THE "CORRECT WAY" TO SAY THE SACRED TRIBAL MANTRA, AND...ONE OF MY LAST BLOGS

My Precious Mala Girl...Dewachen...my incarnated Rinpoche within my own h(om)e...strutting Her Mala groove in front of the WF Tribal Puja

***

as you may know by now, the receiving of a Blessed Mantra by one's accepted Teacher is essentially a blessing of an incarnation.

many of you that have not formally approached me for a Blessed Mantra - and even those that have! - continue to approach me on the "correct way" to pronounce, express, and repeat the Mantra.

well, here you go...after nearly 3,000 blogs and nearing the end of our current style of Teacher/Student Relationship through DL, iDL, and my mailing list,
feeble ilg offers you perhaps
the most important Teaching of all...how to express the Mantra "correctly"...





i REALLY am trusting EVERYTHING that you ALL will continue along the Path of WF through the new Membership Only site, coming very soon...

head bowed,
spine straight,
breath low,

your feeble ilg

Pumping Limestone...in this Dance? Let the (rad) Girls Lead!

click on pics to enlarge the Chi Hit...






i was stoked just to make it to the crux! ilg attempting the first roof of 'Par Six' 5.11b. to think that i was used to free solo routes approaching this difficulty stoned my mind; definitely a different lifetime ago within this same one...

Let's see here if i've taken the WF Curriculum correctly:

last Saturday and Sunday =
humbled in a 2-Day, 3 Event road cycling stage race

Monday =
humbled by beautiful students while teaching an HP Yoga Slow Flow

Tuesday =
experience involuntary anal sphincter contraction while on 1,800' Mountain Bike ride...humbled again.

Wednesday =
mind-and-forearm numbingly humbled on overhanging limestone sport crag, The Golf Wall...then immediately go teach an HP PROP Workout

yup;
ilg must be back in Durango...

come on...tie in with me and the girlie girls as they drag my fat carcass up the overhanging Leadville Limestone crag 20 minutes north of Durango, known as The Golf Wall...

these Durangatang chicks are the real deal...that is Kelly on the left; unfathomably strong and a Rolfer to boot. Keeton, in the yellow, is the m(om) of Mason, 20 months old and a playmate of Dewa. Keeton and her husband Nate, own Southwest Adventure Guides...

Keeton belays me on "Tee'd Off" a 5.10c/d which i managed to slobber my way up...both girls knew i was dusting off about 15 years of climbing rust. they showered me with encouragement and said they were very impressed by my effort...they were just being nice, trust me.

Hip Mamma Keeton, crankin'...


READ THE WHOLE TEACHING
SEE THE OTHER PICS
ON TODAY's DL SUBSCRIPTION FORMAT

"Only by devoting ourselves to difficulty,
do we eventually free ourselves from it."
- steve ilg, 1985 Alpinist Magazine


let's keep climbing the Mt. Everest of Personal Training; Wholistic Fitness®
arriving at her Summit may in-Deed require many lifetimes,
however,
you really can't beat the Precious Beauty of what our little Path
Way Higher Than The Rest
provides;
Awakening

May your Practice be strong and true today,
your feeble teacher

Barefoot Running...

as far back as 1985, i began writing and teaching about barefoot running and continually questioned the band-aid type of 'performance-enhancing inventions' streaming forth from the running shoe companies. not to say that i wasn't one of the many envious gawkers when Mike Folwell was the first kid in Durango High School to go to school wearing the brand new Nike® Waffle Trainer! later in my life, in fact, i managed a running shoe store up on "The Hill" in Boulder, Colorado and one point possessed an astonishingly colorful ocean of 28 pairs of running shoes in my closet. oh, the Attachments!

anyway, a few years ago you first read about my product testing of a 'new' product called Vibram FiveFingers® right here in this column and my positive embrace of them....

well, the Outer World always does eventually catch up with Wholistic Fitness® and now even my Amino Acid sponsor is jumping onto the bandwagon of Barefoot Running:

READ THE REST

There Is No God Higher Than Truth." - Mahatma Gandhi

i survived The Squawker, my Girls are gone...the Party is ON!

Liquid Bread, baby!
Beer; the Breakfast (and sometimes lunch and dinner) of Champions this world over.
Keep your Tapasaya strong, do your prescribed Pranayams and there is no
reason in this world why a WF Warrior cannot benefit from beer.

wanna buy ilg a beer sometime?
make sure it's an Old Monk 10,000 Super Beer, pictured above, middle.

sign up for a WF Private Intensive here in Durango? yup, you and i will be certain to be taking advantage of Durango's seven micro-breweries as well as Turtle Islands finest WF Restaurant: The Himalayan Kitchen. we might even hook up with Karma to go crank Wham Ridge with this Enlightened Master/Head Chef/Pro Mountain Guide/Delivery Boy/etc., and get BEYOND HIGH! those who pre-judge WF as some sort of a granola-crunching, pale skinned, tepid path of mediocrity have NO IDEA of how much FUN we have dancing in the Realms of genuine whole-listic offerings of this amazing Plane(t)! Life is short: JUMP into a WF Private Intensive and live the Real Possibilities! To experience a WF Private Intensive? email me: steve@WholisticFitness.com

***

"Dear Coach, after all these years of being inspired by your astonishing love and teachings and encouragements toward wholeness," wrote a fan recently, "i nominate a new word to replace 'inspiration' in the dictionary; Ilgspiration! Thank you for living your Path so fearlessly out front of us all!"

READ COACH's SURPRISING "BEER TEACHING"
LEARN THE KEYS TO TRANSFORMING PHYSICAL FOOD
INTO PRANIC BUILDING BLOCKS ON TODAY's DL!!!

OFF TO THE RACES: Day Two - ilg has been officially squashed by The Sqauwker

all photos by HP Stalwart Yogi, Robbie Trudeaux...a Cat 3 racer who is training for the Tour of Gila yet sacrificed his Race Day today in order to volunteer as a Race Marshall so dweebs like ilg can enjoy a spectacular day of racing beneath Grandfather Sun in the Shambala known as, Durango, Colorado...Yogi RT? ilg bows to thee; you inspire me! Dharma Blessings at The Gila!

click to enlarge the photos and chi hits...

All religions, all spiritual traditions teach the same thing:
we are NOT going to get It from outside.
Turn inward.
Look within during your workouts.
Know thyself.
Racing is not about winning; it's about knowing thyself.
Many - if not most - of our Enlightened Ones and Saints were illiterate.
Too much learning muddles the Clear Mind.
Learn a little, Trust a Lot.
Work with that.
Turning inside means turning the Senses within.
As i continued to chase the Podium during the last two days of pain?
i kept the Hindi message close to my effort no matter how deeply i was hurting:

YOU LIKE THIS?
WANNA GET THE MESSAGE?
WANNA HEAR HOW COACH DID DURING THE
LAST TWO DAYS OF RACING?

WELL...
THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE FROM OUR TRIBE...

subscribe to DL...
bringing the MultiDisciplined Yogic Chi
since 1982

OFF TO THE RACES: Day One - ilg is getting squished by the Sqauwker!

all photos by ilg...click to enlarge the various Chi Hits...

'there is only one way to mitigate the pain of the Colorado Avalanche struggling to stay in the playoffs,' i thought to myself, 'PERSONALIZE THE PAIN!' so...i signed up for the 3 events in 2 days of pain; the Squawker Cycling Race...perfect! What is it about getting a Race Number that suddenly simplifies and intensifies all that is meaningful about life?

***

so, being the WF Warrior that feeble ilg continuously attempts to be,
i figgered i'd take advantage of the Sqauwker Cycling Race, held right here in my h(om)etown...i mean, who in their Appropriate Action* mind would turn down a
3-event 2 Day Stage Race in their own town?!??! especially if their h(om)etown was DURANGO?!??!

the only thing missing was...uh..oh yeah, that's right...Road Cycling Fitness! oh, not to worry?! hec, we've re-ramped up the HP Yoga® PROP WORKOUTS here in D-town which has already reached capacity within 3 weeks of introduction, so we gotta order more Prop Blocks and think about expanding the HP Yoga® program at The Hub. So, you know, if you're cranking HP PROP Workouts? You know the feeling? You feel capable of ANYTHING...even a 2-day, 3-event cycling racing weekend at altitude with absolutely NO cycling base!

what's to fear? a wee bit of pain?

why, us WF'rs consider pain a purification pilgrimage! BRING IT, baby!!!

oh...the Squawker brought it...trust me...read on, oh noble faithful follower of performance-based bliss!

THIS MORNING:
25-kilometer Individual Time Trial

wind.
compared to Flagstaff,
hec, compared to my racing years in New Mexico...
cycling as hard as you possible can into a 17 mph full-on headwind?
kindy-garten shit.
however, up here in the Shambala known to the Outer World as Durango?
that 17-mph headwind felt like a barrage of bricks being thrown into my face for 45 minutes.
i was going so slow even the Mantra had to wait up for me.
ilg has not a fancy Time Trial bike. today, that fact hurt me.
i got caught by my 'minute man' at 17k.
then, something ilg is not too used to, i got passed on the final climb,
within reach of the finish line by my 2-minute man.

aaaaaaargh!

i finished 6th.

the plan was for Ananda and Dewa to pick me up at the Finish and haul my slobbered, hurtin' carcass back to Durango; 16 miles away. see, i was trying to save energy for the Crit race that started at 3:00 pm .

yeah; two races of categorically different physiologic demands on the same day.

perfect for us Wholistic-ally inclined sweating souls, right?

"Okay, baby," i said before i rode off to the Start Line of the TT (Time Trial), "just remember, that i am not bringing any water, no warm clothes, no cell phone...i NEED you to be at the Finish Line in time, okay?"


let's just say that...
well...
my girls were NOT at the Finish Line...
Ananda tried (bless her heart) however, last minute "poopies" seem to always release
right when you're walking out the door...
and the Finish Line was at about 8,500' and the elements were withering...so,
i began the ride back to Durango...fortunately, Ananda eventually found me. so,
i did what any other Durangatang Father would do;
i took my girls to:

Ananda and Dewa in front of the Bee Beings making honey at Honeyville...this is Dewa's current 'posing smile.'

HoneyVille to see the Bees make honey and buy the world's MOST INCREDIBLE skin lotion and grilling/dipping sauce (sorry, instant click not available, email me if you want to order) available on this plane(t)...then...

here, in the land of 'Elk and Honey' we watched Elk cavort with grass-finished fed cows in the Animas Valley at the unsurpassed James Ranch (if you ARE going to eat flesh? get it from here...)

then, we hung out at Shalona Lake...long-time friends of my family who just happen to own what must be one of this plane(t)s most enviable caches of real estate. they are perhaps the nations most popular producer of poinsettia's. if you have ever bought poinsettia's? it probably came from my friends who own this ranch.

THIS AFTERNOON:
40-minute Neighborhood Criterium

"Just breathe..." i kept telling myself, "it ain't so baadd." i took my HP PROP Workout® lingo to heart as i hung tuff as a coffin nail, as my Durango bro Bob Roll so exquisitely put it, onto the lead pack as we crushed time and again the kilometer-long, 6-turn course which snapped back-and-forth through one of D-towns most precious downtown neighborhoods. the salient feature of this Altar of Pain? a 12% kicker hill that took precisely two rounds of the Sacred Mantra.

after 10 minutes of doing this 6-turn torture test?

ilg felt like puking.

after 20 minutes?

75% of the racers had had enough.

ilg hung tough.

after 25 minutes?

the owner of The Hub...none other than National RR Champion and Crit Master Extra-ordinniare who has won the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic crit 3x as well as the Gila 3x...my new boss; Chris Wherry...was on corner number 6 cheering me on,

"Way to hang, ilg! Go!"

"Oh geez," i thought to myself through the over-done cooked flesh of my thighs and lungs and heart, "i can't lose this lead pack now?"

suddenly more faces in crowd cheered my name...
and more cowbells as i attacked "the killer hill" again and again
desperate to hold onto wheels as the minutes lazed by...

"is there going to be cowbells ringing in my Bardo Entry?" i wondered as the leaders surged once again up the knee-cracking hill. i think i even wondered that aloud.

"Namaste Noble Warrior!"
i heard as i raced through the Start/Finish Line approaching minute 29...God i love my students, my friends...a wave of uncommon LoveDepth replaced the fatigued toxins in my body as i accelerated toward the front of the 27-mph leaders leaning into corner #2...

sadly and so suddenly,
at the speed of inevitability...
but most of all and trust me...SADLY...
ilg got gapped, tapped, and strapped on the 13th time up that Blessed (instead of Damned) Hill...3 seconds off the leaders...turned into 7...turned into...

i spent the remainder of the race..the final 15 minutes solo...
trying NOT to get lapped by the lead group of 7 from which i had fallen from Grace...
the crowd cheered me on...
they saw me sweat,
they saw me struggle,
they saw me slobber...
lap after lap....
but most of all?

they saw and FELT me
NOT QUIT
NOT GIVE UP THE CHASE TO THE LEADERS.

note to Sangha: on the Path Higher?

there will all-Ways be somebody faster
somebody more elegant
more flexible
more strong
more enduring...

however,
feeble ilg says unto Thee still reading these
sweat-soaked Dharma Words?

there are FEW that
choose to attack their weaknesses
and
destroy their hindrances,
and
pursue Wholeness
like
a WF Warrior.


coming up tomorrow?

the ROAD RACE on top of College Hill.

you gonna be there with ilg?

only DL Subscribers get to ride this slide!

May your Weekend be Whole,

ilg

* WF Lifestyle Principle Number 3...but then, you already knew that, didn't you?!

Awakening Found

when the Student, Teacher, and Path merge...there is Awakening. above, Bryan Bishop, who helped produce our new WF CookBook, stands tall in the Chi of It All.

***

Coach-

i can't believe i forgot to tell you that back in January i was looking for a workout that was focused on strengthening muscles that i needed for climbing and backpacking this summer, when out of nowhere i stumbled upon "The Outdoor Athlete", ok so i was kind-of looking for it ;-). i can't believe i found a copy of it. Anyway, the workouts for the backpacking and climbing have immensely helped me in my training, so much that i was flying away from my hiking partners this past weekend. So again (i don't know how many times i can say this) THANKS!

BB

PS i love the hair and the outfits in that book! :-)

Happy, Wholistic Mother Earth (Birth)Day!!! 2 simple actions

sage and sunrise over Hopi Land...photo by ilg. click to enlarge the Chi Hit

sutra #4, Chapter 2...Innocence vs. Ignorance - Part 3

continued from DL April 15th...

my Hopi Brother; Michah. Plant talking. Michah? Not much spiritual ignorance. S(om)ething tells ilg that this Teacher of feeble ilg will soar through the Bardo...Michah can also kick my ass in Hopi Traditional Footracing...see DL Archives. photo by ilg.

The third type of Avidya (spiritual ignorance) described in this Sutra is my personal favorite; interceptive.

ilg knows what my seasoned warriors are thinking:
1) uh...aren't yogis trained not to have 'favorites'...(it fosters Duality)
and
2) interceptive field of ignorance...uh, say again?

to which i answer:
1) yes and that is why another shining example of why ilg is such a feeble yogi
and
2) yes, interceptive. ain't that a great word and notion? ilg loves things that intercept. ilg loves disturbing the predictive.

ilg relates to interceptive fields of ignorance because ilg is a beginning Practitioner along the Path and when we begin to 'intercept' arising obstacles toward Enlightened Behavior then the Game REALLY gets pretty fun.

okay, you need an example, don't you.

i would too.

hmmmm....so, let's say we are

IF YOU MISS THIS TEACHING?

YEP; You just got gapped again from your Sacred Sweat and Stillness...

come, subscribe today before ilg turns this whole WF.com thing into a Subscriber Only website; trust me...nothing is more vital to your notion of wholeness.

CHOP WOOD, CARRY MAP...Aminos Could Bring World Peace

"The Path works when you work the Path." Pictured above; WF Devotee Bryan Bishop of Colorado in yogi squat within his preferred Temple; a top high peaks.


Coach-

i upped the MAP Amino Acids and have been following your recommended amounts for almost 2 weeks now and i can already feel the difference from before. My energy is up, my endurance in both CV and strength is up. i sleep better, i eat more whole-ly, and i just feel better. i have noticed larger gains in all disciplines, my mind is quieter, my legs are quicker, my body stronger, my muscles more flexible. Thank you for your excellent guidance.


Bryan Bishop
Colorado

If you are not on MAP Aminos, chances are likely that you are firing way under par in your mastery of food, probably eating too much flesh and diary, and your willingness to meditate is subpar...let alone your fitness performance. In my experience, only after attaining and maintaining a positive nitrogen blanket for the body does the mind become receptive toward the discipline of equanimity and peace. Wouldn't it be ironic if the key to world peace would be humans in a positive nitrogen balance and fueled by Early Morning Ritual instead of so much caffeine?


not yet on MAP Aminos?
ilg will hook you up and offer 24/7 complimentary guidance for your
Ascent Higher.
email me today and let's get going...

steve at wholisticfitness dot com

BE AMONG THE FIRST 3 WARRIORS TO SIGN UP WITH MAP UNDER ME RECEIVE a WF T-SHIRT!

WALK THE PATH, UNTIL THE PATH WALKS YOU

Hello Steve,

I am here on Amazon.com looking at your TBT book that has been praised by many. I have purchased so many books on fitness and thus far none of them have worked. I also have a personal trainer and I have been training now 3x a week for 3 years and I haven't lost much weight or have I gained much muscle. Oh I am stronger I can bench 240 and I can leg press 505lbs. I think I have lost maybe 10 pounds. I have a conditioned called Klinefelter Syndrome. When I was born I was without the normal level of testosterone; growing up I was in the range of 70 while most males were ranging btwn 400-950. My condition is XXY. I am currently taking testosterone shots and have been doing theat for over 3 years. So my question to you Steve, will your book help me lose weight and not just be strong, but look the part?

Thank you

... Continue creating a wonderful day!

Mick

COACH RESPONDS:

Most Precious Tribal Brother Along The Path,

well, no book will do the Work for you.
however, TBT articulates a most beautiful, wise and Prove Path of Wholeness and Healing
through teaching and imparting Sacred Sweat and Stillness.

it's worth your dinero, trust me. buy the book with High Intent, then, read the introductory chapters, peruse the rest, and get crackin' on the first program; The Green Tara.

if you survive all four of the programs in TBT, you will be more Whole than ever before,
and you will feel the Light and Wisdom from the Ancient Ones filling your everyday life, transforming it
from the mundane into the miraculous.

all-ways remember, Fellow Seeker, that the Path is wiser than he walks It.

or, as we like to encourage each other in WF; "Walk the Path, until the Path walks you."

remember, getting on the Sacred Herbs of WF as well as MAP Aminos is a pivotal Key to our Tribe's unmatched success in harmonizing the regenerative capacities of our physiology. It all starts at the Cell Level!

head bowed and Dharma Blessings upon thy Practice and May you realize your Practice everywhere,

coach ilg

WF..."in times of of quiet desperation, always finding strength..."

Namaste Coach!

I read your books and come to you in times of quiet desperation, always finding strength in your light. To move toward wholistic fitness is a longheld goal which so far has eluded me.

Elizabeth Ynez-Tulsen
Paderborn, Germany

COACH RESPONDS:

Precious Sister of the Sacred Sweat and Stillness,
as we say in WF, "Just Begin Again, and Again, and Endlessly Again!"

head bowed,
ilg
ps; make sure you are on the "sacred herbs of SR" and MAP aminos...that will really help!

From Where i Sit...A SPIRITUAL WARNING TO ATHLETES:

Sunday night. WF Tribal H(om)e Zendo. looking down from within Swastikasana...one of my go-to Meditation Postures. an undertraffic'd asana, it seems. photo from phone, ilg.

the difference between a yogi and an athlete
is obvious to anyone wise enough to be both.

scintillating as well, is the fact that the obvious differences
are also their most intriguing and as yet unexplored similarities
which,

READ THE ENTIRE TEACHING PLUS COACH's SPIRITUAL WARNING TO ATHLETES AND A RARE OFFERING OF ONE OF COACH'S MOST VALUABLE MANTRA'S
today on DL Subscription Format; The Spiritual Workshop For Those Who Love To Sweat

sweet Sayanora to a Spectacular Snow Season...tears from a skier (still) inspired...

this entry is one of those very special ones that you certainly do NOT want to miss...

parking lot; Durango Mountain Resort...all-ways known to me as 'Purg' or Purgatory...my chi-ldhood temple of skiing. taken today after bringing to a close my 53 days of skiing this year which included an unprecedented 7 podiums in 7 starts. ilg rather doubts i'll ever be able to duplicate my 2010 winter season. as a New Daddy, my victories will now become more and more internal and vicariously lived through the expression of Chi through Dewachen. and that's quite awlright by me.

come...i'll take you skiing with me today as i tearfully re-visted and re-ripped through the splendor of my most cherished Temple of them all...where WF got her roots..."up at the area"...Purgatory, "A Helluva Place To Ski"...

above photo...click to enlarge;

taken from the 'Upper Hades' Start Gate. can't tell you how many times i nearly pissed my Spyder racing suit as i punched my ski poles into the Launch Pad of this Start House before GS and Super G races back in the day. click on these photos to get a grip on the inherent chi. if it wasn't for WF, which forces us to target our weaknesses instead of our strengths? i swear i coulda won Gold at the Olympics in either the Giant Slalom or Super G. there is in an inborn tendency (klesha...see this weeks' DL Teachings) of mine; ilg can ski downhill fast and as if Guided From Above. the key to fast skiing is the same as in asana; Learn To Let Go. what fun! i can't wait to share these Precious Slopes with Dewa and Joy in the winters which lie ahead.

sutra #4, Chapter 2...Innocence vs. Ignorance - Part 2

appearing on today's DL Subscription Format...

why sweat

without spiritual merit?

duh.

since 1982

we've been sweating for spiritual merit

and

care for it

what about Tiger?

Funny how many people (not Durangatangs) ask me about Tiger.

thing is, it's none of my business and ilg really doesn't care that much about sports where there is sooo much money and so little sweat. ilg respects the skill sports, sure. then again, ilg respects a good morning poop, too.

ilg is more stoked with the Av's squeaking into the Playoffs, and certainly the podium performances of the American Nordic Combined bros, and of my bro Chris Horner at age 38 taking the Tour of the Basque beating Valverde, and...

Tiger?

hey, we're all addicted.

if not to drugs or sex or gossip or entertainment than we are addicts to our non-dominant hand, our useless Speech and Thought which is not kind, nor helpful, nor true.

we're all addicts to various kleshas (see current DL Teaching) and lazy tendencies and negative habits. some of us have terminal dis-eases...often unknown, yet. all but the Enlightened are addicts to Desire. so what's the big deal about Tiger?

does ilg wish he woulda at least changed sports when he chose to Sweat again?
sure, however, Golf is far more of a comfort zone for him than the Terrain he has been recently traveling, so...

until we are free from kleshas we're all addicts.
so let's Practice the Teachings of Yogi Jesus, shall we and just work on Forgiveness, Tolerance, and Compassion.

okay?

go(o)d.

that is all.

May all Tigers Roar Higher than their Kleshas...
May we all!

head bowed,
ec

ps; just back from teaching my 2nd HP PROP WORKOUT here in Durango and already the Durangatangs are ALL OVER IT! had 8 Warriors step up tonight; MAN ALIVE are they strong!! Love them! Love you! Blessings upon thy Sweat...

Sutra #4, Chapter 2...Innocence vs. Ignorance - Part I

Rinpoche Dewachen and Easter bonnet. photo by ilg on Easter Sunday

***

"Oh your baby is sooooo uttterly precious!!! Don't you just LOVE how INNOCENT they are?!"

When your entire lifestyle is lived barely an arm's reach away from an adorable Rinpoche like Dewachen, you get this comment a lot.

i mean, a LOT!

and yes, She is of course utterly precious...as Precious as Precious gets this time around.

and yes, She is of course innocent.

what strikes me is how often that same word is used by so many regardless of their spiritual (or lack thereof) training or religious affiliation.

why, "innocent"?

Innocence seems to be our natural birthright.

and in the Yogic Tradition, Patanjali soars very deep into this very important quality in His Yoga Sutra #4, Chapter 2:

Avidya Ksetram Uttaresam Prasupta Tanu Vicchinodaranam

which, as Swami Satchidananda translates;

Ignorance is the field for the others mentioned after it, whether they be dormant, feeble, intercepted, or sustained.

Because babies and small chi-ldren are still fresh from the Formless Bardo, their Atman (Soul Energy) is in-deed, what we can call, Innocent. they are, seemingly, a 'fresh slate'...ready and quite capable to be 'brainwashed' by any form of parenting that their Guides so choose or are capable of imprinting. a simple visit to a small chi-lds playground or gathering will soon elevate these impressions surfacing in the quixotic behavior of the chi-ldren.

However, as chi-ldren grow, so too does their kleshas or inborn dispositions. Babies do not remain innocent. This is obvious to each of us in our own lives. Kleshas blossom or ripen in tune with destiny. Parents - mere Guides of these God-sent Souls - can only provide what they TAF is the most loving, safe, and empowering inner and outer environment for their chi-ldren to soar.

Speaking of Soaring...
ilg has got to go get the Baby Chariot and mountain bikes ready...Ananda and i are cycling Dewa down to another 'preschool interview'...big m(om)ents...these.

Ilg will be right back with more Sutra Study...

May Father Sun stream Divine Light into each and every one of your cells today and may your Sweat be sacred and helpful to All Beings Everywhere...

Bumper Sticker dharma

I Love God...

it's His fans I can't stand





read more on DIRECT LINES Subscription Format

Along This Trail...RAM!

a Ram-drunk ilg, yesterday, at Durango's local climbing crag; X-Rock area
photo by Ananda

on Saturday, the Gods smiled.
They allowed me to win the KOM at the top of Hesperus in the "B" Group club ride,
and 48.5 miles and 2,460' later, finish 6th in the 45 mph+ descent down Wildcat Canyon back to Durango. ilg didn't win the KOM (King of Mountain) because i was the most powerful or strongest climber among the 13 road-cycling warriors...not even close. ilg won because of tactics and wise discrimination and experience. i ninja'd the two leaders 300 meters from the summit by literally doing a pranayam and blowing myself as light as possible up the infamous, heart-withering climb which has long been a weekly test-piece for locals...

on Sunday, the Gods smiled again...
this time, not upon a road biking ilg, rather, in a categorically diverse
path of of sacred sweat...oh!!! how Blessed the Path of Wholeness...to play our physiologic capacities among God's wild toys and ways...


Read The Rest
on today's DL
and learn about the Sacred Temple of Boulderers: The Boxcar
plus a Birthday Poem to Ananda
a God-intoxicated Sutra from Swami Ramdas
and how ilg ties it all into Personal Fitness and Sport Performance;

DL: Dharmically Drenched Teachings For Those Inspired Through Multi-Disciplined Sweat
since 1982

Today, an osprey...

today,
after bowing to two Bald Eagles
holding firm on the naked ancient cottonwood branches
over the whirling Mother River Animas...

READ MORE direct from the world's most
versatile coach/yoga teacher/athlete
on today's DL Subscription Format

22 years on WF and still crankin'! - Student Wood

Mr. Ilg, I have trained with 'The Outdoor Athlete' for 22 years. 45 now and still going strong! I'm thrilled to find you on FaceBook and hope you will add me as a friend.

- KW

Mantra introduced to my Durango HP PROP Warriors...ripples make waves

"New Drew"...my zen calligraphy image of HP Yoga® is thrown in Amitabha Buddha red light against the wall of our WF Temple H(om)e Zendo in Durango, Colorado. The Prayer Flags seen in the upper right hand corner are from my treasured Kinlani Sangha.

"Mantra
is so that
we remember
to do
whatever it is that we are 'doing'
for Go(o)d.

For most of us who are spiritually inclined,
having a Blessed Mantra
is the most invaluable asset along our Inner Journey...that Journey
which leads us Higher.

Mantra is an eon-proven technique by the Enlightened Ones
which transforms the mundane into the miraculous.

Mantra is a technique for turning it over to Go(o)d.

Mantra proves there are no ordinary moments.

Japa Mantra with a Blessed Mala is the only Way to deepen the Transmission
of one's Teacher and his or her Lineage.

Mantra transforms a human doing into our true nature; a human BEING!"

that is all.

Blessings upon your Sweat and Stillness and all which falls between.

coach ilg

just back from teaching the first ever HP PROP WORKOUT in Durango, Colorado to a precious gathering 7 Warriors of Wholeness. of course, i gave them the Sacred Mantra as we shared that most treasured sacred sweat of HP PROP! Onward, Upward, and Endlessly Inward.

Academia Rings In: Warriorship is a birthright! "It's very important" for ilg to keep doing what ilg does

WF;

Because Warriorship is our Birthright!

ilg likes it!

what do YOU TAF?

let me know in the SanghaLounge...

that might just be my next WF T-shirt/bumper sticker!

***

Hey Coach!

I can't get over how cool it is to email with you. Thanks for sending out the HP Yoga Basic Strength DVD today-- REALLY looking forward to it. Actually, I just bought the HP Prop DVD .

Thanks also for the 20% discount offer, but no need: it's worth every penny and I want to support what you're doing because I think it is very valuable.

I wrote my master's thesis on the social and cultural history of physical fitness in this country, and I can tell you from a fairly unique perspective that it is very important for you to keep doing what you are doing.

There's enough people making plenty of money off baseball players and helping meatheads confirm that they are "tough". You are one of the few voices out there telling the shy, obese freshman or the meek housewife that they have warriorship as their birthright. I'll donate my 20% back to you, for them.

However, if it's not asking too much, what I would definitely say yes to is an autograph. I don't know if you're able to do that sort of thing, but if there's a way to sign the DVD to Matt and Jenn, that would be awesome.

Thanks again for being a hero who doesn't disappoint,

Matt B
New Haven, CT

HP Yoga® Blooms Again; Regular Classes Begin Today in Durango!

HP YOGA®...Living Metta Through Sweat-a!

since 1983

"The Meet-and-Greet with Steve Ilg was very interesting! The guy is amazing, can't wait to get the practice started! So knowledgeable and passionate!"

- Chris, Durango

***

Most Precious Warriors Toward Wholeness...

it is my great honor to begin yet another Yoga Program at a world-class training facility...this time, in my own h(om)etown of Durango, Colorado!

Class begin this evening and May The Ancient Enlightened Ones smile at our bravery to work together on our weakness, lazy tendencies, and negative habits.

And may WE smile at the unsurpassed Joy available to each of us when we Wake Up to the realization that having incarnated in a country, in a time, and surrounded by like-minded souls where we have the luxury and the freedom to pursue our unique Paths Toward Enlightenment! Onward, Upward, and Endlessly Inward!!!

HP YOGA® baby!!!
Living Metta Through Sweat-a!

see you in the Practice Cave!

- coach steve ilg

class flyer click here:

hub%20flyer.jpg

EASTER SUNDAY SIRMAN...

"Be still and know that you are Go(o)d."

- Yogi Jesus

WF Parenthetical Dharma Inflection by steve ilg

Today's Sermon Lovingly Devoted to the Maha Yogi Jesus

and is currently available for DL Subscribers...

Head bowed from the humble, powerful Temple Beside The Sacred Mountain River...

Blessings upon thy Sweat and Stillness...

feeble yogi ilg

How To Make Offerings...

Dewah, yesterday morning at our Daddy and Dewah Breakfast Time at The Brickhouse Cafe. The antique rocking horse's nameis 'Brii' according to Dewah. Brii is only one of several ancient chi treasures in this 108 year-old restored Victorian house. When you sign up for your WF Private Intensive, we'll be sure to take you here as well!

***

At the time of Buddha, there lived an old beggar woman called Relying on Joy. She used to watch the kings, princes, and people making offerings to Buddha and his disciples, and there was nothing she would have liked more than to be able to do the same. But she could only beg enough oil to fill a single lamp. However, as she placed it before Buddha she made this wish: “I have nothing to offer but this tiny lamp. But through this offering, in the future may I be blessed with the lamp of wisdom. May I free all beings from their darkness. May I purify all their obscurations, and lead them to enlightenment.”

That night, the oil in all the other lamps went out. But the beggar woman’s lamp was still burning at dawn, when Buddha’s great disciple Maudgalyayana came to...

Read the Teaching on today's Direct Lines Subscription Format!

A Sure Sign of Spiritual Progress Along The WF Journey...

"Coach,
just met one of your students Steve and did a chirunning session with him.

i ordered your WF mealtime guidebook pdf too.
thnks for having all these PDF Teachings
while you are training so hard and gracefully.

salim
los angeles"

***

and now...for your
Sure Sign of Spiritual Progress Along The WF Journey...



So Sorry, the surprisingly obvious answer is
only for DL Subscribers...
don't get gapped when i soon release my new Membership Only
WF website; subscribe today!

WF SPONSORED SKIER WINS NATIONAL 50K CHAMPIONSHIP!

Once a tike in my arms, now...the King of Pain and Perseverance!

held in him in my arms, i did, when he but a tike...this is Tad Elliot, son of my first nordic ski coach, Olympian Mike Elliot. now, Tad epitomizes the WF versatility; Tad is both a National Champion in Mountain Bike Racing and in Nordic Ski Racing. Tad has all my books and DVD's and i hope to see him soon in my HP Yoga Classes in Durango! WAY TO GO TAD...

here is the link to the story:
Durango Herald; Tad Elliot Grand Champion


May your Practice be thus inspired today...ilg knows mine sure is!!

No April Fools Joke

this ain't no April Fool's Joke: Fit Kit tagging the elusive summit of Mt. Taylor at the Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon this February and now he is still cashing in the pranic payoff from taking that Sacred Pilgrimage!