Warriors UP! A Call For Desert Warriors! + A Dewa Update!

Namaste Most Cherished Warriors,

i'm taking the "Can Do Clan" down the hill to Sedona today and tomorrow. Our Mission;
try to break the City Limits barrier with Dewachen. it's hilarious ain't it? here is ilg with an entire lifetime of being "America's Outdoor Athlete,"... a wandering yogi up, down, across Turtle Island dozens of times and since becoming a new father, we've been holed up here in the Temple H(om)e, just taking Dewa out for local hikes and occasional appearances in town. what hicks we are! yet, if one lives in Heaven, why risk taking an infant out onto the highways and cluttered cities of smog while Her neural hooking up phase is in such an hypertrophic state? just let Her be At One with the Harmony of our beautiful pranically empowered Temple H(om)e, right? good. glad you agree with me.

infants need only two things; their mom and dad. period. every waking and sleeping moment; infants need their mom and dad around them. end of story. no pre-school bs. no chronic babysitting reliance. no tv. no sticking them into 'walkers' or those cursed things that hang from doorjams. stay Tribal with your infant; constant attention with them must become your Sadhana. no matter how hard; no matter how much your own selfish desires for your 'own time' or "your own enjoyment away from the kid" becomes; just Prioritize one thing; dropping into and listening and responding to your child. dat's it.

and guys; we've gotta love, love, love our partner more than ever. most relationships hit a divorce moment within 3 years of having a baby. it is that hard.
every fiber of who you've crafted yourself to be gets combusted and instead of training or working; you gotta wash the baby bottles. do it. and wash them impeccably; make loving and caring for the mother of your child as your Sadhana; your yoga, your Path. you chose it on One Level or another; so Serve, Noble Warrior! that is all.

{PHOTO OF DEWA FOR DL SUBSCRIBERS ONLY; Her Transmission is that powerful!}

A DEWA UPDATE by popular demand:
well, if people could just see what a Fit Baby is our Dewa at 8 1/2 months, it sure would prove the Path of WF...Dewa is soooo fit; look at those legs! and...low and behold, the lil' One has inherited not only the Ilg butt, but the Kilpatrick butt as well! oh Lord Shiva! lookout! She'll soon be like, "C'mon daddy, we can go crank Shultz Pass on our Mountain bikes before i have to go to school, c'mon, c'mon...".

Dewa (DAY-wah), who has been nourished on my approach to SUNRIDER Herbs, and MAP amino acids through Ananda's body ever since she was a Cling-On in Ananda's supposedly 'infertile' uterus, is soooo strong and fit! she is already sprinting with our slight support around from furniture to furniture determined to walk on Her own. She is like, 'screw this crawling bs...i've got places to go, things to see!". we are, however, encouraging Her to enjoy being a baby and at least play the game of being a crawling infant. She can stand up by Herself while using a 5.13 grip on any piece of furniture or playpen and once She is outside? She just drops into this Zen State of Awareness, Her precious head on a swivel; listening to birdsong, wind, and the delight of the natural world around Her. She is my chuckling, gorgeous, fit little ball of radiant Bliss...She is my live-in resident Precious Guru Rinpoche and i love Her sooooooooo. even Her hair is now living up to Her name as it is growing from Her gorgeous little head like Golden Rays of Bliss. but 'proud daddy' digresses...


we're also going to Sedona so i can do some stream fishing in Oak Creek Canyon and we're trying to lay down some MUCH needed footage for some more GREAT WF DVD's such as Ai Imawa, Medium Form Flexibility, and a
Top Secret Project that you are ALL gonna love which will have its own website...in fact, i am looking for some investors (not big $) to launch this project worldwide...you are gonna LOVE IT! let me know if you are interested. and, as ever, if you or your company are ever interested in sponsoring a DVD project of mine, just let me know as well...often, i can complete a DVD Project with as little as a $500 sponsorship. it's great karma, because as you know, any DVD that i produce is deeply valuable for many worldwide warriors and adds yet another Ripple to the WF Wave which has been rolling for 25 years, helping, serving, lifting the folk of Kali Yuga ever Higher. thank you.


now,
for you ADVENTURERS!
HP Yogi Jut Wynne, our famous "Cave and Cricket Man" whose been profiled here in DL for the last 4 years has aske me to ring the Temple Gong; he is looking for some adventurers to go with him to a VERY FASCINATING spot on Ma Earth and, who knows, you might even be laying the foundation to get on a trip to Mars!...

who knows?


treat yourself well today,
and may Love abide within your Daily Sweat and Stillness...

el coache

***

Hey Steve,

Would you be so kind as to forward this announcement to the WF/ HP tribe? I’m looking for well-conditioned folks to join me on an expedition to the Atacama Desert, Chile (17 July – 13 August 2008). Please see details below.


Thanks bro!
yogi jut


***

Phase 2, Earth Mars Cave Detection Program, Atacama Desert, Chile -- I am looking for volunteers to assist with Phase 2 of the Earth-Mars Cave Detection Program (a program funded through NASA Exobiology). Our study sites (in addition to Mars) will be the Atacama and Mojave Deserts. I am looking for volunteers (who can commit to at least a two week stint) to assist me in Chile this summer (17 July – 13 August 2008).

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: Our objectives will be to map 15 caves and 15 non-cave features, deploy temperature/ rH and barometric pressure sensors at all these features (instruments will remain in situ for three years), and collect thermal imagery over a 24 hour cycle for most if not all of our study features.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Space.com, Possible New Mars Cave Targets in Search for Life (02 April 2007)
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070402_mm_mars_caves.html

Astrobiology Magazine, Caves on Mars (04 April 2007) http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2290&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

NASA Astrobiology Highlights and Astrobiology Magazine, Exploring Caves from 30 Feet in the Air (30 April 2007) http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/news/expandnews.cfm?id=10622

You may also go to my personal website (www.caveexplorer.org) for additional information.

This project has also been approved as an Explorers Club Flag Expedition (Flag # 52). Folks interested in joining the Club often participate in Flag expeditions to up their chances of being accepted. Folks interested in joining the club could use this trip to up their chances of being admitted. For more information on the Explorers Club, please go to www.explorers.org.

LOCATION: Atacama Desert, northern Chile. This is the driest desert on the planet. Our base of operations will be San Pedro de Atacama. However, while not in San Pedro, we will be camping on the outskirts of the cities of Colima and Iquique, as well as in other more remote locations in the Atacama. It will be winter down there, and it will get quite cold at night. So, participants should bring attire and camping gear reflective of alpine winter conditions.

TIME COMMITMENT: I am requesting all potential participants commit to at least two weeks. If a one month window is too much, which I suspect it is for most folks, we have two two-week sessions, which may better accommodate most people’s schedules. These are:

Session I: 17 – 31 July 2008

Session II: 31 July – 13 August 2008


PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: I am looking for solid cavers/ rock climbers/ mountaineers to assist with this effort. If you do not fall into one of these categories, you must be physically fit (and accustomed to working in back county conditions) and NOT claustrophobic. Working underground can be demanding both physically and mentally. So, all participants should be prepared to endure long hours (10-12 hrs/ day) of working underground while backcountry camping for several days at a clip.

SAFETY TRAINING: At a minimum, all participants must have a current Red Cross First Aid/CPR certificate. Each team member must have MEDEX Evacuation Insurance. Please go to http://www.medexassist.com/, and look into pricing for MEDEX Global Traveler’s Insurance (FOR “EVACUATION ONLY”). Depending on your age, it will range in price from ~55.00 to 110.00 USD. The more expensive amount is for those staying the entire month (I did not factor in the additional week for the sojourn to Easter Island).

COSTS: Airfare is around 1500.00 USD, and incidentals/ food will run ~500.00-750.00 USD (depending on how extravagant you chose to live while down there). If you would prefer to stay in a hotel, it will cost you a bit more. Most hotels in San Pedro are ~100.00 USD/ night. When I was down there two years ago, I stayed in hotels during my entire trip and it cost ~3500.00 USD for two weeks. This included all costs. Also, if you don’t have caving/ climbing gear you will also need to purchase this gear as well; this will include a helmet, three light sources, gloves and knee and elbow pads. Bolivia and Argentina are about 100 miles from San Pedro, so you may want to take a trip there after your two weeks with us. Mindful of this, you may want to buffer your expenses accordingly.

FYI, several of us will be conducting baseline biodiversity inventories of a few caves on Easter Island after the Atacama field work. Currently, I'm working out these details with a Chilean colleague of mine. So, if you want to join us, you are welcome to do so. However, seats for this will be limited. We cannot take more than six on this mini-expedition.

If interested, please contact Jut Wynne, jut.wynne@nau.edu.


J. Judson Wynne
Cave Exploration
http://www.caveexplorer.org/

Spring Comes, Prakriti Teaches...

click on photos to enlarge...all photos taken during my Early Morning Outside Gardening Ritual this morning...





"People are distracted by objects of desire,
and afterward repent of the lust they've indulged,
because they have indulged with a phantom
and are left even farther from Reality than before."
- Rumi

Meditation:
how does this quote apply to one of your habitual patterns in which you chose
from lust for more money, more temporary pleasure that soon passed, more grasping instead of creating an inwardly controllable environment? hint; there are no right or wrong answers to these questions...

a Bullock's Oriole...the Animal Beings manifest in a Realm where instinct is pure and no conscious will or moral obligations exist to complicate the mixture of desire and intelligence of the Human Being Realm.






Dawn Brahmamuhurti, Aspen leaves which were just dime-sized last week...

Clinging to illusionary, false conclusions seems to be the ongoing sin of the UnAwakened Man. We cling like leaves to the status quo, to conditioned and afflicted ways of Seeing. we believe (belief is by definition a limit) that we are holding things together and then make the fatal and flawed conclusion; "I am in control."
that, right there, is an illusion.

Meditation:
Today practice accepting everything that comes into your circum-stance(s) - which means that which goes around where you are Standing. do not manipulate the people or things in your life today; instead, control the enivronment which you can do by application of the WF Lifestyle Principles...in other words, today; just Breathe into your Life Vinyasa and keep your Posture, Mindfulness, and Appropriate Action as your Practice.

DO NOT MISS THE OTHER THREE InSights from my Early Morning Ritual be of help to your Practice today...please support our Humble, Powerful Temple and Subscribe To The Most Important Training Partner for your Journey; DIRECT LINES!



Om So Ti,

the mountain yogi

It ain't "my" yoga....it's traditional yoga; UNION!

On May 28, 2008, wrote:

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the message.

I recently re-read your "Transformation" book and thought it was time to give "your" version of yoga a real chance. The snowshoe stuff sounds intriguing as well.

I look forward to receiving your material.

All the best,

Mike

Most Noble Fitness Warrior Mike!

oh, it ain't "mine"...

yoga means; UNION.

so, in WF i just stayed True to the Ancient Enlightened Ones, who never pushed anything away;
it's ALL yoga!
whatever physiologic capacities are inherent to a human incarnation should be used for the Ascent Toward Enlightenment, right?

who said that a Bench Press was less sacred than a Chaturanga?

not ilg!

we're mailing your HP Yoga DVD and products off today! enjoy the Sweat, live the WF Spirit!


THANK YOU!

head bowed,


coach ilg
http://www.wholisticfitness.com/

Caca Forte!

WF Master Student (there are only a handful of them walking consciously upon the Plane(t) Michael Cerame...in early spring, 2007 while on a WF Private Intensive here in Kinlani. In the background is Doko Ooosliid.

Dear Coach,
I was eating at an organic restaurant in Brooklyn and they had this quote on the wall:

Mangia bene
e
Caca forte -
Non avrai paura della morte!

It's Italian for:
Eat good
Shit strong
You will not have to fear death!

Thought you would appreciate!

Namaste,
ceRama


Noble ceRama,
perfect.
why so many choose to Sleep...
choose to wait until the ax falls...

all Paths lead to the One
(especially the Italian Path, perhaps!)

LOVE IT!
LOVE YOU!

i mean c'mon...how can me...the creator of TOILET YOGA, the endorser of SUNRIDER's Phase One (bring on the toilet paper!), the creator of EARLY MORNING RITUAL
not totally love this quote!


i brought home tonight carry out from Flag's new vegan restaurant;
HIP
and merged lovingly into a pulse-TAF of you...
came home,
spontaneously opened a few emails while waiting for Ananda,
and
got this from you!

like i said,
Perfect!

May All Beings Look Themselves In Their Inner Eye
and Take Out The Compassion On Someone Else...


viva la giro!

go Contador!

go ceRama!

do not hide
do not be too hard on yourself
firm, yet forgiving

tis the Way Toward The One,

your loving mountain yogi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COACH!!!...or not? How A Mountain Yogi treats 'birthdays'

i wish to thank all of you crazy wisdom devotee's for sending me Birthday Wishes on my 46th Chronological Birthday during this incarnation of the Atman currently being known as 'ilg'. as a Dharma Protector and Server however, the only thing which matters to ilg is to impart Dharma regarding the notion of 'birthdays'. photo by http://www.kdiphotography.com

portions of this DL reprinted from my DL on the Spiritual Aspects of a Chronological Birthday, 2006

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.
- Sogyal Rinpoche

WF BIRTHDAY DHARMA; "Like passing gas in a breeze."



***


Chronologic birthdays are considered kleshas (afflictions) in WF Master Studies. Their tendency to add interruption and drama to the flow of life is not conducive to spiritual ascesion.

according to yogis, the 'birth' occurs when the Atman enters the foetus...when this happens, the M(om) will feel...

DO NOT MISS THIS TEACHING WHAT "BIRTHDAYS" really mean to yogis and awakened warriors!


on today's DL!!!

*TITLE FOOTNOTE: One of my Bardo Realm Teachers, Mahanidrarishi, used this phrase which i thought was fantastic! Like all great spiritual Masters, Maha knows the utter insignificance of a human's chronological birthday, for it is only the spiritual birthdays that truly 'matter' in the long term.

** you can only imagine the HeartSmile on Ananda and i when Dewachen 'chose' to make Her re-entry on the auspicious date of; 9/11/07! my Teachers? They just laughed and laughed...

Happy, Whole-ly Memorial Day!...the Can Do Clan visits the Zuni

This DL is in honor of all those Atman's who entered the Bardo under the courageous hearts of the men and women Serving Noble Duty...

click on photos to enlarge...

"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down."
- Lily Tomlin

the Zuni...known as A;shwii in their native tongue, is a long-honored Tribe in my life. these wonderful artisans still live within their eon-old h(om)eland of western New Mexico. if you ever get a chance to visit their Pueblo; do so. i once got a Road Racing podium on a 3-Day Stage Race that included stages that raced among their powerful mesa's and spirit-sizzling vistas. oh, how ilg loves these ever-smiling folk with such beautiful countenance and art...

yesterday, the A;shwii came to our backyard, beneath Doko Oosliid for a festival celebrating their Way of Being...so, into the "High Performance Deh Sleigh" (see photo #1) i tossed Deh (nickname for Dewa), drug Ananda out of her sleep-deprived stupor and jogged everybody up the street, out across the sun-whipped meadow, and through the ravine of the Rio de Flag. There, at the Museum of Northern Arizona, were the Zuni's...Great Beings Who Still Know And Worship Our True Mother (earth) and our true Father (sky)...

come along, why don't you?...



DON'T MISS THESE TEACHINGS FROM A 81-year old ZUNI WOMAN ELDER and more great chi-filled pics!!!

What A Difference A Week Makes...

Most Noble Teammates!


ya just gotta LOVE a go(o)d spring in Flag, eh?

i took these during a cross ride up Elden yesterday:




...and here y'all were a mere 7 days EARLIER sweatin' in the heat of Elden!...

Kid's Race...
ready,
set...
CRASH!!!




...














Keep CRANKING The Chi!

i miss racing with you all, yet my new baby is keeping me busier and happier than when i was fully sponsored! i just need you all to keep crankin' the RRR Vibe Out There! take pictures and captions of your race or training or whatever and send them to me!

the Board appreciates all of your kind words about our appearance last weekend...and, so inspired were WE by your embrace of our presence at the Start/Finish Line that we came up with a REALLY COOL idea that we are working on (along with a ton of other stuff!)...so stay tuned to this RRR Blog and contribute!!!


head bowed,

coach steve ilg
RRR Chairperson

Come Vist My New "Secret Herbs" Website!! and...Cold Pressed Hummers...

click on photos to enlarge




i know, i know...
i'm like one of the Nation's leading Directors of SUNRIDER Herbs - "the official regenerative nutritional program of WF since 1983" -
and only NOW have i finally managed to get my own Replicator SR Website up! enjoy! let me know what you think!

click right here and bookmark it, cuz i'll be enhancing it regularly with YOUR profiles and input and new Product info:

Coach's "Secret Herbs" Website!


hey, all you SUNRIDER's out there still not getting any money from Dr. Chen because you find it hard to share these wonderful fat-demolishing, chi-building herbs? get your own SR Replicator Website...just download the application under the "My Website" click after you log into your SUNRIDER account.

and for those of you poor, poor souls who are NOT on the "Secret Herbs"?

get to my Website, check it out, and JOIN! the instructions for joining are right on the front page of my site and you will be signed up automatically under me for COMPLIMENTARY GUIDANCE to your SUNRIDER JOURNEY! i will personally guide you along my "3-Phase Approach To Using The SUNRIDER Herbs." with Mother Earth and Father Sky no longer able to keep pace with Kali Yuga's ongoing abuse of them, the world's food supply is getting downright gnarly...so get into these utterly pure and precious and potent Herbs that have helped me overcome tremendous spinal injury into unmatched World-Level athletics...

and for you yogis?
there is nothing, i promise you, more idyllic for energetic foundation building and shatkarma fitness than relying on SUNRIDER Herbs as your core source of physical nutrition; eating these herbs will advance your motivation to meditate and Practice Sadhana like never before!

***

so, why does ilg take sooo long to produce certain things like my own SR Website?

well, i've got many things 'on my plate' these days...
oh no, not so much having a 8-month old at age 45...(well, 46 this week!)

no, no, no...it's not running half-a-dozen international Dharma-based businesses, 4 blogs, media projects, private and public yoga teaching,...

no...it ain't even the fact that i have to now cheer for my lifetime old nemesis of the Colorado Avalanche, the DETROIT RED WINGS to win the Stanley Cup that are sapping my time...

and it sure as Heaven ain't my Sadhana...i always create time - no matter what - for my Practices - both inner and outer...i am of no Go(o)d to ANY of my students or to my family if i slack on my own Sadhana!

it's the hummingbirds...


Hummingbirds?



READ MY ENTIRE TEACHING ON TODAY'S DIRECT LINES...

another 'ilg sighting' + Student Input; "HP Yoga has helped me get inside myself to a place of clarity," - Musician Dave Tate

"He possesses the special kind of talent you only see come along once a decennium. If you're lucky." - Eric van Domburg Scipio of Heaven Magazine

Our Tribal Musician Dave Tate, who has been rockin' the music world with his exquisite, angelic vocals and songwriting borne from his Southern Utah h(om)e, has released

The Final Hour

and please, please, please do your Atman some go(o)d and order this CD from our beautiful Warrior Dave...after reviewing THE FINAL HOUR, i wrote him saying that if my own "Final Hour" could be lived while listening to his album as i began my Bardo Entry Meditation, i would likely just bypass the Bardo entirely and emerge directly in Dewachen! here is Dave's response:


"Thanks coach!
Glad you like the cd! What wonderful praise, the red rocks here have a
language of their own. I am blessed to have a chance to stay in monastery
like the environment up on the kolob plateau for the next 3 months before we
relocate. There is not a more beautiful place in Zion. Any plans to make
it up this way this summer? I hope it does hold that message of transition
and transformation...in the moments I am most in touch I feel that is a
message I am destined to share. HP yoga has helped me get inside myself to
a the place where that is clear. So thank you! Hell,we could do more than
just play the cd... I'll play it at the passing of the Ilg if that is your
bidding!- although personally I hope that day is far away.

thanks for your help coach!
much love,
Dave

***


Dear Coach,
Doing some market research for a new product my company is going to launch - do you recognize that dude?
From: Michael Cerame
Small Bone Innovations
Marketing Manager - Lower Limb

Most Cherished ceRama!
wow!
year was about 1998.
snowshoe photo shoot above Santa Fe, New Mexico.
photographer; Mark Romanelli who later shot me for my second OUTSIDE Magazine Cover.
nice Awareness!


head bowed,
el coache

***

Good Morning Steve,
After attending your "Energetics of Enlightenment" Seminar, I rooted about last night and retrieved my Light on Pranayama by BKS Iynegar....After practicing with you these past couple of years
The contents of the book no longer seemed so out of reach to me. That was quite a revelation...and at the same time I had the revelation that I am prepared to study and practice in a sincere way. I need some guidance and perhaps you might be willing to work with me in a capacity that seems appropriate.

Anyhow, I TAF that a private session with you would be a really positive thing at this juncture – if you have the time and patience for this feeble yogini over on the other side of town.

Abundant blessings to you, Dewa and Joy this beautiful and vibrant spring morning.

Love les


***



Coach Ilg,

Thank you for your reply and consideration. I received your Blessed Mala Beads; they are fabulous and keep me grounded and centered.

Having read a considerable amount of your DL and Sangha Lounge, it is also evident that you have a wonderful engaged following. Your writings have helped me immensely over the years and I know that they/you will continue to do so well into the future.

I bow to you honorable coach.
A most lowly humble mountain troll, AB
Billings, MT



***

Hello Beloved Coach!
Steve (Dr. Wise) and I speak of you often and fondly. It is great to be able to talk about EMR and Toilet Yoga with someone in the know.:)

I am reading "Think On These Things" again and it resonates more strongly than ever.

I am running, jumping , sprinting, tumbling, bear crawling , climbing trees, rocks , fences in Central Park with my classes these days... I remember a time when I truly wondered if I would be able to do those things again.

With a little help form Dr. Wise and following my EMR every day I have slowly but surely started to reset my frame. My core has never been leaner or stronger. All my movements come and go from there.

I have become a solid 10 lbs lighter... You had suggested that I would need to become "lighter" and I have.

152-154 lbs of Stillness at 5' 8"..

I must say my ego still complains about the loss of some mass.

I eliminate on a very regular ( 3X per day ) basis and most of the elimination is "floating" which you had indicated is a good thing....Why is it a good thing?

I am sad to say that my passion for kayaking is dimming but my passion for fitness in outdoor settings and in a gym that facilitates natural movements, climbing, etc. is increasing.

I am trying to find my next path and it is not fully clear yet.

Fitness Vacations/Camps ...hmmmmm

Much love to you
Namaste

Student Stillness
NYC

"Wholistic Fitness: The Cure For The Common Compulsive" - steve ilg

In a sense everything is dreamlike and illusory, but even so, humorously you go on doing things. For example, if you are walking, without unnecessary solemnity or self-consciousness, lightheartedly walk toward the open space of truth. When you sit, be the stronghold of truth. As you eat, feed your negativities and illusions into the belly of emptiness, dissolving them into all-pervading space. And when you go to the toilet, consider all your obscurations and blockages are being cleansed and washed away.

DUDJOM RINPOCHE




Yesterday morning, while running through sun-drenched swirls of mountain breezes and dewy infant aspen leaves,
Vishnu whispered into my right ear;
Wholistic Fitness is the cure for the common compulsive.


***
"Doing Yoga..or Doing Harm?"
I know of a well-known yoga "teacher" who was so compulsive that she "did yoga" for 7 hours per day for like 20 years until she tried to go for a hike one day and her hips were screaming in pain. she had unwittingly worn off all the cartilage from her hips and now her "practice of balanced union" - which is what a true yoga sadhana should be - is done upon two fake hip joints.

oh C'MON PEOPLE!!!!

what has happened to our Common Intuitive Sense of Union (yoga), of Wholeness?

just goes to show you that the common yogi is as addictive as a compulsive/obsessive as is the common runner who can't touch her toes or the bodybuilder who can't run around the block, or the cyclist whose bone mass has all the strength of balsam wood.

a quarter century ago, i channeled the "yoga of wholeness" known as Wholistic Fitness to combat Westerners addiction toward egoic subservience. my humble, powerful Path of WF honors and considers all sports, all aspects of our physiologic potentiality, all moments of our 'doing day' as our perfect yogic workshop to be developed into at least regional - if not national - class fitness before age 75.

***
Love is Freedom
i have taught you that true Love is Freedom...freedom requires strength and wholeness...most of us do no have the Self Discipline to be truly free. Freedom to run, to bike, to lift, to sit still, to stretch into inner expansiveness, to be compassionate, to be kind, to be loving to all Beings in All Realms...

most of us do not have the degree of Love Development to fully desire only Freedom for that which we profess to Love.



i managed this shot of a beautiful Feathered Being at my feeder yesterday. Spring comes to Kinlani and as a high, wet oasis springing from the arid-zone (AriZona), during this time of year we get all sorts of gorgeous Feathered and Four-Legged Visitors...in the last week alone Ananda and i have spotted within the vicinity of our neighborhood; Turkey Vultures, Elk, Deer, Marmot, Lazuli Bunting (pictured above), Scarlet Tanager, Western Tanager, Rose Breasted/Black Headed Hybrid Grosbeaks, Sharp Skinned Hawk, Acorn Woodpecker, Bullocks Oriole, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Broad-Tailed Hummingbird, Black-Capped Nuthatches, Pygmy Nuthatches, and the Common Grackles have turned Two Tree Manor into Grackle Central.

if you wish to reach toward the Light,
stop reaching
and instead
Love the World Around You
and most of all;
Within You.

Mine not that which you have begun to Master;
the very moment you attain proficiency in some physiologic, fitness, or occupational endeavor;
do this:
SHIFT IT!
Let It Go
and
Refocus your Rifle of Attention toward that in which you are Weak
and
where your Light is most dim;
workout there
work within there...

become devoted toward Wholeness
not Specificity
for the latter invites only Imbalance
and the former?
Enlightenment...or at least; Awakening.

and if feeble ilg can bring one measure of Awakening
to your life
before i quit Teaching,
ilg
has
swung his
Dharma Sword
well enough
for just ONE BEING
who has allowed his or her Light
to come from their innate Wholeness
changes
the
World
toward
a
Higher
Union.


May All Beings
in All Realms
be happy
and know the causations
of happiness.



Om So Ti,

your loving coach

Dharma Teaching through the Multi-Disciplined Yoga of WF

"The signs of progress on the path of Yoga are health,
a sense of physical lightness,
steadiness,
clearness of countenance
and a beautiful voice,
sweetness of odour of the body
and freedom from craving.
He has a balanced, serene, and a tranquil mind.
He is the very symbol of humility."

- Iyengar




My Prayer

My Prayer is that:
Through my countenance you see the countenance of my Teachers.
Through my physique, you see the physiques of my Teachers.
Through my life message you behold the recipe from my Teachers.
What you do not see?
The lifetime(s) of Pain.
That Teacher?
He has yet to be transcended.

My Prayer is to sustain Faith for that.

- steve ilg
from a current book manuscript



"The times when you are suffering can be those when you are open, and where you are extremely vulnerable can be where your greatest strength really lies.

Say to yourself: “I am not going to run away from this suffering. I want to use it in the best and richest way I can, so that I can become more compassionate and more helpful to others.” Suffering, after all, can teach us about compassion. If you suffer, you will know how it is when others suffer. And if you are in a position to help others, it is through your suffering that you will find the understanding and compassion to do so."

- Sogyal Rinpoche

photos:
1) Bharadvajasana variation, Snow Canyon, Utah
2) ilg-style concentration curls from a yogi squat (do NOT attempt unless you are well versed in both asana and strength training; very intense on elbow CT!)
3) closing in an another podium some 20 years after spinal paralysis and still running through the pain; Soulstice Mountain Trail Run, Kachina Peaks Wilderness

Coaching, Sweat, and Hole Shots

click on the photos to enjoy deeper Chi Hits!
all action photos by myself




i was on active coaching duties this weekend at a Mountain Biking Association of Arizona race right here in my backyard of Kinlani...it was such fun taking a break from my usual "Online Coaching Duties" and be out on the Race Course and at our Red Rock Racing Team tent giving pre-race pep talks to our girls and boys, ladies and gents, and then heading out onto the brutal Race Course to do what i do best; bring the CHI to the fatiguing racers and cheer them onward and upward toward the podium! Even Ananda and Dewa, my other members of my "Can Do Clan" showed up to cheer on the racers. Note the HP YOGA logo gracing our Team's race banner!






...i guess being a Rookie Dad endeared me more than ever to the Start of the Kids Race...


...and THEY'RE OFF!!!...

...and, well, they're down...hate it when that happens!



in the Men's Semi-Pro/Expert Division, i was utterly relieved not to be racing on this day! having no where NEAR the volume of training required to compete safely at this Level, i made sure i rode out on the Course to some of the pivotal "emotional meltdown" and tactically important spots to cheer on our racers. Above, one of my training partners, Chris Hull hits the hole shot of the first techy singletrack after a kilometer mass starting sprint across a flat meadow...in MTB racing, it's ALL ABOUT getting the "hole shot" which means being one of the first racers to enter the narrow, often technically difficult and dangerous sections. Here, "Hully" hits the "hole shot" and flies over menacing boulders and roots as if on a flying carpet...

DO NOT MISS the other great pics and MTB coaching teaching on today's DIRECT LINES Subscription Format!

coach ilg

Hanna; "I was looking for wholeness. Not separated pieces of life."

Good morning Coach!

You do not know me, but I am one humble subscriber of DL. I found you through the website of Hak, whom I found looking for inspiration for endurance training.

In a way, my path to this path was predictable. I have been moving towards it, without knowing it existed. You see, I started out just like anyone. But with low self esteem. I tried to prove myself through basketball, school, etc as a child and adolescent. Then I gave up. I gained weight, and became fat. Then I lost the weight using a well known weight loss enterprise. Then I gained some back. There was something missing in the weight loss program. No matter how many points I counted, how many long walks I took, there was something missing. I started working as an aerobics instructor, but was constantly disgusted with the focus on surface....

READ THE REST OF THIS INCREDIBLE STORY FROM HANNA OF SWEDEN: i promise...your Practice will be DEEEEEPLY inspired!

Sunshine and Bran-muffins; Patki Dass Cranks To The Top Step Of The Podium...

Patki crankin' to the top step of the podium at the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde, a mountain bike race near my childhood home of Durango, CO. Patki just joined my Red Rock Racing team and are we ever stoked we got him! Congratulations Patki! here is his race report:




Sunshine and Bran-muffins

a Race Report by Ben "Patki Dass" Sullivan
WF and HP Yoga Student in Flagstaff, AZ







There are days when things come together. And some days when things get so strange, you know it will come together, because it can’t not. Know what I mean?

This weekend was one of those times. The Mormon Sensation and I rolled up to Cortez CO to do the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde, as has been so well reported by Gnome. We went with the intention to win…but the road to DFL is paved with such intentions. Fortunately, at least one road across the res is paved with asphalt:

Res Road

We got to Cortez, set camp, and had the strangest dinner ever...



ENJOY the Race Report From Patki with great photos on today's DIRECT LINES!

ANOTHER WEEKEND: ANOTHER PODIUM FOR A WF-TRAINED WARRIOR!

A Mid-May Snowstorm Invites Practice of Vairagya

Falling snow does this to me...
it opens my HeartSpace of Avalokiteshvara...

May this inspire your Practice ever Higher and Deeper today...

* i have, through this incarnation been introduced to an eon-old and ever growing personal pantheon of Formfull and Formless Teachers...and that's a Great Blessing if you are as feeble of a yogi as i!

you know, that's probably the "best" part of a lifelong Meditation Practice; you get to know your True Family and hang out with the Highest, Most Loving Teachers and Beings in your own (inner) UniVerse. you get to a point in your sadhana where you don't need any more 'spiritual books' or 'new age' magazines or trinkets. you don't need any more yoga classes or dvd's...all you need is your Puja Space; a quiet, clean little personal 'Practice Cave' in which you Begin Again, and Again, and Endlessly Again that seemingly most difficult workout of all Human Beings; sitting still by ourself in Meditation.

my only Prayer through which i continue to forward the Path of Wholistic Fitness is that each Human Being awakens to their intoxicatingly fun and astonishing Inner Divine UniVerse through Meditation inspired from Multi-Disciplined Sweat and Stillness. Vairagya - or Dispassion - is perhaps the most powerful Accelerator of Self-Realization. if i were a more skilled Teacher, i could Transmit precisely why someone like myself; "America's Original Multi-Extreme Athlete" could be so infatuated with the real "extreme sport" of lifelong Meditation.

Oh well, unless by some Deity-Applied Miracle i actually do attain Enlightenment in this lifetime, i promise i'll do better job of being a Teacher next lifetime. do not worry; you won't not recognize me; i'll be even more stronger, more fitter, and more skilled in more sports and Outer Worldly things and be sooooo Radiant that All Beings In All Realms will be Awakened to what i have to share. Until then, obviously, given my amount of incalculable feebleness, i've got A LOT more Inner Work to do!

the One Thing i will NOT provide for you next lifetime is a more beautiful, powerful child to keep you all sincerely focused on the Upward, Inward Way...that cannot be done. Thus, my Highest Teaching to you all is the beauty and wisdom of my Daughter; Dewachen (see image of Her below with Ananda)

DO NOT - WHATEVER YOU DO - MISS THIS TEACHING on the CRITICAL NiYama of VAIRAGYA explained to you in that most rare and uniquely Coach Ilg Way of artfully and fun-fully bridging esoteric and often misunderstand Eastern Spiritual Athletic Terms and Concepts into the most loving, friendly, and APPLICABLE Way so we can use them in our own Practice TODAY!

oh, and you CAN'T miss the snow shots from this morning and...the adorable image of Dewachen and Ananda near the Buddha!



C'mon on in to your Tribal Hangout; SUBSCRIBE to DIRECT LINES: the most important and High Training Tool for your own spiritual journey!

Another 'coach ilg' Awakening of the "Waken" in a Big City Yogini...

"Trust no wisdom that was not born from sweat." - steve ilg

Sweat Puddle, Los Angeles...after another Coach's HP Yoga Master Class.

this and the other great photos by student Ron Jones.


***





Coach,
Karen who took your High Performance Yoga Master Class in LA last month wrote this poem about her experience. Interesting coming from someone who just “dropped in.”
Namaste,
NWSM


***





I thought Ilg's class was what Native people would call "wakan" (sacred, holy), so I wrote about it...




As Ilg was praying to Brahma, I had this lightning thought: Ilg's class would have had me in deep trouble with my Irish Catholic grandmother, who quietly against me moving to California because I'd crack and join some cult. Gram's complaint became a family joke every Christmas...






Sheer white curtains sift the afternoon sun
Til it’s a warm twilight in a room empty
Of everything except reflections of ourselves
And the lies, fears, and hopes sliding
In and out of the shadows behind our eyes.
In this womb we meditate, lulled by the prayers
A yogi in the service of foreign gods--
Divine bulls that snort and groan--
Until my feet tingle and snap asleep
And my head floats away like a..



READ THE ENTIRE BEAUTIFUL POEM written by Awakening Warrioress Karen Girard
on today's DIRECT LINES Subscription Format; the Tribal Newspaper Rock of the worldwide Tribe of Wholistic Fitness Warriors!

Happy, WHOLISTIC Mothers Day!

"We've all been mothers countless lifetimes."
- Buddha

From the "Can Do Clan" of Dewa who turns 8-Months Old today, and my Beloved Joy - AMAZING new 'amma' of Dewa, and myself we wish to send Laughter, Love, Light, and invincible Shiva-like strength and endurance and patience to ALL Mothers on ALL Realms!

like i've always said, "There's a whole lot of OM in 'MOM'!"

oh, and check out WF Warrior BJ's Clan below who timed the Re-Entry of their beautiful new Isabel to the Mothers Day "T"!



Rock On, Moms!


head bowed in awe of all ammas everywhere,

coach ilg

***




coach steve,

Thank you again for the Coach's Blessed WF Training Mala - cathy and i had them with us throughout beautiful Isabel's birth. It was an amazing experience, and as you said in one of your earlier emails, she was truly "stoked on re-entry". We hope the three of you are doing well - Dewa looks so happy! I've attached a couple photos of our 'jewel in the lotus'. I'm glad to see that you are involved with Red Rock Racing. I'm still rocking the old team kit on every ride I can!


Namaste
BJ, Cathy, and Isabel Araceli


***

photo of the Can Do Clan by:

IWT/IWCT = seeing spots...Divine Spots!

Master WF Student L'Gate displays Master Student form during Barbell Curls under my eye last year; look at the posture! look at the rooted feet! look at the steady skull! the Eye of the Tiger! the BREATH! there is NOTHING more beautiful to me on this planet than a focused Human Being cultivating their Higher Self through appreciation and development of their body! WF Rocks! L'Gate ROCKS! he wrote to me today, as i am late on his next program:

Coach,

Namaste! I went deep into The Winter Athlete yesterday and did your IWT / ICWT workout. Only the second time I've done that baby, and...holy high intensity! I actually saw yellow spots dancing before my eyes at one point, but pushed through.
Love,
Student L'Gate

this is truly a hallmark of a WF Master Student like L'Gate...even though he has studied Online with me for several years, if i am late in designing his next program, he simply returns to the "sacred scriptures"; the many books, cds, dvds, and DL Archives which make the non-formal study of this Path so cost-effective. That particular workout that L'Gate mentions above? KILLER! FUNCTIONAL! FUN! excuses, excuses from so many people about having 'no time' to train! the legion of programs like IWT/ICWT in the WF System require less than 25 minutes to crank out! check it out through your own sweat and spirit and tell me what you TAF!

MORE GREAT NEWS for you non-formal WF Students!
this very workout that L'Gate sees "spots" on will soon be available as a
Pay Per PDF!


enjoy the crankin' Ever Higher!

at least THIS PATH OF YOGA does NOT sidestep the "Metal Element" of the gym!

YEAH BABY LONG LIVE WF...the Choice of those sincerely focused on the GO(o)D Source!

Temple Gong; email change

by now, those of you on my email lists have been notified.



effective immediately:

my new email address is
steve@wholisticfitness.com

joy's is:
joy@wholisticfitness.com

for questions regarding ordering from the Pro Shop, Retreats, or your DL Subscriptions please direct to:

customerservice@wholisticfitness.com


please make the change from the old and now obsolete; 'ilgtrain' and 'joytrain' addresses and White List my new email address.

we are experiencing delays as the trickle down Snafus at the website configurations slowly get updated. if you notice my old email appearing on the website, let me know (please hit your Refresh button when next visiting www.wholisticfitness.com

The Way of Intensity...Q&A

Coach Ilg,
Go(o)d things take time; I am a work in progress day by day, moment by
moment. My nostrils are unbelievably improved since I began neti four years
ago and now on your EMR DVD. I bow to you and the simple things you have introduced me to that have
improved life immeasurably.

Your humble devotee, Alan B.

***

Dear Coach,
i want to take your yoga class but i'm scared, quite frankly. i was trained in the Iyengar System and only have a third of the way to go before becoming a Teacher...

Denise

Dear Denise,
of what are you afraid?
Intensity?
truth be told, my solo practices are 95% Iyengarish; i just superimpose the subtle anatomical work over it.

if you are going to make any friend in this short life,
make friends with The Buddha of Intensity
for you will need it in the Bardo.

just come to class.

Sat Nam,
coach

***

Dear Coach,
i've never admitted this to ANYONE before...
i have a substance abuse problem and don't know exactly what to do about it.

- S.M.



Most Precious One,

whippdy doo...
we are all addicts to one degree or another until Enlightenment so get over it.

before laying the label of being a Substance Abuser
upon someone else,
i'd suggest the utterer of such a phrase
to examine if they themselves are not guilty of an even worse 'problem';
Pranic Neglect.

better to be passionate about Pranic Development than worry about Substance Abuse,
for it's like..

READ THE ENTIRE TEACHINGS FROM TWO MORE STUDENTS...

SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO DL AND GET WITH THE CRAZY WISDOM FROM COACH THAT HAS BEEN DRAMATICALLY INFLUENCING THE WARRIORS OF THE WORLD SINCE 1982!

On Listening To Our Life Vinyasa

"Just Listen."

- The WF Bible by coach ilg - above; note the complete absence of Ignorance Pods (aka; iPods). Who can concentrate on one's Mantra, on one's Highest Self Within when addicted to external enterTainment instead of innerAttainment?

We should know at this point in our Practice, i mean, if you are still traveling with me in whatever degree up this Steep and Direct Path of WF, that the warrior who is affected by all matters in our present day 'vinyasa' or 'flow of life' - regardless if the matters be big or small to our perception - is moved by them eventually becomes miserable, disappointed, afflicted, and hypocritical.

Why?

Because

JOIN DL TODAY to receive this plus over 2,000+ other chi-filled Teachings of body, mind, and spirit from "The World's Fittest Human," according to UltraCycling Magazine...come and reMemeber with your Warrior Tribe; we are waiting for you and have been since 1982

WF SanghaLounge; Big Medicine For Warriors On The Path Of Awakening

"I believe it was Hemingway who said, 'There are only three sports: Stanley Cup Playoff hockey, Tour de France cycling, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.'"
- from WF Master Student "Abu" one of the many Hockey Maniacs now gathered in the WF SanghaLounge in the CURRENT EVENTS cave...stop by if you dare, cuz, we are well...Hockey Fans! Hockey is the only major sport whereupon mastery of one art (skating) is assumed while the actual game is superimposed over the the art...i mean, basketball players are athletic, yet, put some skates on their feet on ice, and THEN make them do their thing...ha! same thing with all the other major sports. point is; there ain't no sport like Hockey*! come on in, and join the fun...oh, and i do allow YouTube references in the SanghaLounge, in fact, you should see the conversation going on in the CARDIOVASCULAR CAVE right now; stunning footage of pull-up mastery courtesy of Hakado Ru!

There are hundreds and hundreds of incredible conversations going on each day in the worldwide 'chill out' lounge of WF Warriors; the WF SanghaLounge! Make it a nightly stop with your Calli Night...or beer! We welcome all types of Warriors into the Lounge! the talk is easy, non-judgmental, and a ton of fun...not to mention it's where i've been archiving all the Top Secrets of the different Fitness Disciplines and Practice Principles for the generations of WF Warriors to come!

Stop by today, the SanghaLounge is open 24/7, 7 Days per week and is complimentary to ALL DL SUBSCRIBERS!...the easiest way is enjoy the Hang Out is to sign in, then click the "VIEW POSTS SINCE LAST VISIT" and that will bring you right into the flow of the most current conversations.

***

here is some input from around the world appearing recently about the importance of DL and the SanghaLounge to people's Practice:

"Most Noble Coach,
Gracias, gracias, mucho gracias! Your efforts are keeping the lifeline
over here in Shanghai strong.

That said my Sahaj Marg meditation group here are doing some powerful
energetic work for this land and its people and so it still feels right
to Be Here Now amidst the choking smog and intense vibrations.

I'll be in India for the summer and then back in the fall (unless they
let me into Tibet after the Olympics) to Turtle Island to do some Nordic
Skiing with dad. 73 and the old man has the classic form that blows the
doors off me.

Much love to you and your family,
may your words and works continue to ring through the ages,
ct"

***

Steve,
Week 4 of the Frugal Realm Routine - which also means that I have experienced a wonderful journey through: Green Tara; Cosmic Yang; my feeble attempts at daily meditation (though I must tell you, I often times catch myself in one active meditation or another throughout each day -- this I attribute to the work we did together 20 years ago), and my best attempts at Yoga (still not HP yoga yet -- but do not worry it will come*. Today I am in a place beyond where I was 20 years ago. There is a deeper effort & consequently a deeper strength present in all aspects of my practice & life which with each day grow more into one. Today I am more open, and teachable which not only allows me to more fully appreciate WF, but also allows me more time focused meaningfully and less time distracted by those things which appear to be desirable but in the end hold little or no relevance to our improvement..... Steve all I can say is Thank You! Oh, and DL? - It places me correctly many days!

Rando
Colorado"

***

* Hockey was my first competitive sport. i was 7 years old and the year was 1969. i was so small, my coach literally had to lift me into and out from the rink during line shifts! i may have been small, yet i was fierce and fast and won the Most Improved Player Trophy my first year and eventually my team got 2nd place in the Midwest Regional Championships when i was 9 before moving to Colorado.