What I Live For: Here Is What A Seed Looks Like After Cultivation

WF Master Student Allan "L'Gaté" Ludgate
L'Gaté is a precious gem, a shining Warrior of the WF Way...recently, as part of his commitment to "Live my WF Practice Out Loud," he took on the mission of teaching yoga out of his NYC Corporate skyscraper as an act of Service for his coworkers. L'Gaté is the epitome of a WF Athlete/Yogi...he races endurance runs by training for them in the gym. He prioritizes his family time by steadying his mind and emotions each day through EMR and Meditation. Not once has he ever blinked his Trust or Faith in the SUNRIDER Herbs, MAP Aminos, nor any esoteric or brutally hard training recipe from me. And yoga? Well, that was one of his deepest fears now transformed into Treasure...for himself, for others, for the UniVerse. Feeble ilg bows to my Beloved Master Student; L' Gaté...oh, and stay tuned to DL to see what he and i have cooked up as our shared Sacred Pilgrimage for 2008!

story by Master Student L'Gaté of NYC
photos by coach ilg during his Private Intensives

Near the end of my 2003 tutelage under you, I referenced in my last message I came across this description of my first encounter with your Green Tara asana practice that you prescribed for me:

"Here the challenge is finding the flow for the Green Tara and Ai Imawa series. In both cases, I found the descriptions and advice in Light on Yoga and your Ai Imawa inspiring and helpful. However, while I have done most of these postures before, I don't have immediate recognition when I see the names. Therefore, on both Ai Imawa and Green Tara, I ended up with pieces of paper arrayed all around my mat to remind me what each pose looks like. Processing that, plus trying to remember all the instructions, plus trying to remember to breathe, made for mechanistic, rather than soulful, workouts. I state this as a fact, not a concern, as I know the flow will come with practice."

Less than five years later and I'm teaching this!?





As promised, some quick facts, thoughts, and feelings on last night's yoga class that I taught for the first time in my life:

• Out of an office of ~100, 16 people signed up for the class and 6 showed up. Par for the course? The six who came were an interesting and beautiful mix..

READ THE ENTIRE INSPIRING STORY ON TODAY's DL!

also; i only post these 'tidbits' for 1 to every 3 unique DL's...
make sure you subscribe to DL to wring every ounce out of every aspect of your
life as your Sadhana...
straight from the Mt. Kailas of Personal Training since 1982

First Club Ride of 2008

Does doing THIS all winter...

help

DO THIS?!?!

uhhh...

after today and the last few decades?
i KNOW so!


check it out:

***




Oh,
ain't nothin' says "MARCH" in Flagstaff
like pedaling your road bike (MTB Trails still socked in snow)
into a screamin' headwind* that's this close to tearin' off
your socks, shoes, helmets, and gonads...

left Two Tree Manor this morning on my road bike
for my first Club Ride of the season.
my mind had painted a picture
-more exquisite than the finest Michelangelo -
of riding along, well sheltered from the wind and cold
in the whirring mass of a huge
peleton of happy-that-spring-is-here cyclists...

the outdoor thermometer stared blankly back at me
as i took a sip of pre-ride coffee to hasten my bowel movement
(gotta be empty to ride fast)...
it read;
34 degrees.
nearly April; 34 degrees at 8:45 am.
aaargh.


as if i've never meditated in my life,
my ego ran unchecked;

READ THE WHOLE DHARMASTORY ON TODAY's DL:

INSPIRATION FOR YOU TO GET OUT AND DO THE DO
FROM THE COACH WHO STILL SUFFERS IN ALL THE DISCIPLINES
FOR YOU!!!

"...it's so much more than poses..." Student Pete gets the WF Transmission...

Coach,

I know you are busy - with fatherhood, your own practice and your formal online students, but I had to share my experience with you since you have guided me down this path. No worries about responding, as this is just my testimonial that I have to share with you.

The HP yoga dvd had been sitting on my desk for a couple of weeks; I'd been practicing yoga at my neighborhood studio and spring track had started so I felt tied up - and feared introducing a new practice to my training. I was weighed down by my school/work commitments and how could I add something new?

Now to today. The past 48 hrs have been particularly stressful in dealing with my fellow coach and managing my athletes. I came home feeling empty and as I told my wife, "depressed" after seeing my head coach yell at one of our athletes - that motivation technique does not work for me (or anyone?) I couldn't bare to run today, so I FINALLY slipped HP Yoga DVD in and started.

I am humbled. And grateful. I spent much time in child pose and it was still the hardest thing I have ever done. I was shaking throughout my practice and trying to check my ego every other minute. Find YOUR place pete, I kept telling myself, but also wanting to push.Oh that ego.

And then your words at the end of the hour rang clear in my ears. We have to let go. All that pushing - just to let go. As I lay there releasing everything, tears streamed down my face. I released all that I had tried to hold on to in the last two days. All that anger I had toward the other coach was released - I knew that I had to find a better way to deal with the situation - I could not hold onto what I wanted it to be.

The whole last hour has been cathartic. I don't know if that was what it was supposed to be. But besides releasing the tension of my days I realized a bit more about yoga and WF. First that yoga is so much more than poses. Well duh, but you can't be told that and understand it. It has to be felt. And second, with yoga I can see why I don't need to run 6 days a week to train for a race. Damn are my quads burning.

Thank you so much coach. I feel like I am just scratching a surface of something I can not even begin to see in its entirety.
pete

First Come, First Served!!! EMR DVD now available!!!

"Another stroke of GENIUS from this nation's "Crazy Wisdom Master"...Steve's "EMR" program wiped out 2 decades of low back pain and breathing problems within 2 MONTHS!...
can't beat the price for this cure, that's for sure!"

- James MacIan

NEVER BEFORE SEEN BY NON-ONLINE WF STUDENTS...a Monumental M(om)ent in WF History...

get 'em while you can...available immediately!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER NOW:

steve ilg's EARLY MORNING RITUAL (EMR)

remember;
Current WF Online Students and current ILG DOWNLINE SUNRIDER WARRIORS can get this for only $35!


A PRICELESS SEQUENCE OF THREE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE, SECRET WF PRACTICES WHICH TAKES ONLY A FEW MINUTES IN THE MORNING!

Student Quotes of the Week; Konryu and Coop

"my sink is a second puja table. complete with candle which gets lit daily for this sink cleaning ritual. a wooden flute from Sedona, and an angel from my mom.
~ my sink is a breath and posture 'station' in this house.

...and as far as the importance of my WF Early Morning Ritual (EMR)...well, when i do get to build that special deluxe puja space, it will have it's own bathroom!"

- WF Online Student Wendy Cooper, whose Practice has really been accelerated by a shift caused by the only thing which matters in the spiritual journey; perseverance!

Above, Wendy with her 4 year-old daughter Jessica and husband Brian.

soon to be released on DVD:
THE WF EARLY MORNING RITUAL: Level One!

***

dear coach ilg,

i apologize for the tardiness of my updates, however, i think and feel that you will enjoy this one, late as it is. HR data for tempo running workout: 140-150 BPM; HR data for stair running workout: 159 BPM max and i was really pushing hard. the norse god of winter, ullrr, seems to be sending me a message on my stair running days.
last week, he blessed me with a few inches of beautiful white fluff before and during the training. this week, he challenged me with a beautiful fluffy 7 inches on top of a few inches of base. it would have been easy to postpone stairs, instead, this humble stair climber took his snow shovel and cleared a path for his efforts.
it has been my observation that i have been weak of will for the past year and my choice to shovel and climb instead of staying
indoors and doing something safe and easier is a giant step for me.
thank you! konryu

***


WARRIORS UP!!!!!!


Keep it cranked, fulfilled by these two glorious WF Students who understand that unless a Personal Fitness Path includes progressive development of both the Outer and the Inner...it ain't 'fitness' at'tall!


God Bless Our Path
and
God Bless your support of it through sincere sweat and stillness...

this is my Prayer today...


and watch for the release of my EMR DVD!!!

Easter Sunday SirMan...

My traditional Easter SunDay SirMan...

on today's Direct Lines...


Happy and Wholistic Easter To All Those Who Realize The World Class, Unconditional Loving Service of a humble, powerful yogi known as Jesus...

Late Night Protein? How To Handle Sweet Cravings!

Most Honorable Coach,

So, I had supper at 5, took my MAP Amino Acids at 8 then worked out at 8:30. Now I'm home and ready for some sleep. Should I eat another high protein meal beforehand or, just drink some Calli Night and get that sleep.

I need to burn off some fat but, I don't want to waste that muscle I've been building. Advice?

I actually usually end up eating late anyways-
If there's something that one who needs to lose a little body fat has trouble doing, is going to bed hungry.

So, at least I had a nominal amount of lentil soup and some rice crackers instead of a big slice of cake. I guess if I'm so tired that I pass right out after my day I won't eat and if I can't sleep because my stomach is growling, I will eat. Simple. Right?
Kurt, Colorado

See my answer in the Dharma Vault of the WF SanghaLounge under the MAP Amino Acid chamber! It has everything to do with knowing how to cleverly use the body's innate mechanism known as a "pranial dip"...plus, i give counsel on how to handle late night sweet cravings!

get into the WF SanghaLounge and check out the LOVE! amazing wealth and inspiration in there; keep contributing; ask questions and revel in the worldwide support of some amazing WF Master Students, beginners, fans, and friends...

Access to over 2,000 Teachings in the DL Archives,
over 1,000+ SanghaLounge articles,
and hook up with over 100 WorldWide WF Students each day in the WF SANGHALOUNGE!

only for DL Subscribers!

DL Exclusive Interview: HP Yogi Of 2007; Leslie Hutchinson

At h(om)e among the Flagstaff ponderosa, HP Yogini Of 2007; Leslie Hutchinson holds her champion agility dog; Kai with her stalwart other animal companion, Yoda, looking on below.





DL: When was your first formal introduction to yoga?

LH: I was first “introduced” to yoga in the early 1980’s. My teachers were history professor Dr. John Nicholson, a scholar in Asian Studies and Dr. Vasant Merchant, a humanities professor who was also a devotee of Sri Aurobindo, a famous yogi in India. No asana practice yet – however a seed was planted deep within my psyche to search out this mysterious and marvelous “yoga” – a way to the heart of what it means to be truly human.

In the winter of 1990, I just happened into Michael Wolcott’s yoga class at Flagstaff Athletic Club. The feeling of sheer delight is with me still. I practiced Kripalu yoga with Michael for a couple of years. He and I used to fire up his wood stove and do a crazy version of Bikram’s yoga sequence and go out and roll in the snow. I have been practicing ever since!

DL: That's a pretty venerable introduction! So, what do you love most about yoga?

LH: Practicing yoga, for me, is an opportunity to move into stillness every day. Every day, no matter what happens out there in the world or in there in my own mind, the practice of yoga is nourishment and wisdom for my body and mind and heart.

Practicing and studying with a genuine Yogiraj is a rare and perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I feel truly blessed to have crossed paths with Coach right here in Flagstaff. Yogiraj Ilg embodies the perennial teachings of the great wisdom traditions. Students have the opportunity to learn both body practice (asana and athletic training) and wisdom practice (meditation and self-study). A true and gifted teacher, he has and continues to, immerse himself in all aspects of practice.

That said, on a more personal note, I appreciate Coach’s sense of humor, his dedication to what really matters, his kindness and compassion, his abiding love of the natural world – he is truly a person of good heart. And lastly, his willingness to take on this humble yogi - me – a difficult case if there ever was one!

DL: We understand that you and Coach ran in some similar Zen circles?

I was introduced to Zen Buddhism through an English professor, Arnold Johnson. His class included beat poets and writers. We read Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey, Gary Snyder, Alan Ginsburg and Shunryu Suzuki. Mr. Johnson was a formal Zen student and invited anyone interested to come and sit zazen on Wednesday evenings. Arnold introduced me to Bodhi Mandala Zen Center in Jemez Springs, New Mexico (here is where Coach has studied as well). There I became a student of Joshu Sasaki Roshi. He is now 100 years old and continues to teach. I consider him my root teacher.

My Zen practice was a zig- zag for many years. I didn’t wake up one morning and say, “It’s a beautiful day. I think I’ll go practice Zen Buddhism.” Most of us, I think, come to practice after experiencing some life-changing events that call into question many of our personal beliefs. Perhaps, this will be a loss, a disappointment, or something we perceive as a personal failure. Zen and yoga practice give us the tools to look inward, to study ourselves, to awaken to and genuinely appreciate our life with all of its light and dark sides.

DL: Is this shared foundation in Zen training what makes Coach speak so highly of you? He truly Recognizes you as a Sister, in a Tibetan sense of the word...

LH: Coach and I share a deep love and appreciation for the natural world – our other family. I walk among the non-sentient with Kai and Yoda, my beloved canine companions, as many times a week as I am able to. I sit by rivers, creeks and potholes. I sing prayers to the moon. I meditate under trees. I feed birds and squirrels every day. Simple stuff, really. The non-human world nourishes me in ways that the human world does not. This is the family that Steve and I share. And my dog Kai, to my great delight, absolutely adores coach with all of her heart.

DL: So, how has your Zen training influenced your Yoga Practice?

DON'T MISS THE REST OF LESLIE's BEAUTIFUL AND POIGNANT INTERVIEW ON
DL SUBSCRIPTION FORMAT!!! INSPIRATIONAL and MOVING!!!!!!

PART II: my "Recession Teaching" completed...

We live on a sphere of extremes and intensities. Unless our notion of Personal Fitness pivots upon becoming very, very devoted to both of the realms of Extreme and Intensity, than, well, we're gonna be in for a BIG SURPRISE upon entering the Bardo.

i have spoken much about the Bardo in this forum and its printed precursor; The Journal of Wholistic Fitness.
. see my footnote, BARDO 101*

PART II of "When Is A Recession Not A Recession" has been up at DL Subscription Format and has received fantastic input from our worldwide Tribe of Wholistic Fitness Warrior Yogis...

please, c'mon on it and change your worldview and notions about what "Personal Fitness" truly involves!

When Is A Recession Not A Recession? When You Understand Its Spiritual Potency...PART I

or:

YOUR CHOICE!!!
i am busy transforming many of my venerable WF Programs into Pay-Per-PDF's (have you checked out the WF Pro Shop recently?!?!) so that in the years ahead, WF affords every warrior on earth, low price point options so that the impact of a 'recession' becomes what it truly is; a 'resuscitation' of Inner Attainment!


***

okay, so the Word is officially out;
the bubble popped.
America and our gloatish attitude toward having the "King of Currency" in global markets is gone. pooof. like incense smoke in my zendo...America's braggart thrusts of currency triumph is now as flaccid as the legions of our sheepish men and women taking prescription drugs* instead of doing the Inner Work to overcome our samskara like genuine warriors. gee, i guess we're gonna HAVE TO really start abiding in that miraculously beautiful phrase that adorns our cherished dinero; IN GOD WE TRUST!

my mom, who was born in the Depression and went on to become the Vice-President of a bank back long before women were ever holding such jobs, foretold this recession when i was but a boy; "Steven," she told me, "a nation cannot just keep extending credit when there is no gold to back up the credit." i did not really understand her then, and to be frank, i still ponder how the hell the whole 'gold' thing really figures into an economic structure so addicted to "phantom wealth"...i mean, if Donald Trump's contractors across the world would simultaneously demand that he "pony up in cash" he'd be as butt ass poor - poorer - than feeble ilg!

when Dewa was born, she immediately 'assumed' her portion of our great nations even greater national debt; something like $31,000.

welcome to AmerikA, my precious daughter! fun, ain't it?

so,
what is the Appropriate Action of a WF Warrior during an 'official' Recession?

i tell you truly; REJOICE!

and then,

ADAPT!


let me explain:

i Trust that my students, having been trained for decades in the WF Word Choice Guru, did not just accept without Question the word; Recession.

it's Latin; means to go back or, more appropriately; gone back.

so, a Recession means for the warriors of the era to "go back" meaning; to return to our previous state of going within instead of spending, spending, spending on things external in order to keep fueling our current addiction to comfort.

"Okay coach," you might be thinking, "so let's say i'm actually starting to see your perspective on a Recession and how you are spinning it to be a positive. but my question to you would be to what are we supposed to be returning??"

that is more than a good question,
it is a go(o)d question.
and to understand the answer, you simply have to reMember with your Ancient Warrior Lineage
which means understanding about Yuga's.
you know how i am all-Ways speaking about you and i sharing this lifetime together in Kali Yuga? the "spiritual dark age" predicted so clearly by the Ancient Yogis eons and eons ago?

well, how far are we into Kali Yuga?
why is it called Kali Yuga?
what the hell is a Yuga anyway?
how many Yuga's are there?
what can living in Kali Yuga mean for my spiritual ascent?

well,
you better buckle up, bucko, cuz this is gonna be a Third Eye Opener for many of you still clouded over by the preconditioned attitudes prevailing your entire worldview and thoughtforms in your life thus far.

i will Teach you about the Yuga's in tomorrow's DL.
you will not want to miss this one...
it might just change your entire Way of Being...



so, when is a recession not a recession?

when you stick close to your WF Tribe and see a 'recession' for what it truly and beautifully is:

a "resuscitation" of all that is truly, honestly go(o)d!


May your Practice be windswept with your Conscious and Appreciated Breath...


head bowed,
your feeble teacher

*= studies now reveal that over 41 MILLION Americans drink contaminated 'approved' water each day...what is our water contaminated with? dat's right; a pandemonium of prescription drugs pissed out by the millions of Non-Practitioners!!! what, and you thought i've been just KIDDING about WF all these years? enjoy your water; you and your children are drinking drugs, baby! Oh, gee, maybe THAT'S why all these 'sudden' dis-eases of ADD, autism, cancer...?!? NOW how fast are you FINALLY going to order my PHASE ONE of SUNRIDER Herbs to make SURE your immune system, lymph system, and overall cellular vibration is potent and high enough to rise above all the crap you drink and breath each day?!?

The WF Path Works,
only when YOU WORK the PATH!

Oh, and if you are reading this and you STILL have not committed the $10 per month to subscribe to DL?

well,
i'll just let you sit with that...
cuz PART II is huge and
only DL Subscribers...the Warriors Willing To Support The Humble, Powerful, and Original Temple of Transpersonal Fitness are gonna git the go(o)d stuff...



the Brave that you are:
subscribe to DL and get into the Tribe that has been waiting for you
for lifetimes...

The Agassiz Uphill - my Final (Frozen) Water Dance of '07/08 Winter Season

click on photos for enhanced chi hits...
all photos by; www.myracepics.com

The First Annual Agassiz Uphill, sponsored by Kahtoola and Arizona SnowBowl.

original event idea by steve ilg.

"Actions mirror a man's personality better than his words.
The yogi has learned the art of dedicating all his actions to the Lord,
thereby reflecting the divinity within him."
- Iyengar












8:00am, Agassiz Ski Lodge, near Flagstaff, Arizona. elevation 9,600'.
i toe, sadly, the final Start Line of my '08 winter racing season.
uncommon emotions push and pull my cells as i take my final few warm up minutes...as my well worn lungs attempt yet again to efficiently assimilate the stingy O2 up here, images and sensations of this most rewarding winter season dance throughout my mindscape...Tour de Ski nordic marathon, USSA National SnowShoe Qualifier, Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon, the Arizona Cup Nordic Series, and now, this 2,000' dead run up my backyard ski hill...an event that i originally approached the sponsors with as a bike/snow climb duathlon back in August.

Not a half-baked season at all for this rookie father of a newborn who, at this time last year, was entering a 3-month battle with Cold-Triggered Exercise Induced Asthma after winning the world's highest Nordic Ski race.

using Zazen Mind, i hit my inner Delete Button on such sentiments. Not room for emotional overlay or burden of any sort for the next half hour or so...
for i've got a Race Line to toe...and more Inner Dragons to certainly slay within moments...



an excerpt from:
www.TheOutdoorJourney
as reported by John "Hakado Ru" Kuhlman:

Honor thy locals.
The Flagstaffians milling around the ski lodge prior to the start race must have been descendants of the Scandinavian gods. I swear, not one, male or female, must have weighed more than 150 pounds. Plus, just about every one of these people were damn good looking folks. I later learned that the second place finisher actually ran up the mountain from the highway as his warm-up. By my calculations, that’s 6-1/2 miles starting at an elevation of 7,300 feet and ending at 9,600 feet.I’m not sure what my coach Steve Ilg did as a warm-up, but I saw him running down a steep ski run and heard the other locals talk in hushed tones about him.“Who’s that crazy guy running down the mountain.”“Dude, that’s Steve Ilg.”After the race where he thinks he finished near the top ten out of fifty racers (no official race results as of today), he went telemark skiing for 3 hours...still without a meal for the day. When we caught up with him a couple hours later, guess what his post race & ski nutrition was? Some of his "MAP"Amino Acid capsules and what looked like a bottle of the SUNRIDER Herbs Fortune Delight tea.That’s it.

READ THE ENTIRE RACE STORY, SEE THE KILLER INSPIRATIONAL PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS OF COACH SUFFERING "AIRPLANE HIGH"...FEEL THE CHI!!!!
LIVE THE WF SPIRIT!!!!!

Subscribe to your Highest WORKOUT PARTNER EVER:
SUBSCRIBE TO DL AND HELP SUPPORT THE ORIGINAL TEMPLE OF TRANSPERSONAL FITNESS!!!!

Quit Searching, Quit Seeking...Just Go Deep

it does little for your Soul to search frantically about for peace.
it does little for your Soul to be anxious after love, freedom, or happiness.

it's go(o)d to allow the process of your Life Pilgrimage remain just that;
a process.

a yogi is a wise person of means;
though one eye is kept always on the Summit,
if the Summit is not reached in this lifetime,
it does not matter.

what matters is the Pilgrimage.


we know what's Appropriate Action* for us, deep done in our bones, our cells, our heart.

i know what is Approriate Action for ilg
and i do it; each day using the WF Science of Self Evolution Without Slopping Away Our Power To Something External.

it ain't easy.

yet the Knowingness of Appropriate Action for my Atman is what feels
so go(o)d,
so powerful,
so beautiful
while Guiding, Protecting, and Nourishing.



Coming Up Tomorrow in DL:
Finding What's Appropriate During The Agassiz Uphill Race; my final winter event of 2008
+
my Practice Statistics from February for those of you tracking the mountain yogi through the deep snows of a Path Less Traveled...


Practice Well Today, Noble One;
and if you seek peace,
drop the seeking
and
Do Peace.


Peace out from the Humble Temple Beneath The Sacred Peak,
el coache

*; the 3rd Lifestyle Principle of WF

photo by www.racepics.com
last saturday during the Agassiz Uphill. click to enlarge

Q&A; Don't Confuse Information With Understanding, The Regenerative Nutritionist, Overcoming Asthma in Three Months...

click the photo to get a great Chi Hit of WF Warrior Andrew Ferguson of Durango, CO cranking to a 3rd Place Overall in the Blue Mountain Winter Triathlon near Monticello, Utah...one of the events that always seems to be in conflict with my own winter race schedule. Andrew is following my 3-Phase Approach to Using SUNRIDER HERBS plus MAP Amino Acids. He is three months into my program and is in the midst of what we Sunrider's know as a 'healing crisis' as decades of impacted fat are slowly, safely released. Andrew is going to race a 90-kilometer nordic ultra marathon this coming weekend in Steamboat Springs, CO! "Should be epic," he told me. yup. should be. you may recall Andrew from my Race Report; The Tour De Ski Chronicles earlier this year in DL.


***



Don't confuse information with understanding.

There are a whole lot of "nutritionists' with all sorts of initials behind their names and fancy front doors here in Kali Yuga. They are often armed with all sorts of information. However, in my experience, many of these 'nutritionists' confuse their informational overload with genuine understanding of nutrition. it is only Direct Experience within all arenas of our amazingly versatile physiology that can provide understanding of nutrition.

an example of this is how i have gone out with 'nutritionists' for what i consider to be fairly easy mountain bike ride...

READ MY FULL TEACHING ON TODAY's DL



***

some Questions and Answers and other Spiritual Cairns Along The Steep and Direct Path;

***
OVERCOMING ASTHMA

Coach,

Namaste! And a heart-y congrats on your State Nordic championship - amazing! While I have not seen you address it explicitly in DL, I assume (dangerous word choice I know) that your stellar results this season indicate that you successfully resolved your exercise-induced asthma (or whatever the official diagnosis was) from last season. I ask this for a reason. My dear friend M has battled Hodgkin's Disease for the past three years. The growths have centered on her lungs, so her chemo / radiation treatments have focused there as well. The Hodgkins is being held at bay for the moment, but the treatment has left her with much scarring on her lungs, and she recently had to be hospitalized for an air leak in one of her lungs. She is getting terrific Western care at Sloan-Kettering in New York, but they don't have much to say on the regeneration front. I was wondering if you have any counsel to offer her based on your experience.

Thank you.

Love,
Student L'G


LEARN WHAT HERBS AND SUPPLEMENTS I USED TO OVERCOME MY: "Cold Triggered Exercise-Induced Asthma" of last winter to win a State Championship...in TODAY'S DL!


***

NEW SINS FOR A NEW AGE

Dear Coach,
i read today that the Vatican released new and official "sins" for the modern age. i know you grew up Catholic and was wondering what you TAF'd about these new "sins"?

- your humble student g

Beloved G,

the only sin is laziness.

Buddha - who arrived early in Kali Yuga (current spiritual dark age) to impart needed

READ MY ENTIRE ANSWER AND LEARN ABOUT AVIDYA on today's DL...

Without Training For Death? It's An "absurd gamble."

When we die we leave everything behind, especially this body we have cherished so much and relied upon so blindly and tried so hard to keep alive. But our minds are no more dependable than our bodies. Just look at your mind for a few minutes.

You will see that it is like a flea, constantly hopping to and fro. You will see that thoughts arise without any reason, without any connection. Swept along by the chaos of every moment, we are the victims of the fickleness of our minds. If this is the only state of consciousness we are familiar with, then to rely on our minds at the moment of death is an absurd gamble.

- Sogyal Rinpoche

COMING UP NEXT IN DL:
my immensely rewarding Winter Competitive Season Ends with my Agassiz Uphill effort of yesterday!

"All We Practice For Is Death," Shishya KC gets a hit

now appearing on today's DIRECT LINES

InSight # 16

InSight #16

We're obviously not trying too hard because we still are attached to our richness mindset - we still say to ourself,
"Well, I can't Practice too long today because I need to work."

The World Class Yogi's who have transcended Death have been precisely where we stand.
The only thing - the ONLY difference - between They and us?

They chose to...

- Read this InSight from my upcoming book project on today's DIRECT LINES!

Tele Heaven; it ain't skiing till the heel is freein'...

click on photos to amplify the Chi Hit...




WARNING: for you poor souls trapped in an office, this DL could cause Soul Arhythmia...GET OUT AND LIVE BABY!!!!!!

WF Student John Devlin gettin' devilish with some fantastic telemarks in a secret stash somewhere in the North Cascade backcountry (he ain't tellin' exactly where cuz he's smart...however, he has promised this newly crowned State Champion a private tour! Ha!). this and following photos by;Merle Kirkley

SUBSCRIBE TO DL TO SEE ALL THE OTHER ABSOLUTELY KILLER POWDER SHOTS!

Dear Coach Ilg,

Just wanted to send pictures of a humble student enjoying the fruits of his WF practice. Thank you for everything I have learned from you! Congratulations on your recent podiums.

To the coach that still does...

May winters blessings continue to fall upon you and yours.

You're an inspiration always!

WF Student Steve Jones and I talk about you often up here in the North Cascades of Washington. Your message has penetrated a remote mountain valley. Humble warriors dance upon her snow covered hills thinking "breath and posture'...."breath and posture".

Love,

Student Devlin

COACH WINS NORDIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!

"Racing is not about winning. It's about ourselves. No athlete ever held a trophy that did not already exist inside."
- steve ilg, THE WINTER ATHLETE, 1999

"I used to visit Flagstaff when i was living and teaching HP Yoga in Los Angeles. During that decade of Big City Service, i would attempt to ski around the 8,000'+ cross country trails at the Flagstaff Nordic Center and would be totally winded on the smallest of hills. One day after nearly throwing up during one of these visits, i saw a flyer on the ski lodge advertising the NORDIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIP to be held that weekend. My heart sank as low as was my nordic fitness back then. My Service in the Big Seaside City had erased all my treasured high altitude fitness. Back then, among my wheezing, coughing, and gasping in the aspens i prayed to Vishnu that one day i would once again be among the fleetest strength endurance athletes in the southwest. His reply came at the speed of Enlightenment within the resonance of my spirit,
"You will return here one day to live beneath this Sacred Peak and within 3 years you will win the State Nordic Championships; however, you must train harder then the Buddha along the way..."


Yesterday,
exactly 3 seasons of my return to the Southwest from Los Angeles,
the prophesy of Vishnu - the God of Perseverance - became fact;
your humble coach - new rookie daddie and all - is the fastest
skier in Arizona.


After i get the Race Results, i'll tell you more. Right now, just know that
it is a very special winter for me...beneath the Sacred Peak...it's gonna be sad
to see her go.

this one's for all the New Daddies out there and their Partners; may all Loving Couples realize the Sacred Necessity of Warrior Effort each day in myriad ways...

***

i have one more Winter Endurance Event left on my full schedule; an event that i helped create thanks to my new snowshoe sponsor Kahtoola;
it's called; the AGASSIZ UPHILL and it happens next Sunday! why don't you come on out for some Pranic Empowerment beneath a starting to sizzle Arizona Sun on Snow?

click here to download a flyer of the event:


Agassiz Uphill


May your Devoted Sweat and Stillness radiate the trophy that you carry inside,

coach ilg
the mountain yogi



Coach also qualified for USSSA Nationals this winter; The Dharma of and training for Coach's victory will be made available only to DL Subscribers; for only about $10/Month please do your Higher Self a favor and subscribe today! there is a whole worldwide Tribe waiting for your arrival with us since 1982!

TEMPLE GONG: Happy Birthday, Dad!

"No matter where you live,
live cheerfully."
- Swami Rama



HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

your Heart,

your Love of the outdoors that inspired you to move our family to the American SouthWest so many moons ago...

your Love of your children...

your Love of your wife - my m(om) - for over 50 years...

your endless warrior effort to
keep a'goin,
keep a'goin,
keep a'goin,

influences my humble attempt
to make an honest, Loving Way of Service in this world
each day in many, many ways...

you've Taught me well
because my Heart is Happy
and i live cheerfully; no matter where i am --
for you have Taught me that - whether i am rich or poor -
the true Wealth lies within the joyful, sacred Heart Within.

i love you...


your first son,
steve

photo by myself of my father, Henry Ilg, two autumns ago at Locket Meadow, near the WF Temple H(om)e in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness