & can be used undiluted on bathroom mirrors to help prevent fogging. Watch for it�s "official release" soon.
NEW Oi-Lin Skin Care Trial Set
This brand new formulation is fantastic. It�s a special blend of herbal extracts & other botanically derived ingredients that produce a light, natural & clean scent. The trial set includes the new Oi-Lin Cleansing Cream, Oi-Lin Facial Toner, Oi-Lin Deep Moisture Lotion, Oi-Lin Warm Facial Scrub, Oi-Lin Deep Moisture Lotion SPF 25 � all in convenient trail sizes. This new formulation is designed for people with sensitive skin or those who want a special treatment for their skin. You will feel the difference in you skin�s luster, texture and elasticity�immediately! Did I say it�s fantastic? Currently, only the trial set is available. #522051
NEW Kandesn Spa Bath Salts
Salt from the mystic Dead Sea is the starting point for a luxurious soak in your own tub. It features a special blend of ingredients know for their therapeutic and tonic effects. The Dead Sea Salt contains a broad variety of mineral salts, and is rich in magnesium, potassium and bromide. All this is enriched with a special blend of Sunrider�s Quinary formula! Herbal extracts & a fresh herbal scent work synergistically to relieve mental and physical tension, as well as cleanse the body. Designed for all types of skin, stressed or sore muscles, and flaky skin, too. I can assure you, it feels great!
NEW Kandesn Spa Exfoliating Bar
This new bar is based on the fantastic Kandesn Beauty Bar, so it is free of conventional soap, which is caustic & can dry the skin. This bar contains exfoliating jojoba beads to help remove excess dead & flaky skin. It brings out the fresh, smooth skin under rough, old skin and helps speed skin�s natural cycle of renewal. It�s fortified with moisturizers and soothing botanicals that give a fresh light scent and helps you relax as you cleanse your whole body. #340050.
Kandesn Spa Line
The individual products in the Spa line will be available soon, but until then the Gift Set is available. Every item in this line carries the fresh citrus herbal scent that lets you feel clean & refreshed. It contains one each of the Spa Shampoo, Conditioner, Bath Oil, Massage Oil, and a tube of the Spa Warm Body Scrub. My favorite is the Bath Oil�yumm. #340000
Kandesn Hair Spray
It�s finally back and better than ever! No mineral oil or petroleum by-products, it�s light yet effective, not wet or greasy. Formulated with antioxidant vitamins E and A to protect the hair, also has vitamin D. It can be used on wet or dry hair. Watch for the release soon. #360704
Kandesn Moisturizing Lip Colors
Twelve new colors: 5 cremes, 5 frosted and 2 translucent colors. They contain vegetable-origin squalane and vitamin E for superior antioxidant moisturization. SR does not use any artificial sweeteners, candle wax, mineral oil or animal-based ingredients. All this with a new price of $12.00 (US)! Check the new colors on the SR web site.
Kandesn Nail Lacquer
Six new colors for 2004, plus a brand new Clear, water-based nail lacquer. The nail lacquers have a unique chip resistant formula. They are free of formaldehyde, toluene and acetone. They are quick drying, long lasting and won�t stain your nails. The new price is $6.00 (US)
"Old Products" Reworked
JET SET
Otherwise known as Joi, Eze and Top. They were changed a bit to try and avoid the "distinct aroma", let�s face it these formulas don�t smell sweet! But, unfortunately, part of the strength in the formulas comes with the smell, just like garlic. So, Chen put the "stink" back in, which will make the formulas very affective once again.
Slim Caps
There were many complains that this formula was too harsh, so he cut it down. However, it wasn�t as effective as before. So, Chen put it all back again. PLEASE use common sense with this formula. Chen says to only use this formula for two weeks, then stop for awhile and allow the organs to rest. ALWAYS eat at least one SunBar while eating SlimCaps. This formula is for "emergency needs"; it is high in antioxidants and helps with the migration and modulation of foods. It especially cleans & supports the liver. Eating just one cap at night is OK, or try eating the Fibertone to assist with elimination, and continue with the SunBar.
SunBar
Speaking of Sunbars, did you know that Chen uses the Sunrise formula as the "binding agent" in the bars? That�s just another reason why these bars not only satisfy the hunger, but also give such an energy boost.
SunFit
This formula helps promote healthier eating habits to loose weight and keep it off. It blocks the absorption of excess carbos & fats, it has a calming affect, increases the body�s ability to digest foods. A safe and natural way to calm the cravings. Eat it before meals for best absorption results.
VitaTaste
Both Sunny Dew and VitaTaste work on the body�s blood sugar. VitaTaste concentrates the high sugars in the body and will not irritate the pancreas. Eat VitaTaste in advance of a meal to help block the sugars and break them down before they get to the liver.
Sunny Dew
Sunny Dew makes the insulin receptors very sensitive and helps convert the glucose into energy so the body can burn it more efficiently. But, you must eat enough to make it work�more than a drop or two. The fastest way to get off a "sugar-high" is to put a "health squirt" of Sunny Dew into water & drink it! I was visiting with a friend this week & she was eating a very tasty chocolate something, but before she could even finish it, she started getting dizzy & a major headache was beginning. I fixed her a warm cup of Cinnamon FD, with a good squirt of SD, within less than 10 minutes all her symptoms went away. She bought both from me. See sharing is helpful & easy!
Upcoming Events
Open Opportunity Meeting
August 17th, 7:30 to 8:30 P.M. EST. Bring all your guests to Trish�s home who want to hear how Kandesn can provide them with a fantastic business opportunity and great skin, all at the same time. RSVP, please 642-7153.
Product Training
August 24th, 7:30 to 8:30 PM Introduction to the brand new Olin Skin Care Line, this line is fantastic, join us at Trish�s home to learn first hand why. Everyone is welcome to stay to listen in on the DR Talk call at 8:30. Fee $3, guests free. RSVP.
Kandesn Skin Care Workshop
September 18th, Saturday, from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM. This is a hands-on workshop to discover which products best fit your personal needs, so you can find your "beauty within". Pre-registration with a fee of $30 is required, which includes take-home products & materials. Watch for the flyer.
Goshen Conference Calls:
August 17th, 8:30 to 9 P.M. EST. This call focuses on the business part of the system. It�s inner-active and people from all over the world calls in.
August 24th, 8:30 to 9:30 EST. The DR Talk call focuses on the product part of the system. Two highly successful doctors who use SR exclusively in their practices host this call. They share the best way to utilize these herbal formulas.
Contact me & I�ll tell you how you can participate in these calls in your area.
Remember to visit my web site, copy & paste this address:
http://my.sunrider.com/PatriciaChilders
Daring To Dream Bigger & Bigger!
Trish
�
_________________________________
Patricia Childers
patriciachilders@bellsouth.net
000013361
�
Inner Search Corporation
http://my.sunrider.com/PatriciaChilders
August 05, 2004
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�Modern man creates fancy cars while losing the sacredness of his feet and lungs.�
Coach Ilg
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Steve Ilg's
HP PROP WORKOUTS�
coming soon to DVD!
currently available only at the HP Yoga Studio in LA and through Workshops
"World Class Yoga by a World Class Athlete...since 1982"
www.waynewilliamsstudio.com
���
those of you unfortunate souls that still are not VIBING HIGH off the SUNRIDER HERBS... you can still
click here to see my AUGUST SUNRIDER HERBAL MISSIVE,
AUGUST SR MISSIVE.pdf
may you remember to honor the Source of all that you enjoy..
coach ilg
���
Dear Noble Coach Ilg,
I can't put into words how moved I am by your recent
postings on DL--I am glad that so many people are
sharing their gratitude for your inspired teachings. I
feel words fail me, and the Sangha can speak for me.
You are saving lives, souls.
You rouse the hungry warrior in all of us. Some of us
had forgotten our appetite.
Just a few words and you rip the veil of maya and
remind me of what is true and what I need before I
die.
Come Home, you say.
My coworker and friend Donna reads DL regularly and
has become a fan of you. Yesterday she wrote:
"He is truly a poet.� I love his style of writing and
love to read his
passages.� Makes me want to take� a pilgrimage out
west."
I bow to you.
We all do.
humble student doreen
���
Hi Coach:
Thought you might like this. Then I will leave you alone for awhile, maybe.
" May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most
�amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."
By Edward Abbey on my Little Zen Calender.
- WF Master Student Fit Kit
���
"Never drink from a stream without honoring its source."
- a Woodland Hills, California 'Cost Plus' storeclerk spanking WF Teacher Ananda with the Dharma during a checkout!
���
yeah, yeah i know you cycling geeks are ALL OVER the pic of Nalanda, my all terrain Torelli custom made bicycle which appeared in DL's 8/1 entry. stay tuned and i'll give you her specs and contact information to build yourself one. for now, here is a shot of me on her early on my crushing of the Reseda To The Sea course record whereby i covered the grueling valley over mountain to ocean and back again course in 2 hours and 11 damn minutes! WF + Nalanda = DANGER to existing course records!
���
What are you doing the second week of September?
wanna come to one of the most potently beautiful sacred portals of the southwest with Ananda and i while enjoying a world class adventure spa resort and a week of HP Yoga? check it out:
http://www.redmountainspa.com/events/presenters/steve_ilg.html
that's right, i return once again to the heart stopping sunsets and heart elevating workouts inherent to Red Mountain Adventure Spa for the third time! personally, i can't enough of the place and if you sign up quick like several others already have, you too will see why my spirit just VIBES within the redrock and lava beds of this unique and honored land.
the gong has officially rung; be there! you might even see me attempting to swim! now THAT'S funny! worth the trip, i promise! rock climbing, road and mountain cycling, hiking, and plenty of HP Yoga will cap off your summer like never before!
see you there!
���
i know you read a lot about the great athletes that use WF Online Training or my books to reach the podiums of their respective sports, yet all athletes (personally, i can't even recall the number of times) finish long after the winners have showered and are enjoying a beer after a massage. so was with the case with elite multisport athlete and WF Warrior Student Steve Mackel of Pasadena, California at a recent Vineman Triathlon. if you enjoy reading outright Warriorism during an 'off day'...you'll dig every sentence of this very noble Warrior's race report. click here for Steve's chi hit:
mackelrace.pdf
August 04, 2004
"Every blade of grass has its angel
that bends over it and whispers, 'grow, grow.'"
- The Talmud
�
"Thank you Steve.� Your generosity and tireless energy never cease to amaze me."�
Matthew Sconziano
�
"You are so amazing� Steve...Your selfless pride and grace about you is something i admire so much.� I wish you such happiness and great life. cant wait to start again at the upgraded HP Yoga Studio in August!"
- �Elsie :)
�
Dear Coach,
thank you...it is so much fun...being this Work as best i can.� i'm in Love.
many deep bows for sharing�insights and images from your retreat.� i'm savoring It all slooowly.
you are soooo amazingly Beautiful.
Love You,
ko�
���
Dear Steve, i really enjoyed the August 1 DL. Great pictures. What type of bike is that? i hope to be able to join you at some point. i look forward to our next chit chat. �Love, Kendo
{Student Kendo refers here to 'Nalanda'...my all terrain bicycle. Look for a profile of this beautiful machine in an upcoming DL!- coach ilg}
���
Wholistic Fitness and running
Dear Steve - I've been following you informally since first reading about you in Outside when I was 18 years old.� I wrote to you then and asked how I could begin down the path of WF.� You graciously wrote back and provided me with all the information I would need to begin the journey.� Unfortunately college, law school, marriage and family delayed the start of my journey for nearly a decade.� Over the years I've incorporated the stretching and yoga routines you illustrated in Skiing magazine and in Men's Fitness into my own routine of running, mountain biking and strength training.� I'm now a regular reader of direct lines.� Two years ago I completed my first marathon when I was 28 and since then have been plagued by chronic bilateral Achilles pain (a podiatrist told me tendonitis) and plantar fasciitis.� No matter how much I stretch the pain never stops.� Do you have any advice for a guy who loves running and is way to young to stop?� Your recommendations would be truly appreciated.� Thanks, Matt�
{I let Noble WF Teacher Joseph 'Haku' Sheader answer Matt's question...coach ilg}
On Aug 3, 2004, at 10:11 AM, Joseph Sheader wrote:
Noble Matt,
Coach Steve Ilg informed me of your long history of WF devotion and your efforts in applying our unique and highly successful training method to your own practice. I bow to this devotion. You obviously have been a member of this tribe for a long while, formal or not.
In regards to your query below...Wholistic Fitness� recognizes running as perhaps the most pure form of living, breathing, moving one can practice as a human animal. We feel strong kinship to runners, tracing our family as it were, across the ages from modern Olympians, to Pre, to our ancestors running across the landscape of the desert southwest, Grecian plains, African Savanna's.
At this point I can not offer much technical advice about your chronic injury due to legalities(not being a formal student who has signed a waiver and all the lawyer stuff).
I can do this...I in-courage you first and foremost to reconnect to this kinship, this mode of being as a runner. Your healing ultimately lies in the freedom found here and within your own being...not outside in some doctors office (though of course that does have a place).
Secondly... this being said you CAN be free without running. I know this from experience. If you truly love it then you need to liberate yourself from your attachment to it and set it free. Do this and I feel in time it will return to you. �Then without possession you can stride again freely upon the holy ground of mother earth.
Here are a couple of suggestions...Get yourself a copy of TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION by Coach Ilg. Dive into it and treat it like it is the only book, the only teacher you have. For now choose other options than running for your CV fitness... Any you have never done or hardly done are best. Go thru every program in the book. Drink deep, real deep. Do not run until then, even if things feel better. �If you want guidance as you do so then yes, sign up as a formal student. The other option being to complete the book and then begin formal studies. Either way I and Coach Ilg will have our "eye" on you as a member of this tribe.
On a practical level...I would, as mentioned above, forego running for the time being. Practice a barefoot lifestyle as much as possible, at least in the house, yard etc. In the morning do a lot of ankle rotations before stepping out of bed and placing weight on the feet. Moist heat before activity, ice afterwards, and make sure you have appropriate shoes. Often enough the lighter, freer shoes that allow a natural gait are better than all the motion control shoes...this you must experiment with yourself. Do make sure you have good arch support while wearing shoes; consider a pair of Chaco Sandals or Bite Sandals as your primary footwear. (In fact step into them right out of bed to support the foot before placing any weight upon it..then later in the day start going barefoot.)
Get some massage. Bodywork can heal years of abuse, breaking up old scar tissue and the attached toxic emotions than are contained within it.
Lastly, sign up for Sunrider Herbs...the nutritional aspect is crucial to healing and prevention of injury and there is no nutrition on the planet that compares. I will be glad to assist you signing up and ordering what is appropriate.
I shall be here in your corner If ever you are inclined to begin formal studies as a Wholistic Fitness� studies and I would be honored to guide you. You would actually have the benefit of not one teacher but two as I share everything with Coach Ilg and he contributes as appropriate. You may find my bio at the instructors link at the Wholistic Fitness web site. www.wholisticfitness.com
In strength and spirit,
Teacher Sheader CPT
Haku Hatsuiku
Senior Wholistic Fitness� Teacher
August 03, 2004
Noble WF Warriors-
This report was written and sent in by WF Teacher Joseph Sheader in regard
to his son, Kerry, who performed so brilliantly at the World Eskrima Championship.
Special thanks to WholisticFitness.com webmaster, Noble Student John Kuhlman in preparing this piece.
Finally, thank ALL of you who answered my gong to send much needed $ to Joseph and Kerryto get them to the Worlds. Those of you who sent their money, your karmic merit is assured...enjoy the report...
from the humble helm,
your feeble coach ilg
���
"The Way of the Warrior cannot be encompassed by words or in letters: Grasp
the essence and move on toward realization!
The purpose of training is to tighten up the slack, toughen the body, and
polish the spirit."
-Morihei Ueshiba. Founder of Aikido
Beautiful fitness warriors I extend a deep bow to you for the tribal energy
generated for Kerry and myself in our travels to Cebu, Philippines and the
World Eskrima Championship.
Eskrima,(also called Arnis, or Kali) is an ancient Filipino martial art. It
is analogous to Wing Jung Kung Fu, such as Bruce Lee studied, in that it is
rooted deep in practical and often lethal application as well as being one
of the more comprehensive martial arts. In fact, Bruce Lee's training
partner, Dan Inosanto was and is a Eskrima Grand Master.
This tournament was the 8th WEKAF World Championship.(World
Eskrima-Kali-Arnis Federation) in which competitors from 22 different
countries came together to compete in both forms and fighting. The essence
of this martial art is stick fighting though it includes empty hand and
grappling as well.
In addition, we both enjoyed the opportunity to train with some of the
Filipino fighters and attend seminars with some of the Doce Pares Grand
Masters..after all, Coach Haku didn't just sit on the sidelines!
The culture and hospitality of the Filipino people and our hosts was
exquisite. A beautiful blend of Asian, Malaysian, and Spanish customs. As
one of my fellow martial artists said, "They might have more litter in their
streets but they have less litter in their hearts."
Following a day and night of low energy, irregular sleeping, and a little
bit of the crud Kerry downed his herbs, came to his ring, went thru his Ai
Imawa and stepped up to the line to face in his final match the European
Champion from Holland. It was such an exciting match that it went to a
fourth round and almost five. It was Kerry's conditioning and desire that in
the end brought him to the top of the podium. The honorable way in which he
carried himself and related to his opponents spoke even deeper.
I bow deeply to all of you for the strength of this sangha.
"I fear and bow to no one, except to my people"
-Datu Lapulapu
(before he and his warriors confronted the Spanish army on the shores of
Cebu and soundly beat them and their advanced weapons back with a stick.)
August 02, 2004
Dear Coach -
I am still alive and doing well.� Walking lots of dragons with work and training.� I think, no I know, I need to come and visit you soon.� Will talk to Lynne and see what I can do about coming to LA this fall for another Private Intensive with you.
I would love to be able to wear one of the Wholistic Fitness Cycling Jerseys. I would take a medium. Hope you have one left for "Fit Kit."
My off road Ironman was cancelled. Can you believe that in North American they could not find 300 or so warriors who would toe the starting line.� Until they cancelled it I had some of the most consistent training I had ever done - it is amazing what a little fear will do for one's motivation.
Had some good results in my other triathons.� 2nd in Provincial long course championship for age category and 3rd in Provincial Olympic distance.� Last weekend I was doing a Half Ironman in Alberta and out on the bike course I was almost reduced to tears with gratitude for all the riches I had.� I thought of you and the strength that your teachings have given me.� The joy that my family, my friends, my competitors and my fitness gives to me was at that moment almost over powering.� It reminded me of the Chi hits on some of our Colorado� road rides.
Still on my long and�winding path of Wholistic Fitness.
Ai Imawa
With love
Fit Kit
Vernon, British Columbia
August 01, 2004
THE DIVINITY OF THE DESERT
more notes from my personal retreat
by steve ilg
some of you ask me why i go into the desert and high mountains for my personal retreats.
why not attend yoga and fitness conferences to 'keep abreast' with the 'most current education'
in my fields.
ilg says;
the only field that matters is the Self.
there is no Higher education
there is certainly no higher Yoga than being alone in nature.
i go to the desert to train and pray and push myself and test my walking of my talk...
i do this so i know am true when teaching you...
i do this
so that the desolation drives away any ego or pride i may have built up from owning 'my' yoga studio or 'my' racing bicycles, 'my' students, or 'my' apartment, or 'my' family....
i go to the desert to dissolve...
{our 'feeble coach' suddenly appearing not too feeble in his 'true yoga studio'...the wilderness. here, our Teacher readies himself for another day of Warrior Dancing with his all-terrain bicycle,"Nalanda," rock climbing/canyoneering gear, and a lifetime of world class fitness to practice his 'religion' of breath and movement in nature. photo; Ananda}
do the research: you will find that all religions and spiritual traditions began in the wilderness and sprang forth like milkweed from a canyon crevice.
do the research: you will find that Buddha, Jesus, the Yogic Masters, and the greatest thinkers of our eon have all relied upon the wilderness to receive His Grace.
Jesus and his forty days in the desert. the Native Amercian's practice of the VisionQuest, the Yoga Masters sadhana of the Himalaya, forests, and deserts.
consider Merton, the Desert Fathers, C.S. Lewis, and Thoreau.
you think you want to study with me to learn spiritual things
but you are scared to go alone into the wilderness (of your spirit).
all body/mind fitness must start in the same place:
the solitude and enormous thundering silence of stars emerging from an unpolluted sky...each star shot into your soul as if it were a bullet of Awakening!
{HP Yoga Teacher Ananda shortly after meditating in a remote slot canyon somewhere in Utah. photo; ilg}
ilg says:
get out of your house...
drive and then leave the godamned car at the trailhead!
most studio yogis have zero idea that their high fashioned clothes and rubber sticky mat began from the desert dirt!
how quickly they forget the Source of the Scripture!
i am telling you to CAMP.... for God's sake!
forget the Winnebago or even nylon tent that is but a psychological crutch which serves only to sever your soul
from lying naked as can be with the shudder of wilderness night sounds.
ilg says:
sleep naked upon Mother Earth! (at least ONCE in your manufactured, luxury life!)
howl at the moon beneath petroglyphic rock walls!
FEEL the sacred pulse of She who nourishes your every step and breath!
of WHAT are you so afraid, noble warrior!?
how long will you remain addicted to asphalt and ceilings that block the stars of your Enlightenment?
GO into the desert and gaze until your neck hurts
upon thousand foot Windgate sandstone cliffs..
CLIMB THEM if you dare!
do so and you will feel GOD'S fear in your belly
"the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" - the bible.
the real church is outside!
{coach ilg dancing 50' off the ground without a rope on a 5.9 friction slab in Indian Creek Canyon where many of his first ascent routes still remain. photo; (a nervous) Ananda}
{a shot of coach doing yoga/visualizing before climbing. photo; Ananda}
Jesus went to the desert; why don't you?
He considered wilderness as sanctuary and refuge (John 6:15)
i went to mass and studied comparative religions for decades.
i never heard the word, 'wilderness'...
in WF everything is as rooted as i can find and impart...we start from the Source; the Truest Source i can find be it
the SUNRIDER herbs or a Jump Squat for a minute in the gym, or the Ai Imawa Postures..the precursor of Tai Chi and yoga!
you stick with this Path and you will be getting hit again and again with the Truest Source of
spiritual teachings that i can find and know within my feeble self.
i bow to God inside a canyon wren,
i bow to Buddha as a petroglypy in a sandstone wall,
i bow to you
mighty armed Warrior of the Wholistic Fitness Way
for choosing to LISTEN
to YOUR PRECIOUS LIFE
and maybe even
get real enough with it
to chance long enduring days
alone
in the desert
to find what Jesus
Buddha
Moses
and the Yoga Masters found...
Enlightenment
within a sagebrush..
why do you think they call them
'sage'?
Ananda. Sage field. photo; ilg
go Warrior!
go into the desert
find for yourself a sage
and
SIT
and
LISTEN
and
SWEAT
until you EMPTY YOURSELF
FROM YOURSELF..
"Only when you loose yourself
will you find yourself."
-Jesus
that is all.
coach ilg
Welcome to Online WF Training:
Mike Goodman of lanham, MD!
New Student Goodman will be taking Study under
Teacher "Ko"...
May the WF Sangha wish New Student Goodman well in his
Studies!
�
i always look forward to Noble Warrior Student Alan Ludgate's
Cycle Summation's...they are filled with levity, self effacing wisdom,
and a remarkable Gift for receiving the Higher Vibrations of our Online
Training work together. want to read my actual input to his most recent
Cycle Summation? click here:
Coach's Input on your_ CYCLE SUMMATION.pdf