May 31, 2006
SUMMIT CENTER STAGE RACE: Zen Moment, Shattered Legs
"To cultivate strength of self through softness in the midst of chaos, ahhh...therein lies High Performance Yoga�..."The Union with Divine Action." - coach ilg, far right, practicing some "HP Yoga." photo by Ananda.
"The harder it hurts, the softer i relax into the intensity."
- coach ilg
SCENE: Memorial Day, 2006. Upper Lake Mary, Arizona. 6,850'.
Final Day of the SUMMIT CENTER STAGE RACE; a 60-mile Road Race with a 1.5 mile uphill finish. Our leading Team Member, Steve Sanchez who was in 8th place in GC (General Classification) only a few minutes behind the Leader, did not show up for today's race. Stomach complications.
That left one pure climber, 18-year old mountain biking phenom Ian, and Jeremy who had the fastest prologue and crit times for our Team, and Aaron - a UPS driver who is fit yet still learning peleton bike and fitness skills, and myself. Currently, i find myself as the highest ranking Team member in the GC at a whopping 11 minutes down from the Leader, pro triathlete Peter Traylor. Traylor's team is huge, strong, and well versed in protecting their well respected Leader. I train with Peter on weekend rides and he has caused much suffering within my cells. His bike fitness is in a Higher Realm than all else in this race. Something involving Shiva would need to occur to take this race away from Peter and his cycling 'henchmen.'
Fortunately, we lowly three needed only one crucial thing...that one and only thing that a Warrior needs to take down a Goliath;
we needed a Plan.
So we made one.
We would launch at least one, if not three, "Suicide Missions" in order to win this thing today. At an impromptu Team Meeting moments before the Gun went off, we sat on our bikes like the Warrior Steeds they were, and laid out our Self Assisted Suicide Tactics.
As the most experienced of our remaining Team, i took on the Leader's role;
"Ian, i know you are itchy in a peleton and i can sense you want to do something today, huh?"
"Yeah dude, i just...dunno...fuck, yesterday sucked and Perkinsville sucked, and well...i just wanna launch out on a long breakaway or something."
i know a thing or two about this mountain biker's mentality. a mountain biker's mindset does not well mesh with the often nit-picky, claustrophobic, surging heart rate society of a speeding peleton that eats up and spits out paved road miles by the dozens as if predestined by Divinity. mountain bikers, used to the solace of suffering closer to nature, just want to put their head down, draw their senses within, and hammer until the sweat that beads upon their forehead is replaced by the blood of self knowledge. knowing this as being both a mountain biking champion and an 18-year old once a looooooong time ago, i told young Ian;
"Awlrighty bro, today is your day...if anything goes early and it looks like it is good and going to stay away from Summit (the team of Peter Traylor who is wearing the yellow Leader Jersey) then get yourself into that break. Jeremy, me, and Aaron will block for you, cool?"
"Cool...and if i go solo, it will be around the Turn Around point, okay?" Ian replied, his lower lip pursed with anticipation of great pain and possible glory.
"Right on, let's do this thang..." we agreed as the Race Gun went off and our rolling city of suffering began winding its way alongside beautiful Upper Lake Mary.
SCENE: Intermediate Hill Sprint Prime; mile 9.5
The first decisive corrosion of the weaker riders began here as we surged up the infamous "3 Steps" a series of ledges that you might not even notice in a car yet sizzles the leg muscles of a bike racers like a branding iron...i managed to hang in with the Lead Group by the top Step and looked backward for signs of my Teammates. All i could see behind me was a long, shredded wake of anaerobically wheezing racers struggling to maintain contact with our Lead Group. The past two days had sapped the sap from many well shaven legs. "This is good," I thought as i prayed that Ian, Jeremy, and Aaron would survive this first 'cutting of the deck.' It's a hard sport.
SCENE: Steepest Hill (18%) at mile 22.
The main leading group has been reduced from 60 racers to under 40. The strong are surviving, the strongest are thriving. I decided to run a Test and learn if there was a Thrivor who could help out our Team today. Here was the Old Man Ilgonian Test; i put in an attack right on the steepest section of the hill. i wanted to see if there was a strong rider from a Team other than Summit Center that, possibly, may wish to come out and play with our Team and help us out in a long solo break. if so, then Summit Center would have to expend energy in chasing my breakaway...once Summit Center did catch me, then Ian or Jeremy could launch their own counter attack.
So, i went.
i put in about a 80% effort standing attack. Kept my head down, mantra strong, legs dancing, and mental tenacity churning like a Mommy Salmon swimming upstream. i invoked an image of Marco Pantani and felt light as a Ravens feather...fantastic Zen moments those...exciting...knowing that i had captured the attention of at least 40 racers and forced them to consider new tactics. by my attack, i changed the face of our Memorial Day war on wheels and it felt go(o)d. Each of us weaves either wildness or tameness into our personal world. To cultivate strength of self through softness in the midst of chaos, ahhh...therein lies High Performance Yoga..."The Union with Divine Action."
I tucked away my attack upon the peleton after about 45 quality seconds. To get a feel for this, stop reading right now, stand up and do a one minute set of Jump Squats as fast and as high as you possibly can. now, imagine having been racing your bike for 1 hour and 43 minutes going into those Jump Squats...you get the idea behind the Divine Action Yoga...the High Performance Yoga...you gotta become One with your breath and sweat in order to Surrender to a Higher Force.
i guess i must have hit them where it hurt with my attack, cuz i had produced a significant gap....i was ahead of the peleton by about 20 seconds! Must be the SUNRIDER Herbs? Whatever it was, it was an interesting place. Just me and the Lead Moto tooling along together in the Land of Sister Wapiti and Brother Eagle. An abiding calm and scintillating Joy descended over my cells in those quiet moments ahead of the pack. I felt go(o)d to be alive and fit enough to fuck with a testosterone loaded pack of punks. I write that will full Yogic compassion for the yin and yang within us all. Must be the Gemini inside.
Though well ahead of the peleton, i chose not to sustain my attack and instead settled into a moderate Zone 3 heart rate and Time Trial position. i guess the Yellow Jersey told his domestiques to shut me down cuz i soon saw some poor Summit Center guy come galloping up towards me at his best warp speed, his skinny arms swaying his bike back and forth in the way a butcher might cleave the glute of some poor dead cow. i let him come up to me. i was not interested in trying to stay ahead of a 28mph peleton with more than half the race still to go. In my attack however, i gained useful intel about my enemy and of the fitness of the peleton. My Test fueled my Warrior within and prepared my spirit for the miles still to come. The Summit Center guy finally bridged to me, poor guy breathing like a racehorse. It's a hard sport and he was just doing his job; sent out to suck my wheel. Within another two miles, i and my little suckerfish were absorbed back into the lead group and regained our collective waltz as we raced toward the critical Turn Around. As our peleton soared through this last and largest remaining forest of old growth Ponderosa, i gave myself permission to be as brave as these trees and as strong as their roots.
Good thing too, for it was there, at the Turn Around, where our wheeling wardance would begin to get VERY interesting...
coming tomorrow in DL...the conclusion of the race!
May 30, 2006
SUMMIT CENTER STAGE RACE: Update #6 - It's Over
"What is born will die,
What has been gathered will be dispersed,
What has been accumulated will be exhausted,
What has been built up will collapse,
And what has been high will be brought low."
- TRADITIONAL BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE
***
Returning to the Temple H(om)e, i found this "CONGRATULATIONS" sign waiting for me in the driveway, courtesy of Ananda (and the Temple Cat Beings; Jasper and Charlie, of course).
Truly, this is what Racing is all about; stepping onto the BattleField,
training your Senses and Mind to obey your Higher Will through the Pain,
and,
having lived through the experience; returning to Loved Ones and Familiar Environments with a more Luminous, Sacred Appreciation of the Dance of Life...
Racing is about doing your best and then waking up on days like today feeling Stronger,
Wiser, and more Prepared Than Ever Before For the Bardo.
Yesterday's final stage was absolutely fantastic; my RRR team was whittled down to just Ian, Jeremy, Aaron, and myself after our Team Leader; Steve Sanchez could not sign in for the final stage due to stomach/digestive problems. That is the thing about Stage Racing; you gotta have a lot of your fitness variables wired to compete strongly each day. Turns out...your ol' coach...well...
let me wait till the Final Results are in and i'll tell you a go(o)d story about what happened out on the High Mountain Roads yesterday...you're gonna love it!
today, i feel great; very limber...pranic field expansive...citta is spaciousness and joyful...i have NEVER felt this great after 3 back to back to back days of high intensity, long racing before! i swear, i truly feel that Dr. Chen's SUNRIDER Herb product, his new one; MetaBooster...i swear it metabolizes Lactic Acid like crazy and expands what yogis know as vyana-vayu...the 'all pervading current of pranavayu'. i feel today as though i could do anything; superhuman feeling...
"Energy is eternal pleasure,"
William Blake
more soon....Keep your Practice grounded with your Posture
and your spirit soaring with your Breath...
love and Inner Light,
coach
May 29, 2006
SUMMIT CENTER STAGE RACE: Update #5 - Results Going Into Final Day
Namaste DL Sangha!
Ananda here as Coach prepares for his final day of racing; a 60 mile road race with 2,615' of climbing and a spectacular (if you're not racing it!) 1.5 mile uphill finish!
Coach's effort in yesterday's criterium saw him get 16th place and advanced him to 17th place in the GC (General Classification) thus, he has helped bring 4 Red Rock Racer teammates into the top 20!
If Coach was racing in his own Age Group his times would place him in 2nd place, Overall.
Thanks for reading and i know that Coach's effort this weekend and his care for inspiring all of us through his intellectual and physical sweat has truly worked for me...i'm going for a bike ride!
from "High Heartbeat Yoga," i bow to you...
WF Temple Manager Ananda
May 28, 2006
SUMMIT CENTER STAGE RACE: Update #4 - Crittin' to the Dhammapada
Hey WF Sangha!
came into today's crit (short for 'criterium') in 20th place. not bad for being a 'domestique'...a member of a racing team whose duty is to help out the Team Leader and the Team at large. my goals are to 1) help the Team, and 2) get my feet wet in this race so next year, when i race this race in the 45+ category, well...you know...SEE YA!!!!!! i am having a ton of fun, meeting my new Brotherhood of Sweat and Pedals and just suffering to honor the Real Warriors during this Memorial Day Weekend.
i chose to set my morning's crit effort to the words of the Buddha, the Grand Spiritual Athlete of All Time.
special thanks to Ananda for riding out to the crit and taking these GREAT pics!
enjoy!
***
"Learn what is right; then teach others, as the wise do." - 158
This is Pete Traylor in the Leader's yellow jersey. He is winning our race heading into Day 3. He is about 8 minutes ahead of me. Pete is a good guy. You triathletes probably recognize his name. He is a professional triathlete who placed high in the Triathlon World Championships. Bike Racing has high standards. 
"Before trying to guide others, be your own guide first." - 159
Here i am, far right, way in the back. Yup. Basically in the gutter. This, Noble Students, is NOT the place to start a wickedly fast crit race. See how much i Love and Care for you? i willingly took last place to start just to SHOW YOU where NOT to line up! okay, maybe not. maybe i took ONE LOUSY WARM UP LAP, and by the time i arrived at the Start, i found myself in last place. Rookie move, ilgster! From the start, i was behind and behind is NOT the place to start a crit. the very MOMENT the Start Gun goes off...guys like Traylor reach speeds of 25 mph while you are still trying to clip into your pedals! 
"Your own self is your master; who else could be? With yourself well controlled, you gain a master very hard to find." - 160
i am latched onto the wheels in front of me around this corner before i hammer around them on the short uphill section about 400 meters from this corner. i still have some vestigal crittin' skills and plenty o punch still left in me legs. i got a "bad luck" start and paid dearly for it as i attempted to bridge up to the Traylor group about 10 seconds in front. We covered the half-mile course over and over again at speeds reaching 28 mph into this corner. Two Wheeled Yoga, baby; "Your own self is your master; who else could be?"
"Therefore, Ananda, live having self for an island, self for refuge and no other; having dharma for an island, dharma for refuge and no other." - (Samyutta Nikaya 5, 162)
Suffering "separation anxiety" as i attempted a bold solo bridge from the group that did not/could not work with me up to the leaders. it did not work. i found myself to be an Anaerobic Island of Pain...and losing...the latter being far worse than the pain. 
"It is hard to guide oneself." - 129
Teammate Ian and i co-miserate after being yanked from the race with 13 minutes to go. My group was the last to get pulled. i did my Best.
"It is hard to leave the world and hard to live in it, painful to live with the worldly and painful to be a wanderer. Reach the goal; you will wander and suffer no more." - 302
our suffering is no more. the crit is over; the hurt is gone, the doubt is gone, only the Lactic Acid remains. here at "Bala", we, the support crew, pointing to our man of the day, Jeremy... who was the only one of our Team to finish the crit. out of 50+ racers at the Start, only a handful finished. bike racing ain't no chicken shit sport. and crittin' is ALL about Power and Endurance, baby. i bow to Jeremy. i will race my bike tomorrow nearly 60 miles and do whatever is required to deliver either Jeremy or Steve to the finish line with the freshest legs. i am only Server here.
from L-R; Aaron, myself, Steve Sanchez, and Warrior of the Day; Jeremy! bro'hood. you learn more about a person who bike races with you over one weekend than most people learn about sedentary friends over the course of a lifetime, i swear. 
"Sitting alone, sleeping alone, going about alone, vanquish the ego by yourself alone. Abiding joy will be yours when all selfish desires end." - 305
Here is where the last day of racing ends; Marshall Lake outside of Flagstaff. After today's crit, Ananda and i drove up the 1.5 mile finishing climb so i could visualize things tonight. we hung out up here for a bit; just observing the wind, water, tree swallows, mallards, elk, cow, and hawks. that is the Sacred Peak in the background, once a 16,000+ mountain until She climaxed...after Her volcanic orgasm, She was 3,000'+ shorter. having spoke to you about Brahmacharya in past DL's, i will trust my metaphysical metaphor to your own intuition.
on the drive back from Marshall Lake, Ananda and i picked up litter from Memorial Day Weekend tourists. Mostly beer cans. May all Beings perform Inner Work and become freed from their Ignorance.
Most Noble Yogis,
Remember that you are a beautiful Being
and
i will update you after tomorrow's last Stage.
i bow to the Buddha for His Everlasting Light and Strength and Wisdom.
i bow to the Dharma for the inspiration of the Way.
i bow to the Sangha for who are wide-awake, vigilant, and their thoughts focused on sense-training.
namaste,
coach ilg
SUMMIT CENTER STAGE RACE: Update #3 - Perkinsville Road Race; i Served and was Brave
"Steve was, without a doubt, the Saving, Super Strong Grace of our Team today."
- Jeremy,
Red Rock Racers
after the completion of the Perkinsville Road Race yesterday.
Hey WF Sangha!
i want to thank first of all, Temple Manager and my Beloved Partner Ananda for making yesterday one of the most amazing days, let alone 'birthdays' i have ever had...it was a Miracle Day.
then i want to thank you, the readers of DL...so many beautiful Birthday wishes and cheers for your ol' coache.
i fought hard yesterday.
you kept my spirit Willing.
45 mph gusts of wind at the Start had all the racers nervous. dangerous conditions when you are about ready to ride handlebar to handlebar at speeds of 35 mph or more.
"Dude, isn't this fucking wind the shits?" one racer asked me.
"Wind? Shit, this ain't wind," i shouted to him above the gale force air, "i raced for years in New Mexico...this shit ain't nothing but a pleasant breeze to me!"
i mean shit, this guy is an outdoor athlete.
if you choose the outdoor sports as your Yoga, then, you gotta learn to deal with Brother Wind.
maybe he should trade his bike in for a dartboard or perhaps some bowling shoes. not much wind in those 'sports.'
but this is bike racing, baby.
Rule #1; Stay focused on YOU...don't let the negative and fragile psyche of other racers put a dent into your Noble Mindset on the Start Line.
However, out on the course, Brother Wind took it's toll on all of us...it blew more than our bikes, it blew every ounce of moisture from our lungs and cells.
dehydration on the long, 14-mile uphill climb toward the finish was just popping the racers off the splintered and fractured peleton like so many dandelion seeds..."gone with the wind."
i knew that this Stage would more than likely be a race of attrition, and at the Halfway Point, the turn-around where we began the Ascent...i had to let about 75% of the peleton ride away from me. i could not keep up if i wanted.
i had to ride within myself and trust in my Nutrition and WF Practices that i would gain strength and speed as the climb wore on.
i did.
it was an hour and fifteen minutes of intense meditation for me as i kept by heart rate pegged and danced upon as big a gear as possible. i started attacking the racers in front of me one by one...remembering my years of Jump Squat as i pedaled up to the back tire of a racer in front of me, and then JUMPED his ass like a firecracker going off. this tactic, though hard, is highly demoralizing to a tired racer...they simply don't want to JUMP to get onto your tire...they do not do enough Jump Squats, i suppose. "Take that motherfucker," i sometimes said to myself to boost my confidence as i surged past yet another racer, "you shoulda read my books instead of all those cycling magazines, mofo."
eventually, as i climbed my way from nearly last place through the combusted remnants of the peleton (the results are not in yet) i picked up both of my younger RRR Teammates who had just bonked big time. i could have easily accelerated past them both and gone on toward a better finish for myself, yet that is not my Mission for this day...my Goal, as a new comer on this Team, is to prove myself helpful for the Team. so i paced each of these boys toward the finish...other racers would attempt to piggy-back on our 'RRR Train' yet, i would tell my boys that i was going jump this bastard so hold my wheel..and jump i did..
again and again and endlessly it seemed again...
about 5 miles from the finish i could not drop this rather strong-legged racer from another team. he was killing my teammates one by one. he'd sit in on our paceline for a while without working, then attack us. motherfucker. i hate that shit. he kept attacking our train, so eventually, i had to go one on one with this mofo, leaving my teammates behind...
then he dropped me.
i regrouped with Ian from my team by slow pedaling for a while and then, as he caught up, we rekindled our CHI and hammered back up to this guy right before the last climb.
i set Ian up to attack, led him out, blocked the competitor...yet Ian had no juice left. so it was up to me to attack this guy on the final climb...
i held his wheel until the steepest belly of the climb, the hardest part, then, i thought about you, the DL Sangha, and said to myself,
"Be Brave, ilg."
and launched with all the power of the years of 1:00 Staccato Technique Jump Squats i could muster. i plastered my Heart Rate into the Death Zone for a good 45 seconds.
when i looked under my arm, i had a 15 second gap over that bastard. he was pissed, i could tell by the anger in his pedal strokes...it was 3 kilometers to the finish...
head down,
i called upon my Death Valley,Furnace Creek mojo and told myself that there is no way in Gods Good World that that kid is gonna catch me this close to the finish...Time Trial position, Mula Bandha, Bhastrika Blows, i pulled out every trick in the book to sell myself...2 kilometers...i see the 1 kilometer to Finish sign...
all breath
"emptiness is form,
form is emptiness."
this is
Yoga
in this Empty Painful Pranful moment...
this
is High Performance Yoga�, baby!
at 50 meters from the Finish i caught him opening up his Sprint...he was 5 seconds in back of me...
i stood up on the pedals, attacked his attack and sizzled past the finish line two bike lengths in front of him.
chalk one up for the Elder Tribe.
on this day, i finished second on our team.
on this, i helped my Team toward a much higher standing than if Steve Ilg was not on it.
that was my Mission.
i had Served,
Nobly.
today...
Day Two...oooof.
loose bowels.
wheezing chest.
coughing.
spittin' phlegm.
gotta race a crit in three hours.
God it's go(o)d to be back racing bikes!
i will update you asap...
gotta go do my Morning Rituals and get ready for the crit.
oh, my Intent for the crit while i feel like shit right now?
what else do you expect from a Warrior?
what do you expect from YOURSELF today?
let's Dance, pardner...
let's Dance this Dance.
together,
coach ilg
May 27, 2006
SUMMIT CENTER STAGE RACE: Update #2 - Coach Throws Down!
Hi WF Sangha!
Ananda here, in my time trial Aero position, sweating to the beat of my own rhythm.
Calling on the inspiration of all those racing today to challenge and nurture myself.
Seems so "easy" on a stationary bike!
Well as Coach drives off to his second race of the day, i thought i give you an update...
i found out that Coach underestimated a few things in his earlier report today...
Coach actually finished 16th overall in a time of 2:09 at a average speed of 10.4mph! the same time would have earned him a 6th place in his age bracket and in the top 25 of the Cat 3's...with only 3 weeks of specific road cycling!!!!
our Coach...how many Rabbits does he HAVE up those sleeves of his?!
he was second fastest on the Red Rock Racing Team in Cat 4 and now, he might be the Team Leader out on the roads this afternoon depending on how things pan out...if so, that means instead of being a "helper" on the Team, the Team helps him for the win..it really all depends on how strong the guys are out on the roads today.
the thing, our Beloved Coach KICKED ASS!!! he is the Master of All Physiologic Realms it surely seems! stay tuned for the Perkinsville Update coming as soon as we get race results...and keep the Visualizations cranking for our Birthday Boy!
love,
ananda
SUMMIT CENTER STAGE RACE: Update #1 - One Down, Three To Go
Birthday Boy, at the Start Line of this morning's .6 mile uphill Time Trial. The moment of utter Truth in 5...4...3...2..1...!
pics by Ananda.
"Even in the greatest yogi, sorrow and joy still arise just as before. The difference between an ordinary person and the yogi is how they view their emotions and react to them.
An ordinary person will instinctively accept or reject them, and so arouse the attachment or aversion that will result in the accumulation of negative karma.
A yogi, however, perceives everything that rises in its natural, pristine state, without allowing grasping to enter his perception."
- Soygal Rinpoche
Here i am in line before the start...no more warm up...nowhere to go but within. look at us...we look like we feel; like cattle being led to slaughter...
***
Mars Hill Prologue
.6 of a mile
234 vertical feet
my time: around 2 minutes, 25 seconds
my average speed; 8.9 mph
my placing; uknown as of yet. lucky if i get near the top ten. huge field of racers.
my effort; cross-eyed 80% of the time, eyes closed the other 20%.
gearing; started in a 39/23 and stayed within two cogs of that range.
summary; one helluva way to start my Birthday. Love it.
***
When i got home from the Prologue, Ananda surprised me with some simple gifts and a wonderful, Love-packed Birthday Card signed by some of Flagstaff HP Yoga� Sangha...THANK YOU so much for your Love and Care!
well, i've done what i could to recover, now Sudhamani (my road bike) is repacked for the car transfer over to Williams, Arizona for Event #2 of the day; the Perkinsville Road Race. oh baby...it's windy and it's hot and it's perfect for some Bardo Training...Warrior Up on Memorial Day Weekend...
below are a few of the Birthday Notes i found in my email today...thank you, all of you for your Metta.
i bow to you.
off to the races,
coach
***
Dear Steve,
happy birthday to you, and all the best for the race! and thank you for the
DL posting about it.
Yours,
Hans
Stuttgart, Germany
***
Happy Birthday
May each day be one of birth for you dear companion of the way. ?And may all your competitors ?see naught other than your backside!
I leave you with words to ponder for your race from a crazy old samurai who kicked ass, went and lived in a cave, and wrote about it all five centuries ago: "You win battles by knowing the enemy's timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect."
-- Miyamoto Musashi // love, hakado ru ?Las Vegas, NV
***
Dear Coach,
�
sending you�Birthday Blessings and Chi for your Weekend of�Racing.
�
part of your Birthday Gift -- dedicating my Weekend Practice to you.� may it benefit you,�especially during�your Race.� sending you Chi, Baby.� hey, just visualize my big-ass in front of you (riding 30= mph!!), creating one hell of a draft.
�
keep it tapped and wacked!!!�
�
bro, i feel for the rest of the peleton...
�
om mani padme hung.
�
Namaste,
ko
IN
***
Dear Coach,
��� My prayers and chi are with you today....... kick some ass !� It is an appropriate action -- no?
�
Love,
student mc
NY
***
Steve,
May all your wishes and dreams come true :-)
Happy Birthday my Friend,
love ya
Trish
AK
***
most Noble coach ilg
i hope you raced and suffered well...gloriously.
i have had a little time to peruse and to ponder this Path.� i love what i read- especially between the lines and find that it speaks to me on a very deep level.��i must admit to some trepidation or fear.��i am out of balance- my body/mind/spirit/life feel out of synch...�and i� fear that i cannot pull this Path off- that it has gone too far- that it really might be too steep or that the determination and guts with which i have survived might have escaped me.� but i guess the only thing there is for me to do is to put one foot in front of the other/ one breath/ one asana�at a time, trusting in the Wisdom of the Universe contained in our cells' Buddha Nature�and adopt Beginner's mind/one mind in this Noble pursuit.��i can not remain where i am.� there are miles to go before i sleep and i want to travel with as much qi, Fitness,�and Consciousness as i can gather.� my journey and life's works are too big and demanding for me to honorably or karmically consider anything less.�
i bow humbly and wait patiently at the venerated gates of your temple and seek admittance for study and guidance.� i am ready.� i will submit an application in the next days.�
in love and service,
steven w
whereabouts unknown
***
May 26, 2006
RACE ARRIVES TOMORROW; Another Birthday Spent in the Truth/Pain Emporium
Beginning today? It's all about (off) the bike.
Nutrition is everything on my mind.
Began my nutrition early in the morning with a 2 hour Pranayama/Meditation/Yoga Asana solo session; visualizing the Race Energetics as i breathed into particular power producing areas such as engaging Mula Bandha and steering Ujjayi into the interosseus sacroiliac ligament knowing that space created here allows a huge Hip To Pedal Power Transmission. I want to limit the kinks in my Pranic Power. Other forms of nutrition today is a relaxed work schedule, easy cardio commute, get my haircut so i look goooooood on top of that freakin' podium, baby...think like a winner, be a winner. Secret Herbs of SUNRIDER: Two Ilg Supremes, Dandelion Root, Wu Chia Pi, MetaBooster, MetaBalance 44, eat twice the number of calories, and take my special pills which, unless you are an Online Student of WF, i can't tell you what they are.
Each of my actions today, from getting my bike and clothing ready, to registering early and eating on a time table is all about Nutrition.
That's right.. i gear up, once again, to spend another birthday in the Bardo Realm of Bike Racing.
For years, as a Durango, Colorado native, i would spend my birthdays (i was born on May 27, 1962) racing up and over the seductive, snowy San Juan Mountain summit passes that are now legendary in American bike racing; Coal Bank Hill and Molas Pass. The race was America's oldest Bicycle Race; The Iron Horse Classic. It begins in Durango and ends 50 miles later in Silverton after climbing over two monster 10,800+ passes. Getting OVER the passes is one thing, descending them, is another. Once, i was fortunate enough to be in the leading pack of racers as we passed through the Coal Bank Hill summit in a growing blizzard. Race Organizers shut down the entire road right behind our group. Hey, he who hesitates is lost, right? Lucky me...as one of the fast guys, my reward was immediate hypothermia the moment we passed over the first of the two leg and lung withering passes. As snow bulleted into me like the pandemonium of my cold-numbed mind, i lost the ability to work my fingers on my bike brake levers. I began convulsing on the bike. The narrow road, already caked with ice, featured a urination inspiring 2,300' abyss on my right which i knew was there, yet could not see. Instead of using one of my Highly Evolved Spiritual Mantras given to me by my Tibetan Teachers back at Naropa, my mantra became; "Get to the Hand Warmer in the gas station bathroom of Texaco in Silverton."
Hey, dat's bike racing, baby. I think i finished my best ever in that blizzard race; 6th in Cat III. That was a go(o)d birthday...but then there was that birthday i spent 14 pitches up on Washingtons Column in Yosemite when i rapelled off the end of the ropes...
but
i digress...
Today is the day before the start of the Summit Center 3 Day, 4 Event Stage Race right here in Flag. go here:
http://www.summitcenterclassic.com/
and you can check out the lovely race courses and imagine the burning hell bent suffering that i will be enjoying while Mainstream America suckles down beers in cozy folding chairs in local recreational parks and forgets what Memorial Day is all about anyway.
I will tell you what Memorial Day is all about Bucko.
it's about Duhka; Suffering.
it's about getting out there and sweating your freakin' brains and butt so hard and for so long that there is nothing left in you to be a smart ass about and then finally remember that you owe all your bank accounts, cute little tattoos, burning desire for money, sex, spiritual growth or whatever to one thing and one thing only:
Warriors.
I am not speaking of Warriors in the way i described them in TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION right now.
i ain't talking Fitness Warriors,
i am talking Real Life Blood For Thy Country's Freedom Warriors.
American Warriors like Ananda's dad who have spent long years dodging bombs and sometimes taking them; either physically or emotionally.
American Warriors like my Uncle George who drove Patton's Jeep and came back to an America that cursed him instead of giving him what he needed most; Compassion and Love.
American Warriors like my bro, Dr. Lahbriuhmn MacIan...a Marine Medic with a Genius IQ that went to Viet Nam, Served, and came back so shell shocked that he gave up Medicine, took up writing, and now struggles as a Resident Manager of some apartments as his amazing literary skills and Message gets chronically rejected.
As i race my bike over the next three days, i don't give a shit where i place or who i beat.
All i know is that i am ready to Surrender into some High Quality Suffering and Pain and turn it over to those Hero's who have spilled blood and limb so that you and i can wake up each day and read DL and have the utter, miraculous thing that thousands of Americans have died for...and continue to this day:
Freedom
Freedom to Be Who We Are
Freedom to Do What We Most Dearly What To Do...
So pardner, if you want to follow my wheel over the next few days as i launch myself into another Birthday Spent In Purgatory ...come,
purify thy Souls through Sweat and spiritual Surrender to those who've died and suffer in countless Ways.
or,
go have a beer and throw a frisbee.
what the hell.
Oh, and for my team's competitors...i bestow the following Gift...
an image of one of my main Deities; Chenrizeg...the Tibetan Buddha of Unconditional Compassion...
why?
cuz
brother..
you
are
gonna
have
the
God
Awlmighty
HURT
put on your ass!
hope you've done your yoga,
your pranayama,
your high altitude miles,
your Secret Herbs...
cuz
you're gonna need it
if you gonna follow
this ol' Mountain Yogi's wheel for the next three days...
Bring It On, baby...
Bring
It
ON!!!
Om Mani Padme Hung,
off to a two-wheeled war in purification of Self and...
in honor of those genuine Warriors to whom i bow on this Amazingly Blessed and Beautiful and FREE evening
beneath the Sacred Peak,
come along for the ride...
i dare ya...
from the Coach that still does...
coach ilg
May 25, 2006
Where The Boyz Are...
In my early DL post of yesterday, i addressed a question from a yoga student regarding the influence of females in yogic spirituality.
Today, in my coaching correspondence, a star student of mine and Defender of the WF Temple, submitted a wonderfully done WF H(om)ework assignment that i required of him. It is a report on an Assigned Reading book that i have given a few of my male Practitioners at certain points along their Study. 
The book, "The Way of the Superior Man," by David Deida was actually discovered by a former Online Student and i have found the spiritual trajectory of the tome quit helpful to certain men, at certain points along their WF Journey. It has helped cultivate an appreciation of both male and female energies in the Students to whom i have assigned it...thus creating a type of spiritual launchpad for further, and Higher work in that most challenging and most rewarding 'yoga' of all; Relationship Yoga.
With this Star Student's agreement, i have made his report anonymous so that his report, done with vivid insight and mindfulness may be helpful to your own Practice...be you inhabiting a 'male' or 'female' body this time around! His report (as well as the book itself) uses some interesting, challenging verbiage up front, however, stick with it, read the whole piece. The synthesis is graceful and awakening. If you enjoy this Noble Student's book report, i suggest you support the author and purchase the book.
that is all,
coach ilg
author/TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION
***
The Way of the Superior Man
A WF Book Report by Online Student ***
This book, by David Deida, explores what it means to be a man, particularly in relation to women and feminine energy. The book is divided into eight sections.
A Man�s Way
This section of the book sets out in general terms what a man has to do to live as a superior man. First, a man is defined by his purpose, his �mission.� Once a man discovers his purpose, he must live so that it the mission primary, and everything else secondary. If a man lives with his purpose first, then everything else will fall into place: his way of making a living, his way of dealing with women, his way of dealing with his friends � all will be in tune with his purpose and he will be confident of where he is going.
A man must live in the moment, now, and stop waiting for something to happen � for his job to get better, for his woman to change. He musn�t get bogged down in tasks and duties, or even family life, and instead must keep his eye focused firmly on the goal. He must live with an open heart, and with love, fully in the moment. He must fuck the world, penetrate it, rather than wait around passively. Because he is tune with his purpose, he must admit to himself that his relationships, both with his woman and his children, are secondary to his purpose.
A man must follow his purpose, and that means never going against his instincts just to please his woman. He can and should consider what she has to say, but in the end must make the choice he things best. If he doesn�t, his woman won�t respect him, and if the choice turns out to be wrong, he will blame her.
Men and women thrive, sexually, on polarity. That means that a man must be more �yang� -- in the world, making decisions, following his purpose. If he doesn�t, then he will be more like a woman (and Deida uses the terms to mean more masculine and feminine, not in a strict gender sense), and the polarity will be lost. Women are shapeshifters, in the emotional moment, fueled first and foremost by love. Since they are fueled by love, and emotions, they need their men to be a steady presence. Also, a man must give up trying to change his woman, in essence, stop trying to get her to be more masculine.
Dealing With Women
This section of the book gives guidance on how to deal with your woman. For example, a man should know that women aren�t liars. Rather, they state their truths as they see it in the emotional moment. When the moment is gone, the �truth� goes too Unlike a man, who gives his word and sticks to it, a woman�s word is more contingent and provisional. How many times have I gotten mad at {my wife} for promising something one day, then revoking it the next!
Women also need constant praise. Dieda makes a nice point when he says that men lead by challenging others, while women do not learn this way. So, five times a day (at least), women need praise.
Because women are more like a force of nature, emotionally, a man has to go with the flow. When she storms, it is like a rainstorm � it comes, then it goes. A man has to stick tight and be steadfast to maintain love.
Love is important here. A man has to give all his love, and then give some more. When his woman is storming, he has to give her love. When she is critical, he has to give her love. When she is unappreciative, more love.
That does not mean giving in, however, or withdrawing and avoiding. It means standing strong in the storm. Also, a man must give his input and his decisions, or the polarity will cease.
Working With Polarity and Energy
Deida�s insight here is that men and women need polarity to have and maintain an intimate relationship. Polarity refers to the fact that men and women are different psychologically, and have different needs. Polarity must be present for the opposites to attract. Whereas the feminine is concerned with relationship, with children, with the other person, men are concerned with their mission, their careers. IN order for there to be attraction, men and women must keep their respective roles.
For men, this means that you have to accept the feminine in your woman. That means she can be unpredictable, exasperating, etc., and that is actually the beauty of the feminine. Also, there is no shame in being attracted to the feminine, be it a young woman or old. The trick is to appreciate the energy without necessarily trying to own it.
What Women Really Want
The answer is, no one knows. Seriously though, what women really want is for her man to be true to his mission. So she will test him all the time. What she says she wants, therefore, is often not what she really wants.
A big insight for me is that Deida says her complaint is content free. This means that what she is complaining about is rarely what she is complaining about. IF she gets mad because I haven�t mown the grass, it isn�t because the grass is long. It�s because I am not honoring my word � I said I�d cut it a month ago, and haven�t done it yet. The trick is to hear the complaint as a sign from the Universe to get your shit together. In other words, the complaint ain�t personal � it�s a nudge to get you to be your best.
She also wants you to make the decisions. She wants you to hear her input, consider her input, and then, ultimately, make the decision and stick to it. This has been a frequent downfall for me. For many years, I�d just say �fuck it, we�ll do what you want� � even though I knew it was the wrong thing to do, and even though I�d be proven right later. That�s on me. What I should have done is just made the decision and stuck to it.
Your Dark Side
Men desire freedom, and should own that desire instead of pretend it isn�t there. Women respect that. Also, women don�t want you to be a wimp � they want a warrior.
Feminine Attractiveness
Deida encourages us to appreciate feminine beauty and attractiveness not only for its own sake, but as a way to look beyond, to see the feminine energy of the universe as manifested in a woman. By denying our need for the feminine, we turn our woman off. We must desire her or she will become depolarized,
VII Body Practices
Here Deida integrates yogic practices into sexual desire and gratification. First, ejaculation should be consciously chosen. For most men, ejaculation is the end of the sexual act. For Deida, it is the beginning, or perhaps not necessary at all. The greater point is that sex should be a way to fully commune with your woman, and through her the world. For example, breathe down the front, essentially opening up the chakras.
Deida also speaks of ejaculating up the spine. You�ve been pointing me in that direction through mula bandha exercises. I think what Deida is getting at here is releasing Kundalini energy.
This is a recap of the book
The first time I read the book, I was a little critical of the style, grammar, neologisms. On a second read, I think it is very profound. A lot of our problems are due to my letting the polarity lapse, and letting {my wife} run her masculine side. Instead of standing up to her, I�d say �fuck it,� even if I knew she was making a bad decision. Then later, I�d resent her for it. Instead, I should have been sticking to my guns.
Other insights are that I let the polarity lapse. The truth is, our relationship is most important to her, and my mission (or at least discovering my mission) is more important to me. I will never please her by pretending the relationship is the most important thing for me.
Having said that, there is plenty I can do to make the relationship better. First and foremost, by finding and following my mission and purpose. By recognizing that the relationship is the most important thing for her, I can do little things to make her feel like things are working. Just holding her hand, or holding her in the morning. Telling her she looks beautiful. Getting her some flowers. These little things never seemed that important to me because I was looking at them from my perspective, not hers. From her perspective they are symbolic of the relationship as a whole.
Putting some of the practices of the book into place are already making my life better. I must confess I haven�t been doing much with the body practices. That�s next.
May 24, 2006
HP YOGINI HEATHER LEU CRANKS A PR NEAR THE SHINY BLUE...
Those of you who were Students at my Los Angeles HP Yoga Studio probably remember "Front Desk Heather"...just got this email from our Bumble Bee yogini runner and it was just a bit too go(o)d not to share with you all! CONGRATULATIONS HEATHER!
***
Namaste Dear Teachers,
Love, love, love to you both! This is just a quick email to tell you about a race I ran last weekend. It is called Bay to Breakers and San Francisco is well known for this race! You may recognize it by seeing many dressed in funny and elaborate costumes as they walk the 12K distance pushing shopping carts with kegs in them. Well, needless to say I wasn't pushing a keg, but was running my heart out, up with the front (okay, more like the middle) of the pack! I am pleased to say that I finished this race with a time of 1:20:52. Thats about a 10min 47 sec pace per mile. While this is not a typical "fast" time for many athletes, for me this is so amazing!! Just a year and a half ago I ran my first race, a 5K at an average time of 10min and 30 seconds per mile. Now I have more than doubled this distance and only minimally increased my average time. I think that is so cool!!
I also wanted to say thanks for the yoga reference. I am assuming the YMCA called you, Joy. I am going to be doing a certification program with them and will eventually be teaching there a bit. I'm excited to have the opportunity. I guess my HP based yoga class was a hit. Gotta love those chatarungas!
In light,
Heather
WHERE ARE THE GIRLS? ...SHIVA/SHAKTI and the Dance Between..
Coach-
Why are women so completely non-existent in the upper echelon of Yoga- as teachers, as masters, as writers, as prophets, or in the traditional aesthetic practice of yoga? As a feminist who believes in gender equality, I have a hard time accepting such a complete marginalization of women. While I know that yogic tradition involves embracing the yin and yang of each person, to me that is just a different form of "separate but equal" treatment that many of us have fought against for a long time.
S
Most Noble Yogini S,
History is chock full of both Ancient and Contemporary Yogini Masters, Teachers, and Avatars. Some, like Mahatma Gandhi's wife, chose to stay behind the scenes, so to speak, because of their innate understanding of Kali Yuga (the current spiritual dark age). Shri Ma Anandamayi, Amachi, Mother Teresa, Lillian Folan, Indra Devi (aka; Eugenie Peterson, who just passed over in 2002 at the age of 102 is pretty much the Root Teacher of Yoga in America since it was she who began teaching to the Hollywood set a looooong time ago!), Judith Lancaster, Ana Forrest, and even on the current cover of Yoga Journal, the seemingly omnipresent Shiva Rea are all but just a fraction of the world of female yoginis that have indelibly contributed to the global yogic Sangha. It might stun you to realize the number female spiritual Deities in Yogic Scripture...as you may remember, i devoted my basic Program in my recent book to Green Tara (the Protectress). For every "Male" Deity there is an equal or more powerful Female counterpart: White Tara (the Divine Mother), Ushnisha Sitatapattra (Thousand Armed Goddess of the White Umbrella) Kwan yin, Palden Lhamo (the Dark Goddess), and the incredibly sexy and consummately powerful Vajrayogini, the Enlightened Aspect of the Buddha...i could go on endlessly....
Of course, the 6,000+ year Yogic Tradition is based entirely on the Female/Male relationship expressed in its astronomical relevance; it is a solar/lunar science of self realization; the sun = pingala (right nostril) is male energies while the lunar = ida (left nostril) is the female conduit and both of which are intended by years of devoted skills and meditation to join in Sushumna the main energy channel within the spine whose Sanskrit name gives away yet another female allegiance; "She who is most gracious" in reference to the ultimate goal of a Hatha Yogin (Sun/Moon Union) which is the awakening and eventual direction of the supreme Goddess within all humans; the "Princess Kundala" also known as Kundalini which is meagerly described as the latent cosmic energy coiled at the base of Sushumna. Arousing, Seducing, and eventually entering into a 'Marriage" with the Awakened Princess Kundala IS the ultimate goal of yoga.
So you see, even if you do choose to box your spiritual beliefs into a limit such as a "feminist," you will quickly understand that Yogic Philosophy is based upon the Union of Male and Female energies (not "yin/yang"...that is a categorically different, Asiatic Tradition based upon Taoist, not Hindi, thought) while realizing that it is Female, not Male, energy that is ALL WAYS more powerful in the long run. a simple look at the basic biology of the sexual act proves this to be so; after an orgasm a male is completely in a female state of expansion, receptivity, and spaciousness. the penis is flaccid and the male vital force (retas) has been depleted and can never be replaced...the man who orgasms is a weaker being relative to the number of orgasms...his Shakti energy (female) is lost. Thus, the Ancient Masters realized the importance of Brahmacharya (Warrior Conduct) of which i have written often in DL.
in Yogic philosophy, we take a female or male incarnation in order to experience and learn certain, "soul lessons'...that is why it not advised in Yogic teachings to identify oneself with being either Male or Female, since both Male and Female energies wash continuously through us at many Layers (Sheaths) at every given Moment. Deeper states of Meditation make this Realization quite stark. Instead, the yogi focuses upon Atman/Paratman, Purusha/Prakriti, etc.
***
Steve-
Just curious about how professional athletes determine their "best" competitive weight. Your comment in your recent DIRECT LINES that "at 148 lbs, i have not the firepower to turn over a big gear on gradual uphills...especially a 14 MILE UPHILL!" Is their some sort of way to determine what your best performance weight is, based on your primary sport?
In breath and posture-
AM
Namaste AM,
yes, that is why God created Online WF Teachers!
there is not a formula for basing your best performance weight off of your primary sport. you must live each sport deeply and wisely to learn and then attain the ideal bodymass for that sport.
as a WF Warrior Athlete, i have found that 148 lbs is my optimal bodyweight for enjoying high levels of physiologically divergent sports which, for me, create my internal yoga studio for the facilitation and development of vayus and internal locks, etc., critical for eventual stabilization of Enlightenment meditation parameters.
thus, my counsel is to ENJOY THE DANCE in as many different sports as possible; often that means quitting one sport almost entirely to create time and energy for exploring a new one. if, for example, you have achieved a certain Mastery in the Endurance Arts (running, cycling, etc) the Yogi whose goal is UNION of ALL FEMALE AND MALE ENERGETICS must then be willing to adpapt the Teachings of Endurance Arts into a Strength Sport or an Agility Sport or a Power Sport, etc.
in other words,
The Dance Must Go On!
head bowed,
coach ilg
May 23, 2006
OF DRUNKS and DHARMA PROTECTION....WF WARRIOR OF THE MONTH AWARD; goes to RJ!
"The Zen "genius" sleeps in every one of us and demands an awakening."
- D.T. Suzuki
contributed by HP Yogini Leslie
above; WF WARRIORS UP! Coach and RJ after another HP Yoga� Sweatfest in Los Angeles. Photo by Connie Ilg.
In WF Training, we don't just use yoga to get slimmer and more supple. We use yoga, especially the HP Yoga style indigenous to Wholistic Fitness� to do the most important "posture" that any yogin can do; Dharma Protection...To serve and protect the Way of Virtue.
i designed HP Yoga philosophy and biomechanics to regain the Intent of "Original Yoga": the sharpening of our individual Dharma Swords, so each ONE OF US are capable and willing and passionate to rush again and again onto the Battlefields of ego, ignorance, and spiritual slumber and attain Victory over those things. We use HP Yoga to stand strong and balanced "in our Stance" and in so doing , thus be prepared for every "instance" of defending Virtue and the Way of Appropriate Action, which is Wholistic Fitness Lifestyle Principle #3.
There is much Work to do.
We cannot waste time.
Train Hard, Oh Noble WF Warriors! Train Soft, Oh Noble Seekers of Union...do this every day in every Awake Way you can to protect and serve the Dharma!!!
Not even the powerful CHI from the WF Chi Cap can help Ron "RJ" Jones...a DL Favorite contributor over the years and my ultra-racing teammate, deadlift this crazy heavy Dumbbell at a recent Fitness Expo. That monster Dumbbell, by the way, was Clean and Jerked by the Iron Athletes! That's YOGA, baby! You try it, Mr. or Mrs. Studio Yogin! Yikes!
I grant RJ the May, 2006 WF WARRIOR OF THE MONTH AWARD for his exemplary in-Stance of Dharma Protection as he relates the following 'WF Warrior inStance" to his mom and dad below.
i bow to RJ.
i learn from RJ.
i am inspired by RJ.
May all Beings everywhere be freed from Ignorance and
knowing the causations of Ignorance,
be of Benefit to the Awakening of All Those Who Are Blessed to be Human.
Om So Ti,
coach ilg
***
Mom and Dad,
Tonight I did the right thing�or the appropriate action as Ilg calls it. I was at the sushi restaurant after a long 12+ day and post workout with a big day tomorrow for over 400 corporate clients at a yearly event. As I walked up there was a couple outside VERY drunk. Another couple was talking to them about not needing to drive. I went inside without saying anything; however, I had a bad feeling about the whole thing. After about ten minutes the sober couple came in and went to their friends who all started laughing at the drunk guy and making fun of him. The drunk girl had walked off and left already. I couldn�t stand it. I went to the door to see what was up. He was trying to get into the passenger side door of his car! I saw what car he was in then kept an eye on him through the window. The sober young couple went outside again to make fun of him and take photos of him staggering around with their phones then came back in laughing. I spoke up and asked if he planned on driving that he had NO business going anywhere and �someone� needed to call the police. I then told the restaurant that if they had served them it was not good for business to have wasted drunks leaving their business and trying to drive and that they needed to call the police. No one called. I ate my sushi�one eye on the fish and the warrior eye on the drunk. One thing had been determined that night. In this case fitness was going to be power and I�m in better shape than that fat ass AND that guy was NOT getting in the car unless he came through me first. All I could think about was him plowing into someone like Ronnie and Cade�someone�s innocent family. No one else in the restaurant stepped up to do the right thing�no one had the guts to do the right thing and no one had the brains to realize that it wasn�t funny at all. I paid the tab, went outside, called 911, stayed on hold, then reported the situation. I still couldn�t leave�the dude was staggering around the parking lot near the car and I was afraid he�d finally get in and take off�so I waited in the cold, tired, and wondering if the police would ever show up. He came back around but I was standing next to the car so he kept walking. I had other things I could be doing and I was tired, but I couldn�t let that guy get into the car�I had the chi�he did not! Finally the police showed up�I pointed the guy out and explained. They wheeled off and got the guy aside. A few minutes later they arrested him and put him in the car. I might have saved someone�s life�maybe the drunk guy�s�who knows. I�m glad I stayed. I�m glad I could have taken him out in one punch if I had to�I didn�t have to use my fitness to save anyone�s life tonight�the phone and my brain was enough to spare my muscle�how Zen! It was the right thing to do�so I did it.
Love,
Ronnie
Ron Jones, MS-LLC
Atlanta-Los Angeles
ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor
Corporate Wellcoach
ronjones.org
ps; RJ's cycling and spiritual mentor, MultiSport, MultiWorld Champion Norm Hoffman was killed by a young car driver while road cycling near Bakersfield, CA. Norm's indomitable, versatile, passionate spirit still burns Brightly in the WF Temple.
May 22, 2006
Two Tricks of Cycling Yoga to Stay Alive and Alert...oh, and my Cycling Sangha
Two Tricks of the Cycling Yoga Studio;
when recon'ing a new route, especially out here in the rural southwest, you want to be as bright as possible on the road. This is my Recon Mission outfit; not only does the bright yellow of Manipura Chakra allow you to be seen by wild animals and car addicts, it sends an unseen Message of strength and power. Upside; you increase your chances of not getting hit by cars or killed by Sasquatch. Downside; you becoming the rolling Pied Piper of all flying bugs and birds who think you are a most luscious and juicy flower. Especially when you apply my:
Cycling Yoga Trick #2:
i am holding an AromaTherapy bottle in my left hand (click photo to stop squinting, it's bad for your eyes!). I spray some chosen oil upon the snot wipe surface of my cycling gloves, thus allowing my neural and nadic systems to enjoy a rejuvenation of aromatherapy as i spin down the red earth roads! For most training rides i use Lavender. For racing? Well, i could tell you. But then i would have to kill you. It's a Secret!
Here is a group pic of my new racing teammates; The Red Rock Racers. i will more than likely be working for the young lad, Ian, shown top row, 5th in from the left. Ian finished 3rd in this race last year and he told me that he is "waaaay more fit than last year." This kid can climb like there is no next moment and will make you suffer like a chicken salad sandwich at high noon if you try to follow his wheel. We also have Steve Sanchez, bottom row second in from the left. Steve's form is superb right now, he is flyin!..so i will be spilling my sweat for these two great cyclists more than likely. Bike Racing is a very noble sport; much sacrifice of ones own sweat and spirit must be continually laid down in order for a Team (Sangha) Win. In classical yoga, such personal sacrifice for the Sangha is known as Apariagraha. 
With Steve Sanchez behind me, John (a Cat III) with his wife and new baby; Zoe...Ananda gave Zoe her first ever experience of a fresh Watermelon...ooooooooh! now THAT was a clinic in RASAS! Zoe literally BECAME that Watermelon!!! 
sipping a brewski with one of my training partners, Rob. Rob does yoga and we talked the Dharma beneath a wonderful setting sun at Buffalo Park at the club picnic.
Though i love the first few sips of a cold beer after a hot ride, i cannot drink beer. it makes me instantly fat and totally fucks with my nadic flows. bummer. hey, the Masters warned the aspirant, "The Path narrows." however, this brew felt perfect for earlier in the morning i had solo ridden the 48 mile "Perkinsville Road Race" course near Williams, AZ. Oh shit. Why IS IT that Race Directors feel so sadistically obligated to friggin' try to KILL US on their race courses? Jeeeezo! This race course, the 2nd event of Day One next weekend consisted of a, get this; 24 mile, 3,000' descent at which point, you turn your high spinning ass around and....THUNK!!!! climb back UP! Oh, this is gonna be just DANDY!!!! i averaged 22.3 mph on the descent. On the climb back up? 9! it's like trying to climb your way out of a cosmic tea kettle at full boil...this is gonna HURT! Sad thing for me is that it is primarily a Big Chain Ring climb; my weakness isolated on Day One! at 148 lbs, i have not the firepower to turn over a big gear on gradual uphills...especially a 14 MILE UPHILL! oh well, anyway, i am visualizing playing a helpful role for my Team Leader on that day. 
Discussing race strategy with Chris, Steve, Ian, and John (back is facing us, unfortunately). John is an ER doctor here in Flag who was a big fan of my first book, THE OUTDOOR ATHLETE, back in the mid eighties. Upon meeting me he said, "You're Steve Ilg, right? Jesus, i knew you from the old rock climbing era! I can't believe you are still alive!" I don't know if that was a compliment or not! I look forward to seeing John in my HP Yoga� classes...it is a great reConnect when we reMember with WF Tribal Warriors!
all photos by Ananda
May 20, 2006
Unfaltering Trust in the Great Spirit...of bikes and humor
Coach training in LA last summer, as shot by www.waynewilliamsstudio.com
Yesterday's Stats;
� 56 miles...needed 20 more.
� finished just off the leaders (12 seconds) on first Hill Climb.
� accomplished training goal of closing down gaps, helping teammates.
� 19.3 mph average speed including my "Shiva-enforced" solo Time Trial for 33 miles on a soft front tire & one good eye.
� rode/coached Ananda for the opening mile of the ride until her 188 bpm heartrate blew her off the peleton. Ananda told me that it took her, "...six more miles before i could recover from that first mile effort, i have NO idea how the hell you guys go that fast for so long!" 
WF Temple Manager Ananda is being a fantastic HP Yogini, pushing her fear edge, riding with us guys in the peleton! She knows that a true Yoga 'edge' must be explored OFF the 'sticky mat'! Hey, next time, it might be a mile and one quarter before she pops, then, a mile and a half, then...see Yogi's, that is the way of Learning. Just keep a'goin, just keep a'goin. I am very proud of you, A!
Next weekend i am registered to do my first bike race for my new team, RED ROCK RACERS
www.redrockracing.org
you can check out the course here:
http://www.summitcenterclassic.com/
As you can see, it ain't just a one day thing where i can jump onto the saddle, crank the pedals for a few hours, have a good dig at the guys and then belly up to some picnic table and have a brewski with da boyz afterward and tell stories about when we were all Cat II's. Nope. This baby is a 3-Day, 4 Event Stage Race with lots of high intensity miles to be covered and several big teams wanting to chomp the asses off of each other. All of this testosterone-induced leg pumping will occur at altitudes above 7,000'. Hey, if you're gonna jump into a new season of racin....why not really JUMP!?
The Thing Is:
Well, things just ain't working out quite like i had it chalked out in my official, "Steve Ilg's 2006 Spring Bike Racing Training Plan."
The Facts Is:
i've only been on my road bike (Sudhamani) a handful of times so far this spring. Hey, the 'Mini-skiing' up in the Inner Basin is still just toooooo good! What can i say? Last weekend, i got in two quality back to back days. Finally. On Day One's training race i front flatted at mile 42. Then, i lost a contact lens at mile 58. By the time i staggered up the little hill to the Temple H(om)e, i felt like "The Rock" had back-kicked my front teeth out, punched me in the nuts, and then flying body slammed me and had his Bolt-On Breasted Babe cram melted Milk Duds in my ears and up my nostrils. In bicycle racing vernacular, i was feeling FIT, baby!
On yesterday's (Sufferday, er, i mean, Saturday) training race, i was going great guns. Chasing down breaks like Paulo "The Cricket" Bettini, and recovering from hue-MONGO-efforts in the peleton like Miguel 'Big Mig' Indurain...until...setting up for the Halfway Sprint, the guy whose wheel i knew would be a great launchpad for my own sprint, went right through a bunch of dirt and rocks in the road and shurnuff...the dreaded sound of psssssssssssssssssssss issued flamboyantly from my front tire. i put my hand up in the air like the pros do and noodled flaccidly over toward the shoulder of the road so that the wheeling charge of the Light Brigade around me would not stampede me and my dilapidated tire.
Now for the Unsponsored Difference:
when Pro Roadies put their arm up signaling a flat tire, their cool, styled out Team Support Car rolls up as if out of thin air in a couple of seconds, and some handsome grey haired chap whips out a replacement wheel (not tire) and off goes Mr. Pro, drafting off the follow cars to rejoin his comrades. no big deal. happens all the time at the Pro level.
At my lame ass level of bike racing, when I elegantly raise my hand up into the air to signal to everyone that i have a flat...only the elk quizzically look at me as if to say,
"Dude...bummer."
So, it was another long, windy solo Time Trial effort back H(om)e. It's a long Journey. Oh, and yup...seriously, with ten miles to go? Popped out my right contact lens. Note To Self: when riding into the wind in TT position, blink repeatedly so your eyeball moisture does not dehydrate.
Well, i am choosing to put a positive spin on my spring 'training'...Hey, with any luck, i have attained my quota of flats and lost eyeballs and next weekend will go without mishap.
As if.
What we need most in this dark Journey of knowing Thyself through Sweat and Solo time, is an unfaltering trust in the Great Spirit. As well as the Inner Bravery to risk everything for our own Inner Ascent. More often than not, the Journey seems to be a foolish gamble. Yet, as one of my childhood mountaineering idols once said, "It is the uncertainty of the final outcome which truly makes an adventure." If you crave certainty and safety, it is best NEVER to toe a Start Line. Of anything.
Those of us blessed enough to realize the spiritual vitality of toeing all sorts of Start Lines, realize quickly that we may well make many, many mistakes. Indeed, if you are like me you will make many, many, many, MANY mistakes. Go(o)d News is; these are only SEEMING mistakes. Truth is; We can never make any mistakes. Not one. Mistakes are just that; you miss a take...just like an actor. Miss one take? No Big Deal. Relax. Let's shoot it again. Roll camera...ACTION! It's just that if we make mistakes, we just have to reLive the experience, in this lifetime or another until we get the Spiritual Lesson beyond the apparent mistake.
Along the long Journey, we are quite capable of deceiving ourself. Humor, humbleness,and surrender to a Higher Source (see yesterday's DL) will be vital. The guidance of a wise Teacher will neutralize the effect of our own ignorance. Yet, even Teachers may not always be right. What ultimately matters in the Wholistic Fitness� Warrior's life is not to be always right (cuz we only know relative Truth - samvritti satya as i wrote in DL a few days back, so we can't possibly know for certain what is right), but to be elegantly faithful to difficulty...and to love.
AllWays Love.
Never give up on Love...even if it means extracting Dharma from training gone awry, a bunch of flat tires, and lost contact lenses.
If i can do it,
i KNOW you can!
love and Lightness (and a bit of Blind Faith!) along the Higher Way...see you on the cobbles!
namaste,
coach ilg
The Golden Arches...and i ain't talking about the eyebrows of Padmasambhava!
My first addiction, besides lateral dominancy, began as a child right here at the nation's original McDonald's hamburger stand in Des Plains, IL. My parents would, nearly every Sunday, drive about 50 miles round trip to get to this stand which is now a "museum" i believe, of the franchising giant. It would take nearly 20 years for me to break my addiction to their 'food.'
***
Before I send you all over to WF Online Teacher Ko's blog, all i can really say, is that more than one of the 'fitness and yoga' people associated with McDonalds� latest fitness campaign, have...shall i say,...uh, at least some 'history' with myself and Wholistic Fitness�.
All Karma is God.
To me, the "Golden Arches" of McDonalds� is a bit too close to an image of the human brain's two hemispheres, for i leave no degree of mass inculcation out of reach to the apparently monetarily greedy and spiritually confused leaders of that ultimate corporation of Kali Yuga.
And, Most Noble and Cherished Teacher Ko...i feel your Heart writhing...it is both a blessing and a curse to be Awake in Kali Yuga...especially as a WF Warrior. As Teacher Blanchard says, and i in-courage you to do the same; "Feel everything, attach to nothing." Stay focused on your Practice and prioritize Pratyhara.
I was not kidding when i said, "Ripples make waves," back in 1982...sure, i might let my mind enjoy the fantasy of receiving a half of one percent from McDonalds if they would have truly cared about finding the pioneering root of full-spectrum fitness in America...what an incredible WF Institute i could then build for all of you! However, i Sense this is just another case of allowing the Outer Directed world to exquisitely craft our own Minds into a Higher Tool of Wisdom and Strength and Enlightenment.
"As irrigators lead water where they want,
as archers make their arrows straight,
as carpenters carve wood,
the wise shape their minds."
- Dhammapada (80)
i bow to you from the still very humble,
still peerlessly powerful
tiny Temple beneath the Sacred Peak...
"May All Beings Everywhere be free of Ignorance...and know the causations of Ignorance."
- Buddha
Om So TI!!!!!!!
coach ilg
creator/Wholistic Fitness�
former addict of McDonalds�
****
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2006
S.O.S.
Namaste Twisted Sage Sangha,
Okay, maybe one of you out there can help me. You see, I�m kind of baffled and confused on something. The other day I came across a McDonald�s fast food sack which prominently featured their �Go Active� campaign. One side of the bag showed a women performing Vrksasana (Tree Pose) and an offer for an interactive �Personal Trainer DVD� and their "Go Active, Happy Meals for Adults". Upon closer examination, my jaw nearly hit the floor, when I came across their recommendation of �Get all Four� for balance � �Strength, Cardiovascular, Core Conditioning, and Yoga� -- to me, this sounds an awful-lot like the Five Fitness Disciplines of Wholistic Fitness�. What, so now McDonald�s is gonna move into Wholistic Fitness� Waters? I checked out their Go Active website (www.goactive.com) and was further stunned by the endorsers and those promoting or lending their name/face to the campaign � Bob Greene (trainer to the stars/Oprah), Dr. Dean Ornish (renowned cardiologist and �Yogi�), Wayne Gretzky, Serena and Venus Williams, Yao Ming, and the American Council of Sports Medicine, to name a few (can you say �cha-ching�?)
READ THE WHOLE GREAT ARTICLE BY WF TEACHER KO AT:
http://www.twistedsageblog.blogspot.com/
May 19, 2006
DANDY LION WARRIOR!
Nearly a year ago, Ananda and i moved into Two Tree Manor here in Flagstaff beneath the Sacred Peak. The soon to be Temple H(om)e had been vacant for several months and previous tenants did not, evidently, do a whole lot of, well, zen gardening.
In fact, Two Tree Manor looked a bit more like Haunted Manor. The lack of TLC around TTM would require a Warrior without ADD. The shrubs were forlorn, the freeze/thaw cycles from an epic winter had splintered an orphaned birch, and the backyard was less a yard and more of a walking disaster area.
And then there were the Dandy Lions.
The omnipotent dandelions were growing like, like...well, WEEDS!!!! Knowing full well the karmic implications of my intended actions, i drove - not RODE as you might well imagine - down to HOME DEPOT; Turtle Island's Head TeePee of All Yuppie Warriors, picked up the appropriate weaponry in the oceanic aisles of their Lawn & Garden section, drove back home with a focused eye and set about preparing to do what any warrior of my feeble caliber would do; Declare a Wholy War upon the Dandy Lion Tribe! 
To hell with Nirvana! So what about Enlightenment! I swore upon Manjushree's Warrior Sword to invoke deep Dandy Lion Karmic Protective Medicine upon my soul as i unsheathed my Dandy Lion Puller Upper Thing and...off i charged onto the Battlefield of Two Tree Manor!!
By the end of two weeks, the front lawn of Two Tree Manor looked like a Practice Zone for Air Force Bombing Missions. Having consistently stabbed, dug, uprooted countless Dandy Lion casualties while apologizing to the spirit of Rachel Carson and chanting, OM MANI PADME HUNG in futile attempt to rationalize my ahimsayan profile, the damage to the remaining grasses was faring worse than the Dandy Lion Tribe, whose members are apparently capable of such yogic feats as mass duplication, regeneration, invincibility, and utter radiance even while being destroyed. Hmmmmmmm.
To end the bizarre tyranny of the Dandy Lion Tribe would eventually extract from me a Higher spiritual path then my current Plan A of Seek & Destroy...a tried and true Western trait. One afternoon, after one final butchering job upon the "lawn," i sat beneath Yab/Yum (our giant twin Ponderosa trees that loomed over my entire fiasco like Shiva and Vishnu having a good laugh at the human condition again). I began to concentrate upon the infinite resourcefulness of the Dandy Lion Tribe. The truth began calling to me as It allWays does; simply, with the teachings extremely clear; I suddenly reMembered not only my own dandelion incarnation but my former embrace of their medicine in this one! I used to eat Dandelion Salads, make dandelion cleansing teas (before SUNRIDER), and when SUNRIDER Herbs did manifest, i used to always eat the SUNRIDER Dandelion Root Formula!
I have seen again and again through my feeble Practice of yoga, with great sadness, that as soon i begin to drop into and move toward the Namaste Space of my challenges and challengers, it is only my ahamkara (ego) layer of mind that tries to complicate the most beautiful and perfect action. It became quite Clear to me that the Dandy Lion Tribe was so resilient to my efforts to kill them because they knew they were being fundamentally threatened...being fundamentally threatened IS the nature of the domesticated dandelion, thus their Tribe has in-gene-iously come up with a Survival Mode that is almost infinite, and the Dandy Lion Tribe is quite able to not only thwart our mean-spirited efforts to slay them at every stage, but also able to sabotage and pervert our very desire to be free of them. Or so it was with me. It was time to call upon another Yogic Guideline; Surrender. Ishvara-Pranidhana...from that moment onward, i would turn over my ahamkara about overcoming the Dandy Lion Tribe to my Highest Source. What came through? This:
"Do what you must with the Dandy Lion Tribe, however, never take them out of your heart."
Thus, to this very morning, one of my Practices along the ever colorful, ever deepening Path of Wholistic Fitness, is to yogi squat beside the Dandy Lion Beings, and crawl into that Namaste Space and pluck their pungent Manipura heads, sometimes mindfully uprooting them, but often not, and all the while tell them,
"By the same Power that will one day destroy me, i too have chosen to appreciate you, pick you, love you, and in your death there has been great life, and great learning."
This is my Practice of the Dandy Lion Tribe.
Soygal Rinpoche: "However hard ego may try to sabotage the spiritual path, if you really continue on it, and work deeply with the practice of meditation, you will begin slowly to realize just how gulled you have been by ego�s promises: false hopes and false fears. Slowly you begin to understand that both hope and fear are enemies of your peace of mind; hopes deceive you, and leave you empty and disappointed, and fears paralyze you in the narrow cell of your false identity. You begin to see also just how all-encompassing the sway of ego has been over your mind, and in the space of freedom opened up by meditation, when you are momentarily released from grasping, you glimpse the exhilarating spaciousness of your true nature."
Yoga is everywhere, if you look with Yogic Eyes,
May your Practice be as omnipotent as the Dandy Lion-Eyed Tribe...
namaste,
coach ilg
As captured this morning, the front lawn of Two Tree Manor in its sattvic state with no Dandy Lion Beings able to be seen. 
Today, the lack of TLC has gone AWOL and in fact has inspired such fantastic bio/engineering as the N.S.G.C. (Not So Grand Canyon) which recent Intensive Student and professional Geologist, Anne Sasso is seen enjoying above!
Dandelion Dance:
Scientific Name: Taraxacum officinale
Uses: Digestive
Part Used: Root
In a Word: Supersonic Tonic for the liver and heart and a helluva Spiritual Teacher for feeble mountain yogis like me !
Came to Turtle Island from Asia and made its first appearance on Turtle Island in my beloved New Mexico from Spaniards around 1820 where it was known as chicoria and it was used for both food and medicine. To cure heart trouble, the blooms were collected and boiled in water until the water turned bright yellow. The liquid was then allowed to sit out of doors overnight, and a glassful was drunk every morning for a solid month.
In my old neighborhood of San Ildenfonso Pueblo along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, village mothers grind dandelion leaves, apply the paste to broken bones, and wrap wounds with bandages encrusted with fresh leaves to speed healing.
In Costa Rica, which is famous for its herb markets, dandelions are sold for treating diabetes. In Brazil, dandelion is a blood purifier, with the added benefits of treating liver problems, scurvy, and any urinary complaint that might be present.
Not surprisingly, the Chinese have been working with it longer than anyone else, and their scientific research has proven that the annoying weed has diuretic, hypoglycemic, antispasmodic, anticancer, antibacterial, and antifungal effects on the body. The dandelion is mentioned in all sorts of ancient documents, including the Pentsao and the Tang Materia Medica, as both food and medicine, and the Chinese have been using it to treat breast cancer for more than 1,100 years. They also use it for: abscesses, appendicitis, boils, caries, dermatitis, fever, inflammation, leucorrhea, liver ailments, mastitis, scrofula, snakebites, and stomachaches.
Chinese scientists have discovered that dandelion extracts have an in vitro bactericidal effect against a number of really nasty bacteria, including those responsible for diphtheria, tuberculosis, and pneumonia. Not to mention the fact that they control the ever-so-deadly staphylococcus aureus (staph infection) when it has invaded the body. The Chinese also found that the plant�s roots, leaves, juice, and extracts are effective in treating other infections, including chronic bronchitis and hepatitis, with few side effects.
It stands to reason that if the liver is in good functioning order, cleaning out all the toxins known to cause cancer, dandelion may indeed be a cancer preventative herb. As far as staying well in general goes, the plant has been proven to kill bacteria, in effect purifying the blood, which is what people around the world have been saying for centuries.
I have already placed a couple of bottles of SUNRIDER's world-class Dandelion Root in my shopping basket after writing this entry...i trust you to do the same!
LONG LIVE THE DANDY LION TRIBE!!!!!
May 18, 2006
Understanding The Two Realities
Don't think you can sue somebody in order to, "get what you deserve,' and somehow get Enlightened; All Karma is God.
Don't think you can lie and cheat and steal and somehow get Enlightened. All Karma is God.
Don't think you can schlep through your life and fly low on the radar of your innate Magnificence and somehow still get Enlightened.
All Karma is God.
Don't think you can eat like shit and soar like Brother Hawk.
All Karma is God.
Don't think you can dodge your weak links and still get Enlightened. All Karma is God. 
Don't think you need to be Initiated by some great "fierce" Teacher who specializes in one form of spiritual work in order to become Enlightened. The Buddha, Padmasambhava, and all the Truly Great Ancient Masters of Life were highly skilled Practitioners of all Disciplines. They did not demand "initiations." They asked you to just, "Do the work and test it for yourself." All Karma is God.
Don't think that if you depend upon an intellectual form of spirituality to become Enlightened, you will not have to just come back again and NOT side step the perfection of the body. Enlightenment must arrive through your own Path of Sweat and Stillness. All Karma is God.
The Whole Dance of Lila allWays comes out in the wash, no matter what.
all of our lies,
all of our weaknesses,
all of our 'braggart thrusts of thunder,"
all of it,
all of it,
ALL of it
eventually plays out in what the Buddha called this phenomenal reality; samvritti satya, or conventional reality. the word, 'samvritta satya' to me, means, "all the whirls of the little truth," little truth meaning our conventional daily awareness. this reality - in which you read my words (forms) in DL and you go into your little car and go to your little work (forms) - is REAL. It is a (form of) Truth. Make No Mistake about that; thus, the WF Warrior should perform in this little Truth with exquisiteness.
However, it is not the 'absolute reality,' or what Buddha called, 'paramartha satya.' until we Awaken and see both Truths, and are capable of living in samvritta satya with a Higher Perspective and Realization, then we will remain immersed in the drama of samsara.
The yogi's job is to witness the Dance of these two Truths, and to cultivate Wise Discrimination, knowing that
ignorance leads to desire and desire leads to bondage/suffering.
Thus, Wisdom and Clarity of Insight are the two most potent, versatile weapons in the Spiritual Warriors quiver.
I am in Day Two of a WF Private Intensive with a devoted Online Student who took Pilgrimage to study directly with me again beneath the Sacred Peak for her third Intensive. Her entire body/mind/spirit has categorically upshifted and her immersion in the Dharma is an absolute Joy to behold(ing).
She is cutting through the little Truth with the strength of her Devotion to WF and her Trust in the Path by animating it with her own Sweat and Stillness and
Trust in her Teacher.
Why do you think i train and Practice so hard on myself?
It's not for my Enlightenment;
it's for (Y)OURS!
Two-Get-Her....twogether...together...to-gather...
let's keep Climbing...let's keep swimming upstream against the current of the addicted Outer World and little whirls of Truth..
and
let's
go
for
the Podium of the Human Race;
ENLIGHTENMENT.
Do you KNOW how NOT TO WASTE YOUR TIME?
Do you KNOW what, precisely, you need to be doing to get FREE?
if you are not an Online WF Student; fill out an Application today.
WF Online Study will benefit that which is Highest and Endless within you.
All Karma is God.
May this Dharma Teaching be held in the deepest chamber of your heartspace
and be ignited for your Desire To Rise Above...
that is all,
coach ilg
May 17, 2006
Of Vishnu Dolls and Sullivans; WF Athletes Take MORE Podiums at the National Level!
The dragonfly
cannot come to rest
on the blades of grass
- Basho
{contributed by Lisa "Vishnu Doll" Goldsmith, pictured above in Trikonasana before kicking total ass again at the East Coast Stair Running Championships, is using SUNRIDER Herbs and TBT for her next podium at Mt. Washington Running Race next month. Lisa is scheduled to be Coach's teammate at the '07 Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon.}
***
I BOW TO WARRIOR BENJAMIN!
Last summer, suffering within the local Peleton of bike racers, i hooked up with a charming, polite, and ripping strong young warrior, Ben Sullivan, fresh from Montana.
Ben and i had a mutual friend in my old New Mexico training partner, Mike Longmire. After a few more sufferfests along the pav� of Flag, i learned that Ben was also a nordic skier. i told him that he should consider taking my HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA class once per week during the winter to assist his off season training for cycling. 
pictured here at our Flagstaff HP Yoga� cave at the back, Ben Sullivan is one of the rare, one of the few Warrior Men willing to come to yoga classes. Ben appeared one winter night at my class determined..."...to prove to you, Coach, that I am the world's stiffest 26-year old."
Oh sure, his hips and lower back were super tight from all the endurance training, yet the quaint and unique Science of HP Yoga instantly began working its Shamanic like magic upon his body and mind. and with only ONE HP YOGA CLASS per week, this young Warrior realized that HP Yoga ain't no joke, baby...it is an instrumental part of his body/mind training...
as you can read below in his own words, the proof is in the podium!
again and again, and endless again...
"The Path works,
when YOU work the Path!"
- coach ilg
creator of the Wholistic Fitness and High Performance Yoga Paths
***
Namaste Noble Coach and Ananda,
Sometimes, after an especially fruitful HP yoga session, i find that i don't want to leave the Cave. Later in the week, i find that though i left the cave, the cave did not leave me.
this became especially true last weekend in smoggy Fontana, CA, at a NORBA national mtb race.
i took third place in the expert men short track race and a third place in the expert XC race.
they were my best finishes ever at a NORBA, and i now qualify for the semi-pro class.
midway through the XC, as my body was suffering, and the smog was permeating my conscious, my body tried to go to its happy place. i wouldn't let it. and that's when i heard: "engage root lock." "pay attention to your breathing." "on the inhale..." "vinyasa sequence." i sat up straight, blew out the clouds, and kept on hammering. i was happy with my third place because it was one of the fastest times of the day overall, and my lap times were as good as the upper-middle of the pro field.
HP yoga has been doing many good things for my mind and body, but i finally had a chance to really see how it works when all else within me is failing. i'll send you a photo when i have one. many thanks for the lessons past and the lessons to come. see you wednesday. i hope Utah was remarkable.
-ben sullivan
May 16, 2006
re; DL of 5*15 was a "spectacular Teaching!"
To my Coach........ILGMAN, doer of all things fun and fitness, beloved guardian of the First Base Body and the Yoga Teacher of yoga teachers,
Now that's a greeting ! You were right.........yesterday's DL is a spectacular teaching. Thank you for taking the time and energy to Be, Do and then still Have room in your Heartspace left to Teach from.
Your lessons do not go unnoticed , unlived or unappreciated by this yoga teacher who is on the Team............Who's on First Base ? Why student shel of course...........What's on Second Base-----look at that Breath and Posture, must be student shel.................Where's on Third Base------no, "where" you want to be is going back over and over again to First Base.........!
I Love You
samkalpin shel
*photo of 'samkalpin shel' with coach at a WF Private Intensive in Flag this past winter
Whatever joy there is in this world ...
Whatever joy there is in this world
All comes from desiring others to be happy,
And whatever suffering there is in this world
All comes from desiring myself to be happy.
- SHANTIDEVA
May 15, 2006
FIRST THINGS FIRST, OH NOBLE YOGIS! embracing the energetic development of the wholistic self
Takes One To Know How To Teach One...
there is a reason why so many WF Students and HP Yoga Students are champions; it takes one to coach one!
there is a reason why HP Yoga� feels so different than most forms of yoga; it was created by a champion for champions like YOU!
if there is one thing you can trust in when it comes to this WF Temple,
it is sweat.
i do not simply rest on my podium resume and write a dozen different books with just little changes of this and that to make a buck..no way baby...i'm still out there with the young guns dicing it up in as many sports and disciplines as i can to continue the pioneering success of Wholistic Fitness� for so many of you.
The trickle down Wisdom that i gain from my training and competing morph into the Life Changing Programs such as Green Tara, Cosmic Yang, etc., that you read about in my books and study Online through WF Online Training.
"Ripples make waves," i once stated many years ago, and now, the Ripples of WF are changing the Way many Warriors come to view yoga and sport..
the Ripples of WF are changing the Way many Warriors come to view sweat and spirit...
***
As spring matures and the snow slowly recedes from the Sacred Peak, it is time to change gears again for my own Practice; change gears literally; it's BIKE RACING SEASON!
This weekend i trained for the first time at race pace on consecutive days on my bicycle on club rides.
two-day totals;
128 miles, 6.75 hours in the saddle suffering like a dawg...getting ready for the Summit Center 3-Day Stage Race
at the end of the month.
yesterday, my Training Intent was Samkalpa (powerful determination). the day before, i put in 70 miles at a 20 mph pace...so i was feeling it upon awakening. Thank WF for Early Morning Ritual and the SUNRIDER Herbs (plus some BioBuilde�!)...after 2 hours and 14 minutes of high Zone 3 pacelining through rolling hills at 8,000'+ with two guys i waved g'day to my training buddies who soft pedaled home to watch the Giro on TV.
instead,
i took a left hand turn and kept riding.
it was one of the hardest left hand turns i have had to make,
cuz that left hand turn?
it led
up the Ski Road; 7 miles at 8%+ to 9,800'.
oh, i sure didn't break any speed records as i slowly turned the pedals over up the sacred mountain...
yet, i was here as a yogin adorned in the WF Tribal garments of
pre-fatigued legs,
heaving lungs,
and muscles fully loaded with Lactic Acid.
i rode up the mountain as bravely as i knew you all would expect of me.
i rode up the sacred mountain as a Samkalpin.
my bicycle to me was merely another style of a Yoga Mat upon which to Practice.
"Yoga is everywhere, if you look with Yogic Eyes," i like to re-Mind myself.
***
though Samkalpa was my victory this weekend,
and though it was Samkalpa that
took me to the top...
it
was
yet, another yogic principle - a Yama, in fact -that is a large part of my training this month; the principle known as, Aparigraha or 'greedlessness' is - ironically - a huge factor of my motivation to suffer so hard. You see, my intention for the Stage Race at the end of this month is not to win. Instead, my intent is to help my Team Leader as a type of 'super domestique' if possible...in other words, i am training hard just to be a 'pawn' for one of my teammates. I will race my body to its edge of edges in order to prefatigue the other competitors to chase me down so that they use up their energy in thwarting my efforts while my Team Leader can stay fresh and attack them after i attempt to tire them out.
that is bike racing, baby.
that is Warriorism!
Today, i'm feeling a bit worked, yet feeling quite capable to do more. which i won't. Today is for some HP Yoga...however, this morning, my asana poses, which were so comparatively limber and open and full of Light on Friday, are now back to square one, errr, least it felt like it. my hip flexors are storing the adhesion and fatigue toxins of thousands of high intensity pedaling strokes, my paraspinals are gripped like a fist around my lower back and my IT Bands are once again...well, feeling "well trained," as we say in this Temple.
so, breath by breath, i will ease more Ujjayi into my well-trained and tau(gh)t muscles and do my best not to compare my body today with last week. this is the Way of our MultiDisciplined Yoga; it seems sometimes like we take one step Up the Path and slither 3 Steps back...our progress seems glacier slow sometimes.
That is just the Way i want it.
Slow and Deep. MultiDisciplined Deep. here is why:
in this Path of WF, it is the energetic development of the wholistic self that matters most.
i have Taught you that the WF Warrior develops the Gross fitness, then the Refined, and finally the Subtle.
take the Vayu's, for instance. Vayu's, as you know from reading DL, are Energy Currents that distribute the Pran.
Vayu's are only as strong as what comes before them.
what creates Vayu Fitness?
Cardio fitness.
so, if you consider yourself a yogin, yet if you ain't out there gettin' it done in Cardio, then you are no different than those Bodybuilders that just train their Biceps and Chest yet walk around on stick legs, too scared to do the heavy squats to build up their leg muscles. Basically; you've fallen for the trap that says, "Oh, well, i do Yoga so i don't have to do Cardio."
Oh really? Uh...okay, whateva...good luck in the ENDURANCE REALM of the Bardo!
let's take another aspect of the Subtle Anatomy; the Nadis. you know about Nadis from reading DL, as well. Nadis are the subtle anatomic vessels which carry the Pran systemically via Pranayama. The Nadis carry the power for the engine of Enlightenment. Weak Nadis = Weak Yoga.
what strengthens Nadis?
well, Nadis are the spiritually mature Nerve Vessels.
so, first the yogin must train for Nerve (Neural) Fitness before thinking about significant Nadic Fitness for Kundalini Awakening.
How do you develop Neural Fitness?
duh...the GYM, baby!
that is right; to develop symmetrical, balanced muscles within each bodypart is the yogin's FIRST BASE!
if your muscles are out of balance, then so too is your Neural Fitness...so if you start taking like "Kundalini Yoga" classes
while your FIRST BASE (your muscles) are not yet balanced, full, and capable of conducting Neural Energy...then, trust me...
you DO NOT want to be fucking around with the Kundalini!
it's sad how many 'yogis' and "Teachers of Yoga" are so quick to teach the Subtle and Refined Physiology and Anatomy exercises while ignoring FIRST BASE: their Neural/Muscular/Cardio Physiology and Anatomy! 
Yoga is, after all, bodybuilding.
From my observances, many of today's 'yogis' would do well to spend the next decade or so prioritizing the symmetry, proportion, and balance of their lean neuromuscular system and bring their Cardio Fitness into a higher Priority as well. after attaining this "First Base" of energetic development within their physical body, then return to a deep asana practice with a more deep fiber balance. their minds would have matured greatly during the Samkalpa required to attain a "First Base Body."
Remember the first of the two goals of Hatha Yoga;
to build the body wholistically so that by age 75 you are able to meditate voraciously for Enlightenment.
make no doubt; Yoga is bodybuilding.
When seeking a Yoga Teacher,
make sure their Muscular and Cardio physiologic and anatomical realms are at least in the same ballpark as their asana fitness. If this is not the case, then they have yet to know by Direct Experience how to SAFELY and PROGRESSIVELY lead you toward a BALANCED AWAKENING of the Divine Force within you.
First Base, baby. First Base.
Om So Ti,
coach ilg, the endless beginner
***
PHOTOs:
#1; coach in a floating padmasana; dorit theis photography
#2; just turning the pedals over on a steep climb near LA; wayne williams photography
#3; Frank Zane, a Mr. Olympian from the seventies who trained wholistically and whose symmetry and balanced aesthetic look captured my own ideals.
May 14, 2006
STUDENT INPUT; sonnets from your sweat and spirit along the WF Way...
Coach,
A stunning day here in The Great Land today. Brilliant sunshine, nearing 60
degrees, almost no wind (extremely rare). So what to do? Why, a nice
road-bike ride (first of the season) along Turnagain Arm. Gotta love Alaska.
Anyway...thought you'd get a kick out of seeing the WF jersey in a new
setting.
Best,
Luke
*
Dear Steve,
i love your quote in DL "To teach is to remain an endless beginner."
It reminds me of what my mentor of 34 years used to say, "We who dare to teach must never cease to learn."
Starting the day with DL puts my mind where it should be for the upcoming day.
Love, Kendo
*
Hi Steve,
I recently bought your book as I was stagnating and bored with my fitness routine. I have finished the Green Tara program and currently I am at the end of my first week of the Cosmic Yang program. To date, I could not be happier with the results...ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!
Thankyou
Bret Walker
*
Dear Coach,
�� DL is and has always been a part of my daily Svadhyaya. My practice is becoming consistant again and my�CHI is starting to flow baby! i recall you saying once in a DL that ... sometimes�falling off of the path is all part of the path.�HOW TRUE!!! Man i love WF, i�love you, i love Ananda, and i love our sangha.
i write because of today's DL 4/22 seemed to hit me right in the face. i loved it. The part about finger strength and being a massage therapist. Since i am attending�school to be a�LMT i found as though you were talking to me directly. So just wanted to write to you and�Thank�you for walking the path that few choose to walk down and sometimes including myself.�My personal Practice shall be kept strong.�My�carpals, metacarpals,�and phalanges shall take on the strength of aircraft cables. And my frontal bone shall touch Mother earth as i bow deeply to you.
�
Your Light SHINES Deep in my Heart Space
that is all
feeble vito
***
Coach Ilg,
���� Was sore for a week after your class last Saturday here in LA!� The�level of energy and�enlightenment was�inspiring.� Can't wait for you guys to come back!� I'll be there.�
Namaste, Lisa Downey�
*
Blesssings to my Noble Coach,
Your DL's have been at the usual peak of teachings and i continue to learn and grow from your wisdom.
I Love You
- ss
*
Hi Coach -
I'm a 32 year that has always tried to stay physically and spiritually active...especially in the outdoors. I picked up your Total Body Transformation a year ago...I'm a believer. I love the balance of it and the way it just "feels" right.
Thank you and peace - Scott
***
THE OVERPAID "EXPERTS" HAVE LOST OUT ON MY MONEY DUE TO YOUR COMPETENCE!
Hay Coach,
Just wanted to tell you of all the people you have caused to lose money because of your competence.
Three months ago i started your Total Body Transformation�book workouts for a second cycle along with starting Phase 1 of SR.
The six months after first completing the three training sessions Tara, Yang and Frugal Realm last summer about did me in.� By the first of this year my back and arthritis in my hips made me think that i was finished working or playing outdoors again and even went to my Dr. to see as a last resort if drugs or back surgery might help.� i went for the MRI on my back and it confirmed i was having some major problems in there.
While waiting the two weeks for my doctors MRI review appointment i remembered how fit i felt last summer from your WF training.� So i started back up with Green Tara and put my order in to SR for Phase 1.
By the time the two weeks came i was already healing up from the exercises.� Then i got a appointment��a month later� with the back surgery specialist.� By that month i was free of pain.� i did take his prescription for a physical therapist� who had a Masters degree to see what he could show me.
That lasted two visits.
That physical therapist was the top guy around and he could not begin to even pack your lunch.
So i figure the Pharmaceutical company lost out on the sell of pain killers,
My Dr. only got the�two visits.
The back surgery doctor lost out on a big ticket surgery.
The Master Physical Therapist was not even close to having your knowledge on exercising.
i cancelled his next six visits.
i have told you before yet i have to tell you again how truly wonderful your Total Body Transformation book is.� It is my Bible and Phase 1 of SR has made these training sessions�easier to follow through with.
Thanks to you i have my body back.
Peace out
rich paul
***
Dear Ananda and COach,
����You both are so loved! Thank you for all that you do!!
Namaste,
student mc
NYC
*
Dearest Coaches,
It is National Teacher Appreciation Week - while most would leave this "celebration" to the classroom teacher, I would like to take this moment to thank two life teachers for all they give daily.�
With grateful appreciation,� Student C
*
Namaste Coach,
Yes I�ve been working the ab workout for 6 or more months � It�s done wonders for my long term back discomfort.� Thanks for the inspiration.�
Thanks,
Jeff Nayhouse
*
El coache',
Just been looking over me old training and bike racing diaries. Good times bro.
mp
la
*
Thanks so much for sharing your incomparable insights & experience.
Janet I.
*
Coach Ilg;
The comments are outstanding.� I think you are one of the best endorsers we have.�We make a great team.� Hope you help hundreds of athletes with your custom WF Halo.
Regards,
Paul
owner/HALO� HEADBANDS
**
RE: DL - 5*13*06
Bro,
Great DL.
I guess we have gone to the birds.
I recall and article in Orion once that pointed out the average American can identify over a 100 advertisements and company logos yet cannot identify more than 3 species of birds in their own back yard, if that.
They are the most incredible creatures...like conduits between the here and the divine.
love and wings,
haku
***
RE: DL 5*12*06 ILGMAN SAVES "THE HAT"
El C,
�
how....i say...how can anyone not LOVE my Coach? my nutty wonderful feeble Coach; ) loved the new IlgMan DL. you are tooooo much!
�
namaste,
Q
*** RAGIN' RJ
I was behind a guy at the store yesterday. I was getting a money order to pay my late fees on my apartment rent I'm choking out in LA. The dude bought a $214 dollar bottle of scotch. For $35 bones people tell us to stick our exercise DVDs you know where as they refuse to exercise or move their lazy asses...it frustrates the hell out of me man...$214 for a bottle of booze and what we do can heal without a god damn surgical intervention saving THOUSANDS of dollars and YEARS of pain!!!!! Whateva foos!
"My lifestyle determines my deathstyle." --Metallica
Ragin' rj
***
RE: DL-4*30*06 THE UNREAL LIFE: Chronic Anxiety...
Noble Coach Ilg,
Boy did I need that (DL April 30). Just finished a
weekend with my parents, two weeks with an
anxiety-elevated heart-rate and palpitations and three
weeks with a broken toe. Tears were shed in all three
cases.
Just begin again and again.
Each challenge has rocked a core part of who I am. Or
rather, who I thought I was. The oldest wound (my toe)
has already begun to heal. I may not be able to run
but baby I can ride! My heart scare brought me closer
to my wife and brought my into sharp focus. Nuthin'
like your mortality staring you in the face to WAKE
YOU UP!
The freshest wound (family strife) has yet to reveal
what it has to teach me, but my eyes and heart are
wide open. Watching. Waiting.
My stress is a beast I choose no longer to feed. It's
strong but it's got to eat or die and my lunch counter
is closed.
Just begin again and again. Endlessly again.
Inhale....exhale...let goooooo.
head bowed,
humbled student in sherman oaks
*
Dear Coach Ilg,
�
Thank you for the thoughtful DL regarding stress.� That one hit close to home, and you provided much food-for-thought.
Namaste.
�
michael
***
RE: DL- 5*5*06; GOT GUNS? GOT LUNGS?...Coach's MINI SKI DESCENT OF AGASSIZ PEAK
Dear Coach,
Thank you! oh and by the way....you are a CRAZY mofo! Love the decent on the childrens ski's. Only you man, ONLY YOU!
�
Love through�sweat and stillness
vito
*
Fuck yeah baby! They were still in your "kill zone" bro! It ain't over
till it's over! Anyone that can ski on those short choppy kid skis can
chase down a few sport specific feeble cyclists man!
rj
*
COACH:
You are hilarious! It's true though: all Canadians have a pair of these tucked away somewhere and you're not a real Canadian if you don't bust a pair out at least once a winter. The give them out at immigration and in order to become a Canadian citizen rather than swear allegiance to the flag (which is perma-frozen around the flagpole anyway) we must take a short lesson and competancy exam in miniski use.
laughing love
chris
*
and...to finish up this amazing batch of STUDENT INPUT...a WF Haiku from Student Shel:
new WF program (5)
no prayer for lighter burden (7)
time to strengthen back ! (5) 
May Your Practice be as Mighty as the Rocky Mountains,
and your Appreciation of WF remain as deep, as humbling and as inspiring as the Starlit Sky...
keep it rollin' WF Warriors, we've got Enlightenment to chase!
OM SO TI,
your loving coach
May 13, 2006
BIRD BRAIN
The absolute truth cannot be realized within the domain of the ordinary mind. And the path beyond the ordinary mind, all the great wisdom traditions have told us, is through the heart. This path of the heart is devotion.
- Soygal Rinpoche
above; i flashed this difficult boulder problem after becoming aware of Brother Raven soaring near me; He told me by his wing pattern that i would need to keep my left elbow high on this crux move. the WF Warrior allWays listens to the Medicine around him or her. the Path of Devotion is learning to become Devoted to being an Endless Beginner; one must allWays listen, listen, LISTEN for the Signs!
***
i saw a Great Blue Heron, just like this one, soaring high, high above the WF Temple H(om)e one morning...
recent auspicious bird identifications i have made in the past month;
* Great Blue Heron (backyard, soaring, 1,000'+ over Observatory Mesa)
* Red Naped Sapsucker (backyard, feeding on a male Aspen tree)
* Western Tanager (backyard, pestering Ponderosa limbs )
* Golden Eagle (Moab, soaring between sandstone spires)
* Tree Swallows in courtship dance (backyard, near ponderosa nest)
* White Throated Swift (Moab, acrobatics between sandstone arches)
* California Condor (Grand Canyon, soaring above South Rim)
* Boat Tailed Grackle (Little Colorado River, pestering a cottonwood tree)
* Downy Woodpecker (backyard on pondersoa)
* White Breasted Nuthatch (backyard on ponderosa)
* Great Tailed Grackle (Agassiz Peak in spruce)
* Prairie Falcon (low flight pattern, high speed, cruised beside Bala while driving near Navajo Nat'l Monument)
* Bald Eagle (Mormon Lake, AZ while on club ride)
* Mexican Jay (Grand Canyon, South Kaibab Trail)
***
"Learning the names, songs, and behavioral patterns of birds is to me, a most beneficial Practice of the WF Warrior. It increases Citi-Shakti (power of Awareness) which is instrumental for advancement along the Way Higher. Metaphorically speaking, when we are ignorant of the world of birds and birdsong, it is like being within Prakriti without realizing Purusha. Discovering the Dance of Birds is like discovering the awesome beauty of Truth within the Veil of illusion and ignorance. Becoming a 'bird brain' trains our peripheral Awareness to jump center. Delight is found among the most mundane of environments. To the WF Warrior, Yoga is everywhere, if you see with Yogic Eyes."
- Coach Ilg
***
May 12, 2006
Better Git Here Quick; This WF WARRIORESS Is On FIRE!!!
What can i say that i have not told you a few dozen times before through the years...
"The Path works...
when YOU work the Path!"
- coach ilg
don't miss her latest entry, it'll make you smile, laugh, and craft tomorrow just a tad Higher than today...
http://kristi-reflections.blogspot.com/
NEWSFLASH: "WF WARRIORISM" SAVES THE HAT!!!!!
It's high noon on the outskirts of Mexican Hat, Utah and thar's trouble a brewing out on the mesa...
...and that spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E for one of Turtle Islands most famed landmarks; The Mexican Hat rock formation!
apparently, some Big City Rappers had been playing their "music" too loud while driving past the 300' talus tower and shook the already decomposing Halgaito Formation Sandstone base so tremendously that now the several ton caprock of Cedar Mesa Sandstone is threatening to fall!
...what to DO?!?!
...Oh NO!!!!! We must do SOMEthing!!!!!
...the 20 or so residents of the quaint town of Mexican Hat were most concerned,
"Well, what happens if it falls?!," cried one gapped tooth citizen of the river town.
"...i...i...i reckon we'll have to change the name of our town to Mexican Hatless," responded another...
"But, but...that means John Wayne will NEVER shoot another movie here!" sobbed yet another...
"John Wayne is dead, isn't he?" queried a large lanky cowpoke who himself looked like he hadn't showered since the Halgaito Formation was formed.
"What's your point," said Jed.
"I dunno," replied The Bandito, "I jus wanna shoot something."
just then,
at that critical point of social anarchy in downtown Mexican Still Hatful, Utah...
there arrived...
could it be...??!?!
YEAH!!!!!!
ILGMAN has arrived on the scene in a VERY AUSPICIOUS moment of synchronicity! 
Famed adventurer of the Southwest, pioneer of the Wholistic Fitness� Tribe, and Doer Of All Things Fun and Fitness; our intrepid hero quickly drops close to Mother Earth to receive Her Guidance on how to help Her trembling 250-million year old infant...
....as ILGMAN uses his intraocular powers of his Ajna Chakra to "see" what needs to be done, he paces with considerable might as he contemplates Mother's counsel...Behind our hero, the roar and crash of the falling formation can be heard in the background! QUICK ILGMAN!!!!! DO SOMETHING!!!!!
Using his Wholistic Fitness� mastery; ILGMAN scampers up the extremely dangerous 290' decomposing base with agility and focus from HP Yoga matched with his speed and endurance from his cardiovascular training and reaches the teetering capstone just in the NICK OF TIME... 
and, using his superhuman strength from years of strength training and eating the SUNRIDER HERBS, the ILGMAN can be seen HOLDING UP and RESTABILIZING the Mexican Hat for more people to enjoy and marvel at along Highway 163!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
MORAL OF THIS STORY:
Keep your Practice strong in EACH of the Five Disciplines and 4 Lifestyle Principles of Wholistic Fitness�...because you NEVER KNOW when poor Mother Earth will need YOUR SUPERHUMAN POWERS to Save All That Which Is Still Go(o)d In Kali Yuga!!!!!
***
COMING UP TOMORROW IN DL: STUDENT INPUT!!!!!!!
ps; there are two climbing routes that ascend the impossibly balanced caprock of The Mexican Hat. in 1962, the amazing Royal Robbins nailed out an extremely bold and dangerous route on the underside of the wild roof on the 'river side' (unseen from the above angles) of the formation. it went at A4! then, in 1981, Stand Mish and Dan Langmade placed five bolts and a fixed piton to climb the roof just to the left of me show in the last photo above. i was reconn'ing the routes to possibly attempt a free climbing attempt later this year.
ps2: DO NOT attempt to scramble up to where i am pictured!!! doing so, could prove to be a VERY FAST IMPACT into your Bardo Entry...i was a professional rock climber for over a decade, so do NOT attempt to mimic my antics!
photos by Ananda
May 11, 2006
BACK FROM MOAB...As Reality Dances Within The Dust...
"When we have seen Reality, there is not a grain of dust which has not a sublime meaning."
- J. Vanderleeuw
"Delicate Arch," one of 2,000 arches in Arches National Monument. Ananda and i set up our camp not too far from this amazing Gift of God. Delicate Arch is the State Symbol of Utah. To mountain yogi's like myself, however, it is a Symbol of the Gunas (you guys DID do your WF H(om)ework which i told you to do before i left, right?). An absolute miracle which defies physics, Delicate Arch's dust is about 300 million years old. After Brahman gave birth to the sand, then Shiva came in and began His Destructive Artistry about 100 million years ago using the elements of water (ancient oceans), wind, and gravity. Shiva's Dance upon Delicate Arch continues to this very moment, and is countered only by Vishnu's sustaining energy which is strong enough for at least this feeble mountain yogi to capture the Arch as Grandfather Sun slipped beneath Mother Earth on a priceless evening. Unseen behind me, Grandmother Moon smiled upon the snowy crowns of the LaSal Mountains as Ananda and i could not help but shed tears at just how Blessed we are to witness the stunning forces of yoga at work and on display in this moment.
Now, i just gave you the yogic deity perspective upon Delicate Arch, can you image the role of the Guna's which resulted in this photo? coming in DL, i'll give you my answer. Yoga is everywhere, if we see with Yogi Eyes. (click photo to enlarge) 
yep sir, pardner! we's is back from Moab with plenny o' Teachings, pics, and campfire stories to share with ya'll. However, i gotta first git back to my Active Online Students and SUNRIDER Herbal Warriors then i will be right back with you sharing such morsels picked up along our trip as, "American Zen," "Jomanji; Half Man/Half Gecko," "The Slickrock Mountain Bike Trail; Scripture of Slickrock Sweat," and much more cuz, pardner...dat's just the Way we do it in WF...we hook up the Sweat and the Universal Dots like nobody's business...cuz, well...
*...well..dat's that is just the Nature of our Tribe, baby; i created WF from this southwest yoga studio known as The Colorado Pleateau!
For now, however, i want you to go to a very Brave and Beautiful Warrioress of our Way, Kristi Lees, blog:
http://kristi-reflections.blogspot.com/
...and GIVE IT UP for this young Shishya whose own Awakening along our Way is rapidly transforming into a Force of Light during Kali Yuga. Kristi knows the importance of just Walking the Path, baby...i bow to her honesty and capacity for sharing the Truth as It arises from within her Practice.
OM SO TI,
coach ilg
* Coach flashes a 5.11 route near the Colorado River along Potash Road after a mountain bike with Ananda. photo by Jomanji.
May 06, 2006
TEMPLE GONG: Coach off to Moab; Student Instructions
Ananda and i are heading up to the Moab area for a short spiritual leave; meditation, dharmastudy, camping, rock climbing, and mountain biking...as well as possibly hooking up with Teacher Sheader in Arches National Monument for a new Ai Imawa Healing Postures DVD!!!!
We'll be back in Flag on Wednesday to teach our evening HP Yoga� class.
Since i never know if and in what changed Form i will return from such sojourns into the chakra-whirring Canyonlands, i leave the following Student Instructions:
***
FOR INFORMAL STUDENTS OF WF:
contemplate this quote until i return-
�If you spent one-tenth of the time you devoted to distractions like chasing women or making money to spiritual practice, you would be enlightened in a few years!�
RAMAKRISHNA
***
FOR FORMAL ONLINE STUDENTS OF WF:
during your Early Morning Ritual, contemplate Sattva and
contemplate this quote until i return-
Now when the bardo of this life is dawning upon me,
I will abandon laziness for which life has no time,
Enter, undistracted, the path of listening and hearing, reflection and contemplation, and meditation,
Making perceptions and mind the path, and realize the �three kayas�: the enlightened mind;
Now that l have once attained a human body,
There is no time on the path for the mind to wander.
PADMASAMBHAVA
***
FOR FORMAL ONLINE STUDENTS OF WF engaged in Online Sutra Study:
during your during your Early Morning Ritual, contemplate Sattva and during your Pranayams, engage Mula Banda on your inhales, and release her on your exhales...and
during Daily Life;
contemplate this quote until i return-
"The chitta has, by its own nature, all knowledge. It is made of Sattva particles, but is covered by Rajas and Tamas particles, and by Pranayama, this covering is removed."
- Vivekananda
***
Those are my Instructions.
And,
For those of you new to DL and those that might not know how central the WF Temple H(om)e is to one of Mother Nature's most grand playgrounds for two-legged spiritual leaves, enjoy this from my Mountain Biking Sensei; Tattoo Bob. Sometimes a picture says a thousand Sartori moments of the Southwest (remember to click on the pic to enlarge it).
Enage your Practice, research the DL Archives as Svadhyaya and we'll see you soon right back here at
DIRECT LINES: The Electronic Scripture of Kali Yuga For Those Who Sweat and Sit Still.
Ananda and i will kiss the Canyon wind for each of you...
Namaste,
coach ilg
***
***
Why CanyonLands? Uhhh...hmmm....maybe THIS is one reason?...
Hey Coach!
We had such a great trip! Were thinking about another trip
in the fall? Maybe you can get in on that one. 
Day 1 we paddled 8+hr's
est.23miles.out to Last Chance Bay.Unbelievable! The kind of stuff you
can't explain,you have to experience it. 
Day 2 high winds not much
paddling.Day 3 epic 6-Hr paddle back to the car. I went down to
Prescott and pre-rode the Whiskey 50 mountain bike course on Sunday. big
ride.Have you been get'in any time on your bike's?
Talk to you soon.
L8b.
*** you can see Tattoo Bob and the rest of Coach's cycling team at:
http://www.redrockracing.org/index.html
click on Roster
NOT YOUR MOM'S STYLE OF CRICKET PLAYING...
I love this Warrior Student of WF...a pic of me and Jut "Jut Do It" Wynne, tired yet sacredly happy after our performances at the Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon last February. On that day, we were both champions in our own ways. On this day, we are both champions in our LifeChoice Path. In this moment, ALL BEINGS EVERYWHERE are Champions...it's just a matter of Waking Up and Roaring To That Indomitable Truth!
Jut, whose superb endurance at Mt. Taylor earned him his Tribal Nickname of "Jut Do It," is a HP Yogi and informal Student of WF... he is a shining example of a Wholistic Warrior Athlete who squeezes his creative juice from his training into his professional life which is a world class, uh...hmmm....
i dunno, he like explores hundreds of secret caves in the southwest and comes up with absolutely new findings that stuns
the global community of pencil-necked scientists that refuse to get out in the field and SWEAT THEIR SCIENCE!!! They are like, "Jut found THAT? in some CAVE in Arizona?!...wow!!!"
Jut's sign off quote on his emails tells hallmarks his alluring chi;
"Everyday, if I don't learn something new, it's a day lost."
- B.B. King
i bow to Jut
a shining Warrior of our Way that fuses intellect with sweat and turns on Lights for ALL of God's Creatures!
He sent this email to me today, please follow the link and LEARN oh LOVERS OF LEARNING!
namaste,
coach ilg
*****
Hey Coach,
Check this out! This happened a couple of weeks ago.
http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060505_cricket_genus.html
Best,
Jut
J. Judson Wynne
Cave Exploration
USGS - Southwest Biological Science Center
Colorado Plateau Museum of Arthropod Biodiversity
Department of Biological Sciences, Box 5064
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
http://bugs.bio.nau.edu
May 05, 2006
GOT "GUNS" AND LUNGS? C'mon! Go Where Few Would Be NUTS Enough To Follow...
The Shape Of Ski's to come!?!?!
My account of my personal altitude extreme ski descent on MINI-SKI's..20" plastic skis intended for, "Toddlers through age 10"...
(see DL; May 2, 2006)
in a word? my adventure/workout yesterday was...
Hih-LAIR-ree-US!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh my Lord Buddha...someone SHOULDA captured my descent on video!...a grown man screeching down a high alpine peak on Toddler's skis...and living to share it with you!!!!
i can't stop laughing as i replay yesterday's adventure in my mind...
that is what WF is all about; FUN and FITNESS!!!!!!
"Every event is subjective:
not what it means, that matters,
but what it means TO YOU!"
- Richard Bach
enjoy...and may this entry put a smile on your face and fun in your fitness pace...
namaste,
coach ilg
the mountain yogi
***
Got "Guns" and Lungs? C'mon baby!!! Let's Get It Done!
Coach in full on Warrior Mode with MiniSkis intact ready for a speed ascent and a personal record mini-ski descent of the Northwest Face of Agassiz Peak...
At "Checkpoint Rock"...only 2 minutes off my running record pace with Pack and ski poles! Feelin' THE CHI, the HERBS (that's Fortune Delight and VitaFruit in my water bottle, of course!), and WF TRAINING PAYING OFF once again...feeling, "Hooked Up", baby! 
Snowline: "Logjam Checkpoint #2" reached at just over 34 minutes...still only a couple minutes slower than my running record pace...even stopping to take these pics for you all...however, from here onward? Kahtoola� Time! Crampons on, telescopic ski poles now adjusted to 100cm for climbing up the steep snow...from here it's another 1,800' of climbing to the summit ridge all on ice/snow...let's go! Rocky Mountain Stairmaster...go for the Calf Burn...
...and BURN they do! non-stop, heart rate as high as the Dancing Ravens around and now below me!
my calves; "Though they be small, they are fierce!"
On the summit icefield, i knew i would have to pull the plug on the 12,000'+ ski descent notion...it was way too icy...even for regular metal-edged extreme skis...i would have to descend on Kahtoola's to about the 11,500' mark. I am already stoked to make another attempt from the summit ridge when the snow is more melted...
78 minutes to the 12,358' summit ridge! CRANKING!!!
Summit grimace after Pranayam and Ishvara-Pranidhana Meditation in the wind-torn ridge rock break...
"It's a go(o)d day to die...so let's DO THIS THANG!!!!"
HOWWWWLLLLL!!!!!
Mini Ski's of Fury, baby!!! after surviving a hilariously scary, fun, outrageous descent of the Upper Bowl, i finally came to a stop nearly 1000' later on the black diamond ski run of 'White Lightning' to snap this photo for you and almost falling another 1,000' in the attempt! the whole workout took 2 hours and 23 minutes! You can travel a lot of adventure when you are Wholistically Fit!!!!
May 04, 2006
KEEPING UP WITH COACH? Spring Practice Stats Are In...
Here i am at work, refining as ever, the philosophies and teachings of "America's Native Yoga; Wholistic Fitness�". i am on the Temple H(om)e deck during my first meal of the day which usually occurs around noon. At my level of Ahara-Jaya - which should be NO measure of your own food intake vs. caloric expenditure ratio - i rarely eat more than two meals per day, each about 700 calories. For over 20 years, as you know, i rely on my unique approach to using the SUNRIDER� Whole Food Herbs for my chi levels,pranic and nadic development, and sports performance across the physiologic spectrum. In the past two days, i tested Wholistic Fitness� again with wonderful results; i got 2nd place in a bicycle training race within only a week of specific road bicycle training and yesterday i was in the climbing gym with three teenagers engaged in a most fun testosterone bouldering match and climbed a V4+ climbing route on my second try. That quieted the kids down a little and man did we have fun together; the age barrier once again destroyed by the brotherhood of sweat. Having gained their respect, i was able to impart some dharma in a fun way. Kids WANT to respect elders...it is just that their elders are usually not fit or able to drop into their vibe skillfully enough to gain their respect. And Today? Well...you saw yesterday's DL, didn't you?!...across the physiologic spectrum, baby, that is the Rare Dance of genuine Yoga...that is the tradition of Wholistic Fitness�!
Keep crankin' in as many Disciplines as you can; it will pay off! Trust the Wholistic Effect!
- coach ilg
*** 
Footage from my upcoming new Sport Snowshoe DVD to be released next fall!
"The very word 'yoga' means 'union'. The very word 'fitness' means, 'to knit together.' Western Fitness training, if performed in the wholistic manner is yoga. In fact, Western Yoga..which is what I call Wholistic Fitness�... due to its mulitdisciplined approach, can be of tremendous merit to all other contemplative and yogic traditions, in my opinion. During this spiritual dark age of Kali Yuga, I feel that Western Yoga is a needed handhold for the Higher Ascent of Humanity during this time. I see great contradiction in so-called 'teachers of yoga' that do not train their edges across the human's physiology; mental control while the body is at risk, strength, power, endurance, mastery of food, and lifestyle bravery. To me, it is a sin to the entire notion of yoking Mind and Body with Spirit to confine the notion of yoga to a studio or a specific branch of yoga. Yoga is a Path of radical transformation; we must not forget that. To assume that Enlightenment can occur within the studio asana discipline for instance, is arrogant, lazy, and ignorant. When the internal energetic engine is Clear, then arrives Sacred View; suddenly a bench press becomes as sacred and vital to master as 'Urdhva Dhanurasana.' A dangerous rock climbing lead becomes as Sacred and vital as a meditation as is "Siddhasana." Hammering a hard week of 15+ hours of cardiovascular exercise THEN attempting to do "Hanumanasana"...ahhh...that my Friends along the Noble Path of Awakening, is genuine Yoga. That is Wholistic Fitness...a wonderful Gift of Awakening during Kali Yuga."
- Coach Ilg, Senior Yoga Teacher/International Yoga Alliance
author/TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION
***
COACH's PERSONAL "WESTERN YOGA" PRACTICE STATS; MARCH AND APRIL, 2006
- cranking a spontaneous bouldering route along the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon a few weeks ago -
MARCH:
9- 26; skied 19 out of 23 days!
22 days spent skiing or snowshoeing (only 31 in month!)
March
Strength Training = 3 hours; up by 1 hour
Cardio = 42.5 hours; up by 11.50 hours!
Yoga = 44.25 hours; up by .25 hours
Meditation = 37.50 hours; up by .75 hours
Nutrition = 52,190 calories up by 6,095 kcals
average: 1683/day! up by 43 calories/day
***
APRIL:
Strength Training = 1.75 hours; down by 1.25 hours
Cardio = 36.75 hours; down by 7.25 hours!
Yoga = 37.75 hours; down by 6.50 hours
Meditation = 37.75 hours; up by .725 hours
Nutrition = 52,000 calories up by 190 kcals
average: 1733/day! up by 50 calories/day
UPCOMING RACING "YOGA" (what go(o)d is your Practice of uniting Body and Mind with Spirit if you don't TEST it?:
Summit Center Stage Race;
May 27-29
http://www.summitcenterclassic.com/
May 02, 2006
THE LAST PICS WE EVER SEE OF COACH?!!?
Are these idiotic images- captured spontaneously by Temple Manager Ananda - to be the last ones we ever see of our Beloved Coach? The camera has caught him practicing 360's while wearing child's "Mini Skis" off his backyard bench when he really should be working. In the second and third photo we can see auspiciously, the Sacred Peak that our whacky mountain yogi plans to do the first ever, "Mini Ski Descent" on Thursday...uh, that's tomorrow! 
Well, it could be true...these pics could be the last of Coach. For our Coach - who has tirelessly inspired so many people each day over the years in so many ways and has numerous extreme sport feats under his belt - has gotten into his mind to do the first ever "Mini Ski" descent of the 11,800' "Larry's Ladder" snowfield on the Sacred Peak...
directly into the White Lightning colouir pictured here with WF Student Cerame climbing it wearing crampons on a recon mission with Coach last week:
Fortunately, DL was able to wrestle a few minutes and a few comments from Coach before his planned, "First Mini Ski Descent" attempt on the great Peak tomorrow. Unfortunately, we could not convince him NOT to do this foolishness. As you can read below, he already had his renown CHI stoked up for the attempt:
***
DL:
What makes you even consider such an attempt of a steep, dangerous high mountain descent wearing, of all things, a child's pair of plastic Mini-Skis?
COACH:
Okay, let's get one thing straight, these are NOT just 'plastic' okay? Penguin Guy on the packaging says that they are made of "High Density Polyethylene," okay? Geez...you reporters should get your facts straight. That is how misinformation begins.
DL:
Oooooh...sorry! Okay, so these "High Density Polyethylene" Mini Skis are like $20 and intended for, and i quote from the Penguin Guy on the package, "Backyard Fun For Toddlers and Kids Up To Age 10." Any comment?
COACH:
What's your point?
DL:
Well, my point IS...that you are 44 years old and about ready to climb and then launch yourself down a colossal, steep, rocky high mountain face wearing edgeless, 14" toddler skis made of plastic!
COACH:
"High Density Polyethylene." Besides, these things are made in CANADA! Dude...have you ever BEEN to Canada? Bro, those dudes KNOW how to make quality Toddler Skis, baby!
DL:
Whatever.
COACH:
dude, i GREW UP on Mini-Skis! They are like my second skin, for Christ Sakes! (pausing)...BeSIDES, on the label, Penguin Guy did not define "age"....as i have Taught you throughout the years, 'age' comes in many forms besides the assumed chronologic version that people are so addicted to. Age could refer to physiologic age, mental age, spiritual age, or in this case, my particular emotional age. And, for the record, the Sacred Peak IS in my "Backyard Fun" area...so, i see no violation of Mr. Penguin Guy's counsel.
DL:
Oh geez. Awlright, whatever...go break a leg. We'll miss you and thanks for all the fun and fitness throughout the years. I am sure i speak on behalf of the worldwide WF Sangha as i wish you, "Godspeed through the Bardo."
COACH:
Thanks, dude!
DL:
oh, by the way, do you need someone to drive you up to the base of the Sacred Peak?
COACH:
Hell no, i'm riding my bike! Whaddya think i am? A...a...TODDLER or something?...Geezo...
DL:
Namaste, Oh Noble Warrior!
COACH:
Namaste!
Above; The Sacred Peak on 4*28*06 shot by Coach a week or so before his attempt to do the World's First Mini-Ski Descent of its Northwest Face which is the face seen on the left side of the photo.
The only packaging on Coach's $20 Mini-Ski's was a plastic sleeve and this "Mr. Penguin Guy" label. Click to enlarge.
NEW PRODUCT!!!! WF HALO� HEADBAND!!!
Quit seeing double when sweating! It's dangerous! Dat's how people get hurt...and worse, don't get near the podium!!!
GET THE BRAND NEW, KILLER GOOD LOOKING, and WARRIOR EFFECTIVE:
WHOLISTIC FITNESS� Halo Headband TODAY!
"There are many things I am willing to take risks in while competing. What I choose to wear on my head, is not one of them... I choose Halo, hands down, baby!"
Steve Ilg - USCF,CPT
as seen on the opening page of www.haloheadband.com.
Okay, you guys know your ol' Coach by now...there are A LOT of things i could endorse. There are a lot of little WF-emblazoned this and that i could offer...however, i only want the WF Name and Logo to appear on materials that i truly feel will be helpful over the course of your EarthWalk and into the Bardo! I only get behind the stuff that i TRULY FEEL and KNOW BY HOURS OF DIRECT SWEAT in probably more sports than anyone else on Turtle Island...so, when i embrace something; i KNOW you are gonna DIG IT! Hec, WF Online Warrior Student and Triathlete Coach Steve Mackel has SIX of these babies...why? Cuz once you sweat in the WF Halo�, you will not want to be caught sweating in ANYTHING else!
Sweat Block Technology
* All products feature a water-tight seal which keeps sweat out of your eyes. ?Non-slip surface keeps band in place.
�
Dryline Fabric
* High performance material quickly evaporates moisture so you stay dry and comfortable. Lightweight, durable and abrasion resistant which will not lose shape. Hand or machine washable.
Astrally Engineered Karmic Erasure Technology
* The WF Halo� has been studiously created using Ancient astral navigation techniques to make sure EACH drop of sweat that the WF Halo� contacts reduces your current Karmic Load by over 49%!!! Okay, maybe not, but you should still get a few of these headbands!
opening photos of Coach wearing the the Halo� by the LA Times, enroute to another Championship.
WEAR THE WF HALO HEADBAND!
Help Support The Tiny, Powerful, and Original Temple of MultiDisciplined Yoga Beneath The Sacred Peak...
Order today at the WF Tribal Catalog under Special Products.
$17 plus $8 shipping and handling (international orders will cost more for shipping and handling)
"one size fits all" design. Works great under helmets and hats.
if you guys dig this and response is good, i will consider doing an "anti-freeze" version for this fall/winter.