December 31, 2006
Final DL of 2006
"The great problem is bringing life
back into the wasteland,
where people live inauthentically."
- Joseph Campbell
Tonight, Ananda and i are going on a moonlight cross country ski with some fellow yogis. Merging into my most treasured sound of ski across snow, we'll each reflect on the past year before returning to our tiny town hunkered at the foot of the Sacred Peak to watch a "Giant Pinecone" drop from the historic Weatherford Hotel at the stroke of midnight into a small droplet of humanity gathered to watch, to wonder, and to welcome a new year coming. A far, welcome cry from when i once got beaten and knifed in NYC after watching the Apple Drop in Times Square. Oh, life!
What a Year of DL's it has been!
Can you even begin to recollect all the Dharma Transmissions that we have shared?
And can we even begin to measure how each one of those DL's has now assumed appropriate vibrational residence within our cells, preparing us for our Journey Higher? Where else can the near daily dosage - each one unique and original - of such body/mind/spirit effort be found?
Nowhere 'cept right Here Now, oh cherished Sisters and Brothers!
Oh sure, 2006 carried with her the usual flotsam; new students throwing temper tantrums and even seasoned, once devoted students name calling and doing litigious things, et. al. Such is the predictable low chi tactics from those who cannot yet grock the Live Wire of this contemporary DharmaPath gifted from the Ancients. In the last few weeks of 2006, Shiva was dancing upon my Temple as if on Ecstasy or something; hec, even certified WF Teachers took Leave from the Path they once held so devoutly to their breasts and Served so nobly! Can we blame them for not holding up the WF DharmaSwords any longer? Hardly! Each of you know how terribly Steep and Direct the Path of WF is to practice, right? Well...
you Try making your living by Teaching IT! Trust me, those DharmaSwords get Real Heavy, Real Quick. Soon, all sutra studying and WF Sweat that you can spill comes up short when the Lower Chakras of Survival start getting tickled Rosy Red and Hot by Teaching this Iron Hot Plate of Dharma!
Through all the Snake and Student stressors, the Light of this Path glows ever more brightly. The Sacred Preciousness and Divine Amplitude of Chi and Insight and Wisdom is more powerful within my sport performances and practices and most importantly my Meditations then ever before. I reAwake more and more often to Receive that which the Holy Trinity - Creator, Destroyer, and Sustainer - download to me in multidimensional pathWays. All i ever get is new Imports of OM in various layers conducive to my Serving You.
So, as 2007 dawns upon my 45th year, and the 26th year of WF as a Service, my Temple finds itself once again a "mom and pop" Path of Karma Yoga. How utterly in tune with the Scriptures; "Out of the many there will be only a few." This Temple has allWays remained most Powerful this Way. Only my beloved, amazing Ananda and myself remain at the humble Helm; small yet fiercely Devoted to Serving and Protecting The Dharma in the Way of the Ancient Masters; one student by one student. Our conversations center upon you, your Practice, your Chi, your willingness to trek Upward toward the Highest Summit. When you choose to support us by purchasing a product or sending a tithe as in the Ancient Traditional Way, we embrace and kiss and We Know That This is a Go(o)d Road.
DL, due to her IMMENSE VOLUME, will be shut down for a while as we attempt to create a new version of her for the next year. Blessings to WF WebMaster, Hakado Ru as he rolls up his sleeves this holiday in order to Serve you through the Temple Maintenance of enhancing DL's capacities. You will soon hear the Temple Gong ring as loud and clear as a Wolf's Howl on the winter's Solstice announcing another new year of DL CHI and TEACHINGS and TRANSMISSIONS!
Coming up at the front of 2007 DL? I will announce the 2006 WF Online Student of the Year plus introduce to you a very, very Precious Dharma Gift for your Practice in 2007!
Of course, the WF SanghaLounge will be up and cranking as ever; currently, my DL on iPods+Nike is drawing a wonderful exchange; check it out and contribute!
In closing, i give you this passage from Joseph Campbell that was dedicated to me and my LifeWork of Wholistic Fitness by new Student Bill.
And so, to all of you i bow my head,
i open my heart,
i give you my Path to share for another Year
so long as it still feels go(o)d and helpful in your Self Cultivation...
HAPPY NEW YEAR from your Tiny, Powerful Temple Beneath the Sacred Peak!
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!!!
om so ti,
coach ilg and Ananda
***
For Coach Ilg for 'coming back again and again to his Students' and for helping my own Brother as well as my family and myself so powerfully and lovingly.
- Student Bill
"Bringing back the Gift to integrate it into a rational life is very difficult. What you have to bring back is something that the the world lacks - which is why you went to get it - and lacking it, the world does not know that it needs it. And so, on the return, when you come with your boon for the world and there is no receptions, what are you going to do? There are three possible reactions.
One answer is to say, "To hell with them, I'm going back to the woods." You buy yourself a dog and a pipe and let the weeds grow in the gate. You have come back to the world with your gift, and people look at you with glassy eyes, call you "a kook," and so you retreat. This is refusal of the return.
The second way is to say, "What do they want?" You have a skill. You can give them what they want, the commercial way. Then you have created a whole pitch for your expressivity, and what you had before gets lost. You have a public career, and you have renounced the jewel.
The third possibility is to try to find some aspect of the domain into which you have come that can receive a little portion of what you have to give. You try to find a means to deliver what you have found as the life boon in terms and in proportions that are proper to the world's ability to receive. It requires a good deal of compassion and patience. Look for cracks in the wall and give only to those who are ready for your jewel.
You do not have a complete adventure unless you do get back. There is a time to go into the woods and a time to come back, and you know which it is. Do you have the courage? It takes a hell of a lot of courage to return after you have been in the woods.
When the world
seems to be falling apart,
the rule is to hang onto your own bliss.
It's that life that survives.
Freedom to pass back and forth across the world division...is the talent of the master. The Cosmic Dancer, declares Nietzche, does not rest heavily in a single spot, but gaily, lightly, turn and leaps from one position to another."
***
photo 1) the Sacred Peak, yesterday from the Temple back garden by coach
photo 2) Ananda goes down while breaking fresh tracks two days ago during a ski/snowshoe duathlon workout. by coach.
Labels: Appropriate Action, WF News, WF Teachings
December 28, 2006
iPod + Nike = SacReligion
So, i understand that Nike has merged with iPod and has thus begun a marketing
(read spirit-deconditioning) campaign to convince the UnAwakened masses
that to go for a run without being 'plugged in' is soooo uncool.
feeble ilg wonders,
"Would Steve Prefontaine train and race with an iPod?"
whatever happened to running while listening to and nourishing one's own Divinity!?!
am i the only one left on the planet unable and uncaring to find my iPod before a Cardio workout?
what the hell is so terribly bad about listening to the music of self, of breath, of ones own measured footfalls
with the sacred breast of Mother Earth?!?!???!?! i pause and wonder what the Ancient Himalayan trekking Yogis or
or own Ancient Native American footrunners
would think of wearing an iPod while on pilgrimage among the Sacred Peaks?
now, i reflect on all the runners and cyclists that nearly
wreck into me or are startled like electronically buzzed sheep when i run or cycle upon them while they
are so "plugged into" their cherished, expensive, and idiotic iPods.
did Nike* forget or did they just conveniently choose to ignore their roots;
the deeply seated wire-to-wire full best effort by a simple, humble Warrior named,
Pre?
Pre wanted to win, sure.
Yet, he Knew that how he chose to race
mattered far, far more.
"Racing is not about winning,
it's about knowing ourselves."
- coach ilg, 1985
WF Warriors,
we live in dangerous times...
so quick to forget our Root Teachers,
so quick to run toward the next more Imaged Thing,
so quick to sacrifice our Soul Nature for Outer Worldly things and circumstances.
i tell you this, Oh Seeker Of Union;
Stay True To That Which Scares You Most...
even if it means running wire to wire as fast you can
or climbing a rock with no rope to catch you...
for in doing so,
not only will you cultivate your Higher Self,
you will find your Higher Self again
and again
and endlessly again
along a humble, steep, windy Path
attacking a Direct Line up the Highest Summit of all...
a Tiny, Bejeweled Proven Path known as: Wholistic Fitness.
Keep it Real;
Keep it WF.
i love you all, beyond the present incarnation...
coach ilg
* i was one of Nike's first sponsored extreme athletes in the eighties when they launched their
ACG line. dined and wined by Nike for three years was great; basically a helicopter came by my
home in Colorado and dropped off a huge box of high tech, prototype outdoor sports gear
that i was to train in and provide feedback. i did. they dropped me when their ACG department
fell off in favor of providing a more Ghetto Feel for their basketball department.
Temple Note: coach ilg has held podiums and course records in running distances from 5k to 50 mile trail races.
Labels: Appropriate Action, Cardio, WF Teachings
December 26, 2006
Wholiday's Continue
"Where are you between two thoughts?"
There is no Practice quite like Holiday and Family Practice!
The yogi is trained to participate fully in the family and Outer World
yet maintains his or her Inner World as the true and steadfast Source of
"Christ's Mass".
Immersed in the Holiday Practice, relying on Early Morning Ritual and the WF Lifestyle Principles...
i Trust that you are being radiant and strong in your Wholiday Practice as well!
Online Students: Ananda and i are back in the office tomorrow...
love,
el coache
top photo: L-R; my nephew Mogius, me and my new Norwegian World Cup Nordic Ski Cap (thanks Santa!), mi madre, and my niece Ella. photos by Ananda.
Labels: WF News, WF Teachings
December 22, 2006
OF ALL BANDHAS GREAT AND SMALL (aka; Where Babies Come From)
OF ALL BANDHAS GREAT AND SMALL (aka; Where Babies Come From)
by coach ilg, ryt/uscf/cpt
(Note; for Student Use, i will keep a copy of this essay in the WF SanghaLounge within the "Yoga" cave.) 
"As a kid, i used to practice Mula Bandha on long chairlift rides nearly every winter day. Though i did not know the Source of these Inner Instructions, nor even the Intent of these Inner Practices, i still did them. Blind Faith, you might call it. I later realized that i was simply picking up Inner Work leftover from previous lives."
- coach ilg
excerpt from an upcoming book
photo; telemarking at Parajito. photo by Ananda.
Bandha
as in Mula Bandha; the Lock at the Root which seals off and thus prevents the unconscious leakage of our life force. Steve Marlowe, my 'zero-tolerance' bicycle commuter and racing teammate used to shout, "GO Mr. Muuuuuuula BANdha!" when i jumped off the front of bike race or attacked a hillclimb when i lived in Los Angeles. i owe my recovery from spinal fracture and pelvic detonation to a steadfast gripping and training of Mula Bandha.
In forward folds and particularly when doing the "Inner Cleansing Techniques" like 'stomach rolling', Mula Bandha must be activated to ensure proper energetic transmission and purification. photo of coach in a "WF Toilet Yoga" program.
Bandha
as in Uddiyana Bandha; the "Flying Upward Lock" of yogic empowerment science that tends to mystify many Westerners yet promises each of us victory over such massive obstacles like food, sleep, dis-ease, and even death. This Bandha holds us at gunpoint to the bowling bowl of lethargy that resides in our 'pooch' area. This lethargy is actually the Princess Kundala, slumbering awaiting our bravery to arouse and seduce Her upward, thus the name; Upward Flying. 
While you are just sitting and shitting, i am refining my chances for Enlightenment. It's all a matter of Willingness. No better place to train the small muscles required for Uddiyanic development than in my unique "Toilet Yoga" routines, available only to WF Online Students due to safety. These routines are POWERFUL catalysts to the energetics of Enlightenment. photo by Ananda.
Bandha as in Jalandhara Bandha; the seductive Net at the Throat Center which, when grabbed and mastered, captures the dripping of the inner solar energies and luxuriates a busy mind into her analgesic balm of lunar nectar. Nothing quite like the meditative wash of Jalandhara that also prevents immature facilitation of cosmic energies.
MOMMIE AND ME
As a Wholistic Fitness Student, i am trained to "Question All Word Choices." This is a WF Technique used to attain a yogic goal of "Speech Purification." What else has conditioned your Reality besides words? Nothing. Our egoic shell began forming around our True Nature when perhaps our mother first grabbed our tiny hand and gently patted our'self' with it while repeating, "Steve..." then lifted our hand to pat herself while repeating, "Mommie."
"Steve"
"Mommie."
This is YOU and this am ME. (read; "we are different from each other.")
The Separation of Self and UniVerse began there and has only accelerated and intensified for many of us, until our Awakening.
Words. Be VERY care-full with them. If used unConsciously, they are Bombs. Destructors of Unity. Instigators of Duality.
BACK TO BANDHA AND BEYOND
Bandha. In Sanskrit, the now accepted language of Yoga, the word Bandha means, "Restraint" or "Bondage".
Like everything in yoga, the word Bandha is chock full of multilayered meaning. Some range from the gross anatomical gripping of the uro-genital triangle muscles to the more etheric such as the bonding of our base layer mindwaves (manas) to spiritual ignorance (avidya). This is just the start. A more refined meaning of Bandha refers to the adhesion of layers of our consciousness (cit) being glued via avidya to the taking and retaking of lives through a depressing cycle of life, tension, death, and rebirth.
To expound for a moment on that last sentence: have you ever considered why most babies scream like hell coming out into this world? have you ever considered why or studied how the Enlightened Ones are allWays born in very auspicious manner?
An unEnlightened Being experiences (re)birth with a lot of Pain; Pain for Mom certainly, yet far more for the in-fant. The in-fant was just sailing about in In-fantity (Infinity; why do you think they are called "In-fants?). Suddenly, their ageless Soul took another Form (kinda like words except in the Soul Realm). Bingo bango; the overpopulated Human Realm gets another unEnlightened Being!
Before babie-hood, we actually Woke Up during what we grown ups call 'death' only to Realize, 'oh crap, i did not do the Inner Work last time to get Free (moksha)," and well, as we begin our re-Entry into a new incarnation through 'birth' we are still close enough to In-fanity to Realize, "i REALLY don't want to go through all this again! WHAAAA, WHAAA!!!"
And if the realize of our lifelong suffering again ain't enough at the moment of our 'birth' to add more insult to our ongoing avidya, the 'good doctor' slaps us a few times as our Welcome Wagon to the Human Realm.
However, those of you who are going deep into your WF Practices already have Realized all this fundamental stuff and are thus determined to gain the top step of this Human Race; Enlightenment. Freedom from reBirth...Freedom from Avidya.
"The root of all human suffering is (spiritual) ignorance."
- Buddha.
How did the Buddha Wake Up?
Well, He started out by realizing the folly of trying to find Freedom and Happiness in anything or anyone outside our self. He renounced the Outer World, drew His senses inward, and began just like where you and i are each morning: returning again and again to Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha, and Jalandhara Bandha. To Seal Off the outward directed senses and energies is Job Numero One.
As i continued to contemplate the Word Choice of 'Bandha," i drew a slash in the word after the "d".
Band.
As in, "Oh man, i've got these bands in my neck that are killing me!"
Such bands are locks, seals, preventing the flow of Prana in that area.
Make Sense?
Go(o)d.
Now,
go forward, upward, and most of DEEPER into your Daily Word Choices and Posture and Breath and enjoy being a skilled hunter of your Inner World.
It is really the only World that will matter on (y)our final exhale.
om so ti,
your humble coach
Labels: WF Sutra Studies, WF Teachings, Yoga
December 18, 2006
WF Sutra Studies. Coaching Contentment; by Way of the Ancient Sources
WF SUTRA STUDIES
with Coach Ilg
for DL Subscribers Only
"When all the nadis are now full of impurities become purified, then only can the yogi successfully perform pranayama."
*
"So, one should practice pranayama with a mind in which the sattivic element prevails until the Sushumna nadi is freed from the impurities."
Verses 5 & 6, Chapter 2 - Hatha Yoga Pradipika
If you are not doing regular Pranayam or at least mindfully attempting to sustain Ujjayi Pranayam during your asana classes or sessions, do not skip this DL. It will 'hit' your cells at a level so that when you do finally Shift Higher and are devoted to raising your Vibrational Fitness above and beyond that of the common man, certain spiritual underpinnings will be in place enabling you to take great flight over your current struggles with duality.
in other words, it is always a go(o)d thing to read DL, if not study it as your Practice of Svadhaya. the Students are are moving Higher Faster and Safer always go straight to DL as their spiritual food. then, they chew on it, contemplate it, and Practice the DharmaTeachings which i interlace between the black and white words of these thousands of entries. All of my effort during these years is not for me. i could take the Divine Downloads that continue to pour through my Practice Sessions and daily life and just run back to the High Mountains of my childhood and suckle all the Wisdom for my own spiritual gain.
yet, that is not Yoga. that is certainly not being a Karma Yogin; Selfless Service which is the type of yogi that i am. soon enough, my public life and track record will be left for the Outer World to ignore or perhaps one day realize. for now, it is important that you and i keep our Practice Strong and Sincere and focused upon Balance Across The Capacities of our Human Body and Spirit. This is known as "Wholistic Fitness" and it is go(o)d stuff!
*
let us revisit Verse 5 and re-read it to-get-Her ("Her refers to the Princess Kundala; the Kundalini Force at the root of the subtle spine):
"When all the nadis are now full of impurities become purified, then only can the yogi successfully perform pranayama."
the great Yogi Swatmarama wrote down these two verses - along with the rest of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika - in the 17th century, compiling these words from the orally transmitted Teachings of the Ancient Sources.
these Sutras (thread like) are intended to be short for easy mental consumption by the Student. by 'easy' i mean, simple to memorize.
it may require a lifetime or more to actually realize and be able to Practice the Teaching of any one of these hundreds of Sutras.
welcome to yoga.
genuine, ancient yoga.
the type of yoga that can only be understood as it was inTended; from a Teacher With Direct Experience to a sincere, hard sweating Student.
the word "successfully" in the above verse means that the Student finally understands by Direct Experience the difference between Air and Ether, two of the Five Constituents of Prakriti or the manifest universe. the word "successfully" means that the Student can FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY feel the textural difference in the 'weight of the currents' from a Pranic or Life Force stance. the only way to get to this incredible stance is to purify the nadis (subtle channels) through assigned breathing Practices known as Pranayama. without nadic purification, the diverse currents will not enter the main Energetic Freeway system of Enlightenment known as Sushumna or the Most Gracious Channel.
what are the 'impurities' of these subtle channels? a fractured, overloaded nervous system from too much media, emotional, and mental input (see yesterday's DL) and overeating, over or undersleeping and imbalanced physical exercise. for example, if we catch ourselves being laterally dominant (always using one hand and one leg system more dominantly in daily life than the other) then, the yogi will not be able to "successfully" perform pranayama. meaning; your most powerful energetics will not enter Sushumna. instead, the pranic currents start agitating the subtle fields of physiology and psychology and you become even more imbalanced. this is why Wholistic Fitness is designed so wisely; to train the physical nervous and muscular system until she is in Balanced Symmetry through cardio, strength training, asana, meditation, and nutrition BEFORE attempt to fan the cosmic fire by pranayama. one reason we have such Imbalanced Yoga Teachers and systems these days is simple; no one is Patient enough to follow the Ancient Way. in this humble Temple beneath the Sacred Peak; we are. 
How Clean Is Your Inner Firewood?
Pranayama ignites whatever Inner Fuel you currently contain. If your diet is poor, your fitness imbalanced, and your mind fractured, then Pranayama will only intensify those weaknesses. this is why a Teacher must be working with you one-on-one to help you properly clean up your inner fuel before ignition of your Higher Energies.
in the first years of Practice, we must make fit our nervous system because the nadic system is the subtle aspect of the nervous system. when modern studio yogis go into classes taught by inexperienced 'teachers' and begin doing pranayama, the prana will not enter Sushumna because the Student has not been appropriately, accurately, and slowly instructed on how to purify the nadis. coupled with this is the all too frequent fact that the modern yoga student does not Practice the ethical or moral constructs of the ladder of Yoga; the yamas and the niyamas. 
until the Etheral Breath (prana) is controlled and directed into and if even Purification work has been done by the Student and actually enters the Sushumna, then Unmani Avasta is attained; the control of the pran into Sushumna. this Podium of the Hatha Yogi is inDeed the attainment of the 'object' of Hatha Yoga; the object is the union of "ha" and "tha", the union of pranic currents in their appropriately purified channels which leads to an incredibly Sacred Stillness and immense Seat of Inner Power and Wisdom.
in Wholistic Fitness, we use my unique Teachings of "At-Sink Pranayam" each morning (as part of another trademarked WF Practice; 'Early Morning Ritual'), to produce a drastically fast, safe, and enjoyable manner of unmatched steadfast Pranayam practice. This Divine Power coming into our system is what Shifts the WF body from reliance upon the gross "NeuroMuscular System" to the far more fun and powerful, "Pranic System" and shifts the Mental State from a yo-yo swinging between Rajas and Tamas (chaotic, uncontrolled or heavy, depressed) to a mind that is Sattvic; composed, elegant, coordinated, and most of all; content.
yup, even during the Holidays; utter contentment is the sure sign that you have been steadfast and MINDFUL in your Pranayama; the Gateway To The Divine Power Locked Within.
that is enough for today.
perhaps i will touch on Verse 6 at a later time.
if you seem interested.
if not,
hey, i am pacing the Energies of WF and Her Transmission into the Outer World based on YOUR willingness, YOUR fierce devotion, YOUR desire to Rise Ever Higher, Ever Deeper, and
Ever Inward.
that is all.
om so ti,
your loving coach across the body/mind board
photos;
1) coach in a DharmaTalk with Ananda
2) coach's schematic of Base Level Pranic Fields during a Private Intensive
3) WF Temple chimera
Labels: WF Sutra Studies, WF Teachings
December 15, 2006
Life In Kali Yuga; Saved By WF
From the Associated Press This Week:
"Over the next 12 months, Americans are projected to average more than 9 1/2 hours a day with the media, according to statistics in a new government report. Hours spent doing two things at once, such as watching TV and using the Internet, are counted twice in the report.
That's more time than they spend doing anything else, except breathing."
COMPARE WITH:
From the Wholistic Fitness Teachings Created by Coach Engaged Since 1982:
WF Media Fast:
"On the Day this is prescribed in your Training, do not read any newspaper or magazine, do not watch any TV, do not do any Internet surfing, or listen to any radio."
WF Lifestyle Principle Number One:
"Breath and Posture."
WF...ahead of the Game for so long we've stopped counting...
Labels: WF Teachings
December 11, 2006
WF Spelling Error Arises With New Online Student
What follows is an actual Online Training exchange with a very new Student...
May This Exchange Deepen Your Understanding of WF; Her Heart, Her Fierceness, Her Highest Care of Your Highest Self...
dedicated to Practice until the end,
el coache
***
Dear Coach Ilg,
Your advice on becoming more spiritual and calm was much appreciated. I really
think I do belong in a peaceful, introspective environment. I am already taking
breaths, trying to remeber every 15 minutes to do so.
COACH (interrupting the correspondence):
First,
let us begin with your Spelling...then work toward the Spiritual, okay?
first things first.
in my Tradition,
we use Mindful Spelling as a Way to become more Conscious.
i will not continue any of our facilitations if i spot more than 3 spelling errors, the first will be in honor of Buddha's patience with the unAwakened, the second spelling error that i see will be to honor the the flow of the Dharma which tolerates all the dance of the gunas (the three forms of the manifest UniVerse) with impeccable beauty, and the third spelling error that i spot will NOT be tolerated due to respect for the Sangha, the community of the like-minded spiritual warriors who are doing their best each day and in myriad ways to Rise Higher. if i allow you to be UnConscious in Spelling, then i am in effect training you to be unConscious in other areas of your life as well, and doing that would mean that i myself am disrespecting and blemishing the Fierce Quality of Love of the Master Teachers of whom i represent by Lineage. i cannot do that.
•? do you understand and accept this Teaching?
Labels: WF Teachings