January 31, 2006
HONORING THY TEACHER; Student Lees
Dear Teacher Ananda,
I am starting February with Gratitude:
www.kristi-trinity.com/reflections.html
Bowing Humbly and Gratefully � to you!
In Practice and Posture,
shishya lees
STUDENT INPUT! TAPPED and WHACKED; The Crazy Wisdom of WF
i think he likes me...just wish these Students would wipe their slobber from their noses before kissin' all over me! During a MTB ride, Ananda captured me and Master Student and WF Website Devotee Hakado Ru (aka; john) in the pines..hate when that happens! Hakado visited the WF Temple recently and we went over the new changes for the website. we would have gotten more work done except, well, there is allWays too much FUN to be had breathing and moving in God's Playground!
"Steve & Joy,
It was a pleasure visiting the new Tribal HQ, a privilege to hook up with El Coache again and a true honor to meet Joy...a fellow class of 85'er.
There is definitely an energy or vibe there. The place is friggin' ALIVE with vibration. I was wide awake at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning and had to force myself to stay in. I figured I'd be tired from the drive, lack of "real" food on Saturday, etc. But, just the opposite. I felt completely energized.
I definitely noticed the absence of that energy once I got on the road and especially once I returned to my home in Vegas. A sign that much work needs to be done in my home temple. Although I do not have the luxury of a dedicated zendo, I must make the entire home one.
Love,
John"
***
STUDENT SASSO on "Pukability and The Wisdom of Intervals"
ever do intervals on sand? oh, you'll feel like puking...upside? if you do, the puke tends to blend in well with sand. Ananda crankin' through some cinders; Southern Utah style
"I am feeling slimmer, trimmer and more agile. I�m feeling a renewed commitment to the physical practices.
Intervals...a bit of a philosophical breakthrough of sorts. Towards the end, as I was cooling down, I remembered a comment by a student in DL about wanting to overcome the �sucking eggs� feeling during intervals. I think that�s part of the secret wisdom of intervals: the acceptance that you�ll never overcome that feeling. Even as we get fitter, if you don�t get that �I�m going to puke� feeling, you�re not pushing yourself hard enough.
And the thing is that the training effect is such that as you do get fitter, it�s harder (requires more muscle energy) to get that puking feeling, I think. At the beginning, you can real levels of pukability quite easily. As you progress, it requires more and more to get there. I think it�s exponential. So, you might think that you�re just not sucking eggs anymore and that you�re fitness level is improving, which it is. In order to keep the fitness level improving, though, you need to push harder on those intervals.
It was all sounding much more elegant and profound when I was outside running on the trail yesterday.
WF Online Student Sasso
report from her Cycle Summation; Feathered Lizard Program; meso 1
COACH ADDS:
with Abhyasa, the WF Practictioner builds a tolerance to the intense abdomino/thoracic pressures created by interval training. the organ attachments and insertions, and the walls of the vessels themselves experience a hypertrophic response, thus, the "pukability factor" decreases. if you are one to puke during high intensity cardio, focus on twisting postures in yoga, they will increase the ceiling of your puke tolerance. god i love this Path!
***
The power gain in me is noticeable, that Cosmic Yang is one hell of a programme....
Humbly as always
WF Online Student Simon Ash of Great Britain
***
One of the top selling Temple Products of 2005; WF Blessed Mala Beads. Each one is only delivered to you after a 3-Day Empowerment Ritual by myself right at the WF Home Zendo. Synchronicity begins dancing with auspicious delight cast upon the Wearer of WF Tribal Malas! This is a shot of mine being soaked in the Boynton Canyon Vortex in Sedona. Some Students send their Blessed Malas back to me after a year for a ReCharge. smart idea. these beads take on a LOT of the outer worldly crap that would otherwise hit your cells. They like to be ReCharged every year or so.
***
RE: DL 1*30*06
Coach:
Excellent DL today! Very inspiring. It is nice to see sometimes the bigger picture of what is going on in WF, so as not to get lost in the details.
Love
WF Online Student feather
***
Most noble Coach,
I know you get a bazillion e-mails, but I just wanted you to know that your words reach far...
Yogini J9
***
RE: DL 1/25:
Hello from SF you wonderful, shining beacon in the dark,
First, I just want to say thanks for yesterdays (1/25) DL. The power radiating from that backbend knocked me back in my chair and took my breath.
I was rereading �The Snow Leopard� on the train this morning and came upon a passage that I had highlighted with �Steve Ilg� next to it:
�However, I am getting hardened: I walk lighter, stumble less, with more spring in leg and lung, keeping my center of gravity deep in the belly, and letting that center �see�. At these times, I am free of vertigo, even in dangerous places; my feet move naturally to firm footholds, and I flow. But sometimes for a day or more, I lose this feel of things, my breath is high up in my chest, and then I cling to the cliff edge as to life itself.�
Wow!
Have a wonderful day.
Kevin
***
RE: DL 1/27
blessings my coach in this divine dance............DL between you and new online student ( jan 27 ) Whew----push buttons with my own dragon slayin efforts why don't ya.......then you throw Karl's chi in my face and here i am feeling the blues because this california spoiled warrior won't get in the pool in the rain..........my yoga this AM---your prop yoga dvd was dedicated to student karl and his chi and efforts on all our behalves.............so g(o)od to feel part of your tribe !
i was TAF this morning how absolutely incredible it is that you have been on the WF journey and the herbs for so long......when i digest that knowing, it is quite something. Defies words really yet sends such a feeling of awe inspiring energy down my spine . At my 75th birthday i'll be able to say i have been on this path for 25 years-----i know i know one step at a time , one herb at a time and one friggin jump squat at a time !
feeling the WF vibe..........
WF Online Student shel
***
SOMETHING IS ODD ABOUT WF MYSTIQUE...
Steve,
Interesting choice of symbols to send me...i received your OM symbol in the email...your only response to a letter i wrote you. i did not know what to think of it. that night, ironically, I applied the wholisticfitness.com decal to the rear window of my truck. I rubbed down hard on the backing, then peeled it off. As I was peeling the backing, I noticed that not all of the letters were sticking to the window.
I muttered "Fuck it!"
Since it was dark and the letter were black, I shone the flashlight on the window to see if what did stick.
"i n om"
I figured I'd leave that divine message right where it was.
John
***
RE: DL 1*28*06
Dear Coach,
You got me to laugh out loud with your metaphorical �Home Depot of Inner Work� (DL;1*28*06)�in that instant I saw a flash of you with your orange apron welcoming us to the WF tool shed. And ain�t that what it really is?!? Anyway, great dialogue in DL and I hope that this student sticks with it (I sense that s/he will).
Namaste.
WF Online Student michael
of Clan Haku
***
Namaste, Sweet Coach~
Thank you for these words and today's (every day's) DL.
The compassion and love that flows through you makes me smile, giggle and dance. cha cha cha!
My practices have been met every day with a new awareness, a new passion. My nutritional choices have
mostly been appropriate, and my SR regiment steady.
I'm excited by the shifts I feel and hear within myself when I think of others and talk with people. I TAF
that I'm more actively listening and bringing less ego into my words.
I sit with a page, a paragraph, a sentence from The Miracle of Mindfulness. I've felt myself wanting to
ask you, "what does this passage mean?" "Is this what he's talking about?" I'm recognizing where the
voice is coming from and am engaging myself to trust me - trust that I will see.
In flight,
new WF Online Student susan
of Clan Ananda
***
Missing the HP Yoga� vibe in LA...a shot of some HP Yogic Warriors during an "Adventure Sunday" workout in the Santa Monica Mountains just out the door of the once powerful, chi-filled HP Yoga� Studio in LA.
Steve,
Miss you man!! Loved those intense sweat sessions at Powerhouse and the HP studio!! I might have to drive to Flagstaff for a class:) I hear there's a possibility of you coming to LA in Feb. or March? Teaching at Mark Blanchard's also I hope?
Nat
***
Until we meet and gather like this again...may all your cardio sessions sing with divine sweat and may all your meditations sweat with the divine song...there ain't NOTHING like WF on the planet, and there sure ain't NOTHING like YOU...Oh Noble WF Student...Highly Skilled Across The Fitness Spectrum Yogic Warriors...From beneath the towering Ponderosa and cobalt carpet of Father Sky...Ananda and i bow to you. Raise your Heart Rate today; you will feel the WF Chi...Sit in Silence Today...you will feel our Love for your Inner Work.
the worlds needs Warriors of Light...
that means you
be brave today and not let the UnAwakened dim your Limitless Radiance...
have compassion for those who operate from Fear...
drop into your HeartSpace and CRANK THE LOVE, baby!
cuz
Love
is
all
there
is!
January 30, 2006
Awakening The Dance of Tapas
"The yogin must first know intellectually this map:
then realize that, "the map is not the territory," and thus begin a lifetime of animating what the map FEELS like by way of sweat and stillness:
Not until the Yogin animates the intellect by way of sweat and breath, will the inner engine of the Divine become known. What once began as doing a Barbell Curl more artfully, eventually becomes doing a Mula Bandha fanning of the Apana to Awaken the Flame of Kundalini. Two maps, it's just that one map is more refined and takes more inner work to realize than the other. However, do not throw out the lessons of learning the first map! The yogic journey requires a plethora of inner skills, so start with a Barbell Curl and keep each new lesson of Sweat along the Way as you continue to dive deeper and deeper within yourself. They don't call it the "Dive-in" (Divine) for nothing!" - coach ilg. Photo A: a snapshot of a Coach's Subtle Anatomy 101 private instruction. Photo B: a snapshot of Coach animating some of the energetic forces explained in Photo A by way of yogic practices.
***
"Just as it is essential for a bodybuilder to know anatomically his or her "Muscle Map" in order to most artistically create symmetry and balance within each bodypart, so too must the ever evolving Fitness Practitioner superimpose the "Subtle Anatomical Map"upon their psycho/spiritual body to train the more important, more refined powers within the body/mind. The yogi must know two things; their inner map, and the sweat to animate the map. Intellectual knowledge of these 'maps' is less than half the battle. As Sri K. Pattabhi Jois stated so perfectly about the Journey of Self Cultivation, "1% Theory, 99% Perspiration."
A medical practitioner knows the close relationship between the functions of ones organs. A very close relationship between respiratory and circulatory systems is clear. Even non-medical people can understand that "problems" in your colon effect your stomach. These kinships indicate that in order to have health, you have to pay heed, everyday, to all the limbs and organs of your body. Essentially, you simply cannot outfox the wisdom of a holistic approach when it comes to genuine, long-term care of the healing potentials of your body. These potentials must come from the inside out, and, as Swami Rama says, "make the best use of the resources that lie in the external world to support, heal , and nourish the forces that work inside you."
Now...
If you are a fitness practitioner like myself, you will know that there is a close relationship between the desire to continue your fitness endeavor and the role of your inner spirit to animate that desire. In Yoga, this Dance of Desire and Action is known as your "tapas"...your "burning desire to Rise Higher." (my definition). The degree of your Tapas is preconditioned by genetics, karmic factors, samskaras, and will. As long as you do not quit your Fitness Practice, you will be invited to witness, every day and in many clever often unSeen ways, the soap opera of the egoic structures. You will become intimate listener to the ceaseless rapport between your fitness and spiritual capacities.
I have found that Time shaves off zealous fitness ambitions efficiently. Over the course of a single decade, you clearly see how challenges in your motivation effect your body and health. This BattleDance of Desire versus Action, Sweat versus Rationalizations ensure that only the Tapasic Warriors enter the Heaven Within.
Spiritual Fitness carries a pre-requisite. It is this; Physical Fitness Across The Physiologic Spectrum. Think of it as a baseball player might know as, "first base." The First Base of Spiritual Fitness is physical command of all the limbs and organs of your body. For most of us, just reaching First Base will be our lifetime practice. I have been attempting to reach First Base for over 25 years, 5 World Championships in a dizzying array of elite physiologic diversity. Regardless of how fit i keep growing, my ability of ever becoming a Master of my limbs and organic potential just continues to enthrall, entice, and astound me. Then again, i am a feeble yogin. I realize that my Enlightenment (Conscious Transcendence Beyond The Body and Breath Barriers) pivots upon my reaching of First Base and i do not attempt to Teach anything beyond First Base; Mastery of the Physical Body. Some think that they can reach H(om)e Base by cleverly skipping First Base (the Body). My Teachers, my reading of the Sacred Scriptures, and my own Intuitive Wisdom and professional experience tell me, "No, you must first know First Base before you ever have a chance of rounding the bases and heading H(om)e." 
*My self created symbol for Wholistic Fitness�. Notice that, like a Baseball Diamond, my four spokes of lines (which represent Rain or 'Abundance" in the four directions of a human life), also give the impression of H(om)e Plate, First, Second, and Third Bases. I describe this symbol in basic terms on pages 9 and 12 of THE WINTER ATHLETE and TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION books, respectively. However, like the rest of WF, i ain't gonna let you into her deeper meanings until enough WF Sweat and Stillness has passed through your pores!*
Thus, to help myself and as my Practice of Karma Yoga, i began to formulate Wholistic Fitness� practices in 1982 as a professional fitness model which requires the student to work with their entire anatomy, physiology, and psychology through a 9-Limbed graduated, progressive spoked Pathway of Five Fitness Disciplines (strength, cardio, yoga, meditation, and nutrition) and 4 Lifestyle Principles (breath & posture, mindfulness, appropriate action, and practice). The WF� Student awakens their Tapas potential from what is already stirring within, then makes the best use of their time (be they 'householders' or fitness athletes or yogic warriors) to cultivate more refined energetic Teachers that lie in their internal and external worlds. This system of WF� practices, which is taught in the traditional Eastern manner of Teacher/Student (one-on-one) uses the Western technology of internet communication to guide, protect, love, and care. The science of WF� begins with unique Western fitness modalities then increases the subtlety and artistry of inviting ever more refined fitness practices which dovetail into the Ancient Teachings of the East. The result, proven again and again over the decades with thousands of people, produces a mature Tapas that ignites the WF� practitioner's Tapas for perfecting the process of integration and union...which in the East is known as, 'yoga'.
The next level of WF� teaches us how to create a harmonious balance between our body and mind.
The final level of WF� before i hand the Student off to my Teachers is an introduction to the most refined level of Fitness known as Astral or "Energetic Realm" Fitness. I am a mere Beginning Dancer of those Realms and must rely heavily on exceptionally taxing Assignments from my MahaNidraRishi. My ongoing studies with MahaNidraRishi (which i began in earnest with Him,at the start of the nineties), makes training for and competing in multisport world-class athletics look like kindergarten stuff. The pain and purification of Astral Fitness is absolutely terrifying and it requires a tremendous Threshold of Overcoming Fear. That is why i chose extreme sports and physical fitness mastery as a prelude to my Astral Fitness. As my skill command increases in this "Higher Level Gym" continues, i promise to impart to you faithful and devoted WF Warriors that which may be of benefit to your Practice. 
Yet, you can be sure, that any Astral Fitness counsel i may provide you over the next Phase of my own Training For Enlightenment, will come as grounding to your Spiritual Self as are my 1 minute, Staccato Technique� Jump Squats! We are a very grounded Tribe of Spiritual Warriors. I do not allow New Agey Flakey Wakies in my Temple of Sweat and Stillness. 
WF� is America's Native Yoga...though it might begin with learning how to do a more artful, mindful Barbell Curl, the Path itself leads the aspirant quite quickly to Pratyhara or Sense Withdrawl...which in my opinion, is the most important target for a Western spiritual athlete to learn. Once the practictioner gains Pratyharic Fitness, their Intuitive Wisdom, Faith, and Trust begins to soar so fast that they will no longer require the formal Path of WF�. Then, i can move on to the next student in line. "
- coach ilg
founder/Wholistic Fitness�
January 29, 2006
BRAHMANIC WHISPERS: G(o)OD MORNING AMERICA!
"When you nail your Early Morning Ritual, you will enter into the phenomenal world with eyes that see all things as (w)hol(e)y...a reason for this is that you begin to feel the exquisite nature of undifferentiated particulate matter. Feeling this massive, oceanic conglomeration of molecules that somehow Dance Their Way into what the common man sees as the "mundane" world...a feeling of Unconditional Compassion arises within your HeartSpace for their inability to see Maya (illusion). 
There you are, after your morning meditation, literally crying over the captivating miracle of your cat moving so beautifully in predawn light, the soaring edge of an abode wall as if reaching in prayer to Father Sky, 
the feel of a toothbrush against compacted molecules called your Teeth...there you are just flipping out at the majesty of It All...this unfathomable sweeping rush and stall of atoms, wavicles, and receptivity...then you walk into a room where someone is wolfing down a doughnut and coffee, eyes glued to a TV like a zombie watching GOOD MORNING AMERICA...you sense the oxymoron. You, Oh Noble Contemporary Yogin, are Waking Up to the REAL 'G(o)0d Morning'..the God Morning that is telecast from WITHIN! Do what it takes to gain inner purity; Start simply with getting on and staying on the SUNRIDER herbs for cellular purity, check your tongue for gossip and negativity for integrated purity, sweat each day for physiologic purity, meditate each day in some way for mental and emotional purity. 
These simple things will open etheric doors and you will step into your ever expanding sense of Inner Purity. Unless, of course, you do not wish to cry over such "stupid" things as brushing your teeth or appreciation of your cat...in that case, enjoy the addiction to comfort. Most do."
- From "Brahmanic Whispers"
by Coach Ilg
January 28, 2006
WF DEVOTEE KARL; OFFSET PUSH UPS IN DOG DOODOO? No Problem, Baby! Where's your CHI!?!?!
Above, Fitness Warrior Karl leads an early morning Saturday Workout Group in the "off leash" area of his local area...this guy's got the CHI, baby! At our WF Summer Retreat at Red Mountain Spa, last year, Karl was one of the PreDawn Warriors who got up and trained on our bikes before the "official" sessions began...
If i have told you once,i've told a hundred times; mark WF Devotee's Karl MacPhee's blog "KMP TRAINING SOLUTIONS" at:
http://kmptrainingsolutions.blogspot.com/
Karl, who is a fantastic Fitness Leader, offers a plethora of intelligent essays designed to inform and inspire those of us who understand the necessity of lifetime exercise. He is Canadian. He races bicycles. He loves hockey. So, well, i don't TAF i need to say anything more about this beautiful man's enthusiasm and choice to shine his Light as bright as possible.
An excerpt from his entry of today:
***
We have all read books, watched television programs and have heard on the news the risks of not getting enough exercise. What makes this article different is that I am not going to tell you that you need to get 30 minutes a day of this and 60 minutes a day of that. I won�t preach about the percentage of calories you need to take in of a certain macronutrient (carbohydrates, protein & fat) and I will not tell you that you need to spend a ton of money on a gimmick or a gym membership that you won�t use. What I will tell you is that you do need to exercise, you will also have to consider making some lifestyle changes, and you will have to continue as long as we are no longer hunters and gatherers. Yes this is true, and for some of you it is unfortunate, but let me say this� it is also unfortunate to die early of a disease which you could have prevented through a simple plan of exercise, healthy eating and positive lifestyle choices.
In the book Total Body Transformation (Ilg 2004), Steve Ilg describes nutrition as something �you experience through your environment, occupation, relationships, posture, breath, hobbies, thoughts, fitness training, sleep and awareness�. By looking at �Nutrition� this way, we are then able to make positive lifestyle changes such as the job we hold, the people we spend our time with, the extra curricular activities we choose and the way we think and feel. Not only is this example of �nutrition� practical, it is also easy. Once you are in the habit of organizing your life around the positive nutritional choices, exercise will no longer be something that you have to do, you will choose to exercise!
Since we are on the topic of exercise, one of the excuses is that people don�t know what to do even if they did want to exercise. This is understandable, because in the past 20 years, the fitness industry has changed greatly. These changes are not only based on scientific research, they are driven by the consumer as well. Take for example Gyrotonic Training �predominately used by dancers, which combines Yoga, Dance, Gymnastics, Swimming and Tai Chi. For the average person, the ability to accurately and safely combine all of these aspects into one training program would cause mass confusion. It takes years to progress in Yoga alone, and now someone is expected to master four other aspects of fitness!
Another example of a fitness trend which is currently gaining recognition (although there have been people teaching it for many years) is that of a Holistic approach to fitness. This approach combines many different combinations of training into one program such as Strength Training, Cardiovascular Training, Olympic lifting, Meditation, Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Pilates, and so on. This again can cause confusion and usually requires someone to pay a fee to hire a qualified coach which of course is fine.
Two examples of coaches who are qualified and walk their talk are Steve Ilg www.wholisticfitness.com and Paul Chek www.chekinstitute.com .
I have featured both individuals numerous times and I have had the pleasure of meeting Steve Ilg �he is extremely passionate about his work.
The following list is an example of the top 10 fitness trends for 2006:
Sport specific training
Group personal training
In home personal training
Senior�s specific fitness programs
Simple, accessible exercise
Balance Training
Workplace fitness
Healthier restaurants
Mind/Body programs
Functional fitness
*Adapted from http://exercise.about.com/od/healthinjuries/tp/fitnesstrends.htm
Note that there have been individuals practicing such �trends� for many years, the only difference is that the consumer is now wanting the service more often for a variety of reasons.
January 27, 2006
Note For Flag HP Yogis
Namaste Noble Flagstaff HP Yogis!
"Focusing on one point is concentration. Focusing on all points at the same time is meditation....When you are overstretching somewhere to get the optimum movement, have you ever noticed that you are also giving too little attention to other parts of the body?"
- B.K.S Iyengar
once again, each of you were soooo BEAUTIFULLY focused last Wednesday!
Great job!
i trust our Hip Opener into Spinal Twist sequence has you feeling yet another Notch Higher?
well,
here is what Joy has planned for Sunday Morning at 11:00 am:
� Ujjayi Breathing Rehearsal
� "HP Yoga� Sun Salutation Series C" breakdown and clinic into vinyasa
� and a special Savasana closing meditation and announcement...
so, we looking to Serving you on Sunday...
you are a special breed of Peaceful Warriors
and we are honored to sweat and sit still with each of you...
coach and joy
from beneath the Sacred Mountain
complimentary Daily WF Meditation:
http://wholisticfitness.blogspot.com/
TERRAIN FOR THE BRAVEHEARTED WARRIORS; WF Is Where The Path Gets Steep Immediately!
If you are accepted into WF Online Training, you will be coached in the Way of the Ancient Yoga Masters; we target your weakenesses right from the get go, and dedicate ourselves to helping you Dance Those Inner Dragons That Limit Your Embrace Of The Limitless Nature Within You. However, like a field of snow right outside your door (body)...you must be willing to break a new Path through deep, demanding effort...and this Self Created Path must allWays point one direction; Upward, yogin! Toward the Purest Source...ever Upward, Ever Onward, Ever Inward! Otherwise, look for another Path, not WF. Around here, we actually give a Damn about your Highest Efforts in Self Cultivation! Why do you think i work so hard at these DL's? For fun?! Okay, maybe a little...yet Trust me...over these years i have devoted myself, my Work, my Teachers, my Life to inspire YOUR INNER WORK! below, i offer you an honest, actual Glimpse into just how fast i get new Online Students to step up to their Plate...their Highest Spiritual Plate! i don't like wasting my precious time or energy and i certainly ain't gonna waste yours! Ready to Dance? Join WF Online Training, baby!
It'll turn your Mundane Life into a Yogin's Pathway Toward Enlightenment!!!
just JUMP!!! into WF Online! A graduated, progressive, private journey into your Highest Potential in this Lifetime. Photo of coach ilg extreme pinnacle jumping in the Washington Cascades republished by popular demand. John Terrance Turner photography.
namaste,
coach ilg
January 26, 2006
THE SIX OBSTACLES OF YOGA and The Hour of God; Brahmamuhurta
Oh yeah..this is the same guy that is, "gonna train HARDER THE BUDDHA to reach Enlightenment in one lifetime." coach ilg sleeping away in a nap, his chances for Enlightenment while Temple Cat Being Charlie seems unperturbed by coach's flagrant violation of yogic work. "Hey, it was a long workout and, well, at least i fell asleep with my YogaToes� on!" rationalized Coach.
***
"In yoga the development of inner strength is traditionally said to be impeded by six factors: overeating; excessive exertion; acting in ways that shock the body and dissipate one's energies, such as taking a cold bath in the morning, eating at night, or eating only fruit;� the excessive company of people; irregularity or unsteadiness in one's practices; and oversleeping.� The last - immoderate sleep - produces sluggishness, dulls the mind, obstructs the memory, and dissipates one's physical and spritual strength.� Sleep in the daytime increases the three doshas and should be strictly avoided.� Ideally the {sincere} student should rise in the morning at dawn or about 4 am. {known as the Hour of Brahma or Brahmamuhurta}.� �With some effort, rising early will not be difficult but will become as natural as rising late."
- Swami Rama
A LOVE NOTE and NOTICE TO MY LA HP YOGA� SANGHA
Photo of former HP Yoga� Studio teacher, Michelle Ringler shot by her husband and noble WF Online Warrior Student Steve Mackel (www.trithiscoaching.com) at "Pipeline", Hawaii
***
Namaste Noble HP Yogic Warriors!
we miss you!
Joy and i trust that you are keeping your Practice Strong and Sincere!
thank you for all the great input about how DIRECT LINES, my daily blog, has
proved such valuable companion for your Journey! Currently, you can read about
my crazy qualification race for the 2006 National Snowshoe Championships as well as,
"The Sickness Of Sport Specficity," plus sooooo much more! FRESH EACH DAY:
DIRECT LINES...Daily Meditations from Coach Ilg
If you have been reading "DL", you know that Joy and I have
started regular classes in High Performance Yoga� here in the lofty air of Flagstaff
(man, those "Chair Pose" holds are tough at 7,200'!) and we are already creating quite
the strong, focused HP Yoga� Sangha up here beneath the Sacred Peak...so be sure to
come by and take a class! We are only 6 hours from LA and it is snowing! So c'mon up!
We will be visiting LA either in Feb or March...watch DL for the announcement.
In the meantime, here is a great opportunity to tide you over with Michelle Ringler,
one of our beautiful Teachers at the old HP Yoga� Studio:
***
Michele's special 108 Sun Salutation Class
class Details: This Friday, January
27, 7 p.m. At Mark Blanchard's Power Yoga in Studio City. Cost $25 about 2.5
hours long, has great training and cleansing value!
email Steve Mackel at the above CC for more info!
***
i bow to you from beneath the Sacred Mountain,
coach ilg, ryt/uscf/cpt
author/Total Body Transformation
founder/www.wholisticfitness.com
PLANET EARTH; aka; HOT YOGA STUDIO also...STUDENT INPUT!
The Sacred Peak(s) last night after another light dusting of snow...That is Mt. Humphreys winking at us behind Agassiz Peak. These Peaks are over 12,000' and function like a gigantic cluster of single terminated crystals; they Amplify and Transmit the Earth's Chi. And let me tell you, when you got the Female Vortices of the Grand Canyon to the north of these peaks, and the UltraYin Mystical Sedona on the south...baby, these Male Peaks shoot the axial Earth Chi like crazy; you live here and your Creativity and Subtle Anatomy just skyrockets! The Pranic concentration and quality within these Sacred Peaks is the cleanest and most powerful i know of on "Turtle Island" (aka; North America). That is why i moved here as my chronologic age increases, my energetic age is reversing. That is to say; it is becoming easier, faster, and fantastically more, uh, interesting to tap into and develop my Subtle Anatomical Fitness. I am a Fitness Trainer, anyway, remember? Well, what do you TAF Fitness Training is all about? The genuine Fitness Trainer leads his or her students toward Bardo Fitness cuz the Game don't stop on your Last Gasp...it merely Shifts the Playing Arena!
***
Oh Oh!
i hope you've been cranking along in your Bardo Training, cuz you all remember what happened to our ol' Dinosaur Beings when Ma Earth shivered with only a slight change in Her overall temperature?
Yeah, well,
read this and you better beef up your Tibetan Death Meditations and Bardo Training, baby...Live Each Day Like You Mean It and make sure you are on a Path that will have you Enter The Bardo consciously fit and ready to Shift cuz' it's happening fast:
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/
***
What kind of carpets do Eskimos usually prefer?
BrrrBrrr! (Berber)
Shuddup! I just made it up yesterday, jeezo!
***
Question To Coach:
What is the first "real food" you usually take in the morning?
Answer From Coach:
'Evergreen' from SUNRIDER Herbs. talk about a fully loaded CHI HIT! slamming this tiny vial of superconcentrated greens is like eating several pounds of greens right off the bat to start my day! i chase this 'Evergreen' intake with a few squirts of 'VItaSpray' and i am flying along for a few early morning hours before eating any physical food.
to join the Temple Garden of SUNRIDER� Herbs, just click on one of my Certified WF Teachers on the left, or, email me at:
ilgtrain@npgcable.com
i will personally hook you up and guide you along my exclusive and proven Path of 'cellular upgrading' known as, "Coach Ilg's 3-Phase Approach To Using The SUNRIDER� herbs"). there is a physiologic reason why most people don't meditate or exercise. they don't feel go(o)d enough to! getting on these Secret Herbs? you will, baby. you will!
***
master yogi steve:
i wanted to share
as you know, i complained of pain in my left psoas.
over the past few months it has become severe
previously, once the muscle was heated i didn't experience any pain.
now, sitting for too long and when sleeping i'm awaken with pain.
i couldn't even practice vinyasa yoga (to painful)
but, i can't sit still
so, i decided to try your HP YOGA� PROP WORKOUT � dvd...
I can't believe it
i'm feeling so much better after practicing with the tape twice.
you are the master!
i just wanted to thank you
always,
your humble student
vic
***
A HAPPY RE-BIRTHDAY TO STUDENT "TREE" ASH!
Dear Coach Ilg,
Today marked a highpoint for me in my Yoga, being able to do 'Tree Pose' (the name of which I am ashamed to admit I do not know in Sanskrit) on my left leg without losing balance and toppling over.
That this is due to the effects of my WF training I do not doubt, and I write this to express my thanks.
Humbly
Simon Ash
***
RE: DL 1*23:
***
Hey Wounded Buffalo:
I love you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fit Kit
Ironman Champion/Canada
***
To my dear wounded buffalo..........Congrat---CHI----lations ! In deep gratitude we stand together on the start line of human awakening............you one wild and crazy coach and today awareness of my breath and posture are dedicated to you and your efforts to teach all us yogis a thing or two about life off the mat !
let it snow............love student shel
***
On Jan 24, 2006, at 7:19 PM, j. kildahl wrote:
Coach--
Cold Sweat looked a frickin' a blast!
sorry i missed it.
thank you for referencing in DL something dear to
my Heart --'unflappable Nordic Spirit.'
in Nordic descent,
-Madness
Coach Replies:
***
Dear Coach,
Just reading DL (1*21*06),
you are such a Divine Light (hey! D.L! ;-) ). Thank you for making me listen, think, reflect, sit a little straighter and SMILE!
You are truly one of a kind and I am so blessed to have crossed your Path.
Bowing deeper each day, each breath�
humble student lees
**
I have to say that yoga makes me feel everything.
To feel better in my body. To grow stronger and more agile. I want to feel less of the sucking eggs sensation during intervals and increase my stamina during cardio. I want to continue my journey into my mind, focus, awareness can only lead to knowing who I am. And knowing myself is fitness. My goals for fitness include expanding into my work, my trainings, my programs my awareness and my intent to be an authentic human being. In my mind � want -� stems from noble desire far more than it did when we started. The sensation of being me, inside me, beside me, a working thinking feeling me is my path.
scott chreist
***
COMING UP IN DL:
�) MEETING A MASTER
�) THE TRUTH OF THE TEACHINGS: THE FOUR RELIANCES
�) RUNNING FEET: A Mountain Yogi's Secret
�) THE CARE AND STARVATION OF THE EGO
�) COACH ILG IS A FRAUD!!! (Oh, yeah, can't you tell?!!)
� COACH ILG NOMINATED FOR...GET THIS: A BUSINESS LEADERSHIP AWARD!!
�) SUNRIDER EXEC "INTERESTED" IN COACH ILG'S "3-Phase Approach"!
�) ANANDA's STYLIZED SOUTHERN BREAKFAST
�) MT. TAYLOR WINTER QUADRATHLON: A DEFENSE OF MY TITLE BEGINS!
and that's just the tip of the iceberg baby...
where the Heaven Else do you get this type of UNMITIGATED LOVE AND CHI FOR FREE!?!?!?!
Well, WF Webmaster Hakado Ru is schedule to arrive at the Temple soon to roll the boulder over DL to protect
our generous Teachings that have continued to be exploited by other less, uh, well, you know..."common" trainers and 'teachers' and low lying snakes in the grass! well, it's time to go within the Tribal DL Kiva, baby!
once DL becomes a Subscription again, like back in the ol' days when people actually respected a Coach's intellectual property and i KNOW that the only Warriors reading DL are those that are willing to see the Wisdom of having DL in their lives for a few cents per day? WATCH OUT, baby! Cuz i am going to RAMP UP THE TRIBAL CHI like never before! We will be doing "Guided DL Quests" where we can do fitness programs together, dietary quests, Student Profiles, enhanced and interactive Coaching Chats LIVE!, Bardo Training, WF Approved Workouts a la carte!, and historical journeys into the world's original Transpersonal Fitness Path; WF!!!
NOWHERE BUT RIGHT HERE BABY; DL!!! The Electronic Sacred Scripture For Those Who Sweat and Sit Still!
Since 1982...
Wholistic FItness�; Training The Way The Ancients Would...TODAY!
January 24, 2006
THE SICKNESS OF SPORT SPECIFICITY; Either Too Much Yin or Too Much Yang. WF= Balance!
The Balanced Point between Supple Strength and Endurance is where i have built the philosophies and teachings of Wholistic Fitness� including her unique intradisciplines of HP Yoga� and Sunrider� herbs. Since 1982 i have taught a Balanced Approach while competing in the extremes of ultra endurance and ultra strength as navigation points for my students. A Yogini above shows a beautiful expression of Urdhva Dhanurasana or Upward Facing Bow Posture (aka - mistakenly - Wheel Pose)...a posture that requires many of the elements of WF; strength, endurance, and balanced openness of the Heart Center (Anahata Chakra). It can take some of us WF Warriors decades to be able to express this pose while maintaining fitness within the other physiologic disciplines and inner, meditation work. I have seen this pose kick the ass of even famous ultra athletes (see my story below). To be able to do this pose can make even world class ultra endurance athletes literally GIVE UP before they accomplish it! In this Path, our Students realize that genuine Wholeness takes time. According to yogis, often lifetimes are required to pierce through our various kleshas (afflictions, negative tendencies, preconscious habits) and reach Enlightenment.
below, i address a letter from WF Online Student, SS:
***
blessings coach -
----you gonna love this one...........I'm talking story as the hawaiians would say.
I was just looking at Runners World� -actually the subscription belongs to my dog so i won't have to admit to looking at it.
On page 63 feb issue there is a picture of Pam Reed (an ultra marathoner ). I was shocked given what my eyes observed , that she is 45. I thought i got to test this out---is it just me-----so i interrupted E who was practicing her french horn ( man those yogi lungs can toot that horn ) and didn't show her anything but the picture of Pam Reed. All i asked was, 'how old do you think this woman is?' After looking closely she said 70. I said she's 45. E asked, "is she sick? " I said....no she's a famous ultrarunner"
get pam reed on SUNRIDER�.........!! And WF!!
love ranting again
student s
***
COACH RESPONDS:
since a picture is worth at least a thousand incarnations when it comes to seeing Balance or the lack thereof:
Possible Addiction to Yang. Too much strength. Perhaps not the exactly the type of gal you would want to bring home to mom...unless mom was a competitive Bodybuilder. Now, although i have gained the podiums of competitive Bodybuilding myself, i knew when it was time to back off and start retooling my deep fiber fitness into a wider physiologic dance. i never did steroids. my reason was strictly spiritual. the very moment a human being takes Steroids, my Teachers taught me, he or she cuts and irreversibly damages the spiritual self. the natural human being becomes a sophomoric chemistry experiment. any accomplishments gained under the influence of steroids will be of no help in the Bardo because the Bardo Realms tests only our GENUINELY DEVELOPED CONSCIOUSNESS, not chemically altered consciousness. 
Possible Addiction to Yin; too much endurance. this is a photo of Pam Reed, ultramarathoner, taken by my friend "Chris Kostman and Staff." Granted, i too, have collapsed at the end, and sometimes during, my various ultramarathon and winter mountaineering epics. It ain't a pretty sight. And, though i gained the podiums of ultraendurance sports including running, i also know how to choreograph my training year so i don't look like concentration camp fodder. Many ultraendurance athletes would be wise to take a year or two away from the high concussion and muscle atrophying effects of ultra training and get into the Iron Temple and on the Yoga Mat to impart some deep fiber reservoirs and to bring biomechanic structure, flexibility, and mental poise. Yet, i swear to Lord Patanjali, trying to talk some simple Wholistic Fitness� common sense into sport specific athletes is like working with Addicts. they are in Denial of their Fear of Wholeness. Pam states that her goal is to, "motivate people of all speeds and ages to set a fitness goal that will encourage a healthier lifestyle." Hmmmmm. 
In this shot of me training in Flag with Student S during a Private Intensive, you can easily see the functional approach of Wholistic Fitness� Warriorism by way of physique comparison to the above two athletes. All three of us have reached podiums. However, i was able to reach the podium in both of their sports while also maintaining a Balanced Suppleness between their worlds of Strength and Ultra Endurance. Why should this notion of Wholeness be so scary to so many so-called, "athletes"? Is not the very definition of athletics pivot upon versatility of fitness?
Who started this movement away from Artful, All Encompassing Fitness to this weird Obsessive/Compulsive Sport Specificity?
Ain't it Way More Fun to be a Dancer of ALL the Physiologic and Mental Realms?
Yogin,
you choose:
Sport Specific Addiction (this includes Studio Asana Addiction or SAA Syndrome!)
or
Wholistic Fitness� Balance.
seems kinda like natural, God-pleasing, common sense to me! Penetrate ALL the miracles of the human body's capacities! DANCE THE DIVINE DANCE!!!
***
Sport Specific Athletes are not Warriors.
For Warriors are Balanced Beings; not too much Intellect, not too much Brute Power. Warriors are adepts at Skillfulness; Strength + Endurance + Suppleness.
Pro Tennis Players should have to switch Dominant Hands every Set.
Pro Football should have mandatory Hurry Up Offense for the first and third quarters.
Pro Golfers should have to switch Dominant Hands on odd numbered tees.
Pro Endurance athletes should have to be seeded according to a Powerlifting Competition the day before their race.
Pro Strength athletes should have a Omnium 10k Race the day before their strength event; points transferred over.
Pro Bowlers should have to switch Dominant Hands to pick up Spares.
Pro Basketball Players? Will someone PLEASE get some skates on those guys? Jeeezo!
Pro Baseball Players should have to...oh hell, just forget Baseball Players. let 'em chew their tobacco and take their damned drugs, they are all comin' back as synthetic astro turf fibers anyway.
Oh, and get those cigarette smoking Poker Players the hell off of my ESPN!
...however, i digress.
Sport Specific Athletes despise true Wholeness for it takes them out of their cherished Comfort Zones.
To Cultivate Wholeness requires working on your weaknesses, not your strengths.
So,regardless of how painful a Sport might be for a Sport Specific athlete, in that pain lies a great big wide Comfort Zone for their egos.
A True, Common Story:
A famous UltraEndurance Athlete came to my HP Yoga� Studio in LA awash in his pride as an 'athlete'. Well, i kicked his stiff bodied ass in a fairly easy HP Yoga� sweatfest and even through the emotional baggage of his pride, he saw the Light of HP Yoga�.
Later, he approached me with Tapas in his eyes and said, "Ilg, I am going to do Wheel Pose {he meant Urdhva Dhanurasana, the intense backbend pictured in opening photo) within two years!"
"Really?" I asked, "Wow..that's great! Just so you know, it took me over 15 years to do Wheel Pose because of the Endurance Sports i do. Don't hurt yourself. Backbends are tough for endurance athletes, pace yourself with your breath. You are a sport-specific endurance athlete, maybe you should give yourself a bit longer than two years."
"Nope, two years," he thundered, " I know that when i set my mind to something, I DO IT!"
I smiled to myself and said nothing more. I am well acquainted with such up front Bravado from the Newly Converted when the Yoga Light is flipped on. I was the same way. Once.
It is now four years later from that conversation.
The famed "athlete" that can set his mind to do anything?
Still years away from doing Wheel Pose.
However, he is still running ultramarathons and remains well applauded by the conventional mainstream for being such a "great athlete."
Go figure.
The UnAwakened always rewards Specificity.
Only the Masters enjoy Balanced Versatility.
Noble Yogin On The Path of Balance:
it is both a Blessing and a Curse
to be Awake
Wholistically Awake
during
Kali Yuga.
do what you can to help others find Balance
instead of the predictable addiction to Obsession and Possession.
May all beings be happy and know the causations of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and know the causations of suffering.
om mani padme hung,
coach ilg
January 23, 2006
COACH QUALIFIES FOR NATIONALS...in the most..uh...ILGISH of WAYS!
"Wear them and it will come," i told Channel Two News who interviewed me after the race, "i ran in snowshoes today to appease the Snow Gods." photo by www.MyRacePics.com
Namaste Noble Warriors!
Yesterday, i qualified for the National Snowshoe Championships in one of the, no, DEFINITELY the most strangest and painful qualifiers i have ever had the honor of doing. 
Here i am proving - once again - my insanity and my unflappable Nordic Spirit. This is about a mile into the 6.2 mile race, as i began losing contact with the completely sane runners. i designed the undulating, high altitude (8,300') race course in October to be a USSSA Rocky Mountain Snowshoe Regional Qualifier. photo by Ananda.
Since no real snow has fallen on the Race Course, i and Flagstaff Nordic Center Director Wendell Johnson, turned the event into, "The Snow Or No Trail Race" which attracted about 40 competitors. only i was idiotic enough to actually do the race wearing snowshoes!
"Hey," i told Channel Two News, "the USSSA Rulebook states that, 'regulation snowshoes must be worn at all times.' So that's what i did. I don't care if there is not any snow...it's what Yogi's do..we live out our Truth no matter what!" i finished the 10k Course clomping about in Snowshoes like a "...wounded Buffalo.." in a time of 54:12. hey, i even beat several runners!}
Before the Start Gun went off, i had to get on the Loudspeaker and address the runners explaining, awkwardly standing there in my snowshoes on dirt, that this Trail Race was actually a Snowshoe Qualifying Race. If they wanted, they could join the USSSA and use this Race as a chance to qualify for going to Nationals. Here is the expression that most of the runners had on their face after my announcement: 
Meet Luke and Kerri, two of my HP Yoga� students here in Flagstaff. We train for races like this one by using HP Yoga� classes twice per week. When Luke passed me out on the course at around Mile 4, i had been hobbled by painful cramps from jarring my joints on the steel cleats since Mile 2. Luke gasped as he passed me, "Coach...you look like a wounded Buffalo!"
"Student Luke," i gasped among the aspen back to him,
"...i FEEL like a wounded Buffalo!!!"
Flagstaff HP Yogin, Luke at Mile 4 after passing me on a 800 meter climb...if you squint, you can see me, 'Wounded Buffalo', still on the hill behind him.
***
THE WISDOM OF THE CHILDREN...
Before the race, Ananda (far left) was elected to start the KIDS RACE...
Oh man...HILARIOUS...these kids put Ananda into Oxygen Debt by sprinting off the start like Michael Johnson...
only to stop the moment they got out of sight of the adoring crowd..
i got worried that the kids would put the big hurt on Ananda, run off into the forests, and get eaten by Sasquatch.
so i wrote off my pre-race ritual and ran the Kids Race with Ananda...it turned out to be the highlight of my day!
Ananda and i "raced" with the kids over their 1 kilometer course...and let me tell you...these little ones canvassed EVERY KNOWN HUMAN EMOTION during that 1K epic race!
this is Andrew (age 4) in front of Ryan (age 6). i 'raced' with them. Andrew refused to wear gloves in the 12-degree cold. Mountain kids are tough kids. Notice how Andrew is coaching you in true CHI RUNNING! he is floating; his feet are not even touching Mother Earth. his spine? superbly elegant. his head is buoyant. his arms are relaxed. his knee/ankle/toe alignment is ideal. most importantly, he is not worried about his "result". Andrew is merely, simply, and beautifully demonstrating to us how to RUN WITH NATURAL CHI!
of course, kids are not Enlightened because they lack precisely what the Spiritual Journey is all about; developing equanimity. at one point, Andrew and i were "racing" toward the finish line after many emotional ups and downs...he looked up at me, exasperated, and said with complete adult matter-of-fact tonality, "I simply cannot take this any longer."
of course, two seconds later we were racing toward the cheering crowd again, hand in frozen hand...
***
RACING IS NOT ABOUT WINNING...
IT'S ABOUT KNOWING OURSELVES...
..and that, My Noble Warriors, is what racing is all about.
{HP Yoga� student Kerri, cranking past a competitor with less than a kilometer to go.}
{Mile 5; left calf complex is not functioning. every step jams the steel binding plate into my feet, sending scissor cutting pain through my hammered ankles, knees, and hips. my mantra at this point was the Paiute Native mantra,
"keep a'goin,
keep a'goin,
keep a'goin..."}
Racing is not about winning,
it's about knowing ourselves.
It's not about having ideal conditions on Race Day...
and
It ain't about qualifying for Nationals.
It's about challenging yourself.
Racing is about
Beginning
again
and again,
and endlessly again...
Racing is about
going beyond your ego limits and tapping into that part of you that is Unlimited...
So today,
Toe The Start Line...
be as Elegantly Conscious
in EVERYTHING you do today...
my coaching counsel is to begin with Wholistic Fitness� Lifestyle Principle #1; Breath and Posture.
Right now; Begin.
and when you forget about your Conscious Breath and Posture
then i want you to do this;
Begin Again.
This is the Start Line of Human Awakening;
making Conscious that which is Unconscious.
Until we actually begin our Awakening,
we can never mine that which is deepest within us...
we can never mine the Divine potential which make up
this single most miraculous conglomeration of molecules i have ever
studied...
the precious human life.
Namaste,
coach ilg
qualifier/USSSA 2006 National Sport Snowshoeing Championships
***
SPECIAL THANKS:
�) to my dirtshoe sponsor...errr, i mean, my SNOWSHOE SPONSOR: Atlas... what other snowshoe could have taken a crazy ass coach ilg beating like this and come out undamaged? buy the Best; buy ATLAS! www.atlassnowshoe.com
�) Wendell and Tim at:
http://www.flagstaffnordiccenter.com/
�) Mark Elmore at:
http://www.snowshoeracing.com/home.htm
�)
and heap big thanks to my Beloved Ananda; baby..i bow in wow to your amazing support of this Wounded Buffalo stumbling across the alpine forests of Arizona...we'll do fine in the Bardo...just fine...
� for more photos of this race and other awesome race pics:
http://myracepics.com/mrp/findpictures.asp?raceid=112&RacerNumber=228
January 21, 2006
The Great Thing About Yoga
"The great thing about yoga?
everything in life is a constant test to your willingness to LIVE it!"
- coach ilg
5 World Championships, 4 Physiologically Diverse Sports
note:
DIRECT LINES will be off Sacred Duty on Sunday, January 22nd
as i attempt to qualify for the 2006 National Snowshoe Championships
send me...
no
SWEAT me
(y)our TRIBAL CHI, baby!
signed,
among, seemingly, the last remaining Coaches that Walks Their Talk....
coach ilg
WF DHARMASPEAK: Five Questions To Coach
Question #1:
Overall, my equanimity has been balanced this week due to my steadiness of Practice. However, I have been feeling a bit of heaviness yesterday and today. My TAF is that it�s the collective cloud of fear that has been stirred up in NYC due to renewed terrorist threats.
COACH:
Pay attention to
and work
Within.
Be ready to die at any Moment and the "terrorists" (another form of Shiva Dancing)
will only add to your Appreciation of the Preciousness of Practice. This will help fire your Tapas (Burning Desire For Enlightenment).
Question #2:
Practices have continued to gain strength this week. Today was the third day in a row that I got out of bed before 7 am. How important is it for me to actually keep training myself to rise up early? It's kinda of a scary thought...
COACH:
"Conquest of Sleep" (Nidra-Jaya) is vital to a Hatha Yogin. it is in fact, mentioned as a Yama (a moral discipline) in the Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati (2:32).
A Yogin cannot Awake - in the spiritual sense - if he or she chooses to sleep during the Brahmanic Hour (Brahma-Muhurta).
This Brahmanic Hour is pre-dawn into Sunrise. Twilight into Sunset is another, albeit less potent, Brahmanic Hour.
The Pranic Flow is strongest during these times and the Maya Veil (The Sheath of Illusion) is at its thinnest.
As Swami Sivananda teaches, "When you regularly enter into deep meditation, the system derives considerable rest and automatically sleep can then be reduced. That will not affect your health. Sleep should be reduced gradually and cautiously. Now, for a month go to bed at 9-30 p.m. and get up at 4 a.m. After a month, go to bed at 10 p.m. and get up at 3-30 a.m. Again, after a month go to bed at 10-30 p.m. and get up at 3 a.m. Thus, by gradual means you can reduce your sleep. Sleeping in day-time must be avoided."
Question #3:
Not too much to report from my Early Morning Rituals except that they are steady. What should i be looking for?
COACH:
Trust in yourself.
Look for that Trust in yourself.
For through your Steadiness of Practice you will soon be able to draw more details from your EMR as your Inner Listening Skills mature.
Soon, there will be TOO MUCH to report because each Conscious Breath during EMR
will give birth to an ever deepening inJoyment of learning how to Release that which is stuck.
you will experience an Opening Into Your Natural State Of Quiet, Sacred Joy.
Question #4:
Who will win the Australian Open?
COACH:
"Fed Ex" for the guys (sorry, Andy!) and
Lindsay Davenport will make the best use of the heated, slow courts and thump all the Russian Women into submission (sorry Martina..personally, i dig you and Federer ...beautiful, stylish, and elegant. zen tennis baby).
Question #5:
What two Renunciations should i do as 'mandatory' to become Awake to the Inner Work?
COACH:
1) fight your Addiction To Comfort wherever you can Find It. here are some of the major BattleGrounds: Addiction to Furniture, Addiction to Dominant Hand, Addiction to cars, Addiction to input, Addiction to worry, and Addiction to specificity.
and
2) Speak less, Listen more.
thank you for reading,
Heya!
coach ilg
founder & Chief Tribal Elder/Wholistic Fitness� Clan
Beads Of Sweat = Seeds of Enlightenment
"Tribal Brothers and Sisters...
within the multi-layered
beads of sweat
from our
Daily Practices
lies
the Seeds
of our
Enlightenment."
May your Practice be strong and sincere today,
Om Mani Padme Hung,
coach ilg
FLAGSTAFF HP YOGA SANGHA NOTICE
Namaste!
Namaste!
Namaste!
"Yoga citta vrtti nirodhah."
=
The restraint of the modifications (fluctuations) of the mind-stuff is Yoga.
Yoga Sutra, 1;2
***
how are those abs, feelin'? recovered yet? feeling "well trained"?
you guys are great! beautiful class last Wednesday! we CRANKED!
***
just a note;
to remind you that there is NO class on Sunday Morning...
we are doing the "Snow or No Trail Run" and mountain bike tomorrow up at the Nordic Center (10 am) .
***
also;
i know i told a few of you that i would be doing the Saturday Morning
bicycle training ride this morning at 10 am (meets at Late For The Train downtown),
however Joy and i snowshoed Agassiz Peak yesterday (yes, there IS snow up on the peak!)
and we need to take a bit of a Recovery Day today,
do some HP yoga...
and then do the Trail Run tomorrow!
Joy is probably just going to walk it, so come on up!
Life in Flag...ain't it grand?!
we will see you in class on Wednesday night.
The Intent of Wednesday's Class will not be as 'strong vinyasa' as last Wednesdays
however, the focus will be on
sustaining some hip openers (always fun stuff!), an intro to Headstand, and a new Pranayam!
i bow to you from beneath the Sacred Mountain,
coach ilg, ryt/uscf/cpt
author/Total Body Transformation
founder/www.wholisticfitness.com
complimentary Daily WF Meditation:
http://wholisticfitness.blogspot.com/
January 20, 2006
CONTROL ISSUES
***
� the two LEAST limiting factors: age and gender�
- coach haku
***
g(o)od morning coach and teacher A-----
blessings from this howling laughing genuine spirit of the WF path
beautiful piece this AM on DL. You know how those photos of teacher A inspire me to perspire ! From the depth of my heart----heart felt great-full-ness for all that you BE to DO all that you do for us all............
IN joy your day..............
love,
shelli
www.joyinmovement.com
January 19, 2006
Forget "Pranic Flow"...Sometimes, You Just Gotta Show Up!
"There are times in the Iron Temple (or any aspect of your training) where it's just about showing up and
less about the 'pranic flow'. The Chi will arise from your steadfast Practice."
- WF Online Teacher, Joy "Ananda" Kilpatrick
in professional counsel to an Online Student
From The National Theatre of London to Serving the WF Sangha beneath the Sacred Peak...WF Teacher Ananda is one tough, mysterious, beautiful, intelligent, creative, and powerful Yogic Warrioress of the Inner WF Way. i have never met anyone of any gender quite like our Beloved Ananda. Let me tell you straight up; with what i have been through and continue to have to deal with in attempting to steer our Humble, Powerful Temple through the Dragons of Kali Yuga... i don't TAF our Temple would be still be FIRING THE WORLD CLASS, UNMATCHED DHARMAWORK to this day if it were not for the unasked, karmic yogi sweat, tears, and Love from this Leading Lady of WF. Personally? I TAF we have in our Temple a very Great Saint. To have Her within our Temple Wall-less Walls is the Highest of Dharma Blessings for all of us! 
"You are of no optimal help to yourself or your work when you neglect your Practice.
It's go(o)d that you are feeling/experiencing this for that's the beginning steps towards
change. Witness and Listen!
Every breath, every minute, every day is a gift. Embrace the opportunity.
When you go to the space of being "critical" you are cutting yourself off
from the heart space. Go h(om)e to your heart and you will begin to cultivate
Compassion over Critic (which is really your ego)."
- Ananda in professional counsel with another Online Student
I bow to Ananda...
and,
i am doing my best to convince her to lead up a REAL "WWF"...
no,
not World Wrestling Federation...
"Women's Wholistic Fitness�"...
now THAT would be a Female EMPOWERMENT Clan!!!
Ananda has an opening for a new Online Student.
How would you like to have Ananda in YOUR Sacred Corner as a Coach?
I'd say that was worth a few cents per day!
Fill out an Application today at the WF Tribal Catalog!
AGING YADA YADA YADA...
A Fiftysomething WF Warrioress Shelli running, soaring, laughing, howling down the Sacred Peak...she ain't reflecting about her age...she is FOCUSED ON ENLIGHTENMENT...via WF!!!!! How 'bout you?
***
Blessings to you my coach..............in the jan/feb issue of yoga journal in the section where they tell you about the contributors who wrote articles they say
"writing about aging brought up interesting reflections for dorothy foltz-gray who is 56. I don't like having less energy than i used to and getting more aches and pains she says. YADA YADA YADA
why aren't they contacting me and other WF warriors ?? Those bleeping bleeping bleepings-----i have more energy and less aches and pains but that will move them into a place of discomfort where they can't whine and moan..........so i rant on !
thanks for receiving today's rant............your humble shishiya student shel
Coach Responds;
{insert Noble Silence and
a
Knowing Wink
;-)
here}
ILG FOR PRESIDENT!...Errr, Council of Physical Fitness...
Steve,
on this topic of the National Fitness...
I hear rumor that your friend, the governor of New Mexico, is contemplating a run for President....
In the long shot.....someone would have to fill the role of director for the Presidents Council of Physical Fitness.
namaste�
haku
***
Noble Haku,
i dunno...i think i kicked the Governor's butt too hard at Mt. Taylor and during backcountry ski workouts! if i see him at Mt. Taylor next month, i'll bring it up to him as i pass him again! ;-)
love and what if's,
ilg
opening photo: one of my 1995 editions of the then-paper, JOURNAL OF WHOLISTIC FITNESS, featured a cover story of me interviewing then Governer Gary Johnson of New Mexico. it was a great interview! i will run this plus many, many more "BLASTS FROM THE PAST" when Direct Lines returns to a subscription format later this month...look for it! man, i can't BELIEVE i didn't shave my armpits for that shot!
OF NOT BEING SUPER HUMAN, ANTIBIOTICS, AND HERBS...
"No, we ain't super human in this Tribe, we just Practice a thing or two about a thing or two; essentially we Practice an Ancient Path of Yogic Masters. All I have done throughout these years is stylize the most authentic Ancient Teachings along with the Instructions from my Teachers and continue to outfit these Teachings for modern day lifestyles and American temperaments."
- Coach Ilg.
"Not super human" ?
Uh, that may seem arguable to the common body, unaware of WF and SUNRIDER!
The body captured above by Wayne Williams, is mine.
it's a 43 year old one.
It's a pretty functional one.
In the last seven days, this body expressed its living testimony to the quality of Wholistic Fitness� and SUNRIDER herbs; it got second place in a 50 mile bicycle race, ran up a 12,265' mountain in snow in 62 minutes, climbed 5.11 sport routes, served hundreds of fitness students for free, taught two HP Yoga Classes, maintained a rigorous pre dawn meditation/pranayama schedule, and only required 1,645 calories per day.
{NOTE: do NOT attempt to mimic these figures, particularly the low caloric intake. remember, i have been using these herbs and following the WF Path for a quarter century; you have not...do NOT attempt to mimic! Practice, don't mimic! That is why WF Online Training exists; to professional GUIDE YOU safely and profoundly! - coach ilg}
The above body has been doing this type of multidisciplined output for over a quarter century without illness and with only more regenerative potentiation being created within it.
Others age. WF Warriors just float through stages.
Question for you: Why the hec ain't WF the National Fitness System?
Imagine having our schools accept WF as their "Physical Education" system. 5 Fitness Disciplines, 5 Weekday Classes; Monday the kids learn about Strength Training. Tuesday; Cardio. Wednesday; Yoga. Thursday; Meditation. Friday; Nutrition & Lifestyle.
Why Not?
We are Blessed to have a such a Powerful Path...and such a Gifted Staff of Certified WF Teachers.
We are small, yet we are mighty. Good Teachers are hard to find, state the Scriptures.
You found one.
Jump onto the Path, Oh Noble Warrior...or don't. It's your EarthWalk. However, if you don't feel a kinship with this Path...you better take a long, hard study of those who you choose to take health and fitness counsel from...do a little shopping...go ahead...
we'll be Here Now...
sweating,
sitting still,
Serving...
dedication, dedication
giving, giving
loving, loving
Steve Ilg's Wholistic Fitness�; America's Native Yoga since 1982.
Namaste,
coach ilg
***
The following is a missive that Coach sent out to his SUNRIDER Herb Sangha...the Nations most powerful group of Herbal Warriors. Coach is the Leading SV Director of SUNRIDER International for three consecutive years. His success with these unmatched "Secret Herbs" lies in his creation of his "3-Phase Approach To Using The SUNRIDER Herbs" as outlined in his recent book, TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION. The 3-Phases pivot upon: 1) Cell Cleansing/Fat loss, 2)Cell Empowerment, and 3)Maintenance/Lifestyle.
Namaste Noble SUNRIDER Herbal Warriors!
thank you for your input about the seemingly endless flow of Dharma, Karma, and downright Miraculous world of transformation going on 24/7 at:�
�DIRECT LINES...Daily Meditations from Coach Ilg
No, we ain't super human in this Tribe,
we just know a thing or two about a thing or two; essentially following an Ancient Path of Masters just stylized for modern day lifestyles by yours truly.��
oh, WF Teacher and nearly SR Director, Chris Kokanda Roche,� expresses a very funny SR story on his own blog, Twisted Sage:
http://www.twistedsageblog.blogspot.com/
***
Q &A;
most noble coach,
a question. i have to do a round of antibiotics for a week. do i have to adjust my intake of the herbs during this time. i have been on phase II for a few months now. thanks for your help.�
namaste,
hari�
Most Noble Herbal Warrior Hari,
no, do not adjust your Phase II intake before or during the taking in of� antibiotics.
what i DO want you to do is this AFTER you have stopped taking the antibiotics:
1) take SUNRIDER's unique "VitaDophilus" as directed on label.� Order three boxes and take as directed until you have exhausted the three boxes.� �Reason:� antibiotics are very invasive to the digestion flora (naturally occurring and helpful bacteria inherent to the human body).� in fact, the antibiotics kill all these wonderful creatures like Al Pacino in Scarface...antibiotics take no prisoners.� they don't call them antibiotics - against life - for nothing!� �Dr. Chen's totally unique way of transporting and thus restoring "life" to your lower intestinal function is accomplished by using the remarkable, natural product;
VitaDolphilus.
Benefits
Naturally occurring lactobacillus acidophilus in the digestive tract helps break down food, so the body can efficiently absorb the nutrients.*
The presence of this beneficial bacteria in the digestive system can help displace or decrease non-beneficial micro-organisms,* some of which can lead�to fermentation thereby causing bloating and gas, or rob the body of necessary nutrients.
VitaDophilus� helps the body maintain proper digestion.*
Recommendation: Each package may be consumed as is or dissolved in water three times a day at mealtimes. VitaDophilus� can be sprinkled on cereal, included in salad dressings, mixed with Sunrider Herbal Beverages and Foods.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any diseases.
VitaDophilus�
�#153015�
10/3 g Packs� for $10.10�
2) i suggest the following as well for two weeks after taking AntiBiotics:
�� �a)� double your intake of your "Ilg Supreme" (VitaShake, Quinary, VitaFruit + Soy Milk)
��� b)� take MetaBalance 44 as directed on label
��� c)� use VitaSpray several times per day
Taking AntiBiotics is serious stuff.� �
i have not had to take any since beginning SUNRIDER� over 20 years ago.��
if i ever have to however,
i would beef up my natural immune system as directed above with full faith that these wonderful regenerative herbs will regenerate life to that Void of Life whereupon the antibiotics did their mission.��
any ongoing invasive intake of such toxic medicines similar to antibiotics (such as chemotherapy) would certainly require massive intake of SUNRIDER's top immune gun;� ALPHA 20C...Food For the T-Cells.
i trust this input helps.
i bow to your devotion to Higher Health through SUNRIDER and Wholistic Fitness�!
Namaste,
coach ilg
Lead Director/SUNRIDER International
creator/Wholistic Fitness� Personal Training
January 18, 2006
Online Student Shel; "training for death and living with joy !"
"This new program i can already tell will be so much fun........training for death and living with joy !
I already feel trust issues coming to the surface-----trusting that all the iron temple training and diminished amounts of cardio and modest amounts of yoga will provide me with benefits-----it is a GREAT teaching for me because as your shishya and walker of the talk i want to be able to lead other women to the iron temple and away from all that mindless cardio........so first i must go-ith before i can take-ith. So to my edge i go............
I found an ice rink in my hood and a friend to skate with........yowza !
My bowels are continuing to dump away........yeh.
I am knowing that the only thing in life we can control is where we place our attention.......that is my practice and that is my teaching this semester. Onward upward and inward with WF and my wild and crazy coach.........feeling and sharing the WF chi................
love from student shel
Temple photos;
top: Student Shel stands beside Temple Vehicle "Tawny" moments before YakTrackin' up the Sacred Peak during Student Shel's January Private Intensive.
bottom: After oh, 30 years or so, Coach Ilg re-kindled an old flame of Shelli's...no, no, no...not THAT kind of old flame you weirdo...her former LOVE OF ICE SKATING! Hey, i didn't call it Wholistic Fitness� just to ignore all those fun ways to move and breathe in our bodies! WF is all about VERSATILITY OF FITNESS and NURTURING THAT INNER CHILD!
GURU = Gee, yoU aRe yoU
Dearest Coach Guruji,
I trust that as you encourage us not to shy from words like "God" or "Lord" (personally though not Christian I really click with your tales from Yogi J.C.'s adventures) in the same manner you will not shy away from that multi-dimensional term "guru" as so many teachers do. It is like the ring Frodo tries to hand to Gandalf...who reels back, grows tall, and says "do not hand me THAT!" in fear of the temptation of its power.
The best definition I've heard of is the one who shows Shishya "G-U-R-U" or "Gee, yoU aRe yoU!"
Thanks for the cameo...always a pleasure to represent.
Like I said staggering from another burning TBT workout to the mental image of you in your miner's hard hat (you were wearing a hard hat weren't you?):
"Sheesh ya! For Real!"
love
Shishya Chris
KARMA DHARMA
Karma is not fatalistic or predetermined. Karma means our ability to create and to change. It is creative because we can determine how and why we act. We can change. The future is in our hands, and in the hands of our heart.
Buddha said:
Karma creates all, like an artist,
Karma composes, like a dancer.
- Buddha
Above; getting in the Early Morning Ritual workout. in this shot, i am beginning a Nauli (Stomach Cleansing) vinyasa. According to the yogic texts, Nauli is instrumental for wiping out the negative consequences of over-thinking habits, too much or too little sexual release/suppression issues, and poor physical and environmental nutrition. Nauli acts like an inner pump and churner to effect upon the ApanaVayu (naturally occurring thermodynamic Life Force that is entropic in nature and must be controlled by the yogin). If mastered, the ApanaVayu will reverse its nature and allow the PranaVayu (see previous DLs) to pull and draw that lower circulating Life Force higher up the chakral and vayu fields. To gain control with Nauli often requires meeting and dealing with lower chakra issues in the yogin's Outer Life; sex, sensual comforts, attachments to money, shelter, family, ego identification, you know...all that great stuff that sends the common yogi running for his or her deluded life!...never, ever forget, Yoga is about Radical Self Transformation. You gotta want to 'create and to change," as the World Class Yogi Buddha taught. How BAAAAD do you want it, baby?!?!
i ran 12,265' Agassiz Peak two days ago in 62 minutes flat. This Inner Workout stuff works. Recovery from that 6,000' effort? not even a factor, baby. not bad for a guy who has a smashed pelvis and fractured lower back, eh? Yoga (WF) + the Secret Herbs of SUNRIDER = Perhaps The Greatest Most Tremendous Gift To Modern Man...you just got to want to Contain your Vital Energies, Learn how to Compose yourself, and DANCE!
January 17, 2006
HAVING A TON OF FUN ON KO'S BLOG
Man, I love Learning...
especially from my own Students!
we have been having a ton of Svadhyaya Fun over at WF Teacher Ko's Blog:
http://www.twistedsageblog.blogspot.com/
IRON TEMPLE GOLD STRIKE: STUDENT TUCKER HAS GOT THE FEVER!!!
"I often, in the Iron Temple, see everyone there as Miners. All working, toiling, digging up this power of self-transformation. Alchemical gold. I see one look up, his headlamp shining right at me but not outshining the fire in his eyes and he says "Good God Gold!" with a FEVER." - WF Aspirant and SUNRIDER Warrior; Chris Tucker.
above; Coach knew he had struck gold in the Iron Temple by age 15. within the rhythm of the barbells, he found a Dance that would one day change the Way we workout.
***
Noble WF Warriors!
We got another LIVE ONE north of the border, baby!!!!!!
This Missive of Awakening flew into my email box this morning, nearly knocking me to my knees...Student Tucker, a SUNRIDER Warrior under Teacher Ananda, is one of the Yoga Students in my HP Yoga; BASIC STRENGTH DVD...
FEEL THE TRIBAL CHI, BABY!!!!!!!
Live Life Like You Mean It;
Live Wholistic Fitness�!!!
i bow to Student Tucker...
namaste,
coach ilg
***
Noble Eagle Coach,
Yes, Brother-Eagle Coach, sailing the pranic currents over the desert and chaparral landscape surveying Direct Lines of Vision and radiating them like Sun into our lives...picking up roots and twigs and leaves and shiny things and Offering them up. "Hey you might find this useful...
Thank you.
"Just BAKE it until you make it, baby!"
Like a lightning bolt this one! Ah, the cohesion and ripples it brings! Yes, we will bake up a big vitadopholis and hi-fibre pie in this hombre. And then the Mountain Gods will come to feast! Yes, we got snow up here finally and it is go(o)d.
I often, in the Iron Temple, see everyone there as Miners. All working, toiling, digging up this power of self-transformation. Alchemical gold. I see one look up, his headlamp shining right at me but not outshining the fire in his eyes and he says "Good God Gold!" with a FEVER.
head bowed,
humble aspirant chris
Vancouver
A REGENERATIVE BIRTHDAY!! "You are torching the blaze towards enlightenment."
Namaste Lovely Teacher Ananda,
Greetings from London� the place I�ve always dreamed of living in. It�s been 6 weeks since I arrived, and suddenly I feel like a child again. New place, new environment, new culture, so many unfamiliar things happening at once. Sometimes I feel so happy for living my dream, other times I feel like packing my bag home to where I feel so comfortable and familiar with.
But I remind myself the reason I left h(om)e was to practice Yoga. There are many �dragons� inside me which I need to face and I�m chipping at them, one step at a time. Some days my mind seem so crystal clear, and next it�s playing tricks on me by mindless chattering. And I keep telling myself, �one step at a time�.
Your last e-mail to me kept me strong. I THANK YOU for your blessings and unconditional love � both you and Coach. Please know that your Grace has not gone unnoticed or dismissed. I don�t say this often enough, but your teachings and practices really are torching the blaze towards enlightenment for many of us. Ripples make waves.
I have something amazing to tell you. I have been eating SR Herbs consistently as I have promised. Although I have not rocket into Phase 2, I know the herbs are working their magic. My body has coped with the English weather much better than my BF and I had expected. I did not experience cracking skin as I did in May when I came for a short holiday, my weight remains stable, no runny noses or swollen eyes and the best of it all, I had my first menstruation yesterday (without the aid of drugs) since October 2004!!! That was nearly one and a half years ago. I literally jumped for joy, I really did.
As Coach said in DL, �That is a classic, classic example of what Dr. Chen means when he says, "Just eat the herbs and the point of weakness in your body will eventually become strengthen by the holistic effect of the herbs." This is precisely what you experienced. Instead of specifically trying to "fix what was wrong," you just kept Cleansing and Supporting until the weakness left.�
I just wanted to share the g(o)od news. I must go now, my time on the internet is up. Thank you for loving me. I love you too.
Blessings,
s
January 16, 2006
SNOWSHOE QUESTION FOR COACH
11,200' on Sandia Peak, New Mexico; snowshoe yoga studio of coach ilg. photo/coach ilg
This question comes in from our Tribal MTB National Champion, Timari Pruis
TIMARI:
Hey coach,
i have a question for you, actually a couple of questions.
first of all, i was wondering approximately how many hours on a bike does a strenuous 2 hour snowshoe adventure compare to?
COACH:
depends upon the intensity and type of cycling, of course.
if you are road cycling at say, Zone 2 with a few excursions into Zone 3, then my ratio is 2:1 in favor of the snowshoe.
thus, your 2 hour snowshoe would be the equivalent to a 4 hour road bike workout.
if you are mountain biking, then the kcals go up due to the nature of the activity. there is more upper body action, usually more climbing at a higher heart rate, etc. thus i would say, based on experience,
a 2 hour snowshoe workout would be the equivalent of putting in 3.50 hours on the mountain bike.
not bad, eh?
TIMARI:
i am figuring it has to be equivalent to more than 2 hours on the bike b/c i am always so beat after a 2 hours snowshoe.
COACH:
my beautiful Warrioress of the Cardio Realms,
once the Mass of Sport Specific Commoners EVER WAKE UP to the Glory and Power of cross training enough to explore and push their Higher Selves into exploring such traditional and noble sports such as Nordic Skiing and Sport Snowshoeing....THEN we'll have a National Tribe that is forever Enlightened, Balanced Among All Cardio Sports, Lean, and Happy!!!!! Not to mention new World Records!
TIMARI:
also, i may be needing to replace my copy of your HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA; BASIC STRENGTH dvd. i actually had the VHS version, but it seems to have been lost in the move up here. i have my cherished HP Yoga PROP WORKOUT, but i have not been able to find my regular hp yoga one. HELP! how much would that run me? if you could let me know, i would appreciate it!
COACH:
look no further than right here:
http://www.wholisticfitness.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WFTC&Product_Code=HPDVD&Category_Code=VT
TIMARI:
when will you be in LA next?
love always,
timari
COACH:
Well, not till after my HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA�; Winter Sports Conditioning classes end.
they run twice per week up here at Flagstaff until February.
I will be speaking with Teacher Blanchard about doing another HP JAM SESSION at his beautiful Cave
in Studio City sometime in February plus i want to do a SUNRIDER DharmaGathering as well.
I do not know if i will be available for bodywork in February in LA, yet if i am, i will let you know!
just stay tapped to the DIRECT LINE, baby!
love,
coach
ps; Ananda and i were in the snow up on the Sacred Peak today...i reached the 12,250' point on Agassiz Peak in 62 minutes!
SUNRIDER + WF = YOU CAN'T TOUCH DIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FOR MAHANIDRARISHI
For my MahaNidraRishi...
Thank you for Working upon my etheral sheaths in so many Amazing Ways..
Thank you for the excruciating Purifications and through that Pain;
showing me Pranic Shards of "Fitness Training" that my feeble capacities as a yogi
have yet to learn...
i bow before you in admiration of your countless hours of working within yourself,
of being such a Fiercely Loving Example of a Teacher of EnergyWork...
i vow before you to keep the Pace you've set for me;
Age 75 baby...i WILL be ready!
Perhaps the day shall come when my abilities to work on the Level that you do
will enable me to soar with you among those Astral Grids which i so inelegantly now stumble...
i bow before you
as your humble student
and
Endless Warrior of the Inner Way...
in Love and Infinite Light,
student ilg
DharmaFITTI #2
Sedona Graffiti
1/11/06, by Coach Ilg
send your example of DharmaFITTI to coach at;
ilgtrain@npgcable.com
THE HIGHEST OF SPIRITUAL THRESHOLDS
�The Way we choose to make money during our lifetime - and our degree of Attachment to it - is perhaps the highest and trickiest of all spiritual thresholds that the Yogin must cross. Money is an Energy Currency and is the Vehicle of the Lower Chakras. The manner, the integrity, and the universal reverberations of how we choose to make money is to the Yogin, one of the most important Songs To Lila* we can ever sing in this lifetime.�
- Coach Ilg
*Lila is a concept from Hinduism that explains the universe as a cosmic puppet theater or playground for the gods. "Lila" literally means "play," but in spiritual texts refers to "divine play" - life as a spontaneous game played by lighthearted forces beyond our understanding.
PAYCHECK WEEKEND
Every now and then, after what may seem to us to be an endless barrage of tests, difficulties, challenging people, and Outer Worldly concerns...if we stay with our Practice steadfastly enough, a moment comes along that restores such a deep degree of Divine Grace and UniVersal Exquisiteness to the very act of living...that it makes us smile an Infinity-Based Smile...a smile that sprouts from our Hearts...a smile that was borne from staying True to our Soul. It's kinda like we get to cash in our "Good-Karmic Paycheck" for a moment or two. I call such times as "Paycheck Moments". Well, this entire weekend was filled with so many special Gifts nestled in and among the mundane moments that it really turned out to be a "Paycheck Weekend"! Come closer to the Tribal Firelight, Oh Noble WF Warrior...i will share a few DharmaMoments from the only true Wealth we can ever have; Inner Wealth and Outer Health, baby!
After finishing 2nd in the 50-mile bike training race Saturday, i applied my post-race effort into something REALLY important; Waxing skis! 
When it comes to Engaged Zen, only throttling my Kawasaki z1000 sport bike on LA freeways in between an ocean of cars comes closer to the Ekagrata (One Pointed Concentration) i put into waxing skis. Even after several years of being away from my cherished sport of Nordic Ski Racing, the Zen of Ski Waxing was still within my fibers. I love it. 
There is an entire science of ski waxing that makes bicycle tinkering look like child's play. The Nordic Warrior must learn about ambient temps, moisture integrity, water vapor, hydrophysics (because skis only glide due to hydroplaning caused by friction from the ski base structure against the snow crystals), chemistry (the brutal-on-the-environment flurocarbon ski waxes - note my mask in the pic - will certainly be the reason i don't make it into Heaven), and snow response to freeeze/thaw cycles. the process begins with ski base cleaning, ski base structuring ('rilling' or 'texturing' the bottom of the ski contingent to the type/conditon of snow you plan to ski on), then hot waxing, then polishing. The above ski waxing pic was taken mere moments after getting back from rebounding from last weekend's fiasco on my bicycle training race. After nearly getting dropped after three guys put in a monster attack at 32-miles, i hung tough during the attacks, went within by focusing on Mula Bandha which inspires Pratyhara (Sense Withdrawl). i was suffering like the last chip in the bag! i called upon Badger Medicine to keep my spiritual teeth sunk into the rear tires of our breakaway group and hung on long enough to recup. i then felt my Chi return, and then it was my turn to try to rip the legs off those sport-specfic punks, baby! put in like 5 madman pulls at 32mph with wind, then, with 800 meters to go on the uphill finish, launched as gnarly of an off season sprint i could muster (i have only been doing speedwork on the ice rink...speed skating intervals). i dropped two of the three guys, then, damnit if one of those mofo's didn't bridge to me as my Gas Gauge hit Empty and took me by less than a bike length at the finish. damn it! nothin' like road racing to keep a yogi humble! i was totally stoked though at my performance, given the fiasco of last weekend! 
Here is a pic of the Sacred Peak this morning. In a moment, i will leave to check out if the miniscule yet DEEPLY appreciated snow that Graced Flagstaff yesterday did anything significant. just to be sure Ananda and i are prepared, i will toss into the car all the priority Weapons; Atlas� Sport Snowshoes for a lot of snow, Kahtoolas� (running shoe crampons) if there is too little snow for SnowShoes, yet too much for regular running shoes, and then YakTracks� (running shoe cables) in case just a meager amount of snow fell. It's gonna be sooooooooooo beautiful up there with fresh snow! YEAH BABY! Snow imparts a tangible and very healthy "negative ionic effect" to the atmosphere. For Mountain Yogis that are close to becoming "Breatharians" this type of negative ion effect (oceans give off the same Negative Ion Effect) is instrumental to developing deeper levels of Pranayamic Power. you can always visit the Sacred Peak live by using the WebCam on this link;
http://www.azdailysun.com/news/webcam.cfm
Our Temple Cats - Jasper and Charlie - experienced their first ever snow! The Negative Ionic Effect was in full display upon their Clear Physiologies and uncluttered-by-human-emotions Mind as they both began galloping around in the backyard like crazy cats! they were FEELING THE SNOW CHI, baby! It has been such a Divine Delight watching these two CityCats become physiologically and spiritually younger and younger as they transform by way of purified air into very fit MountainCats! Ananda rescued Charlie (the younger, littler one at top right of picture) from a North Hollywood parking garage where he was licking battery acid in an attempt to find a water source). Now he is licking Brahmanic Battery Acid now, baby; Straight Up Pran from the Sacred Peak! May all Beings be happy and free from suffering. I wish i could save all the kitties and puppies in the world...All Karma is God...
May all your Moments be Paycheck Moments this week and sit close to DL, cuz i have some important Practice Teachings to impart coming right up...and, not to be missed? Ananda's Kickass Breakfast Special!
January 15, 2006
ACTIVE LAZINESS
How many of us are swept away by what I have come to call an �active laziness�? Naturally there are different species of laziness: Eastern and Western. The Eastern style consists of hanging out all day in the sun, doing nothing, avoiding any kind of work or useful activity, drinking cups of tea and gossiping with friends.
Western laziness is quite different. It consists of cramming our lives with compulsive activity, so that there is no time left to confront the real issues.
If we look into our lives, we will see clearly how many unimportant tasks, so-called �responsibilities� accumulate to fill them up. One master compares them to �housekeeping in a dream.� We tell ourselves we want to spend time on the important things of life, but there never is any time.
Helpless, we watch our days fill up with telephone calls and petty projects, with so many responsibilities�or should we call them �irresponsibilities�?
- Sogyal Rinpoche
January 14, 2006
SUTRA STUDY AND THE LORD'S PRESENCE
in my intermediate and advanced work with Online Students we begin a long journey of Yoga Sutra Study. In fact, in over two decades of Teaching Yoga, i have never had a single Student finish my Sutra Studies.
Come to think of it,
i have not even finished it.
Would not want to...
they are far too juicy and ungrockable for me to want to finish anytime soon!
the Yoga Sutras do not make Sense until enough sweat and hours of stillness have attained a particular Pranic shift in the aspirant of Internal Fitness. when an Intellectual reads the Yoga Sutras, it's like having a fish jump out of water, flop around on the shore for a bit, gasping for air, then going back into the water telling with bravado all the other Fish Bros,
"Yeah man, i have been to the Other Side...it ain't all that."
really, the arrogant Fish knows nothing about this oxygenated world. yet he thinks he does. that is called Ignorance.
we ALL are ignorant, until Enlightenment. our Ignorance just is a matter of Levels, that's all.
that is why you should never trust opinions from those who do not match their grand intellects with the grounding of Daily Practice in sweat and stillness. Intellectualism is a very sturdy and well rooted tree of Ignorance.
For example, when it comes to Sutra Study, our Ignorance throws off a lot of Westerners because of our associated emotional digestion capacities of the word, Lord. Or, God.
The yogic Masters thought they had gotten around all religious connotations by using the term, Ishvara...which means Your Connection To Your Source. However, even those Grand Masters of Life and Death did not realize the magnitude of spiritual darkness that yogic philosophy would encounter as it finally reached the West. As is the anal retentive tendency among Westerners, we read Religion into areas where not even a Fig Newton� of religiousness lies.
Oh well. It is a cryin' shame i tell ya. This negative tendency of Westerners to get all puffy when around any word like God or Lord just really stagnates spiritual appreciation and inward acceleration of Purusha (individual soul).
MY TECHNIQUE AROUND THIS?
Pre Fatigue By Sweat, Stillness, and Sincerity.
That is why i only begin Sutra Study with Advanced Online Students. My cherished Noble Warriors who are doing Early Morning Practice, who put their money where their spirit is and stay committed to Online Studies. I do not teach Sutra Study to the wannabe yogis. That would be dishonoring the Masters. They never Taught you the Real Stuff until you, like Haikuin once did, literally chop off your physical or metaphysical arm and throw it at the Masters Cave to show him you mean Business about Spiritual Growth. We are no longer that kicked up about Inner Work. Which is precisely why our Outer World is in the chaos that it is. No spiritual foundation equates to no outer foundation.
SUTRA STUDY LIKE SUCKING A SUCKER
the Sutras are meant to be sucked upon like a child might linger with a popsicle or Tootsie Pop�. This is the Way of the Ancient Masters. Not Tootsie Pops�, they were not invented yet back then. At least, i do not think they were. I meant to imply that The MahaRishis, the Great Teachers would assign one or two Sutras to their Disciple saying,
"Here, suck on this Sutra during your Practice for the next few weeks. Come back then and we will expound on what you have found."
That takes too long for us busy Westerners. So, we think we can Glide into Enlightenment with SUTRA STUDY FOR DUMMIES tucked under our upper arm.
WF Online, on the other hand, continues the Ancient yogic tradition of Sutra Study in the Manner with which the Masters intended; One on One. Teacher with Student. Guru to Aspirant. That is the Way the Transmission is secured, and that is the Way it should remain.
However, since many of you will not, for one reason or another, ever join the Esteemed Ranks of my Online Tribe of Advanced WF Warriors, i wish to take a moment and impart a Coaching of the Sutras to help you or other yogis that might be feeling off put by any "Lordish" nomenclature that is encountered in Sutra Study.
I trust it will be of Benefit to some sincere yogi out there in the dim peripheral Tribal Light of DL's remarkable cast.
Oh, and you really are not Practicing Yoga if you are not at least giving a small amount of Svadhyaya (Self Study through Sacred Scripture) an honest go. The Yoga Sutras, particularly Pada Dwi (Chapter Two; Portion on Practice), is the most cherished blueprint toward Enlightenment.
FINDING THE LORD's PRESENCE
Of course you have found a Way to live with the Lord's Presence...
it's called, your breath!
News Flash:
The degree to which you have appreciated,
developed, and consistently apply your Conscious Breath
is directly the degree to which you have appreciated,
developed, and consistently apply your Love of God...your Lord.
If your Breath is NOT your Lord,
then i ask you Oh Mighty Yogic Warrior...
What or Whom is?
How can this Other Being That Is Not Your Breath
be more powerful or precious than your breath?
Think about it. Get back to me. Have your Breath People contact my Breath People and
we'll do lunch sometime.
Seriously, WF Warriors,
It ain't like i have been tellin' you something that is new all these years in DL and my books, coaching, retreats, etc.
the Yogic Masters were Teaching us that our Breath is our Lord eons ago!
...that is why They interchange the terms Breath and Prana.
Prana is Lord; Prana is the Life Force...
you know, like in Star Wars�?...'Luke, use 'The Force!'...
'The Force' should have been more accurately called, Pran...
'Luke, use the Pran!'
Guess HollyWood didn't think 'Pran' sounded as hip as 'The Force'.
Oh well, I guess Pranic Junkies� like me
are just sentimental old farts that are too attached to the World Class spiritual athletes..the Golden Oldies like Padmasambhava, Patanjali, Milarepa, and all those other "old gnarly dudes" that woulda kicked the likes of you and me to the curb if we pulled our sorry asses up to Them and asked timidly to study Spiritual Work...They probably would just give us that Infinite Smile that knows Lifetimes
and say something like,
"I don't think so, maybe next lifetime..." and then impart a Wink to us
that shook our Sushumna from Here to Eternity.
LET'S KEEP IT REAL, YOGIS!
Do not limit the Unlimited by your limitations.
Do not attempt to de-FINE the Lord...
instead,
do as i have been coaching you this week in DL:
Just Listen.
Just Listen to your Breath
and
when you do that...
guess what?
you are hearing the Lord's Prayer Through You.
Just Listen.
oh man, i have intellectualized too long and am late for my damned bicycle training race workout that is gonna slaughter my ass all over Flag, again. will my contacts stay in today?! shit, this is gonna hurt. Man, it would be sooooooo easy to just sit here and write clever books on this or that aspect of spiritual stuff, body/mind stuff...however, that ain't IT.
Sweat is It.
Testing our Faith in ourselves is It.
Applying Intellect into Intensity Workouts that kick your friggin' ASS is indeed IT!
Otherwise, you just end up like all the other so called, "experts" that make the big bucks on the Spiritual Speaking and Book Writing Tour...
to me,
they flap around like,
well,
a fish outta water.
Where is the Sweat behind your Scripture?
Thanks for reading.
om,
coach ilg
January 13, 2006
IRON TEMPLE HAIKU
"No better place for creating poetry, both physical and spiritual, then in the Iron Temple!" - Coach Ilg
***
Dear Coach,
My new {home gym equipment called the} Power Tower is on the way!
Can't wait to get crankin'.
Thanks again for your sage counsel!
I TAF some major breakthroughs are ahead.
I've been inspired to write a Haiku about it.
Bent steel, cold and true (5)
Standing silent before me (7)
Pulling towards the light (5)
Head Bowed,
Humble Student B
Sherman Oaks, CA
DL-itits affects Student Ash
Dear Coach Ilg,
In a moment of Ilg inspired madness last week I entered a 114-mile bike ride in May, with more climbing than I care to think about (not much by your standards but MORE than enough for me); reading these DL's is obviously starting to affect me :-)
Humbly
Student Simon Ash
January 12, 2006
UNLESS YOU MAKE SPECIFIC TIME...Our Online Tribe, Makes The Time!
"You want me to write my version of a bible? Okay, here it is. It has only one chapter and one verse. It goes like this;
"Just Listen."
1:1 - The Bible - Coach Ilg Version
Coach and Ananda at a TBT Booksigning in California.
***
"....in your life, unless you make specific time for something that you feel committed to, you will always have other obligations and you will always be too busy."
- The Dalai Lama
"The work is to continue to stop in the moment and allow the consciousness to drop into the heart. This practice will be extremely beneficial in remaining in a balanced state." - MahaNidraRishi (coach's energywork/spiritual Teacher).
testing my ability to listen to a Rock Being along Mullholland Highway, Southern California, 2005. Photo by Ananda.
Long time "New Warrior Student Mackel" and Stalwart Sister of the Path, Shelli hook up in Hawaii while running marathons to flow through some HP Yoga Sun Saluations...Shelli writes,
"Hello my coach in my corner.......
Your DL from saturday's bike ride gives a whole new meaning to "in Go(o)d we trust " !!
here is a haiku i wrote for you after reading that DL:
bike ride, lose contact (5)
finish course no matter what (7)
rely on WF ! (5)
love your vision........glad i am a part of the terrain
student shel"
visit Online Student Shelli at:
www.joyinmovement.com
visit amazing energy output and Bhakti Warrior Mackel at:
http://eteamz.active.com/trithis/index.cfm?
"I have always encouraged people to be open and be true to themselves. To go full out and do what it is that makes their heart sing � I thought I was doing the same, yet I was still trying to fit into this mould people had made for me, or wanted me to be. I was allowing people to carve me and shape me, unsure who was really underneath it all. Unable to say, you know what, THIS is actually who I am and I am proud of that."
-WF Online Student Lees of Clan Ananda learning how to listen and open into the wealth of her heart through her Online Studies and Devoted Practice.
visit Online Student Lee's heart warming blog, "Reflections" at:
http://www.kristi-trinity.com/reflections.html
So...Noble DL Reader...as the years roll by and every day i keep hitting you with this world class, unmatched volume of Inspiring Light from our WF Tribe...totally free..totally dedicated to target YOUR Heart/Mind and get you to LIVE YOUR LIFE out loud, out in front of the Slumbering Masses...
What do you sense that all these WF Online Students have in common?
That's right; a beautiful, palpable inner fire and Light to which they have begun to Honor, Cultivate, and most importantly RADIATE to an outer world desperate for more Brave Leaders of the Inner Light.
There ain't nothing even close to the Light of Wholistic Fitness�..
and
there ain't nothing even close to the enduring Love i feel for my Beloved Students of this Steep and Direct Path of Radical Self Transformation since 1982...
Cultivate your Light today; Join WF Online Training and begin to offer your unique, beautiful Beam of Light to the UniVerse in the most Powerfully Balanced Path of Body/Mind Fitness on the planet; Wholistic Fitness�.
May All Beings Live Their Light
and
Know The Causations Of Their Light...
namaste,
coach ilg
founder/Head Coach; Wholistic Fitness� and High Performance Yoga�
A Love Letter To My Flagstaff HP Yogi's
Most Noble Flagstaff HP Yogins!
"No science that explains life in the universe is so satisfying, grand, and complete as the science of breath. It is said in the yoga texts that the breath (prana) is the inseparable power (shakti) of the universal life force, the supreme of all created things, and the life principle of the universe."
- Swami Rama
I, on behalf of Ananda (aka; Joy),
just wanted to say, "GREAT JOB! LAST NIGHT!"
As verified by your sweat last night and your
"well trained" body today....
I have begun to 'press the throttle' a little more on my Wednesday night sessions...
and each of you, even our First Timer to HP Yoga; Dr. Bob Morrissey, stepped up to the
Pranic Plate, baby!
It's gettin' fun, eh?
I have had the honor and privilege to introduce several hundred people to yoga...
...yoga, the "HP Way"...
truly authentic,
no excuses,
Direct and Steep Yoga...just like the Ancient Masters taught 5,000 years ago...
and i must say,
our little "Flagstaff Sangha*" is truly a remarkable clan.
Rarely have i had a beginning group of yogins so capable and willing to focus their
minds and apply their intention and attention with their etheric cement of sweat.
i bow to each of you!
(and thanks for laughing at my stupid jokes!)
For those of you that can make it to Ananda's Sunday 11:00 am class,
you will be treated to a class that focuses on
� Series C of the HP Yoga� Sun Salutations with Winter Sports tweaking...
� Heart Openers (shoulder opening combined with upper thoracic backbends)
� Hip Openers
sounds like purifying fun! I'll sure be there after a Cardio Workout...ready to lengthen
that which has been contracted by Cardio.
we will also expound a bit more on Mula Bandha and her transfer into daily life and sport
performance.
yogis are trained not to be proud
for Pride is an extension of the ego...
however,
since i am a feeble yogin,
i will shout from the Sacred Peak;
"I am PROUD of you!"
see in class for more barefooted fun...and...don't forget to bring a friend!!!
coach ilg, ryt/uscf/cpt
author/Total Body Transformation
founder/Wholistic Fitness� and High Performance Yoga�
* Sangha = a community of like-minded Practitioners.
Judge OKs snowmaking on Peaks
{Coach, who once competed in the World Extreme Ski Championships, has been a propopent of a hotly contested legal battle to get snowmaking approved at Flagstaff's local ski area; Arizona Snowbowl. Photo by Ananda of Coach carving a tele turn at the Snowbowl last year.}
This was a big one...i bow to the Tribal Elders and let it be known that at least one mountain yogi all-Ways honors the Sanctity of ANY mountain peak, and particularly these beautiful Kachina Peaks. I spend an WHOLE LOT OF TIME up in these Sacred Peaks, sweating my ceremonial prayers...yet i have only seen 3 Native Americans in all the hours i have logged. Perhaps if MORE of my Native American Brothers and Sisters would share outdoor sweat with me and other outdoor athletes, they would See the Tribal Wisdom of being able to ski on a tiny fragment of the huge peaks by way of 100% reclaimed water in snowmaking. One of my Lifetime Goals is to train a Native American, preferrably a Navajo, Southern Ute, or Taos Puebloan to represent their Nation in the Winter Olympics as a Nordic Ski Racer.
By next year, it sounds like we will be able to ski/snowshoe from October through April, baby. 100% reclaimed water will be used for the Arizona Snowbowl beginning as early as next ski season...so, check out the local ski area of the Temple Grounds at: www.arizonasnowl.com
In fact, as many of you know, i am the Event Director of a USSA (United States Snowshoe Association) Regional Qualifying Event that was supposed to take place January 22nd. I, and Nordic Center owner Wendell Johnson, have stood our optimism and will have an event called, "SNOW OR NO"...it will be a trail run, a mountain bike, or whatever you want, but SnowGod Darn It?!?! We WILL have an EVENT! check it out at: http://www.flagstaffnordiccenter.com/
if you wish me to send you a PDF flyer of my event, just let me know! would LOVE to see you there! 
"Remember oh Mighty Brothers and Sisters; the truest SweatLodge is called, our Skin...regardless of its color or heritage." WF Tribal Chief, Coach Ilg.
Flag is supposed to finally get our second snow of the virtually snowless season this weekend...so, maybe just maybe, Ananda and i will be honoring the Mountain Gods by way of ski, snowshoe, and Sacred Sweat.
If you wish to read more about this pivotal decision for Flag's economy and us outdoor athletes who cherish our land...here is the local newspaper report.
namaste from the land of the snows...
coach ilg
***
Judge OKs snowmaking on Peaks
By CYNDY COLE
Sun Staff Reporter
01/12/2006
Arizona Snowbowl can use reclaimed wastewater to make snow, District Judge Paul Rosenblatt ruled late Wednesday.
Snowbowl would be allowed to begin construction on snowmaking infrastructure immediately barring an injunction and further legal appeals by tribes and environmental groups.
The Flagstaff Activist Network and Save the Peaks Coalition vowed to appeal the case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and ask for such an injunction.
Snowbowl has said it would like to have snowmaking for the winter of 2006-2007.
The Coconino National Forest supervisor applauded the judge's decision.
"We have worked very hard on this important project that serves as a valid use of national forest land," Nora Rasure said in a statement.
"The San Francisco Peaks are valuable to many people and certainly to Native American Tribes who consider them sacred," she said. "We will continue to work with the tribes to address their concerns and ensure, to the best of our ability, that the Peaks retain as much value to the tribes as possible."
Native American religious freedoms and the Forest Service's policy of managing land for many uses, including skiing, were the critical issues in the case.
Rosenblatt ruled that the tribes didn't practice their religion directly within the Snowbowl area by, for example, gathering plants there and that they could practice their religion elsewhere on the Peaks.
Since the Hopis, for example, couldn't prove they hadn't already been harmed by the ski area's existence and didn't use the ski area specifically for religious purposes, they could not prove that further development would harm them, Rosenblatt said.
Lawyers for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Sierra Club, Flagstaff Activist Network and other plaintiffs said making snow on a park of the Peaks would be tantamount to violating their clients' religions by harming them all.
But plaintiffs can't win a case regarding how land is used by claiming spiritual harm, Rosenblatt said of prior higher court rulings.
To rule otherwise, he said, would give the tribes limitless rights to find and add sacred sites ranging from the entire Grand Canyon to whole mountain ranges.
The case was essentially a repeat of a 1979 legal battle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, with the same outcome for the tribes.
The judge noted in his ruling several seeming hypocrisies by several tribes into his decision, saying the White Mountain Apaches violated at least some of their members' religious rights by putting mid-grade reclaimed wastewater on the mountain at Sunrise Ski Resort, the Havasupai released reclaimed water into their drainages, the Hopi allow mining on the sacred land of Black Mesa and the Navajo used reclaimed water for various purposes.
These tribes, he said, have had to weigh their own members' religious rights and beliefs against development in sacred sites, and the sacred sites haven't always come out as most important.
On other matters, the judge ruled the Forest Service used the best available science in deciding reclaimed water turned into snow would be safe for skiers and that Snowbowl wouldn't remain a viable business without snowmaking.
Arizona Snowbowl didn't return calls Wednesday.
Flagstaff Activist Network treasurer Rudy Preston said his group was disappointed and looking at an injunction.
"This is going to go on in court for quite awhile," he said.
Cyndy Cole can be reached at ccole@azdailysun.com
January 11, 2006
MEET MY NEW RACING TEAM!
Namaste Noble Warriors!
Ananda and i have just returned from yet another HEAVEN of a trip into...
the vortices of Sedona...more on that later..you are gonna DIG what we found for your Sacred Places To Get High At checklist! 
I meditated on this stunningly powerful and beautiful sandstone sandstone bridge that was only about 4' at its middle with 300' of empty air surrounding you! the moment i folded my legs into Padmasana, a "Sushumna Shiver" shocked through my three main Nadic Lines (you should know which ones i have Taught you!) and i KNEW yet another Shift was being done upon my cells, cuz i was MAINLINING some MAJOR PRANIC DOPE, baby!!! i had to leave the posture and place quickly because of the tremendous Pranic Impact would have resulted in a far too great an energetic training effect than i had prepared for! Big League Energy Arena, baby! I now know this would be yet another VERY powerful, Sacred Place for future, progressive energy work...an ideal "HP Yoga� Practice Mat" for some MahaDhyana after age 75...i am really starting to tap into a Heaven of a Meditation Path for when i reach that pivotal age of 75 years. it so important to train HARD and SOFT for age 75; we must enter that age with a very versatile, balanced, strong, enduring, and supple body/mind in order to sustain the high volumes of Meditation which need to be done from age 75-100 years old. more on that later, you KNOW i am devoted to taking you along, Tribal Brothersand Sisters! just keep reading DL and Practicing the WF Path...our Tribe is going nowhere except ONWARD, UPWARD, and ever Divinely INWARD!!!!!!!!
oh, please let me introduce you to my great new bicycle racing teammates...i will be racing for Red Rock Racers in 2006 with quite an exciting schedule of races lined up; a huge amount of suffering and bliss lies ahead! Don't get dropped! Join a local bicycle club or team and find out how deep the Spiritual Teachings of the Cobbles are!
www.redrockracing.org/roster
i am also offering a discount to my HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA� classes to my teammates for their off season training. Check out the Home Page of
www.redrockracing.org
for the flyer/description!
i bow to RRR Team Manger, Kristen for all her Devoted Work!
January 09, 2006
JUMPING WITH VERACITY; GENUINE YOGA AND PEEING IN YOUR PANTS
More people outta ask, "Where is the CHI in today's spiritual teachers?" Above: Coach Ilg, demonstrating the HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA� variation of Hanumanasana in the Cascade Range of Washington. photography by John Terrance Turner.
You can bet your bottom dollar that i was scared shitless to make this pinnacle jump! Those of you who have the WF Blessed Mala Beads know exactly what Sacred Mantra i was running before, during, and oh so thankfully AFTER this jump! And you wonder why i eat the SUNRIDER� Herbs to keep me empty, light, and strong!?!? SO I CAN FLY, BABY!!!! I wonder if other Certified Yoga Teachers are ready to play some: Pinnacle Jumping Yoga? Oh? No? Why? Hmmmm. Overcoming the Endangering of their physical body by mental control does not somehow fit into their notions of Yoga Teaching Certification? Odd. Must be me, then. Cuz' i come from a crazy fit tribe of Mountain Yogis who thrive upon constantly testing and retesting skill of mind control within environments of Fear and Pain. Oh, you mean the current version of a Spiritual Teacher does not dig the whole, "No Pain, No Gain," theme, eh?!? Okay, well, see you later. Enjoy your Pampering Yoga! Good luck as your body starts to quiver and convulse upon your dying Bardo Entry Moment! 
No Pain? No Inner Attain, baby!
Remember Yogi Jesus Christ? What?...
you still think that somehow YOU don't have to encounter His brand of Yoga before Enlightenment? Guess again. We ALL must endure that which we are most scared to endure. I say, let's get started; together! 
Applied Yoga; beginning a free solo of an apron climb in Indian Creek Canyon, Utah. Photo by a nervous Ananda.
I know some of you must think i just stand around in Sacred Places of the American Southwest, dreaming up crazy ass fitness workouts then launching myself into the pain and presence of it so i can one day retool that experience into a WF Online Training Program for you, right?
Yup. Dat's purty much what i have been doing for the past quarter century.
which is precisely why you read about the Awakenings of WF Students! We have a HeavenSent of a Path!
The thing is, we live in spiritually dangerous times. Too many Teachers only willing to talk the talk; not many out there testing the Radical Self Transformation of genuine, Ancient Yoga. Too many Certification Programs. Not enough Chi Testing! This type of pandemic academia in Yoga Teaching spoils Ripe Students and ruins weak ones.
If you just talk the yoga talk about Union of Mind and Body without ever nearly peeing in your little Prana� Yoga Pants from deep, deep down FEAR, then you are nothing but an intellectual yogin that is gonna wuss out at the Bardo Entry...and in my Path, i will not tolerate that. Because you deserve a Teacher and a Path that knows a Direct Experience Thing or Two about overcoming Fear, Doubt, Weakness, Injury, Dis-ease, and Inconstancy of Practice. 
So what if we are bit Wacky about things like the "Secret Herbs"?! So were the Ancient Masters! Hec, from my Lineage, the Master's would walk barefooted as pilgrimage over 60 miles to get their Enlightened Hands on the choicest herbs during their Peak Concentration phases! Don't you dare complain about the 'cost' of SUNRIDER herbs! you wanna know what the going rate of Enlightenment REALLY is?! i say, so WHAT if we are a bit Whacky about our training and living life like we mean it!?!? REALLY MEAN IT!?!? We have Guru's paralyzed in hospital beds Attempting to TEACH US to LIVE OUR LIFE BABY, cuz we got two legs, a pair of lungs, and a heart to MOVE THEM! So let's DANCE, baby!!!!! So what if we turn in our Body Shells at our MahaSamadhi moment beaten, scarred, ripped up, yet still fitter than most!!?!? I would rather my Tribe be filled with Whacked but Tapped Warriors than intellectual studio yogis that work the Spiritual Journey only to the boundaries of their cherished comfort zones of money, family, occupation, and fitness strengths. screw that! you can't keep any of that! You know what all that stuff is called at the Bardo Entry? Baggage.
"Angels can fly because they take themselves Lightly."
Welcome to Wholistic Fitness� Transpersonal Training; Please Check Your Baggage at the Temple Gate.
Peruse the current magazines, books, and blogs talking all about yoga and quoting the Masters with such easy, intellectual flair. Probably is making Patanjali roll over in His graveless grave. I can hear His Voice now, "Uhhhh, wait a second, can i please have my Sutra's back? They were meant to be imparted one on one; Teacher to Student. I didn't intend for them to become a NY Times Bestseller item coupled with a yogini starlet's line of "yoga clothing and jewelry!"
It's easy to talk about the UNION of Body, Mind, and Soul...it's another thing all together to replace our cherished and clever intellects and regurgitation capacities with a single, real Individual SHOCK OF CHI! I truly must Trust that the current crop of today's multitude of Certified Teachers of the spiritual arts really are doing the deep Inner, Solo Work to produce the balls to reach down and JUMP!!!! across the Abyss of their own Fear. 
I am pleased to say that the genuine Mountain Yogic Crazy Wisdom of Wholistic Fitness� comes deeply refined from my decades of myself applying yogic principles taught to me from my Teachers into "extreme sports"...years before those two words, "extreme sports" were exploited to include "Extreme Sports: eating competitions" and "Extreme Poker."
To me, a Teacher of Union expresses Union through an endless array of Versatile and Spontaneous Adaptations within the context of their bodies, practices, and lifestyle.
To me, a Teacher of Union is someone with the deep fiber veracity and sturdiness and endurance that ain't afraid to take your hand, look at you, at the Edge of your Edges and ask, "You ready to JUMP? Cuz, i have JUMPED and i CAN navigate this Abyss...c'mon!" 
Well, i'm off to ride my bike down to Sedona for a couple of days. i'm gonna go meditate in some vortexes, ride and run some slickrock, and well, maybe jump me a sandstone pinnacle or two.
Why? Cuz' i TAF it is Go(o)d for my Soul...
and i TAF
it makes me a more uniquely experienced Personal Fitness Teacher for my Beloved Sangha; YOU!
Maybe i will see you later, Oh Noble Yogi of a Genuine Path of Radical Self Transformation!
If i don't? Well, Just visualize that i hit the Bardo Entry on a Conscious Exhale...
OMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...
that is all,
coach ilg
January 08, 2006
RE: today's 1*8*06 DL
Ah man,
So funny AND true..
could hardly peel my eyes from todays DL!
love ya,
karen
BARDO DHARMA: Four Cateogories
" Quite simply, a Bardo Realm is a Transition Realm."- Coach Ilg. Coach, racing through a 111-mile Bardo Realm during a course record at the Furnace Creek 508 race in Death Valley. 
Most of my favorite pics on DL last year were what i call, Bardo Pics. Those utterly sincere snapshots of those moments when our ego has been beaten down to non significant pulp...like after doing Intervals as WF Online Student Lees shows us above. I love humans most when they are in Bardo Realms...we are must pure when in a Bardo.
***
Because WF is a Spiritual Path that uses a multidisciplined fitness approach as its "Dharma Vehicle," i have been obliged to introduce to many of you through the years, the notion of Bardo. Quite simply, a Bardo Realm is a Transition Realm. When we are in between Pull Ups and our Doubt is doing battle with our Confidence as to whether we can crank off another rep or not? Dat's a Bardo Realm. The more intense the Bardo, the more difficult it becomes to maintain Consciousness. Think here of the extremes; trying to maintain your 'developed' consciousness during a sexual orgasm. Dat's a Bardo Realm. Now, flip to the other side; invoke an image of Yogi Jesus Christ on the cross...still cultivating compassion for others as He approached His Bardo Entry. Dat's World Class Bardo Entry, right there.
Usually, however, we can use our physical training within the Five Fitness Disciplines of WF to develop our Bardo Entry Skills.
Like yesterday, for instance.
Yesterday, on a 50-mile bicycle club training ride/race i was starting to get dropped from the lead group on the "Second Step"...the etheric elastic between myself and the stronger riders was beginning to strrrrrrrrretch me off the back...as i dug down deep into my chi reservoirs in a futile, desperate, torturous attempt to hang onto those flying athletes hammering up the hill? Dat's a Bardo, baby.
Yesterday again; same ride, thirty minutes later. at the turn around, i started back home with five other riders. i attacked them into a head wind along a gentle uphill, next to the howling Lake Mary. head down, spine flat...i was diggin' again to separate me from the pack...this time for the win! as i was time trialing, focusing on my breath, mantra, technique..i blinked out a contact! sheeeeit! half blind, i kept a'goin...seeking the finish mark...i thought to myself; 'okay, so i am half blind; it's Bardo Training...just keep a'going ilg, just like in the Death Bardo; Keep your Consciousness intact!" so i kept going...and then...BLINK!!!!! the other contact flipped out. i could see both lenses now glued not onto my eyeballs, but rather on the inside of my sunglasses!
now, i have to interrupt this exciting Bardo Story to tell you this much; my eye prescription is -5.25 (actually improved through yoga!)
in other words?
Big Time Blind. 
{a shot of both my contact lenses glued onto my sunglasses after blinking them out 22 miles earlier!}
I had now entered the REALLY Fuzzy Logic Bardo Realm!...at around 23 mph on a road bike among speeding cars, roaring winds, roadside debris, narrow shoulders, you name it! when that final contact lense plopped ungracefully on my inner sunglass lense, my first thought was go(o)d; "Keep goin', Vishnu is Protecting you...just keep going and TRUST! WALK YOUR TALK about TRUST IN THE SUPREME!" so i engaged my Ishvara Pradnidhana niyama. i surrendered into my Dangerous, Soaring Blind Bardo Realm and for the next 5 miles until i crossed the finish mark ahead of the others, i kept my Aerobic Pain threshold at my limit and drew strength from my Blindness. After crossing the finish mark safely ahead of the others, i just kept climbing up toward Flag. The cars became blurry whizzes of disconcerting speeding masses. yet, my Trust in Vishnu and my Surrender into the Bardo Realm had produced a quixotic state of Grace. Calm Grace. Protective Grace. i felt like i was peddling along wrapped in a Tibetan Deities Auric Shell. i made it home, through downtown traffic, safe and smiling at just another little spiritual victory within the fabric of my crazy, fun, hard, and Deeply Blessed outer life.
now, let's listen to Sogyal Rinpoche as he clarifies some of the Bardo notion.
now listen up, bucko (i see that is catching on among some other Blog writers!),
i don't want YOU to go blindfold yourself and go race your bicycle around in traffic cuz Coach says it's good for Bardo Training...no sirreee!
however,
today and over the next few weeks, i DO want you to become aware of your tendencies around your own Bardo Moments...those Transitions Realms...it's like i say in my PROP WORKOUT DVD: "Be FAST on those Transitions!"
Train your Bardo Fitness because eventually, you are going to have engage your Bardo Fitness in your dying embers of this particular life. Train for your death and watch how JOYFULLY DIVINE your life actually becomes!
i bow to your Devoted Practice,
om mani padme hung
coach ilg
***
"From the Tibetan Buddhist point of view, we can divide our entire existence into four continuously interlinked realities:
1. life; 2. dying and death; 3. after death; and 4. rebirth.
These are known as the four bardos:
1. the natural bardo of this life,
2. the painful bardo of dying,
3. the luminous bardo of dharmata, and
4. the karmic bardo of becoming.
The bardos are particularly powerful opportunities for liberation because there are, the teachings show us, certain moments that are much more powerful than others and much more charged with potential, when whatever you do has a crucial and far-reaching effect.
I think of a bardo as being like a moment when you step toward the edge of a precipice; such a moment, for example, is when a master introduces a disciple to the essential, original, and innermost nature of his or her mind. The greatest and most charged of these moments, however, is the moment of death."
- Sogyal Rinpoche
January 07, 2006
AN ODE TO CRAZY WISDOM COACH
Most Beloved Coach,
if you have a moment: http://www.kristi-trinity.com/reflections.html
today is for you.
Bowing deep with Respect and Gratitude.
Namaste,
student lees
SILENCE ANXIETY SYNDROME; A Coach Ilg Diagnosis
"We know all too well the multitude of society-based 'disorders' and 'anxiety syndromes' that are constantly springing up to scare us into submission to doctors and other 'health experts'. Their high gloss Scare Tactics work so easily upon those who do not Practice daily sweat and stillness. First they create a new Fear or Doubt within our minds, and then They slap our fears with fancy labels and order us to get addicted on some newly 'approved drug' specifically synthesized for our particular 'dis-ease.' From this drug prescription? Well, guess what? Yep, the "doctors" get a royalty check based upon their ability to hock this drug. The Snake Oil Salesman is alive and thriving in 2006...they just use fancier names to scare us all.
Well, your humble ol' mountain yogi coach has noticed another "disorder" that pretty much lies at the root of all the other "disorders", "syndromes", and "Dis-eases." I call it, 'Silence Anxiety Sydrome.'
We are, as a society, losing at a speed faster than high speed internet capacity our OWN capacity to listen. We HEAR many things; cell phone conversations, advertisements, TV shows, movies, traffic noise, car stereos, home stereos...yet, we don't Listen. Our attention spans are shortening at a rate even faster than our waistlines are bulging. Why? Because Listening is a Performance Art...and all Art requires something we have been scared away from; SPACIOUSNESS and INTUITIVE WISDOM.
the Art of Listening requires inner spaciousness, expanse, and patience. Those are three adjectives that run contrary to our Western notion of 'progress.' As we continue to accelerate our lifestyles toward the gaining of external things to "make us happy," we are developing what i call, "silence anxiety syndrome." This neurotic anxiousness of anything profoundly quiet stems from Fear. Essentially, a Fear of Death. Death of our ego noise. This is why you accept an invitation to see a movie instead of meditating alone.
We have witlessly attached our sense of self to the many layers of our ego noise instead of our innate nature of Receptivity.
I have Taught you many, many times over the years; Human Beings are not Human Doings. We still forget that a lot.
We are, by our nature, receptive Beings...human beings. Our destiny - the way our physiology is set up - is as a Receptive Organism, not a Generating Organism.
Yes, we are masters of regeneration at the cellular level, yet to accomplish that cellular regeneration, we must all-Ways receive something; herbs, love, sunlight, air, prana, water...
Today, i want you to Practice Receiving...not generating. Do you TAF you can do that as part of your Wholistic Fitness� Practice today?"
- Coach Ilg
from Private Online Counsel to a Student who is scared from years of being on anti-depressants.
Tibetan Prayer Flags greet Grandfather Sun's radiance as the Sacred Peak hovers above the WF Temple H(om)e this morning
January 06, 2006
DOES COACH WORK FOR FLAG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OR WHAT?!?!
Dear Steve and Ananda:
If the moons are aligned and the stars are in agreement Lynne and I would like to take you out for dinner in Flagstaff on Sunday March 5th. The American Luggage Show is in Las Vegas on March 7 to 9, and we are planning on a driving holiday through the Grand Canyon area and down to Sedona. We will fly into Las Vegas and rent a car on Thursday,
March 2nd. I would appreciate any advice on interesting areas to see between Las Vegas and Flagstaff.
We are both very interested in historical sites. As it is a holiday, it is not a suitable time for an intensive but I can't pass up the opportunity to see you.
Ai Imawa
Fit Kit
***
Most Noble Long Time Student and Cherished Ironman Athlete Fit Kit...
ABSOLUTELY!
my cell (confidential) is ***/***/****
between LV and Flag? sheeit...ain't nothing but CHI FILLED SPACE...a PRANIC OCEAN between here and there...
here is the way to go;
get the hell out of Vegas and head toward Student Garrity's Training Palace on the shores of Lake Mead, Boulder City. Then, drive out to Hoover Dam...take in the sights...that friggin' chunk of concrete barricade is a massive and bloody testimony to the greed of the White Man over Ma Earth. i admit, it's pretty impressive nonetheless. the little 20-minute movie thing in the Visitor Center is worthwhile. sadly, you will see the effects of the 30-year drought that we are in here in the Southwest. the water level is over 1,000' lower than normal. breathe cowboy, breathe.
after that, if you can talk Lynne into driving.........YOU can crank on your bicycle, if you want, the 80k's of hotter than all hell stretch of Hwy 93 to Kingman, AZ. i did it once. Ananda picked me up just outside of Kingman, AZ like i was melted popsicle. felt like one too...jeezo. now, having said that much... there IS great sport climbing in Kingman, otherwise, it ain't much to write home about.
From Kingman, just point your pony East on I40 and enjoy the Ascent up and onto the Mogollon Plateau. You'll feel the Vortex of Flag/Grand Canyon/Sedona at about Seeligman, AZ. by the time you pass Devil Dawg Road, sheeit...your cells will be humming with the OMMMMMM!!!!!! Better double up on the SUNRIDER herbs, cuz once the CHI hits you baby...it's all over!
By the town of Bellemont, you are in my Daily Practice Grounds...the Sacred Peak will be on your left, and i will send Brother Raven to escort you. the Sacred Peak, will be hopefully PLASTERED with snow...and She will vibrate like the giant 12,633' Crystal that She is! yup, them will be my snowshoe tracks on Her sensual left shoulder...look hard, cowboy! 
{Coach never misses an opportunity for a First Ascent...here he is on an overhang at Walnut Canyon...}
If you arrive in Flag early? Definitely take Lynne and check out the DEEPLY HISTORICAL and HUGELY SPIRITUAL "Walnut Canyon"...just past Flag a few minutes:
http://www.nps.gov/waca/
It is an Athletic tour of killer cool Anasazi dwellings etched directly into soaring sandstone pedestals teetering over a Pranic convulsion of riparian beauty.
More time? Just hop back toward Flag, then head north on 89 to Wuptaki National Monument and Sunset Crater...place just VIBES!
http://www.nps.gov/wupa/
{Ananda running beneath Sunset Crater, breathing chi and being FREE!}
great trails branch off the road to a plethora of Anasazi sites, including my Sacred Place For Inhaling The Nation's Most Potent Pran; the "PranHole" at
http://www.nps.gov/wupa/home.htm
see DL Archives under "Pran Hole" ...oh, and the road you will be driving on? That is the race course for a local cycling race that i tried to press the peleton into integrity by launching a maniacal solo break for over 1.5 hours (see DL Archives; August '05).
oh...and don't forget to enter the STILL ETHERICALLY ACTIVE ancient Ballcourt just north of the Pran Hole and do some Ai Imawa or yoga postures in there...the Ancient Ones will Talk to you as you breathe into emptiness!
You want me to go on??!
dude...you oughtta just high tail it the hell outta Vegas, ditch those Luggage Convention bozo's and git up here and start VIBING THE MOUNTAIN CHI, baby!!!!!!!
anyway,
you travel with Heightened Awareness and give me a call when you hit town...
love,
ilgbro
EAGLE MEDICINE: WHOLE HEARTED FITNESS - Student Shel's Private Intensive Inspires Coach
- Coach gets a kiss beneath the Sacred Peak from WF Devotee Shel during her Two Day Private Intensive that resulted in yet another profound Shift for Shelli's spiritual Journey. This DL is dedicated to her.
***
Our Fitness devotion must come from our whole heart. It is not enough, contrary to popular thought, to just run our Fitness Pursuits like we run so many errands. We must also give our thoughts and our Everyday Actions to our Fitness Pursuit. The entirety of WF Study is for this - to accelerate our cellular vibration Higher so that we may Appropriately Act (WF Lifestyle Principle #3) and respond to our Daily Challenges from Eagle Medicine. 
{During a MTB ride, i took a break and clinic'd the Ai Imawa Taoist Healing Postures with Student Shel upon some volcanic cinders. When i asked her to strike her favorite Ai Imawa Posture for a pic, she replied, "Wow...watching you flow through them make it seem like all the Postures were just One." Go(o)d answer! She finally settled in for Calming The Dragon, a challenging "yang" posture in the series.}
What is Eagle Medicine? Well those of you that have read and practice the Teachings in my "Ai Imawa" book know that Eagle Medicine is Illumination...A Soaring Level of Consciousness that provides a High Perspective to our varied dance of drama and difficulty.
We cannot possibly stop thinking or acting our Fitness. We must see, as i have Taught you many times before, that our Highest Workout is Everywhere. It's right now; in our posture, our breath, the tension in our toes, and the width and sincerity of our smile. When we carry our Workout into the Moment, we live from with a different, a Higher, point of view. We are inDeed Eagles...soaring far above the predicable masses so mired in their ungracious addictions to various sensual comforts and entertainments.
{Top: i force Shelli into a Bardo Realm approaching timberline while Yak'traking up the Sacred Peak. This type of Herculean, Heart Pounding, Leg and Lung Searing Torture is vital for the genuine Yogin who does not simply leave the notion of "yoga" to asana. Bottom: Shelli, who was very intimidated in the Descent of the steep snow, was given a powerful WF Mountain Yogi Transmission and soon enough, she was soaring with Eagle Medicine down the challenging slope, hootin' and howlin' like any perfectly sane 51-year old girl should!}
We must take the same thought for our spiritual fitness as we do now for our material fitness. We must reMember with our natural 'tapas'..our innate burning desire to Rise Above with spiritual fervor for that Inner Wealth that will Guide, Comfort, and Embrace our final exhale as we leave this Life and enter our Bardo Gym.
When our fitness devotion is sincere, we will not complain about a Proven Path of Transformation. For those of us cranking along the Path of WF, that means that We will do whatever it takes to get on and stay on the herbs, on the Online Training, on the Svadhaya of Direct Lines. 
{Coach rekindles Shelli's Inner Child by returning her to a long forgotten Joy of Movement...ice skating! her smile did not leave her face for hours!}
Wavering is not tolerated on a genuine Path of Yoga. Do or do not. But never waver. To waver is to die in sloth. Do not waver in Cardio, Strength, Asana, Meditation, or Food Mastery. Just Begin...and when you fall (which we all do) then, Begin Again and Again...Endlessly Again. Falling is not wavering. Falling implies Upward Movement. It's wavering and indifference and lack of constancy that is perilous to Eagle Medicine.
Thus, we must first root from our mind the false notion which fools us into thinking that material fitness (including fitness of the body) is the greatest reality of our short life here. Material needs are not the foremost importance in our life. This realization will ring as Clear and Strong as a Ponderosa Wind when we come to know - through Direct Experience - the yoga of nature...when we come to know through Abhyasa (constancy of Practice) the biggest fact of all; there is no "i"...
there is
only
One.
All
One.
{What makes Shelli such a great Yogini? It's not because she is a Certified Yoga Teacher. it's not that she has nailed with gymnastic finesse all the advanced yoga postures. Not even close. However, what makes Yogini Shelli a tremendously skilled Practitioner of Yoga is her tapas; her Burning Desire to Learn the Higher Path. Here she is, minutes before leaving the WF Temple H(om)e...scouring my bookshelves, writing down titles of books for her own Svadhyaya...this type of desire for INNER-ATTAINMENT, not entertainment, is why Student Shel is gonna kick ass in the Bardo...}
I devote this DL to my cherished and beautiful Student Shell...who has been here studying with myself and Ananda for two days of Intensive WF Study. So, do not take my feeble words...i am only the Teacher, the Guide...ask the Students like Devoted Online Student Shel who has been through hell and high water with her WF Studies...you ask her what a genuine Path of Yoga has provided in inner wealth for her life, her relationships, and her eventual Bardo Entry.
How BAAAAAD do you want it, baby?!?!
As BAAAAD as a 51-year young Spiritual Warrioress named Shel?
Only you know the answer to that one...
May all Beings be Happy and KNOW the causations of Happiness...
namaste,
coach ilg
January 04, 2006
COACH and JOY RETURN TO HP YOGA� Class TEACHING TONIGHT!
Steve Ilg's HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA� comes to Flag!!
World Class Yoga by a World Class Athlete�
�Winter Sports Conditioning� January 4th - February 1st
Wednesdays @ 7pm & Sundays @ 11am
instructed by Steve "Coach" Ilg...bringing you 25 years teaching experience!
�Namaste Noble Warriors!! Welcome to my first series of HP YOGA� in Flag! Joy and I are STOKED to teach here! My first series is on Winter Sport Conditioning. My intent is to have these classes serve as SUPERB TRAINING for alpine and nordic skiers,�boarders, snowshoers, and ESPECIALLY great for off-season cyclists and RUNNERS!! Share with us your Sweat, Strength, Suppleness, Stillness, and Inner Spirit! You will be DEEPLY happy you did!...I Promise and...yogi�s don�t lie!� - Coach Ilg 
Coach will be assisted by
Joy Kilpatrick,cyt/cpt.
Both were
Teachers at Coach�s
Los Angeles HIGH PERFORMANCE Yoga� Studio.
our DVD�s and Books
available at our website!
First class includes HP Yoga introduction and beginners clinic.
Dates are Jan 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 25, 29, & Feb 1st.High Performance Yoga� Series
Classes take place at the beautiful �Mountain Sky Fitness Center� at:
417 W Santa Fe Ave, Flagstaff, 86001 - (928) 774-7999. $15/cass or $104 for all 8 sessions
Coach Ilg is The Only Registered Yoga Teacher With Multi-World Championship experience!
? 5 World Championships in 4 Different Sports
? United States Cycling Federation Coach
? author of Total Body Transformation, The Winter Athlete, The Outdoor Athlete
? founder and creator of Wholistic Fitness� Personal Training System
For more information contact Joy at : 928-774-9205
or email at hpyoga@mac.com
For more information on Wholistic Fitness� and High Performance Yoga� visit Coach�s website at: www.WholisticFitness.com
SHIFT YOURSELF TO SHIFT THE WORLD...
SHIVA Dances The "Wrong" Dance in Flag!
One for the records
By SZABOLCS KORDOS
Sun Staff Reporter
01/04/2006
Flagstaff is heading toward breaking a 70-year-old record -- for the latest first measurable snowfall of the winter season.
Since weather measurements for Flagstaff began in 1898, only four times has the first snow arrived after Dec. 31. In 1935, winter "began" on Jan. 5. In 1930, the first measurable snow didn't arrive until Jan. 7. Snow season is typically measured beginning Oct. 1. and through April 30.
If we don't see snow on the ground -- and it's predicted we won't -- by Saturday, it is going to be the latest date on record for the start of the snow season.
"If our forecast is accurate, there won't be any precipitation by Monday, Jan. 9," said George Howard of the National Weather Service office in Bellemont (just outside of Flagstaff).
Meteorologists predicted the chance of some storms on New Year's Eve and Monday, but the storms swept past Flagstaff.
COACH's NOTE:
I am supposed to hold a USSA Regional Snowshoe Qualifying Race on the 22nd. I called the Event, "The Cold Sweat SnowShoe 10k"...
i reckon i will have to rename the Event to, "The Dry Sweat DirtShoe 10k"...
oh well...yogis must learn to Adapt, not complain...}
January 03, 2006
BURNING SO INTENSELY, YET SO GENTLY
WF ONLINE STUDENT KARL UPDATING HIS TEACHER HAKU...
LIVIN' THE WF ONLINE LIFE...WHAT IF EVERYBODY DID?!?!?
Good Morning Coach,
he herbs really kicked in this week. I added a single Slim Cap (2) to my twice daily input and was mindful of the quality of food intake (fruits and vegetables) and the combination really went to work on my internals. Spent a lot of quality time in the "library".
The week offered a great opportunity for study and reading. How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali; Total Body Transformation - Coach Ilg and the music and chants of Krishna Das and Girish. Now that's what I am talking about.
Strength - This was a very good week. Right on the practice sheet and then some. Felt great energy and focus. A year with WF techniques allows for focus on task. Elegance under pressure. Stomach and core requires a great deal of attention. Oh my that extra girth.... Breath and posture.
Cardio - It rained and rained and rained so indoor on the treadmill and spin bike again this week. Right on the practice sheet. This is a mental push everyday. It takes a good 10-15 minutes to get a rhythm. I have printed and posted your Blog speak near my Iron Temple/bike-treadmill. Practice and consistency. Sweating like crazy. And it is all good. going to head outside this afternoon and take a run with the dogs outside.
Yoga - Each day and each morning. I love this stuff. I did solo practice each day. Focused on opening up the hips. Pigeon pose plus Green Tara, Sun Salutations like crazy, Ai Imawa. I do my yoga in the AM following my morning meditations and the time is such that I watch the sun rise as I am doing the yoga and listening to Krishna Das or some music like it. A great beginning to the day.
Meditation - Each morning. This week Coach Ilg talked to me each morning. Fear and Fitness, Stream Entry, or Workout is Everywhere rotated on the play list. Timeless work by coach. I bow to his lead down the path of WF and the discovery of the true self. Amazing that he (and you) can burn so intensely yet so gently. I bow.
Nutrition - Back to 3 bowls and working with the entire family now to plan, set up, shop, and eat. All with different motivations yet a team non the less. Very good week with the herbs. Consistent and the trips to the bathroom reflected it. Phase 1 plus some Quinary and Alpha 20C.
Nothing more and nothing less.
WF and Coach Haku are my beacons for 2006.
WF Online Student Karl of Clan Haku
TRACKING THE MASTER's PATH; Coach's Dec Practice Stats
DECEMBER, 2005 - Practice Stats for Coach Ilg
{ NOTE: Do NOT attempt to mimic these numbers, especially in regard to my low daily caloric intake. Through years of SUNRIDER herbs coupled with daily Pranayam/Meditation, my physiology is now at a point where it is being fueled more and more by Direct Pranic Sources of Nutrition instead of indirect pranic intake through physical food. You WILL get injured, burned out, or worse if you attempt this type of advanced WF training. Even Navy Seals and Marines cannot keep up with these type of statistics month after month, so don't you try! - Coach Ilg.}
comparative analysis to prior month included.
Strength Training = 1.25 hours; down by .50 hour
Cardio Training = 29.75 hours; down by .75 hour
Yoga = 37.75 hours; up by 7.75 hours
Meditation = 29.50 hours; down by .50 hour
Nutrition = 52340 calories. average: 1,619/day! up by 70 calories/day
SUMMARY; going into the Holiday Season, i knew i would be very busy with family. so i loaded up the front half of the month with high intensity cardio then allowed that Discipline to wane in favor of ramping up my Meditation and Yoga volumes during the last half (crazy part) of the month. It worked. nearly a dozen family members were treated to a beautiful time at Two Tree Manor, yet over half of them were sick and/or contagious. Because i anticipated this and lowered my Cardio volumes down which drains immune resources and because i double dosed the SUNRIDER herbs (and added extra VitaSpray, VitaFruit, and Alpha 20C) Ananda and i both felt the GUNK and PHLEGM of incoming viruses, yet the Herbs and our Early Morning Practices totally defended us...it was quite spectacular to Witness the accuracy of the Path during this time. Now, after the Holidays, i will start reRamping up my Cardio and stabilize equipoise in the other WF Disciplines.
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH:
4th; Agassiz Loop Route in 1:53 wearing YakTraks!
8th: elden MTB Time Trial in 55:35 in subfreezing temps!
11th; Kahtoola Agassiz in 61 MINUTES! 27 minute descent! PERSONAL RECORD!!!
23-28th; 11 guests here for xmas; SR pulls us through; everyone sick. only had a slight increase in kcals (less than 100!)
Karma Yoga intact: did not miss a day of doing great DL's for the Sangha, even during the Holidays!
NOTE: i will attempt to post YEAR END PRACTICE STATS ON AN UPCOMING DL!
"Consistency is Everything."
- Coach Ilg
ARRIVE NOT AT HAPPINESS...
ONE DOES NOT ARRIVE AT HAPPINESS...
ONE TRAVELS ITS
PATH...
Wholistic Fitness� Personal Training
Transforming All Fitness Into One Yoga
since 1982...
All One, baby...
All One
January 02, 2006
HP YOGA� Q & A
Noble Coach Ilg,
Happy New Year!
I have an HP Yoga question. I am curious as to the reason behind a hip width stance at the start of Sun Salutations as opposed to the more traditional feet together method.
I must say that I have found HP yoga to be BY FAR the most rewarding, powerful and frighteningly effective from of Yoga I have ever practiced. I am sure the reason(s) behind your choice regarding stance will be en--LIGHT-ening.
Head bowed and dripping with sweat,
Humble Student BG
Sherman Oaks, CA
Dear Noble Student BG,
Wild animals.
Regardless of their obvious lack of Certifications,
i have found that, by far and away, the most powerful, beautiful, and inspirational Teachers of Yoga
have been to me,
wild animals.
For my entire life, i have studied their movement patterns (and their stillness) for more clues into becoming a more proficient yogin.
My first Yoga Teacher was a black wolf hybrid. I found through him that our most natural and powerful alignment is when the legs track directly under the midpoint of the hip joint, where the articulation is most profound. since i am big on Elegance, i also find the ankles tied together stance to be not only out of balance and kinesthetic sense, i also think it looks ugly and stupid. if you came up to me while i was standing in Tadasana in the 'traditional' way, and you pushed me from any direction, what would happen?
i would teeter and probably topple over...out of balance, out of my strength stance, right?
now, if i adjust my stance to the HP Yoga� style...what happens to my center of gravity? what happens to my biomechanics if you push me?
that's right...my C.O.G. is lower and more midline, and my attenuation of your force upon my body is absorbed by the wider stance, right?
Simple.
A wolf or a bobcat never stands with their ankles fastened together...they know they are out of balance and response-ability in such a silly posture.
Study the animals...forgive them if they do not have Initials after their names.
No human moves as elegantly nor as consciously as a wild animal.
This is why REAL TRADITIONAL YOGA honored the postures by naming them after animals...if you can find the Animal Medicine within the posture, i promise you will find many, many beautiful Insights into a more NATURALLY ELEGANT asana practice.
om tat sat,
coach ilg
"MY NEW WF MANTRA; LEAD FROM MY HEART!"; Student Lees of Ananda Clan
Sweet Teacher Ananda,
this life is so strange. Sometimes I do not know what to share; I do not know what is truly important, what is most appropriate and what is just words. I am tentative at times to share too much as I wonder; in the sharing I am just encouraging certain thoughts, certain ego cries, certain dragons? Making these things real through my sharing? So I chose to sit and watch. See if they sort themselves out within the grounds of my practice. (Of course if it is anything directly related to the practice, SR, or the program I am sure to let you know).
I have been reading Coach's book, THE WINTER ATHLETE, the cardio chapter was wonderful and these new lessons are being applied to my CV training. I also find that I draw on the strength of my dumbbell swings as I run my intervals.
The main thing that seemed clear this week was how Wholistic Fitness� is beginning to flow into my lifestyle and personality. I find I am more willing to help others and am also not as lazy when it comes to household chores and so called �mundane� tasks. When you stop trying to run away from the work at hand things become much more enjoyable and interesting.
I bow to your Strength.
I bow to Coach for taking the space to find this Path.
I bow to the struggle that I am facing on it (not with it).
The Path is the Path after all � and Paths are for walking UP!
In Humble Gratitude,
student lees
P.S My new Mantra is 'lead with the heart' and my morning Sunday morning practice was both inspired and dedicated to you
***
Coach's Note: please enjoy Student Lee's wonderful WF-inspired Blog, "Reflections" at:
http://www.kristi-trinity.com/reflections.html
January 01, 2006
IN, UP, AND OUT
On Dec 28, 2005, at 2:50 PM, Harry wrote:
Dear Coach Ilg,
Have been on the SUNRIDER herbal path for 2 weeks now. Honest appraisal at this point, have not had much change in energy level yet as compared to some of your students who post big changes.
COACH:
go(o)d!
this is better.
the herbs are working subtly...finding out where your weak links are, then slowly gathering the forces needed to produce a progressive chain of Shifts. hang in there...and KEEP LISTENING!
HARRY:
I know all people are different and good things will come.
COACH: absolutely!
HARRY:
I am in this for the long term. To put it in a sports analogy, I will be happy to hit a bunch singles vice going for the home run.
COACH:
"Of all the disciplines, endurance is the most noble. For it is to he who endures that spiritual victory is surely attained."
- Buddha
HARRY:
A very positive aspect has been my increased awareness of my posture. I sit a lot at work and I do take the mental breaks during the day to check how I am sitting.
COACH:
Warrior Merit Award!
HARRY:
I am proud be a student of yours. Should I have done this a long time ago, yes, but I have started and feel I am on the right path.
COACH:
there are no 'rights' or 'wrongs' along a genuine spiritual Path.
there are only consequences.
remember this all-Ways.
the consequence of your Study within my humble Temple?
Upward, Inward, Infinite Movement
In, Up, and Out.
i bow to your Devoted Practice...keep hitting the singles, baby!
namaste from beneath the Sacred Mountain,
coach
CREATE PEACE
2006; Happy, Whole New Year!
May all your sweat be sacred,
May you finish what you begin,
May your stillness whisper Divinity,
May you Begin,
Again
and
Again,
and
Endlessly
Again...
Happy, Whole New Year!
Thank you for your much needed support and spirit of Practice along my humble,
yet Powerful Path of Transpersonal Might and Inner Sight...
Namaste From Beneath The Sacred Peak,
coach and ananda
(Photo 1; The Sacred Peak on the morning of the New Year, 2006.
Photo 2; Coach and Ananda in LA during Thanksgiving before teaching HP Yoga)