RACE REPORT: IRON HORSE - DAY ONE

click on pics to enlarge

"You must open your eyes to the definite second,
You must be the moment
In all your ferocity and faith,

For that miraculous second will never come
Back ever again.

Be aware, be aware: Sometimes the invitation to your new life comes
At the most least likely time."
- Mirabal

ilg on the attack during Day Two of the Iron Horse Bicycle Race held in Durango, Colorado last weekend. photo by: Barak Naggan Photography

***
DAY ONE: Durango to Silverton Road Race. 49-miles. 5,700 vertical feet of climbing. highest elevation; nearly 11,000'. twice.

"What irony," i thought to myself as my heart-rate leaped into the clouds dancing out rain as our Masters peleton slammed into Shalona hill bringing our speed from 25 mph to 8, "i'm once again racing in a world that's been dead to my limbs for years, yet here again is that undeniable aliveness pulsating in every blood cell and chi meridian; Warrior blood...Warrior Chi never dies."

Eventually, the Wholistic Fitness athlete/yogi evolves into the many different tribes of athletes that train specifically for their sports. Timing is everything for the WF athlete. my training diary showed less than 35 hours of cardio training for May 1-21; right before this 3-day race. the guys i was competing against? twice that much; i know at least one of them had already done the 5-Day Tour De Gila alongside Lance Armstrong as prep for this race. ilg was changing diapers and doing yoga....

READ THE REST OF COACH's HIGH FINISH AND SEE THE PROFESSIONAL STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHY IN TODAY's DL SUBSCRIPTION FORMAT...

COMING UP NEXT ONLY FOR DL SUBSCRIBERS:
DAY TWO...THE CRITTERS COME OUT TO PLAY and the field narrows considerably...as Coach's Wholistic Fitness training takes out another huge chunk from the cycling-specific athletes!

Old School Spinal Mobility and Supple Strength

on today's DL Subscription format;
where multi-disciplined warriors earn, learn, and yearn...
since 1982

"It's like all my doubts have been cleared in one go."

some hours go by in what feels like 10 or 15 minutes.
other ones, linger.
what's a yogi to do save for cultivating Santosha* from each?

some clouds race over the Sacred Peak as if sprinting each other for the
arid dry skies over Hopi land...rushing to their death.
other ones, linger. whirls of white grease in the blue, blue sky.
ilg likes to savor both and smile.

the birds too, have their rhythms.
some, like Brother Hawk, try to pry the sky apart with long, strong wingbeats.
other ones, like Hummingbird, dance upon waves of air with incredible finesse and play.

tis a Great Blessing to notice and feel the tempo of nature
within one's feathers
and teach it to those
whose hurried, troubled hearts
know not that all the comings and goings
leave us nowhere
but where we breathe.

and
then,
ilg gets this {below, fan mail} in my Inbox...
how Blessed is it
to know
you've helped someone
in a far away land
yet still a Tribal Sibling?

May your own Practice contain
Santosha, Natural Rhythm, and the Grace of Lila...the Divine Dance...

head bowed,
heart open,
hands folded at heart,

your loving coach

* Santosha; 'contentment' one of the ten yogic lifestyle principles.

Dear and Respected Coach Ilg,

My name is Abhinav Gupta. I live near Delhi, India.
I found your book "Total Body Transformation" in a book-shop close to
work. It's like all my doubts have been cleared in one go.

Being an Indian fitness enthusiast , i have always believed strongly in
the powers of yoga. But as you have rightly pointed out , i was also
looking to develop real functional strength. But i couldn't figure out
how to fit all the stuff in the same week.
Also perhaps , i was used to overdoing Yoga (a easy trap to fall in if
one follows the Iyengar style)

Your step-by-step highly structured routines have really excited me.
I really am looking forward to starting the Green Tara practise this
week.

This mail is a thank-you note for the detailed efforts you have put in
your book. I am really thankful.

Also, i am sure you know , you being well versed with indian culture by
now,
that in India a guru is treated with the highest regard , on par with
parents.
So , i seek your blessing in my efforts to become a WF Warrior.

Sincerely,
Abhinav

***
photo 1; ilg, WF Temple H(om)e, evening Brahmamurhurti. photo by Connie Ilg
photo 2; TBT..."the MahaBarata for modern, multi-disciplined yogis"

ilg's 47th...many, many beautiful Moons have passed...

Okay stop it everybody! My Facebook page is full!!! Have you already forgotten what i've taught you about yogis and chronological birthdays?!!

Seriously; thank you SOOOO much for all the Birthday Wishes! Ilg could not have had a Happier 47th...finishing 4th Place at Iron Horse in front of my new family and long-time friends!

THANK YOU!!!!

photo; post-crit with Dewachen, downtown Durango, Colorado. photo by Ananda.

WHOLENESS VS. SPECIFICITY: coach cranks a 4th Place Overall For Wholistic Fitness at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic!

click on pics to enlarge the chi hit...





GOD IT FEELS GOOD TO HAVE THE LEAD MOTORCYCLE ON YOUR REAR WHEEL AS YOU LAUNCH OFF THE FRONT!!!!
oh...ilg will take you DL Subscribers DIRECTLY into what it feels like to pounce off the front of a ferocious starting pack of 175 rabidly bike-specific, hunched back cyclists whose pencil-thin arms can't even hold up their arm warmers let alone sustain a feasibly acceptable Downward Facing Dog into a true Chaturunga and...

...beat 99% of them at their own Game with only 2 months of specific training while bringing the Wholeness of Compassion...

...family fatigue and love...

...and a New Daddy bringing his first and only daughter back to his h(om)eland of Durango, Colorado to finish 4th place in one of America's most brutal tests of aerobic and anaerobic and high-altitude challenges...

...while other racers and coaches rely upon PowerMeters and all sorts of fancy smanchy high tech equipment and chemicals...your one and only ilg humbly and traditionally relies upon the Ancient powers of Mala, Mantra, and Mula Bandha to nearly top the podium against what is perhaps the worlds most competitive endurance sports using Wholistic Fitness®, whole-food herbs, and MAP Amino Acids backed by a WHOLE TON OF HELP from YOU...my Noble DL Subscribers and WF Students the world over...

...you're gonna LOVE what ilg has to report from my h(om)eland...

including sensational photography from Bruce Naggan, Connie Ilg, and Ananda...


...buckle up...

...and chalk yet another VICTORY up for WHOLENESSS VS. SPECIFICITY!!!!!!


ONLY FOR DL SUBSCRIBERS...
so,
quit lazin' around the Tribal CampFire
and SUBSCRIBE TODAY
cuz,
if you want to use your Warrior Ways toward Enlightenment
through steadfast sweat and spirit...
you're gettin' gapped...
bad...
and
that's
really
sad...
as
we
finders of Wholeness,
keep kickin' ass
getting younger,
not older,
getting leaner,
not meaner,
getting wiser,
not spiritually more miser...

come, join your Tribe of Wholeness..
we've been waiting for your few pennies per month
since 1982...

do it
or
lose It...


love,
coach ilg

The Reflection Principle

Sometimes when we see too much truth about ourselves suddenly mirrored in front of us by the teacher or the teachings, it is simply too difficult to face, too terrifying to recognize, too painful to accept as the reality about ourselves. We deny and reject it, in an absurd and desperate attempt to defend ourselves fromourselves,from the truth of who we really are. And when there are things too powerful or too difficult to accept about ourselves, we project them onto the world around us, usually onto those who help us and love us the most—our teacher, the teachings, our parent, or our closest friend.
- Sogyal Rinpoche

Each month i have students quit.

Oh the rationalizations come easy as their feet pad away from the Humble Temple Doors
- the same ones which they nearly pounded down with enthusiasm for spiritually-potent fitness training just a short while earlier.

As i bow to these Awakening Ones,
i know in my heart that the WF path has transformed who they once thought they were,
how they worked out,
and
most of all;
how they work within.

What can a Teacher do
besides listen
to their footfalls...
ilg gives so much
tries so hard...
yet,
it is the fatigue of waving go(o)d-bye
which hurts more than the economic woes
of trying to do what ilg does
in this Kali Yuga...


the student and teacher,
the devotee and her path,
the river and the ocean,
devotion and knowledge,
actions and thoughts...
all are interrelated.

just as the student must surrender to the silence of the Teacher,
so too,
must the Teacher surrender everything to his students.
everything.

until the "I-ness" dissolves,
there is much work to do.
barbells to be lifted,
miles to sweat,
poses to absorbed into the breath,
aching backs and legs in meditation overcome,
food intake to be mastered,
purity of loving speech and Appropriate Action to attain...

Samadhi is not a matter for hurry.

yet most who come to me for study of wholeness
want things fast.

too fast for transformation to be genuine.

so,
here ilg sits,
sighing.

no time for self-pity;
no time to wonder what it will take to
attain a Higher Level of Teaching for
Students so they don't Take Leave so easily...

here is what it is time for ilg to do:
go Teach another killer beautiful PROP WORKOUT
with my local HP Yoga sangha,
then, clamber into Bala with my clan
and off to the bike races in Durango...
the first time as a family warrior...
funny,
ilg feels more
like a
wearior...than a warrior.

likes and dislikes
exist in my state of awareness,
yet
they have no lasting effect
or
so
ilg
prays.


i'll do my best to update during the weekend,
however,
ilg is a rookie at this Family Warrior stuff,
and since it's taking three times as longer to
do everything to prepare to leave,
i might not be able to update DL until Tuesday.

so,
most Precious and Treasured Warriors of Wholeness,
please know without your support,
the WF Path will become but a ripple dissolving
instead of expanding...

i have an opening for a new Online Student in June.
please apply here;

WF Training Application

no Initiation Fee if you state on the Application
you read about this Opening here...


until we meet again:

"Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid."
- John*



Dare yourself to be brave in your workouts and your work-withins
this weekend...your humble will certainly be doing his best
to be at least a passable example of a yogi for thee...

Om Mani Padme Hung,

your feeble teacher



* (perhaps the most advanced and devoted of Yogi Jesus's students)

Spiritual and Cellular Nutrition Is Top Priority

As i start packing my back and bikes for the IRON HORSE BICYCLE RACE this weekend, you better believe the first
bag i pack is the one with my Secret Herbs and MAP
Amino Acids. Why? Priorities, that's why!
if you are not in my SUNRIDER Herb Downline, than you have just been emailed a missive that details which SUNRIDER Herb i used to lose fat at 7% bodyfat to start without losing muscle strength and endurance for racing events like Iron Horse...c'mon, get on the Secret Herbs of Wholistic Fitness® today and get feeling world class!
above photo by www.WayneWilliams.com

***

The nature of the Outer World speaks often through spiritual
ignorance caused by timidity of intensity within self-cultivation.

Many people will just say whatever comes into their chaotic
minds and produce cheap products and services as their desire for fulfillment of high ambition rises again and again in the form of discontent.

The well-taught yogi, whose Practice is steady, whose body is
fed wholesome, powerful, and pure foods tends to talk less which
increases one's power. High ambition is grounded by realization
of what truly matters; inner peace and contentment with what Is.

There is no action in the Outer World which is not criticized.

Wholeness, therefore, pivots upon an individuals training. And that
training, most noble warrior, always and endlessly begins with
what we feed our cells; the quality of our physical and spiritual
nutrition dictates the rising subtleness of our mind.

Much work needs to be done.

Yet, few come forward.

Fewer still, follow through.

Bardo Training; Why Can't Most People Recall Past Lifetimes?

note; this DL is devoted to "Yoda" the wonderful Dog Being and 17 year-old faithful Four-Legged Friend of 2007 HP Yogini of the Year, Leslie. Yoda entered the Bardo yesterday. ilg Trusts that Yoda is already snapping at the heels of the Spirit Horse and both are galloping through the Bardo Stages, intent for a fast and high and noble re-incarnation.

After all, it is no more surprising to be born twice than it is to be born once.
VOLTAIRE

Among those whose Solo Practice has deepened, a very sacred, direct, dynamic, and surprisingly utilitarian relationship with our countless past lives dances within our cell memories. These memories are ignited by the mindful breathing during meditation and deep asana.

But for those who ask,
“If we have lived before, why don’t we remember it?”



READ THE ENTIRE TEACHING ON TODAY's DIRECT LINES!

***
photo:

Sunset Brahmamuhurti as viewed from the WF Temple H(om)e rear deck...Wing Mountain shown here, a mountain surrounded by a vast network of great running, mountain biking, skiing, and snowshoe trails. click to enlarge this photo by ilg.

Rae Dawn Chong raves about Wholistic Fitness

Hi Steve
My friend Rae Dawn Chong, who is an avid fan of yours, suggested I contact you. She has read your book and raves about your teaching and amazing comeback after your accident..."
- Michelle M.
Hollywood


*** READ THE WHOLE STORY ON TODAY's DIRECT LINES...
coach's note: i had the great honor of working with and getting to know the beautiful and utterly sweet Rae Dawn when i assisted Stephan Frease at his Beverly Hills Pilates Studio in the eighties...at the time, there were only 3 other Pilates studios in the nation.

preparing for Iron Horse Bicycle Stage Race...nervousness a familiar friend...

With the Giro de Italia (won in 1988 by WF Student Andy Hampsten the first and only American to win this Grand Tour) going on in all her full, Italian Racing glory and bickering...the month long Grand Tour is giving ilg all sorts of inpsiration for my 09 bike racing debut this coming weekend in Durango, Colorado...above; The sprint for second place at the finish in Bergamo, Stage 8.
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net

wow does the saying go, Abu? "Hockey and {Grand Tour} Bicycle Racing are the only true sports...all the others are merely games."
yesterday's stage in Italy saw a horrific, spine-breaking crash of Rabobank racer Pedro Horrillo. he (thankfully) has come out of his coma. and you wonder why i force you all to FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!!! WF was born from extreme sports and if i tell you to FOCUS on your Breath during, say, Early Morning Ritual, i mean it for very, very important reasons!
Rescue workers head towards Pedro Horrillo (Rabobank).
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net

***

only 6 days to go before i lay - once again - my New Daddy Practice of Wholistic Fitness® on a Start Line. my target is my first Stage Race in years;
the IRON HORSE BICYCLE CLASSIC in my h(om)etown of Durango, Colorado...ilg admits nervousness.

of course there is the perennial Doubt which accompanies any dyed-in-the-soul warrior of Wholistic Fitness when it comes to competing against the 'sport specialists.'

However, within the last month, my cycling fitness has been creeping upward, gently, yet upward. Yesterday, on the ferocious Club Ride where the full-season cyclists flock to spray their testosterone upon any and all comers, ilg began to hold my own against the Big Boyz...leading the peleton into the first hillclimb and hanging on - desperately - for a 10th placing, then finishing in the mid-sprint in 6th place and on the final kilometer nearing mile 48, when the Big Dogs upshifting from 28 mph to 34 mph, ilg scrambled and found the wheel of a Canadian pro woman, came around her, and with the help of Nordic Champion and Ironman Age Winner, "Young Ryan", we put our heads down and came to within seconds of the 4-person lead group as i barreled ahead of Ryan for the finishing sprint, squeezing every ounce of my WF training, especially my HP YOGA PROP WORKOUT induced strength and coordination and mental focus to get across the Line...

so, ready or not, your humble coach will roll up (on my new Student-supported racing bicycle which i'll unveil during my Race Updates) to the Start Line in Durango and - with my family coming in from New Mexico and California to watch - i'll be doing my best to arrive through each Stage 1) safely and 2) soundly:

Stage One - May 23rd: Road Race - 47 miles, 5,700 ft of climbing, thin air, and fast descents).

Stage Two - May 24th: Time Trial - 13.7 miles - finishes with seven sharp turns

Stage Three - May 25th - Downtown Criterium: 45 minutes plus 3 laps. Supercharged double steep hills and a scary fast sweeper hairpin.

Only DL Subscribers will be invited to vicariously live and breath every Stage along with their feeble, yet willing Warrior ilg as i attempt to stand up for wholeness of body/mind/spirit training against the sport-specialists...

stay tuned and
keep fighting the Noble Fight...
toe a Start Line of something frightens you...
apply thy Practice under duress
and
watch the Divine start beating Her Pulse within you...lifting you uniquely Higher into Thyself...

sport is go(o)d;
sweat is (w)holy;
and
Start Lines are Bardo Training...

off and onto my cross bike for a 45-mile hill workout on pre-fatigued legs from yesterday...because ilg wants to do his best for his Noble Sangha in Durango...


Om So Ti on this Sundays of Sundays...
ilg

Animated Sutra Study; Everybody Should Practice The 4 WF Lifestyle Principles

Abbaji and Dewachen practicing Vrkasana or Tree Pose, thanks to a most beautiful Arizona Sycamore near Clear Creek last week. photo by Ananda. click to enlarge the chi hit.

The energy of the body is intelligence.
The energy of the mind is consciousness.

Everybody wants Happiness; for themselves, for our chi-ldren, for our Animal friends, for our Mother Earth and Sky Father, for our nations.

Even the gunman holding up the convenience store or the rapist just is seeking Happiness.

Even the compulsive athlete who runs a marathon every weekend for a year is just seeking Happiness, fulfillment, approval of peers.

Even the woman who plops out more and more kids - while herself is just a kid in spiritual sense - is just seeking Happiness.

Thing is;
because of avidya* we've mistaken "Happiness" for "Sacredness" and thus run into and co-create all sorts of miseries and sufferings for ourselves, our chi-ldren, our Animal Friends, for our Mother Earth and Sky Father, and for our Nations.

Happiness is transitory; it can never last - nor would we want it to.

Sacredness however, is what a Buddhist might call, 'nirvana.' now, that's a funny word. it is usually understood as meaning a "heavenly realm" yet the actual meaning is "extinction." Extinction? Yes, in a Shiva-type of way; when we reach Nirvana, we have reach the extinction of our...

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT miss this important Teaching through which Coach touches the fabric of government through individual Practice of the 4 WF Lifestyle Principles!

Hydroxycut Death Put Into Perspective...

Most Noble Sangha,
when i first heard of a Hydroxycut® death, first i chanted the Tribal Mantra for the deceased one's Soul through the Bardo, another Mantra for that person's family, and a final Mantra for the worldwide Sangha of Suffering.

then, i admit, a much Lower Self of ilg jumped to the ThoughtWave:
"See, i KNEW it! Those &%$# companies that produce that crap! Why can't everyone just LISTEN TO ME and use our Whole Food Herbs of SUNRIDER® to help their efforts in losing fat, healthfully!?!?!"


READ THE ENTIRE TEACHING FROM DR.MINKOFF and COACH ON TODAY's DIRECT LINES!

The WF SanghaLounge is Going OFF!

get in there and hit
VIEW POSTS SINCE LAST VISIT
on the upper right hand margin...

the ongoing input, teachings, and dreamspeak of our Tribe is so fantastic!
contribute!
help the newer Students along the WF Way as well as relishing the Sangha of
Wholeness Devotees the world over!

Students Inspire Thy Sweat and Stillness...

"The modern yogi must be very careful not to exploit just the 'flexibility' or the 'posture' (asana) aspect of yoga.
The most important asana is Wholeness.
The mature yogin learns to attack the weak links in his or her fitness with the might and perseverance
of Arjuna and keeps their Inner Eye on the Highest Summit."
- Coach Steve Ilg

atop a 200' basalt pinnacle near White Rock, New Mexico.
closed eyes-Natrajasana variation.
photo by Marc Romanelli



***

HP YOGA: An Interdisciplinary Warriors Approach since 1982

"The primary genius of yoga lies precisely in its recognition of the critical role of the BODY in the development and transformation of character. Most spiritual paths begin with the 'mental bodies' - thoughts and feelings - moving us directly into meditation, contemplation, scriptural study, or prayer. Yogis took a radical step in moving the entry point of spiritual practice right to the body. The yogic traditions therefore bring our attention directly to the annamayakosha (the physical body) - understanding it to be the doorway to the more subtle interior worlds."
- Steven Cope

***



FROM THE WF SANGHALOUNGE:

While Coach was away and DL quiet, here's a passage I came across that reminded me of the Ilgman:

"Katagiri Roshi said in his book Returning to Silence that it is not important whether a spiritual teacher has reached the peak or not; what is important is how he has digested the truth he has experienced and how much this truth is manifested in the teacher's life moment by moment."
(from Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg)

Anne Sasso
VT

***
Dear Coach,
I rode the 80 mile route in the Mingus Mountain Madness (+ 10 miles because I went off course) in 6:40! It was a great ride, with a notoriously hard climb from Jerome to the pass in Mingus Mountain, and I felt great! No cramps, not even a twinge; I felt fine throughout the ride and was able to keep a very good pace (I tried to do between 85 and 95 RPMs) throughout the ride. Thank you for HP Yoga, it's given me focus and strength and the ability to laugh when things go wrong (riding 10 extra miles on a very hot day!).
- Student Citlali
Flagstaff

***

Dearest Coach:
See you tomorrow. 6pm. I am looking forward to it after completing my first sprint distance triathlon yesterday. 1:45:05. 15 minutes faster than I expected! Wholistic Fitness and HP Yoga training helped immensely with my focus....this is my first race since back in the US. I was certainly the only athlete who spent the 10 minutes waiting to get in the water in prayer squat.
- Love,
Julie "Petticoat Yogini" Mueller

coaches note; i just did a final BodyWork Tune-Up for Yogini Julie who leaves today for the India on a spiritual quest...Julie will be radiant with the WF chi...having lost several pounds, restructuring her entire body, and completing her first triathlon last weekend. Yes, she will be packing the MAP Amino Acids to the h(om)eland and a whole lot of HP PROP Workouts under her belt for a trek in the Himalaya. i'll interview our Tribal Warrioress upon her return.


May your Practice be determined and delightful today,

your loving coach

Camping With Family; A Practice For Awakening The Heart

a moving entry from coach as he himself moves further into
what he calls his, "Domestication of a wild warrior," during
a camping trip last week. beautiful photos from:
Clear Creek Campground, Arizona
Jerome, Arizona.





a couple of excerpts:

If we wish our children to have much,
we must show them how to enjoy having little.
Deny children the dirt and wetness of Mother Earth,
and we teach separateness from the start.
Treat our children with an agenda set upon nothing
save for that which they themselves set
and each thing becomes a natural teaching in the Tao.

bent, as if in humble prayer,
Ananda stands in a wet place
among the unhurried current,
living now in a world of expression and faith
for her child
who must learn to swim in this world of
forms.
The new mother wonders,
why her own mommy never went into the woods with her...
to have her touch the altar of dirt, grass, wood, and stone.
Above their splashing,
an Oriole sings to the tasks we all must face.

Oh Lord,
in these cloudless skies above Jerome,
let my own longing for enlightened life in all Her unified strands
stand as Teacher for my daughter...
let the domestication of my wild warrior nature
take flight even as does Eagle Brother soar
and may my actions be brave and kind and pure
as the Rose
or the Bristlecone above timberline.

so much more...
please help keep the Refuge of Direct Lines available; subscribe today
and help support America's original transpersonal fitness training Temple;
Wholistic Fitness

Happy, Wholistic Mothers Day

click on pic to enlarge...
Amma Kilpatrick, Dewachen and Buddha in Sedona two days ago after our
camping trip in the Verde Valley. photo by abba

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

From the "Can Do Clan" 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'!"

we are just back from Dewa's first camping/cycling trip in the Verde Valley...stay tuned for some heart-and-soul lifting photos and journal notes coming up only for

DL Subscribers!



Rock On, M(om)s!


head bowed in awe of all ammas everywhere,

coach ilg

KLESHA CONCLUSION - A WF Way Through Our Afflictions

BEST SEAT IN DA HOUSE
Taking a Squirrel incarnation could mean that we 'hoarded' and 'gathered' too many possessions in this or another lifetime. The compulsion to 'attain and hoard from others,' is one example of a kleshic tendency of which all Conscious Fitness Warriors, intend on Wholeness, must be watchful. i grabbed this shot yesterday as "Bert" one of our local long-eared Abert Squirrels assumed a great spot atop "Shahky's" Sahasrara Chakra.

NOTE: my "3-Chi Clan" will be taking a few days away from Temple Service as we camp and explore some (warmer and more riparian) terrain in the Verde Valley. i'll also be desperately seeking miles on my road bike as i attempt to gain some adequate fitness for the IRONHORSE 3-DAY Stage Race coming up waaaay too fast on May 23rd-25th. Enjoy the DL Archives and the WF SanghaLounge and Blessed Be Thy Practices...

FROM TODAY's TEACHING ONLY FOR DL WARRIORS:




"...by nourishing our minds and spirit through a focused life built upon Loving and Focused Fun, the essence of our life becomes fluid. we feel ourselves as a river of endless energy, to which the toxicity of death grows dilute. We are all born Divine and within us the Atman dwells in the changeless, all-pervading transcendent reality of Brahman...the supreme essence from which all creative derives. Ramakrishna reMinds us that, "Only the Divine can worship the Divine." so too, only a heart that has been opened can live a heart-based life. many of us are living a chakral experience as we journey through a WF Lifestyle, a lifestyle that cannot help but open our Hearts. Fears are replaced by Love, Compassion, Understanding, and For-giving. where once we did sports and kept healthy out of Fear of not being approved or Fear of being fat, we now workout for what matters within. we've learned to turn up heat of the Sweatlodge not from heating rocks, rather, from heating up our Fears...getting out there in the wind and cold to run or ride...doing what it takes to sit and focus our minds...learning yoga-asanas that open our Heartspace be it through backbends, hip openers, inversions, or twists...whatever it is takes to become Whole; we learn to say, "yes, sign me up for i am WF Yogi; seeker of Wholeness, no longer a subject of fear."
-coach ilg

until we can meet and gather again like this,
and do this Inner Work...
may your Daily Sweat be purely motivated for Higher Ascension,
and may your Daily Stillness be Ascending toward divine motivation...

your faithful friendly warrior along the Inner Workout Way
abbaji

The Skillful Science of Human Suffering; Climbing Through Our Kleshas

"On the withered tree,
a flower blooms."
- DT Suzuki

As we continue - at our own Level and Willingness - our Journey toward Wholeness, there is nothing that we won't face. Among the dizzying depths of years of strength training, cardio training, yoga, meditation, mastery of food, and of course the constant in-our-face Lifestyle Principles which constitute our 9-Limbed Path of Wholeness (Navanada Yoga or Wholistic Fitness®), each of our human qualities will arise. More troublesome than the stiffest of knots, within our cellular bodies are energy cysts filled with stunningly potent gumption gathered from eons of us forgetting who we truly are. Don't take feeble ilg's word for it; just do a hip opener for 8 minutes. or go for a long, hilly run in the high wind. sit still for 40 minutes without flinching. Quit gossiping. Brush your teeth with your Non-Dominant Hand while in yogi squat...do any of these WF yogas and just watch the emotional parade begin; Jealously arrives. Boredom. Annoyance. Skepticism. Doubt. Fear. Anger. It's all in us. In buckets, usually. As we do the Practice and learn to run or pose or lift ourselves through our inner storming qualities, transformation happens. Slowly.

The sourcing of our human suffering comes from clinging. Attachment, the Buddha and Yogi Christ would say. We hang onto our perceived problems; the mortgage, the illness, the injury, the self-pity of resentment within our relationships. That's our 'stuff.' That's our Drama.

Through Wholistic Fitness which has a renown capacity for turning our workouts within, we will eventually arrive at a juncture in our Practice: one fork leads to another less steep, less direct Path of Transformation. we say "adios" to that quirky coach ilg and his Path, his books, his blogs...and that's okay. nothing inherently 'wrong' about hitting the Delete button on a particular Path. yet, in some other time, form, and/or way; you will still run smack up against the very Resistance(s) from which you thought you left.

The other fork? That's right, the other fork in our WF Path leads us right into the heart and heat of our Drama until we get clobbered over our thick skulls that we've been staring at the Truth for a long while:

Our Drama is also our Dharma.


Upon this glorious gift of Insight, our breathing deepens and we begin to feel the immense divinity and sacred joy that makes us quiver with excitement toward our life and our death: as our Breath deepens into our multi-discplined Path, we realize that there is NOTHING we cannot consume as kindling for our unique Awakening and Enlightenment.

Recognizing The Kleshas - turning our Workouts within

"In the process of Awakening, there is only one challenge and one victory: the challenge is to Real-ize we've forgotten our Highest Self; the victory comes when we re-identify with our Atman...our Soul Force."
- coach ilg

Each of us confronts the Science of our Human Suffering according to our etheric gearing...our karma. Here is where we find the Kleshas or the 'afflictions' which keep us mired in forgetfulness of our Divine Self.

DO NOT MISS THIS TEACHING;
THAT MUCH IS FOR SURE...
SUBSCRIBE TO DIRECT LINES THIS INSTANT AND STOP WASTING YOUR WORKOUTS ON THE PHYSICAL BODY ONLY!!!!!!

until we can meet and gather again like this,
and do this Inner Work...
may your Daily Sweat be purely motivated for Higher Ascension,
and may your Daily Stillness be Ascending toward divine motivation...

your faithful friendly warrior along the Inner Workout Way
abbaji

photo by Ananda; coach belays a student at Vertical Relief

A Poem Written For You As Priority...

oh Treasured Mighty Limbed Seeker of Union,
abbaji knows he was supposed to Teach you Part II of the Kleshas this morning,
and that was my plan for this morning's Dharma sermon...
until,
of course,
Way lead to Way
and the stars slithered away
revealing a more important m(om)ent;
ilg gives you a poem
courtesy of Brahman
disguised as one beautiful Dark-eyed Junco
clear against the early morning hue...

on mornings like this one
i'll sometimes sit upon the fluffy couch
Sunday paper - strewn yet unread -
near my lap
for ilg's priority has shifted toward a far more common one;
gazing at the massive mountain view
spilled and howling
as if on a theatre screen outside the Temple window.

the paper, with its boisterous clamor trumpeting
the Outer Worldly comings and goings
holds so little interest
when compared to the smell of humidity still
dancing in my sinuses from pre-dawn chores.

so the paper sits, ignored
as i train the binoculars upon a
Dark-eyed Junco
perched elegantly atop the Utah Juniper
singly so sweetly to the pea green, growing grasses
as if to urge Grandfather Sun to hasten his noble arc
into blossoming sky.

not until my neck muscles nearly cramp
does ilg resort from such morning reverie
outside
the window
inside my soul.

- abbaji
5*3*09

photo of Junco Being: http://www.pbase.com

Abbaji Speaks- The Kleshas and Our Way Through Them (Part One)

To Access This Two Part Lineage Teaching From Abbaji (coach ilg in his 'Desert Father' aspect) subscribe to DL and enjoy 2,000+ Teachings of NavandaYoga (aka; Wholistic Fitness®) plus 24/7 access to the worldwide Sangha of WF Students, fans, and family. Today's Teaching includes Lineage education and photos.


DIRECT LINES: keeping the multi-disciplined yogic warrior tapped into Dharma-based Sweat and Stillness since 1982.

where is YOUR Path leading you, if not toward wholeness and the highest summits?

How The World Class Crank...Lisa Checks In After Boston Marathon

click to enlarge the pics and may this inspire your Practice today...

DL Celebrity and World Class athlete; Lisa Goldsmith checks in with our humble Headquarters after her recent appearance at the Boston Marathon. Lisa, a multi-national trail and peak running champion, does not often take on 'flat landers'...

here is what our Fleet Footed Goddess of the High Peaks wrote me yesterday...

ONLY FOR DL SUBSCRIBERS...



Photos:
#1 - Lisa "Vishnu Doll" Goldsmith - an HP Yoga Student - enjoys Trikonasana after we crushed the existing Mixed Teams record at Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon in 06.

(not available on iDL:) #2 - Podium Shot of Vishnu Doll and Shiva Muscle (that's me) were back again as a Mixed Pair in 07 at Mt. Taylor, establishing the Course Record.