Once In A Blue Moon...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR from the roof of Arizona...

Wholistic Fitness®...the High, Humble Temple of Transpersonal Fitness
thanks ALL OF YOU
for an astonishingly deep 2009 as we continue to set the Pace
far higher and beyond the rest for 2010...

Much Love, Light, and Might
in the New Year...

steve, joy, dewa, and charlie the Temple Cat Being

photo (click to enlarge):
8,500'. 7:20 this morning. Snowbowl parking lot from the drivers seat of Temple Vehicle; Bala. after taking this shot of our incredible "blue moon" i was off and within the Mantra, skinning up and skiing down Agassiz Peak at threshold intensity, off 7 seconds from my Personal Round Trip Record: one hour and 20 seconds. still not able to beat an hour for the 2,000' up and down trek to 11,500'. high winds and two falls on neurally fatigued legs (on skate skis) during the descent ruined my chances to break an hour. the craziest part? teaching a 2-hour HP Yoga® PropFest to 22 warriors later in the day. ya' just gotta love the fitness of mind/body/spirit that Wholistic Fitness® imparts to her devoted students.

When Is Too Much Too Much? - The Disciplined Art of Periodization

I designed Wholistic Fitness® as a Path Toward Wholeness which transcends the physique and the fitness passions that you enjoy...although, the physique and the fitness passions are bettered beyond your beliefs if you just Work The Path...
photo; ilg's physique as captured by Wayne Williams.

***

Hi Coach Ilg,

I have followed your work for a few years, and have incorporated some of your training in to my own.

I have your TBT book and would like to give it a real shot, starting with the Green Tara program. However, I am also a beginning judo player and I have judo practice for 90-120 minutes 3x/week (M, W, Sat). How can I incorporate my judo with Green Tara and the rest of the TBT book?

Do I just do TBT exercise in the morning, and then my judo practice in the evenings on the days practice occurs? Will that be adding too much total training volume?

Thank you,

Bob T.

COACH RESPONDS;

Dear Fellow Seeker of Wholeness,
thank you for enjoying the wisdom of WF and for writing. Your question is one that comes up often...

Short Answer: it's too much.

if you were a more seasoned Judo Player, then i'd suggest modifying some of the Strength Training programs to tone down the amplitude and you'd probably be fine.

however, Judo is a yang discipline (at first) and the Strength Training volume and intensities inherent to following Green Tara would pre-fatigue your joints and neuro-hormonal system to a degree that would not realistic or safe for you to put forth quality effort and focus while learning Judo.

What you can do:
Read TBT cover to cover, but don't do the Programs.
Focus on the WF Sutras and the WF Lifestyle Principles.
Begin incorporating them immediately.

What you'll find:
• Instant Transformation of how you live your life and how you approach your Judo.
• Your physical diet will change toward Empowerment and natural Cleansing (get on the SUNRIDER HERBS and MAP Aminos!)

Next Step:
Finish your beginning Judo training block.
set aside 3-4 months to crank through with total discipline the TBT Programs (Green Tara, Cosmic Yang, Frugal Realm, Jeweled Lotus).
After finishing those 4 programs? you will be feeling SUPERHUMAN...then, re-enter your next Judo Phase of study at a MUCH HIGHER LEVEL of WHOLENESS and you'll be absolutely stunned at the New Awareness and Fitness that you carry into Judo.

At that point, you would have the training capacity to go for 6-8 months focusing on Judo and supplemented by The Jeweled Lotus program, or contact me for a custom designed program to form fit your Practice.

As you now realize, most people do not have the Patience to train Wholistically. They would rather just try to combine TBT with their current passions and that doesn't work until much later. First Step; GET WHOLE! Set aside 4 months of your training year to work through the 4 Programs of TBT...you'll exit such a Pilgrimage with an Enlightened Body, Mind, and Spirit and be able to coast several months focusing on whatever you want before another return to the TBT programs at a Higher Level than before. You can then just keep re-cycling your training year like that: 4 months following the TBT progams; then 8 months of releasing into other sports or spiritual disciplines.

TBT is your rock, your anchor, your roots of Wholeness, Longevity, and Passionate Balance all designed to lift you Higher, and Higher, and HIGHER!

Jao!

head bowed from sweat and stillness,
coach ilg

"...has nothing on an HP PROP WORKOUT®"

Hi Coach,

I hope you and the family are having a great Holiday Season!
I'm almost through with my Asia Tour and
I can't wait to bring in the New Year with some HP Prop!!! :)
Shooting pictures and climbing the ridiculous steep limestone
here has nothing on a good old Thursday evening
"HP Prop 'till you drop' Workout!

Peace and Light,
Q

photo by HP Yogi; James Q. Martin

***

HP YOGA® CLASSES THIS WEEK at NAYC:

HP SANGHA NOTICE:

Last week i handed out the 2009 HP YOGI OF THE YEAR AWARD! stay tuned for an interview with the winner in case you weren't there...and start your NEW YEAR OFF with a commitment to HP YOGA and just WATCH your own unique and utterly amazing transformation take place!

This Week's Intensity Schedule

Tuesday w/Steve
5:30-7:00pm; HP Slow Flow. special focus: Hips, Hips, and more Hips.
A super slow simmer in the HP Meltdown Way...hec, we might not even do ONE chaturanga...especially since i'm doing nordic ski intervals and we gotta keep some
gas in the tank for THURSDAY's 2-HOUR PROP FEST on New Years Eve! Stop by and simmer with us!

Wednesday w/Joy
9-10:30 am; HP Slow Flow
A class is geared specifically for women, though men are encouraged to practice with us! Stabilization and strengthening of the urogenital floor and mula bandha musculature as well as core muscles while breathing consciously and gracefully into higher levels of physiologic and biomechanic fitness.

Thursday w/Steve
5:30-7:30pm; TWO HOUR NEW YEAR's EVE HP PROP WORKOUT!!!!!
OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YOU CALL YOURSELF A YOGI?!?!?!!!!
THEN DON'T YOU DARE MISS THIS SACRED SWEATFEST OF WHOLENESS BEFORE YOU WELCOME OUR NEW YEAR IN!!!!!! TWO HOURS of an ilg-blasted body, mind, and spiritual workout that includes a 45 MINUTE CORE OPENING as our PROP PILGRIMAGE TAKES OFF!!!!
THE ANCIENTS ARE ALREADY SMILING AT THIS ONE!!!!!




The HP Yoga®
Wholistic Progression System

Using the HP Yoga Wholistic Progression System in place at NAYC (and available in DVDs for your out-of-town friends and family), you will be assured of a great, safe, and wise way to slowly shift your body toward the yogic goal of JivaLaghuvata or 'a yogic body of Light.' Each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday class affords unique physical, physiologic, and subtle training effects upon your body, mind, and spirit. As you continue to train within this system, you'll joyfully feel renewed, recentered, and more whole...you'll be able to tell by direct experience that this style was born from a Wholistic Fitness® tradition. There's nothing quite like it!

Bodywork, Online, and private consulations and training sessions within the disciplines of strength, cardio, yoga, meditation, nutrition, fat loss, and lifestyle training are always available. It's what i've done at a world-class level since 1982. If you would enjoy myself or Joy to take a look at the Wholeness of your training, let us know.

Onward, Upward, and endlessly Inward...

coach steve ilg



for a more complete view of Coach's notion of Yoga - one of nine subdisciplines of his Wholistic Fitness® Personal Training system, enjoy his book, TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION and his latest book; PRANIC JUNKIE...both are available at the The Northern Arizona Yoga Center retail shop or
"Shop Coach's Website Pro Shop"

Don't Miss These Vital and Proven Cairns Along The Steep, Direct Path of WF:

drop the bodfat, clean the cells with Coach's "Secret Herbs"

Get on MAP Amino Acids; Insure your training effect!

Happy, Wholistic (w)Holidays!

...from steve, joy, and dewa
steering the humble, powerful helm
high beneath the Sacred Peak at
Wholistic Fitness®

Dear Wholistic Yogi,
it fills my heart with joy unspeakable to Serve this Precious Path of passionate balance with each and every single one of you...

May you and your family embrace the challenges of this (w)holiday season's joys and wonders.

DL and iDL shall be passive until Monday, December 28th.




Sincerely in Sweat and Stillness-based Service for our Higher Selves,

steve ilg
the head and very feeble fitness monk at
Wholistic Fitness®
www.WholisticFitness.com

Mind-Body-Spirit; Troy Anderson Interviews Coach Ilg

Listen to wonderful, conventionally trained American Fitness Coach Troy Anderson bravely interviews the "Crazy Wisdom of Coach Ilg."

For seasoned WF students, you'll smile along with this 45-minute Dharma Gong as the precious, vast distance between Wholistic Fitness® philosophy and mainstream fitness immediately arises and then magically nears as Coach Ilg closes the obvious gap with his trademark Love of All Fitness Warriors.

click here to visit the Teaching on Coach Troy Anderson's website.

This recording is also available as a MP3 Download (or CD) in the WF Pro Shop right here:

Mind-Body-Spirit; Troy Anderson Interviews Coach Ilg

"WF has worked perfectly..." Student Selim

Hey Coach Ilg,
I read your book "Total Body Transportation" and have tried to practice the methods of Wholistic Fitness . It has worked perfectly. Moreover, I feel like I am on the way to become a "warrior". I did a little research about you and your books the other day and saw your profile here. I just wanted to have connection with you and all the warriors out there.
Truly yours..
Selim
San Diego

*

Coach Responds:
Head bowed, Noble Companion Along The Higher Way!
i'll say you must REALLY be cranking WF, since it has seemingly "transported" you toward a book i have yet to write! The title is actually, "Total Body Transformation"...however, ilg likes "Total Body Transportation!"

Keep it cranked and keep it turned within,
coach ilg

Blessings Upon Thy So(u)lstice! - Sledding Prayer

click on pics for enhanced Chi Hit...

When ilg hears the word 'winter solstice,' i've trained myself to hear instead another WF Word Choice Guru;
'Win Our Souls (to) Us."

MORE EXCERPTS FROM TODAY's DHARMA TEACHING ON DL SUBSCRIPTION FORMAT;

...not content to ski and sled on the 'baby hill,' Dewa eyes the Big Boy and Girl Hill (photo #2) and soon enough, her and i were blasting down and screaming with laughter among the big kids...in fact, the whole goal of my spiritual life rode within me upon that plastic sled with my daughter clenched between my thighs...
May All Beings Remain Big Kids and
May We Recognize each precious Solstice
as time to honor and express Gratitude for
each Being's Soul To Win Enlightenment...
Winter Solstice...
Win Our Souls (to) Us...

you know...during my winter Canadian mountaineering years, ilg was always the guy that pulled the sled...hmmmmm.

Soygal Rinpoche teaches:

"To learn how to die is to learn how to live; to learn how to live is to learn how to act not only in this life but in the lives to come. To transform yourself truly and learn how to be reborn as a transformed being to help others is really to help the world in the most powerful way of all."

YOU AIN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO CONNECT THE DOTS
on Ilg's Spiritually Spiraling Teaching Style on InDirect Lines...
DON'T MISS THE WHOLE TEACHINGS and HEART TOUCHING PHOTOS!
Subscribe today and help support the Mission of WF!
Transpersonal Fitness Training For Kali Yuga!

FINAL DAY: Ai Imawa Training Package for only $55!

FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS over $55 ends tonight at midnight!

WF Tribal Pro Shop Main Entrance; Click Here

Start the New Year off in balance with the 12 Taoist Healing Postures of Ai Imawa taught to me by Sensei Kishyama!

As a DL

SUBSCRIBER you get the hole shot on my

Ai Imawa Training Package! includes:




* my new Ai Imawa DVD
* my new Ai Imawa Flip Chart book
* Ai Imawa Book
plus a free poster!

you can also order separately and still receive FREE SHIPPING before Sunday Midnight!

save nearly $20 if you order
before Sunday midnight's
FREE SHIPPING deadline

To read more and order your Ai Imawa Training Package before i release it publicly click here...


and remember;
FREE SHIPPING IF YOU ORDER BEFORE SUNDAY, Midnight!

THANK YOU for your support and it is GREAT HONOR
to share these beautiful postures and practice with you!


Head bowed,
Coach
Steve Ilg
Founder, Wholistic Fitness® since 1982

to view a trailer of the Ai Imawa DVD see IDL 12*18

Best Pies On This Plane(t)

when i was younger and maintained a 2.5 bodyfat percentage*, i made a promise to myself that when i free climbed the Northwest Face of Half Dome in Yosemite, i would have a piece of my favorite type of pie in this whole, beautiful, amazing Uni-Verse; Banana Cream Pie. yum.

three years later, i and Rob Wolf free climbed all but about 25' of that route.

i still did not allow myself the piece of pie.

ilg had very high personal standards back then.

can't even recall when it was, several years, later that i allowed myself that slice of pie.

point is: ilg has VERY high Pie Standards.

here are the best pies that ilg has ever encountered. this place about 45 minutes east of us, and like a drug addict, i have a contact person at the restaurant that also lives in Flag and delivers whole pies to me at various clandestine locations downtown.

so, if you are EVER going to the Grand Canyon, or are up this way...here you go:

Best Pies Ilg Has Ever Had

Happy, Wholesome (w)Holidays!

the Can Do Clan

ps: Dewa's favorite is the Blueberry Pie...just like Her daddy! not sweet; just heaven.

*at age 47, my standards have slipped. i never let myself get above 6.5%.

DL Subscriber EARLY BIRD SPECIAL! AI IMAWA TRAINING PACKAGE; SAVE nearly $20!

IDL'rs are not left out!

remember you can still get
Free Shipping on ALL ORDERS over $55
until Sunday Midnight!

Take Me To The WF Tribal Pro Shop!



interested in my new
Ai Imawa Training Package?

visit here for a Trailer;

First Ski Intervals of the Season TAF's...

in this Mountain Yogi's warped sense of the Sport Physiology principle of "Train high, sleep low," i do my Long Threshold Intervals during this time of the season at 8,650' which is a little over a thousand vertical feet higher than where i sleep each night.

according to the current crop of textbook infused Exercise Physiologists, it's really a dumb idea to live at altitude, train at altitude, and compete at altitude. using all sorts of PowerPoint® graphics, these non-weathered Beings - harmless as they are impotent - point out such debilitating factors to chronic high altitude living and training cardiac output and blood flow to skeletal muscles decrease, depression of immune function and increased tissue damage mediated by oxidative stress. it's really hard for me to keep stifling the giggles as i continue through the years to read this same old stuff.

and that's not all.

there's more, according to these Hunched Spine Intellectuals; decreases in absolute training intensity, decreased plasma volume, depression of hemopoiesis and increased hemolysis, increases in sympathetically mediated glycogen depletion, and increased respiratory muscle work.

in addition, the Hunched-Backs add, there is a risk of developing more serious medical complications at altitude, which include acute mountain sickness, pulmonary edema, cardiac arrhythmias, and cerebral hypoxia. the possible implications of changes in immune function at altitude have also been largely ignored, despite what 'they' say is an "accumulating evidence of hypoxia mediated immunosuppression."

apparently, 'they' have not been following Direct Lines for the past 30 years.

scientists disregard ilg's antics. perhaps due to their seemingly inherent ability to grock versatility and wholeness unbounded by cultural and spiritual boundaries causes them to shake their massive heads and cast me off...irregardless of that Special Something which knocks beyond their intellectual hides when they perform even a cursory study of WF.

dat's okay.

like my astral-hero Jonathon Livingston Seagull, i am absolutely alone as i ply the energy-saving "V1" Skate Ski Technique in sync with my breath-based Mantra as i make the 600' pilgrimage from the Flagstaff Nordic Center ski lodge to my lonely Ski Interval Loop. ilg does not wear iPods nor do i take motivational sustenance for my upcoming huge effort during Interval Days(Daze) from anything other than the absolutely scintillating scenery of snow covered ponderosa/aspen wildness...

READ THE REST

THAT IS, UNLESS...

well, you know at what Level you wish to Vibrate...
so, come, join your Tribe of MultiDisciplined Fitness Warriors Intent upon Wholeness and Enlightenment...

the next breath?
or the next life..
who knows which will come first?

subscribe today and get Whole in 2010...

photo of ilg by James Q. Martin

FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $55!

From Now Until Midnight, Sunday (the 20th)...

CLICK HERE FOR THE
WHOLISTIC FITNESS® Tribal Pro Shop

Hit this hole shot baby and know that a percentage of all orders go to help either Navajo, Hopi, and or Tibetan causes...Wholistic Fitness®; America's Native Form of MultiDisciplined Yoga since 1982

Wholesome Holidays!

"...to be a little more than yesterday..." Elder Warrior Erl

Dear Steve,
Your Mission in the ways of "The Path"? Keep (w)riting to us. 'Tis better you than me.
It can't be said enough. Thank you for minding me to be a little more than yesterday.
- Erl

***

if you have not met this incredible Marine/Peaceful Warrior/Woodsmith and devoted WF Tribal Elder?
do your chi a heapin' favor and give him a WF Embrace on his Facebook Page

ML gets 4th at Cross Natz!

Bend, OR -
Racing in the 55-59 Age Group, my old Motorola/Perfection Honda Teammate from Albuquerque, NM, Mike Longmire got 4th place in the 209 Cycle Cross National Championships!

A Big WF Tribal CONGRATULATIONS to you, Mike!

photos courtesy, Mike Longmire

HP Yoga: This Week!

December 14, 2009





"Steve Ilg, I only went to your class in Flag once,
but I still dream of it. Hope you are well.
- Christine Hartman

***

"Greetings, Coach Ilg --
Sometimes I have paid close heed to your message, and sometimes not.
But I have always been aware of the Path,
and deeply in awe of your luminous perseverance in showing the way.
Head bowed,
Gary
Rolling Hills Estates, CA

***

Precious Teacher (and Kickass Athlete),
i have to tell you that since you left LA, i've not found another Yoga Teacher that compares to your level of passionate care and expertise in ALL areas of what "yoga" implies. In fact, so few yoga teachers stress the Breath as well as you did that I think it's only because you were my first Yoga Teacher that I have not hurt myself in other yoga classes. Oh, and after you FINALLY got me into yoga over ten years ago as a stiff, mentally confused bicycle racer, I want you to know that I have passed the torch of Yoga onto my sister recently; we took six yoga classes together and then I gave her yourTBT bookand said, 'Study this like a bible; it will save your life....it has mine.'"
- Steve M.
Reseda, CA

photo: you wanna even TRY to tell ilg WHY nordic ski racing is the NOT the most beautiful , most compelling, most challenging sport that ilg has ever had a lifelong love affair with? Get Out And DO!

i took this shot this morning with my frozen camera phone while classic ski training up "White Horse" trail at FNC

HP YOGA® CLASSES THIS WEEK at NAYC:

HP SANGHA NOTICE:

sometime this month i will be handing out the 2009 HP YOGI OF THE YEAR AWARD which includes a Wholistic Fitness® Blessed Training Mala that has been simmering in my home Zendo for three months. This Award goes to a certain student's above-standard zeal and consistency in attending and embracing HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA® over the past year. Kiari Luther was the HP Yogi of 2008. Kiari has been in school instead of class for the past few months, however, she has represented the multi-disciplined, lifestyle hallmark of HP Yoga beautifully...thank you, Kiari! Other local earners of this Mala include Dr. Bob Morissey, and Leslie Hutchinson.

and THANK ALL OF YOU who "do what it takes to make it into the Cave each week!"

This Week's Intensity Schedule



Tuesday w/Steve
5:30-7:00pm; HP Slow Flow. special focus: Shoulders and Inversions
Time to open up the Heart and Crown Chakra to get ready to receive all the delightful and enlightening passion coming up this (w)holiday season!

Wednesday w/Joy
9-10:30 am; HP Slow Flow
A class is geared specifically for women, though men are encouraged to practice with us! Stabilization and strengthening of the urogenital floor and mula bandha musculature as well as core muscles while breathing consciously and gracefully into higher levels of physiologic and biomechanic fitness.

Thursday w/Steve
5:30-7:00pm; HP PROP Workout
Practice what we all need; Functional Strength and Tempered Spirit, once a week. This dastardly fun and focused class is not about ability, it's about chi! Designed and proven to enhance ALL forms of asana, sport performance, and occupations. World exclusive right here in Flag! Buckle up because each class traditionally begins with 30 minutes of core work including many movements that Joseph Pilates would have smiled upon! Oh, like you don't need this class!? C'mon, join our crazy wisdom parade!




above photo of coach doing "PadmaCrunches" by James Q. Martin...

The HP Yoga® Wholistic Progression System

Using the HP Yoga Wholistic Progression System in place at NAYC (and available in DVDs for your out-of-town friends and family), you will be assured of a great, safe, and wise way to slowly shift your body toward the yogic goal of JivaLaghuvata or 'a yogic body of Light.' Each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday class affords unique physical, physiologic, and subtle training effects upon your body, mind, and spirit. As you continue to train within this system, you'll joyfully feel renewed, recentered, and more whole...you'll be able to tell by direct experience that this style was born from a Wholistic Fitness® tradition. There's nothing quite like it!

Bodywork, Online, and private consulations and training sessions within the disciplines of strength, cardio, yoga, meditation, nutrition, fat loss, and lifestyle training are always available. It's what i've done at a world-class level since 1982. If you would enjoy myself or Joy to take a look at the Wholeness of your training, let us know.

Onward, Upward, and endlessly Inward...

coach steve ilg



for a more complete view of Coach's notion of Yoga - one of nine subdisciplines of his Wholistic Fitness® Personal Training system:

Shop Coach's Website Pro Shop

drop the bodyfat with Coach's "Secret Herbs"

Get on MAP Amino Acids; Insure your training effect!

coach's complimentary version of his pro blog

Your (w)holiday Coaching Assignment PLUS: 5 Signs That Your WF Practice Is Taking Root

the holiday season is the most intense opportunity to
challenge our attainments of the Wholistic Fitness® Lifestyle.

of all the WF Sutras, tenets, and maxims that have jeweled our Precious Path
over the decades, ilg relies perhaps on this maxim the most
during the Holiday Season:



"Inner Calm, Outer Active."
- steve ilg's WF Lifestyle Maxim since 1985


And now, time to check in to see if all that great workout energy that you have been putting out is providing fertility for transformation...here are 5 Signs That Your WF Lifestyle is Taking Root:

EMPOWER YOUR PRACTICE:
READ MORE AT DIRECT LINES; Subscription Format!

photo:
Kin-Hin walking: steve and Dewa among cold and holiday lights. photo by Ananda.

Listen To Coach Ilg LIVE Today at 5:00 pm Mountain Time!

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO COACH ILG LIVE!

Troy Anderson of Anderson Training Systems will be chatting live with Coach Ilg today!

click below for more info and hope to have you with us!


Take Me To Coach's Live Interview Right Here: Today at 5:00 pm Mountain Time!


photo by Wayne Williams

3 Training Videos: 3 Minutes of Chi For Your Day...plus Conscious Parenting Training Video Clip...

wow, what a PROP Workout last night in the Practice Cave! packed Cave again and 'props' go to the Mother/Daughter Team from Philadelphia who showed up and got ilg-blasted at 7,000'! Champions, i tell you...champions. my only regret is that ilg can't share our Weekly High Altitude HP PROP Workouts with ALL of you!...

i get asked about how much 'screen time' Ananda and i allow our Dewa to have each day. on the average these days it's 35 minutes which includes computer screen time...

what i'm about to show you is actual training footage of the Norwegian Nordic Sprint Team of which Dewa seems to enjoy as part of Her 35 minutes of screen time followed immediately by a Top Secret Conscious Parenting clip by myself with Ananda and Dewachen...followed by another Norwegian Nordic Team training clip that will absolutely sever the head off of ANY rationalization we may still harbor about not having the facilities to train or how we can't train while traveling...

Enjoy and USE THE CHI from this 3-minute BLAST OF PRANIC EMPOWERMENT STRAIGHT FROM THIS PLANE(T)S MOST BRUTAL, HISTORIC, and POETICALLY POWERFUL SPORT

VIDEOS ONLY FOR DL SUBSCRIBERS; sorry...this is just tooooo powerful for the masses...

Judge a Teacher by his or her Students...from the Himalaya to the Sierras and inbetween...more beautiful seeds of WF sprouting...

Coach,
Amazing energy as always jumping off your email page.

I am excited to see that more Ai Imawa is on its way!

I just completed a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training (with Zuda Yoga in Sacramento) and will open up “On purpose coaching and yoga” in the next week or two. My father in law lived with us in a small cottage on our property until he passed in May (92 and lived a wonderful life…. ). We have converted his cottage into a yoga studio and iron temple. And will open up a community garden in the spring with ½ of the output going to shelters around town. So much in the air. SEVA at the core.

My coaching practice will be working primarily with people 45 – 50 and above. Like me at 56 and getting younger each year. I bow to Wholistic Fitness and setting me on this path. I have never felt more comfortable in my own skin.

And the view from the front window here is of the snow peaked Sierras. Amazing and beautiful.

So all is good. Soon.

Much
Karl Weiss

"Coach Ilg - I am a WF student and wanted to say thank you for your efforts, they have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. I have been involved in competitive athletics all my life, and currently work as a Christian minister and personal trainer, as well as taking on my first Ironman in 2010. I started working through your programs about 2 years ago, and completely support the wholistic philosophy.
Thank you ... keep beastin!

Jon Sherwood
Atlanta, GA."

Coach - Namaste from the Himalaya! Seems there is a bit of a Himalayan time warp. I've only been gone for 12 days yet it's seems like a lifetime has already sped by. Time is different here. It is impossible to be anywhere but HERE NOW. Each moment, breath, bite of food, drink of water, step forward, meter up and kind word require, demand and deserve my full mindful attention.

As I walk amidst the highest peaks on this earth - Sagamartha (aka Everest) and her sisters and brothers - Nuptse, Lhotse, Pumori - I am so full and so empty and open at the same time. I wonder what I've done to be so lucky to be able to transform these pictures from my childhood dreams into reality. How is it I find myself strolling through their light, sleeping in their shadows, feeling their power?

Each day I find my inner terrain closely mimicking what is called "Nepali flat". Nepali flat means rolling hills more or less with some steep uphill and downhill. My inner self resembles this as at times I have one or more rise up within me - joy, sadness, laughter, crying, being overwhelmed, finding complete and effortless peace...However, thanks to my practice, my breath, the mudra and mantra - i roll with these hills and enjoy what they teach me after which I am able to return to the flats and reconnect with my equanimity.

I am so grateful for the time, energy and love that you, Joy and your little one invested in me to help me prepare for this pilgrimage. I am so grateful for all you have given me and am pretty sure i would not have come this far without it. The mantra has served as the soundtrack for each part of this trip and i have turned on what i like to call - "my internal ipod" - at both the challenging and joyous moments (and believe me there have been plenty of both so far).

My breath and the mudra guides me and also serves me in each moment - getting me through unpleasant midnight trips to the lieu (luckily these have been rare so far) and energizing me during my first view of Sagamartha. I have even employed the visualization you so often use in class on the toughest hills: I reach out one hand for Shiva, one for Brahma and can feel Vishnu pushing at the back of my heart - lifting me, guiding me over whatever terrain (on the trail or in my heart and head) lies before me.....thank you for all of this and for your support and love from thousands of miles away.

One last thing, Raven brother. You asked me to tell the Himalaya that you miss them. Yesterday, I did as you requested and the message came back loud and clear: they miss you, too and they'd like for you to visit them again and have said they want you to bring joy and dewa with....and soon. Om Mani Padme Hung!

Love and light and mountains of gratitude for you, joy, and dewa

ck

"...easily one of the most transformative, challenging, and enjoyable..."

Just wondering if you were the Steve Ilg of Wholistic Fitness?

If so, I am currently going through your program from your book again. I really appreciate your take on fitness and the personal growth you can achieve through it with the right mindset/heartset. I am a former multisport athlete (wrestling, swimming, and track & field, along with hiking, distance running, and canoing for recreation). My career in swimming (my main sport) was cut short by shoulder injuries, and I have tried many different types of training and exercise philosophy since then. Yours is easily one of the most transformative, challenging, and enjoyable. Thanks.

Guy Von Wiegand
Atlanta, Ga

"My Work Is Embrace." - Ilg; Blizzard Teachings

Doko Oosliid shimmers - mirage like - behind Pine Needle Brother after Flag's most intense blizzard in a decade. this photo and all others except where noted taken by ilg, today.

"My work is embrace.
Whatever it is,
just embrace it."
- steve ilg

it was the Hanuman Wind that did the most damage last night in Kinlani's most intense blizzard in a decade.

two things ilg knows pretty well by direct experience: wind and snow. ilg has embraced at least those two qualities this time around on this Plane.

it might not be wind and snow for you.
for you?
it might be doing what it takes to untie those tight hips.
it might be to finally learn how to walk with feet bare upon Mother Earth.

it might be doing more (and more intense) cardio training...
or, it might be letting go of cardio for more gym...or yoga...or meditation.

it might not be wind and snow for you.
it might be letting go of status, of money.
it might be doing what it takes to spend more time with your chi(ld).

it might just be embracing your passion for drinking or smoking or gossip
and sitting with it
meditating upon it
again and again
until
it Shifts.

READ THE REST AND GET THE CHI OFF OF THE OTHER PHOTOS BY COACH ON DL SUBSCRIPTION FORMAT!

INCOMING!!! WF Temple Braces For Blizzard

Take a last look at Doko Oosliid from the WF Temple Backyard...i took this shot two days ago
while filming the photos for the Ai Imawa Flip Chart book.

Now...take a look here (you can click to enlarge):






Now, take a look here:



See that smile? That's at 11,500' on Agassiz Peak, in the wind-blasted summit snow areas on photo number one...you know why ilg is smiling (besides the fact that behind me is HP Yogini Julie experiencing her first ever snowshoe hillclimb)? Cuz there is a BLIZZARD moving in! the WF Temple H(om)e sits right at the top of Northern Arizona...we anticipate 50+ mph winds and perhaps up to 3 feet of snow! Now, the grid is a bit elementary up here, so if you don't hear from me for a couple of days, you know where i'll be...





right here!
Smiling, cold, and Practicing all the wonderful tenets of WF which transforms difficulties and challenges into opportunities of Awakening like no other Path on the Plane(t), baby!

Breathe and Be,
your loving coach


final pic: taken 12/18*08; snow mole tunnels around the WF Temple H(om)e by ilg

I Had a Father Who Read to Me

READ THE TEACHING ON TODAY's DL Subscription Format!

Every Single Negative Thing

WF Devotee Brad Gantt designed the DVD Cover of my upcoming; AI IMAWA - The Postures and Practice of Inner Harmony.
getting this DVD into production has tested ALL the Teachings in the Ai Imawa philosophy!


***

"Every single negative thing we have ever thought or done has ultimately arisen from our grasping at a false self, and our cherishing of that false self, making it the dearest and most important element in our lives. All those negative thoughts, emotions, desires, and actions that are the cause of our negative karma are engendered by self-grasping and self-cherishing. They are the dark, powerful magnet that attracts to us, life after life, every obstacle, every misfortune, every anguish, every disaster, and so they are the root cause of all the sufferings of samsara.
- Soygal Rinpoche


***

When ilg was young, ilg was obsessive. A quick glance at my athletic resume
verifies this. my current incarnation comes front loaded with addictive tendencies,
lazy habits,
and deep samsaric grooves created by countless eons of surviving, being lazy, evolving.

as ilg matures as a WF Student,
the Light of Wholeness imparted from our precious Path
is slowly producing an ilg that does not run toward - or away - from anything.
this Path of ours
is producing an ilg that has neither friend nor foe; ilg is seeing more and more directly
into our cosmic brother and sister hood than ever before.

about time, right?

hey, ilg is a slow learner.
obviously.

yet, like you...even though you yourself might be lifetimes Higher than feeble ilg,
like you,
ilg is baby-stepping up the Steep Mountain toward Enlightenment.

this much ilg does know from direct experience;
the Higher we climb?
the more narrow, the more difficult the Path becomes.
baby steps are vital.
so is Beginning Again
and Again
and Endlessly Again.



this morning, ilg brushed his teeth in yogi squat using Non Dominant Hand exercise.
reciting and rejoicing with the Mantra.
ilg felt pleasure within my arthritic, injured hip pain.
this morning, in ilg's Inbox came letters from angry students
and absolutely enraptured ones.
ilg felt content; santoshic with each.
OUTSIDE Magazine called, interested in ilg again.
ilg didn't care that much, which is odd.
free from egoism or pride; praise nor censure affected ilg this morning.

this was before the DVD duplicator broke right when i was about
to release my beautiful new AI IMAWA DVD for you.

ilg's composure lost at gnarled feet of the Technical Snafu Guru.
then found.
then lost again.

Renouncing ego very difficult.
Back to the protection of the Mantra.

Back to the Beginning WF Principle; Conscious Breath and Posture.
Again,
and
endlessly
Again.


Practice Well,
faithful ones!
Wholeness is not for wimps who quit.

ec

WOW! What a Chi Hit...

Dearest No-Bull Coach,

WOW! What a Chi Hit you and Ananda packed into your latest offering from beneath the Sacred Peak!

Though I was familiar with many of the techniques described from your other works seeing the whole continuum of them visually was invaluable.

I've been of late without an Iron Temple so have been playing with some of the bodyweight techniques contained in your books... One day I would love to see a WF Plyometric Bodyweight Strength Training DVD, featuring gunther hops, knee tuck jumps, your straight armed pull-up-mantles (!?!), and hey maybe some clapping handstand pushups? :)

My love to you, Ananda, and Dewachen!

Hum-Bull Yogi ct

*** Yogi CT, sounds like a GREAT idea for a new WF DVD! ilg will put it on the Things-To-Do List! THANK YOU!!!!! - Iron Mind, Velvet Heart, Pranic Body, Boundless Soul... long live the Iron Temple! head bowed, el coache

coach welcomes Rae Dawn Chong to Blogroll...

tis deep honor to invite Rae Dawn Chong to my very limited, "WF-Approved Blog list." RDC is a great karma yogini and i encourage each and every one of you to stop by her very meaningful and well-paced blog at:

The Note at Blogtalkradio

One the best pieces i've read this year was RDC's November 15th blog: The Walk About

RDC is an acquaintance via my Beverly Hills Pilates® guru and best friend in the eighties, the one and only Stephan Frease. It's great to see such a beautiful, beaming, and intelligent human use her HeartSpace so fervently. And, of course, RDC shall forever hold a huge place in my own HeartSpace for playing Kevin Costner's bicycle racing babe so totally perfectly in the 1985 peleton cult classic movie: American Flyers. Read more of RDC's extensive work here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001044/

RDC has long been a fan of Wholistic Fitness® and it seems only perfect that my Sangha enjoy and benefit from this Bright Light of Kali Yuga. ilg can feel Stephan smiling right now...

May Your Practice Be Turned Inside Out For The Benefit Of All Beings In All Realms...

el coache

as I devour word after word...

HP YOGA®
Ancient, Intelligent Fitness for Western Yogis...since 1982

Dear Steve,
In your LifeWork, I have discovered something that truly speaks to me. It is rather difficult to explain the excitement and the enthusiasm I feel as I devour word after word and digest your philosophy and teachings. I have been continually striving along a path of enlightenment and reaching deep within to discover the true warrior within myself. I believe what I have discovered in crossing your path is a more appropriate path to discovering and defining my true self. This is what I truly feel from my core and for this I humbly bow to you. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me. I look forward to this new journey of Wholistic Fitness and humbly look forward in sharing the path with you as Coach, Mentor and Friend. Thank you.

In health and gratitude,
Rob Jacks, NSCA-CPT, TSAC, CPR/AED
www.weretalkingfitness.net

above photo:
I knew Dewa had once again spotted Grandmother Moon last evening as i heard her shrill scream of joy, "HA!!!!!!" and saw her pointing toward our beautiful, floaty Grandmother. "Ha" means "Moon" in Sanskrit. HaTha Yoga refers to the Union of Sun & Moon which has layered philosophical meaning.

ThanksGiving WF Mastery Test

Ananda and Dewa (in the baby backpack), lead my 80 year-young mom and my dad on a WF Earned Sustenance hike behind the WF Temple H(om)e before the ThanksGiving Meal...photo by ilg

Go(o)d Luck:

Take Me To The THANKSGIVING WF MASTERY TEST!

A PRO'S DUCK OF TIVITY

photos and links may only appear for DL Subscribers


that's right,
whenever someone comes near ilg wanting to make me more productive?
i reach for my gun.
well, really,
i reach for either my daughter
or my zafu!

awlright,
awlright,
ilg knows he told you that i'd quiz you on your WF mastery during Thanksgiving...
however,
something called SNOW got in the way of the productivity for that particular Teaching.

in fact,
ilg wants you all to take that lack of productivity as a Teaching.

"There is more to life than merely accelerating its speed," taught the great Karma Yogi Gandhi.

in this age of ever-increasing speed,
you know what the ol' ski and rock climbing bum
parts of ilg makes me do whenever i see or hear some advertisement trying to get me
to 'increase my productivity'?


you know what ilg does whenever some advertisement or 'time effectiveness guru'
tries to get ilg to 'become more productive' by way of the next friggin' cell phone, or interface compatibility gadget or this or that?

that's right,
when someone comes near ilg wanting to make me more productive?
i reach for my gun.
well, really,
i reach for either my daughter
or my zafu!

you can quote me on that
as
you SLOW DOWN YOUR ROLL
and
try to edge your meditation discipline in the vicinity of
at least 3 hours per week*...

thus, on this snowy night of nights beneath the Sacred Peak of DokoOsliid,
your feeble Teacher is coaching you
to
Undo.

don't become a Buddhist.
don't become a Catholic.
don't become a Hindu.

Become an Undo.

Undoism, baby.

Undoism.


Om Mani Padme Hung,
still trekking the Path of the Ancients for the Sake of Thee...

your feeble Teacher

* Coach's Meditation Volume last month: 34 hours.

a Thanks-Giving To Practice From...quiz yourself against Coach's ThanksGiving Practice

Cloud Sisters over Wing Mountain, by coach on Thanksgiving Day from his front porch, Kinlani, AZ.

Ladies & Gentleman,

thank you so much for flying with us this (w)holiday...

you'll be back on the (spiritual) ground shortly with Coach

so...

please make sure your trays are in their upright position and that all your 'carried on baggage' is securely loosend for our final approach back to the one Coach who keeps your spiritual fitness right where it needs to be:

PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR!

And...

wherever your final destination may be,

we wish you a very peaceful, powerful day...

(ps; if you are going to take tomorrow's WF Test Quiz against Coach?

you better re-check how deeply you are buckled!)

The Most Yogic Of "Mainstream" Holy-days...HAPPY, WHOLISTIC THANKSGIVING!

When you spend each day with a 2 year-old Rinpoche? It's easy to feel and treat each dawn as another blessed opportunity for Thanks-Giving.

Dwelling in the UniVerse of Dewachen, outer worldly comings and goings fade like evening night into meaninglessness. i must shake myself like a dog out of a lake, re-ground myself...
force myself to
ratchet
flowing Beingness
into the Marketplace.'

***


Last week, Ananda asked Dewa;
"So is Elmo a boy or a girl?"
Dewa shot Ananda a look straight from Padmasambhava...then, smiled and replied, "Dude."


For the Awakened Fitness Warrior,
many of our Western economically driven "Holy-Days-turned-Holidays" dredge deep confusion...even sadness or bitterness arise.

Fortunately, today, ThanksGiving Day, holds little philosophical snafu for the yogically inclined. In our humble, powerful Tribe, we are trained to sit in meditation; stabilizing our Mind Waves in an attempt to lose ourselves in love which inevitably shakes off layers of egoic pretense and strips us, nakedly, toward the shining quality of Gratitude.

Even if you are not a formal WF Student, perhaps today is a wise day to revisit my notion of a Gratitude Journal as described in my most recent book, TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION.

At least, today, before absorbing the 10,000 efforts and lives associated with our HolyDay Meal, pray at the table.

Be the Leader of a Gratitude Meditation for your meal...one of the Traditional WF Mealtime Blessings, which i learned in Japanese during my formative Zen years and is now passed onto my Online WF Students goes like this:

PRAYER AVAILABLE FOR DL SUBSCRIBERS ONLY TO ENSURE TEMPLE TRADITION - coach ilg

May you practice well other important WF Teachings such as; Earned Sustenance, Rasas Eating Assignment, Eating Elegantly Assignment, et.al.. The artful self science in WF offers an immense banquet for Self Cultivation in the hours before your gathering. Be it a solo, small, or enormous family gathering does not matter. Here is what matters; How well can you Love today? How deeply can you cultivate Gratitude today? How willing are you to let go of silly things that do not lead you Higher?

In the Spirit of All Yoga Teachers who dedicate their lives to reflect the integrity of the Ancient Enlightened Masters,
this feeble messenger sends only my deepest Gratitude for you...




May All Beings Be Happy And Know The Causations Of Happiness,

OM SO TI,
coach ilg

A Supreme informal WF Training Weekly Program by Student BG

It's very easy to 'overthink' WF.

Those who are overwhelmed by the notion of WF need to stop overthinking...a predictable tendency among us Westerners. Instead, read the WF Sutras as i've written TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION. Read the chapter on WF Lifestyle Principles. Or, even less expensive, visit the WF SanghaLounge and read my Introductions to each Noble WF Fitness Discipline and Lifestyle Principle. Do that? You will never workout - or work within - the same way ever again.

TBT has now become the bible of personal fitness trainers and even some open-minded yogis that understand the genius of Wholistic Fitness®. Most of them don't acknowledge publicly their embrace of WF and that is sad to me as it's creator, then again, i put out WF back in 1982 to help people as my Karma Yoga path, not to become famous. So, on the spiritual level, it's all go(o)d to me. Ripples make waves.

WF is a most practical, simple, powerful yet very steep and direct Path toward Personal Transformation. I say it's steep because the 4 Lifestyle Principles of WF constantly ground and re-ground our 'spiritual work' through continual Awareness of very mundane actions such as Word Choice, Conscious Breath, Conscious Posture, etc. It is also a very available Path...with just the purchase of a book and a couple of DVDs you - like student BG below - can create an amazingly effective fitness week that immediately begins working right where we suffer most...that is what WF is all about; attacking our weaknesses and promoting passionate balance.

check out BG's self-made WF Training Program below and let me know how YOU respond to it!

Happy, wholesome (w)wholidays to all of you who treasure sweat and spirit...

coach ilg

***



El Coache,
Here is my revised WF Training Week based on your input:


Monday- OFF

Tuesday- HP PROP (FULL)

Wednseday- Kinlani Flow + Cardio (Short & Sweet)

Thursday- HP Prop (ABS) + Zazen

Friday- HP Basic Strength

Saturday- Kinlani Flow + Cardio (Long)

Sunday- Kinlani Flow + Cardio (Tempo/Interval)


Will try and work in more Zazen as I TAF possible. Awareness all-ways!!!


Head Bowed,

humble student bg

WF Opens Up Uncovered Parts of Self - Yogini Julie Cranks The Tour de Tucson!

WF Devotee Yogini "Petticoat" Julie at Haridwar ("door" to Shiva), northern india after being blessed by a Hindu priest by the Holy Ganga. photo courtesy Julie Mueller.

my Dad: the ultimate Left-Handed Tantric Master!

my amazing dad and my still-scintillating sister at 51 years-young! taken by me outside the WF Temple H(om)e, Kinlani, AZ last year.

actual cell phone conversation with my mom today:

"Hey, Mom?"

"Steve? Is that you?"

"Yeah, hey listen, Dewa has been talking nonstop about you and "Duck*" coming for Thanksgiving and she wanted to say 'hi' to you, okay?"

{insert an absolutely delicious (or revolting for the devoted single people) 5 minutes of Grandma and 2 year-old Grandchild 'conversation here}

back to steve:

"Yeah, so, i also wanted to tell you that there is no need for you guys to bring coffee, okay? We just did a 'Sam's Club' expedition and i got a killer deal on great coffee...and lots of it, okay?"

Treasured Reader:

you must realize the extent of my father's addiction to coffee and cigarettes. The dude is - without doubt - coming off his cockroach incarnation because i swear to God; this guy is incredibly resilient...he began chain smoking cigarettes, drinking any kind of alcohol and then some, along with coffee when he was 14 years-old after he blew off his left hand (that's a different story...see how he automatically hides it in his left pant pocket in the photo above? every photo of my beautiful dad is like that. i love you, Dad!).

I recall when i was about 17 years-old in Boulder, a Great Condition was laid down by my mom to my dad:

quit drinking or i swear i will leave you.

he quit...

for the most part.

And smoked and drank coffee all the more.

He works at Wal-Mart.

Has for 18 years.

Doesn't need to be at work until 7 am.

He wakes up at 2 am.

Serious.

Goes outside (my mom doesn't allow him to smoke inside) and smokes until he leaves for work at 5:30...leaving an hour and a half for a commute which takes 11 minutes.

Upon arrival in the pre-dawn Wal-Mart parking lot...he...

* - Dewa's name for GrandDad Ilg...cuz he always quacks like a duck for her.

READ THE REST ON TODAY'S DIRECT LINES AND >>>>>>>>>>

***

HOW ABOUT YOU?

HAS THE STRENGTH OF YOUR INNER PRACTICE PREPARED YOU FOR THE HIGHEST OF ALL YOGA's: FAMILY YOGA!?!???!!

i want to hear about what YOU are getting ready to deal with on the Family Yoga plane this holiday season! email me!