Gaining An Occasionally Rippled Mind…

coach in Meditation, the 4th of the 5 Noble Fitness Disciplines of Wholistic Fitness™/photo courtesy Wholistic Fitness Archives.

It’s the casual questions I get after teaching another Samadhically infused HP Yoga™ class in the Sacred Cave that are always difficult to answer questions about Meditation…I take this as a compliment; any yoga class that ends with students moved enough to ask about Meditation is to me, a sign of Teaching Success in the Highest of Ways. If you’re gonna get a yoga class high, then you better make sure the high ain’t coming from dirty, stale bong water! Keep it clean, keep it Wholy Sweat!

I’m gonna tell you something very special that my Tibetan Meditation Teachers at Naropa taught me…

According to the Ancient Enlightened Ones, the Warrior Energy is summoned...

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note: the door opens to new Members this week!

Ilg’s September Elegy; Thank you September, for thy Grace….

all photos and text by steve ilg...please do not republish without asking, thank you! above;
aspens shimmer before a Missionary Ridge drainage.

What makes the bliss of a Durango September so potent is the fact that you’re standing right in the middle of a gold mine; the aspens turning, the amber rays of fleeting afternoons while ripping some shale singletrack along Raider Ridge…slow pedaling home while marveling at the geese skulling a twilight sky over the Ganges of the San Juans.

The gold mine will soon be covered, equally skillfully and equally beautifully, by a pandemonium of snow. That same snow will inevitably cover my autumn sentiments softly, like a barefoot hobo walking the tracks. My heart swells while I feel my love for autumn in the breeze yet I know that same breeze will soon freeze as it floats away into winter’s cold embrace...

Read & See the rest...

note: the door opens to new Members in one
week!

Stream Entry WF DharmaTeaching and Meditation NOW AVAILABLE ON MP3

one of my brightest young Lights for WF; Online Student "IC" from NYC...i'll be interviewing this astonishingly talented Brahmin Yogi who relies on WF Online Training for his world-class musical endeavors. this kid is gonna blow you away! Below is his response to my latest MP3 release; the classic WF Teaching of all time: Stream Entry.

Dear Coach (Appreciator of That Which Is),

...like a CliffsNotes guide to TBT, Stream Entry delineates the key tenets of Wholistic Fitness.

no longer will i listen to the "experts" on the mere grounds of the three letters following their names- unless those letters happen to be I-L-G!

WF Online Student IC
NYC


***

order your MP3 of STREAM ENTRY
by
clicking here

Worlds SLOWEST MTB Ride? Yesterday's Pilgrimage...

enjoy....4 minutes of WF Chi...

World's SLOWEST MTB Ride?

get out and do,
dwell within and be...

your high mountain yogi

Honoring Grandmother...

on this night of Autumnal Equinox,


feeble ilg collects his small,
yet fierce Tribe of WF Warriors
and
collectively
sends a bow to
our
Beloved Grandmother during this Auspiciously Empowering night...
i just finished a two hour Meditation that felt like 10 minutes;
such is the Pranic Potency of tonight! the Wisest and most Devoted of my Students
will be cranking a few more extra rounds on their Blessed Malas!

here is ilg's Offering To Our Grandmother On Behalf Of My Tribe
on this Night of Nights...

(click to deepen the chi hit)

"Daddy, look, God painted NanaTha white!*"

- Dewachen Ilg, pointing up with her little,
delicious finger at this very moonrise
on the eve of her 3rd birthday
as Grandmother Moon arose
so seductively over my beloved San Juan Mountains
hovering over the hamlet of
Ouray, Colorado on September 10th...

May we all reLearn the Awe of Chi-ldren and Moonstruck souls everywhere,
your feeble teacher

*Nana = grandmother in many languages, and Tha = Sanscrit for Moon...as in Hatha Yoga = union of Sun (Ha) and Moon (Tha)


photos:
1) Grandma as captured by ilg, 9/10/10, Ouray, Colorado with Dewa hanging off my right arm.
2) Dewachen the other evening, looking once again, so dang cute i could eat her up in one big bite...note the Auspicious orange globe She is intuitively, symbolically holding near Her Manipura Chakra; Om So Ti

Delayment of Instant Gratification: WF Student Adam 'gets it'

A personal 5-hour Media Fast and Silent Retreat paid off handsomely during teaching a HP Yoga® Restorative Yoga class to 12 Warriors in the Cave of Champions. As a new daddy, it required a tremendous effort to carve out this mini-retreat; yet, ilg realizes just how important it is to my capacities as a teacher, parent, partner and athlete.
May virtue arise in the minds of all living Beings.

Photo: this fantastic pic was caught by Most Noble WF Student Daniel Wolfe. Overcome the tendency to find fault. Finding fault diminishes fundamental inspiration by the most 'mundane' of Beings and Circumstances. click to enlarge.


***

The following email came to me after i processed an Online Order from WF Informal Student Adam C:

Student:
What a lesson this has already been Steve!

I clicked "buy" and sat at my computer waiting to get an auto generated email with my purchases attached!

I went through your web page a few times trying to figure out what i did wrong....

Then it hit me...

this is steve ilg! he is going to send it himself...
And i need more patience and get away from the instant gratification mind set...

Thanks for the lesson before I even open the lesson.

adam

***

Coach Responds:

People come often toward me with questions seeking spiritual advice. On the podium of things-i-could-say-to-them is this:
"Delay your desire for instant self-gratification."


Delayment of Self Gratification has been part and parcel of the great WF Teachings since 1982.

Since then, i've have to retro-fit the Teaching to meet the ever-accelerating times:
Delayment Of Instant Self Gratification
has now risen to the surface of my Teachings on this subject since the advent of the internet (yes, WF existed long before the internet was even created...sOMetimes we forget the lineage of WF along the Path of Awakening).

not many things surprises ilg these Kali Yuga days.

what does surprise ilg is the head-shaking realization of just how fast the mind states of people can switch within the quick context of one's own lifetime.

Ananda holds up one of our Swiss Chard Plant Beings from our garden. Well, it's not really "OUR" garden at all is it? It's Brahmans...It's God's Garden, not 'ours.' The spiritual teachings of gardening (and they are many) pivot upon Delayment of Instant Self Gratification.

As Student Campbell discovered, ilg still does keep the "OM" in CustOMer Service.

Most don't.

Most internet services are all about Instant Self-Gratification.

The faster the delivery, the better.

This Way of Thinking is, what the Buddha would call, 'afflicted.'

The shortcomings of faster-is-better are many.

Common to the condition to an ever-accelerating life is the effect of "expectation."

When i graduated from St. Columba School, here in Durango, all my schoolmates that graduated from the 6th grade that year, got these plaques adorned by bible quotes.

In one of the most Moving, Profound, Awakenings of my young life at the time was opening up my Plaque box and seeing a quote that was not from the bible.

It was, instead, from the Collective Wisdom of All Ancient Enlightened Masters...

And what it said hit me with no less velocity than a thunderclap right into my Ajna Chakra:

"BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NO EXPECTATIONS
FOR THEY SHALL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED."

Can you, right now, even imagine how your life would change if you could Realize this quote into the Things-That-You-Do each day?

How would it affect your Asana Practice?

Your Cardio or Strength Training?

Your Nutrition?

Your waiting at the Stop Light or Grocery Store?

So, this quote from my chi-ldhood is sOMething that all of us could actualize.

Interesting with the training of the mind is that whatever comes into our mind is not owned by any Source higher than thou. Any thought can come into our minds,
through TV or iPods or this Blog...
so consequently it is Go(o)d to not give any special meaning to it
just because you became Aware of it.
what's important is to run pervading thoughts pass your Dharma Teacher; he or she is well trained to facilitate thoughts and things actually important to your spiritual Awakening.

If we don't expect things, we don't live in the future; instead we live Here, Now.

Student Campbell 'got' my teaching in Delayment of Instant Self Gratification due to his acceptance of ilg as his Teacher.

It is beyond the ability to put into words just how important it is to have confidence in, and be inspired by our chosen Teachers. Otherwise, without such deeply rooted conviction, we will inevitably miss the subtle - if not the gross - Teachings from our Teacher.

And the go(o)d Teachers all-Ways teach in multi-layered ways for long, long years.

May mental quiescence permeate your workouts and your work-withins...

feeble ilg

Conception & Perception; Has Your Fitness Clarified Them?

click to enlarge the Chi Hit. taken from my cell phone camera during a recent training ride on my road bike over Molas Pass (10,910'). when i say "Blue Sky"... what do you Perceive? what do you Conceive of as a "Blue Sky"? Qualities of mind are rarely explored among the popular, convetional fitness paths. Here in Wholistic Fitness? Such explorations of mind are our bread and butter along the Path of our Awakening Through Sweat and Stillness.

Noble Sangha,
in this forum i have Taught you about the two qualities of Mind.

to review, there are only two qualities of Mind:

1. Awareness
2. Clarity

in this forum i have Taught you about the Ways of grounding and the skillful means of deepening these two mental qualities.

out of Awareness,
arises two further aspects:

• Perception
• Conception

Perception is a training effect, if you will, of the Five Sense Consciousnesses and, of course, your own developed layered fitness of your Sense Consciousness.

Conception is a refracted measure of mental recall.

Let me explain:

You walk outside tomorrow morning to fetch the morning paper (after, of course enjoying the pranic afterglow of doing EMR!) and see a bicycle Cardio Commuter ride by your house, you see the paniers fully loaded, your ears hear the rolling of tire rubber atop asphalt and gears dancing in the early morning light.

you Perceived that cyclist through your sight sense and your hearing sense.

that's Perception.

now, let's say you are out here in Durango, taking advantage of a half-day Intensive with me. you and i are scrubbing a brew, listening to the Sacred Animas after a fantastic training ride on the Hermosa Creek Trail.

if i describe to you my memory recall of that early morning Cardio Commuter, the manner in which you conceive of my description is your Conception of my recalled Perceived experience of encountering that Cardio Commuter while i was picking up my morning paper.

believe it or not,
your understanding of the difference between Perception and Conception is HUGELY important to your sadhana. there are only Happy Feelings, Unhappy Feelings, and Neutral Feelings toward your Perceptions and Conceptions of your developed Awareness.

i'll need you to contemplate this.

you may pose questions to me on this iDL in the WF SanghaLounge. i'll elaborate on this very important Teaching in that forum.

***

How deeply your practice of Wholistic Fitness has delineated these Awareness aspects discussed above, reflects your willingness, consistency, and temperament toward the Teachings i've laid before you all these decades.

The most popular fitness methods these days, do not even come close to Teaching you such differences of mind. Not Pilates, not Certified Kettlebellers, not Stroller Strides, not Crossfit.
not even in the ballpark, dude.

Rare too, ironically, do the most popular yogic paths come close to imparted to you such categories of mind.

if you appreciate the Noble Effort and Intention of Wholistic Fitness to re-store a Higher Consciousness right where it belongs:
Within The Sweat

then, it's time for you to consider again your monthly gesture toward generating positive karmic mOMentum by offering your WF Temple Tithe right now.

prevent the negative karma of killing mosquito beings.

and see it as a critical part of your Personal Fitness Training.

if those above two sentences stirred your Higher Wisdom Self?

it's time for you to get cracking on the Green Tara Program again and DO THE WORK, YOGI!

Humor and Spaciousness in Meditation

When you meditate, it is essential to create the right inner environment of the mind. All effort and struggle come from not being spacious, and so creating that right environment is vital for your meditation truly to happen.

When humor and spaciousness are present, meditation arises effortlessly.

- Sogyal Rinpoche

Even the non-Practitioner could look at this stunning picture by WF fan and traveling pilgrim in India; Josh Shrei of Shakymuni and realize just why "Breath and Posture," is my first Lifestyle Principle of Wholistic Fitness®. thank you, Yogi Josh!

Ground Of The Ordinary Mind...

No one needs to tell Ananda and Dewachen (photo far right) or the many other Fitness M(om)s and their chi-ldren who begin their day with what matters most: getting out and breathing with Mother Earth and Father Sky. photo by ilg along the Animas River Walk. click to enlarge

***

I designed the WF Techniques and Teachings to infiltrate our everyday actions like sunlight entering water; everywhere we go throughout the day becomes an opportunity to workout...errr, work within, more like it. The wisdom of the WF Personal Training System deepens far beyond our Noble 5 Fitness Disciplines (Strength, Cardio, Yoga, Meditation, and Nutrition) what the grounded nature of our 4 Lifestyle Principles (Breath and Posture, Mindfulness, Appropriate Action, and Practice) which invites the trickle down effect of our more specific Awareness Exercises such as Non-Dominant Hand Awareness, Eating Elegantly Assignment, Smile Often Guru, and dozens of others. Far beyond our World Class physicality, the WF Yogi comes face to face with what Rinpoche calls our 'fundamental basis' of mind; the real workout lies within when you live a WF Life! Each day shines with spiritual aplomb, each conversation offers another chance at Rising Higher, inDeed; each thought another Higher Consciousness workout. There is nothing like WF on this plane(t)...and there sure ain't nothing like a WF Yogi, like you! Isn't it time you signed up for a 6-month course in WF Online Training?

No Initiation Fee for new students already on or willing to get on the Sunrider Herbs and/or MAP Amino Acids! contact me today at: steve wholisticfitnesscom

***

"The masters tell us that there is an aspect of our minds that is its fundamental basis, a state called “the ground of the ordinary mind.” It functions like a storehouse, in which the imprints of past actions caused by our negative emotions are all stored like seeds. When the right conditions arise, they germinate and manifest as circumstances and situations in our lives.

If we have a habit of thinking in a particular pattern, positive or negative, then these tendencies will be triggered and provoked very easily, and recur and go on recurring. With constant repetition our inclinations and habits become steadily more entrenched, and continue increasing and gathering power, even when we sleep. This is how they come to determine our life, our death, and our rebirth."
- Sogyal Rinpoche

Uncompounded luminous clarity...Sweat Dharma

Profound and tranquil, free from complexity, Uncompounded luminous clarity, Beyond the mind of conceptual ideas; This is the depth of the mind of the Victorious Ones. In this there is not a thing to be removed, Nor anything that needs to be added. It is merely the immaculate Looking naturally at itself.

- NYOSHUL KHEN RINPOCHE

***

Such is the benefit, the beauty of being born into a Warrior Caste...
study the Scriptures of the Ancient Enlightened Ones...
you'll quickly find Realization that
loving the sweat,
cherishing the stillness,
skillfully befriending breath and mindwaves
during sport,
during practice
has elevated us Warriors closer toward Awakening
then the common man
- rooted in lethargy, addicted to sense pleasures, slovenly grasping for
convenience over nobility.

How Blessed are We
to know the necessity of lifestyle fitness?
Of sweating each day to rinse clear the Clouded Mind and Eye and Heart?

Even if we remain scared of meditating,
too frightened to close the chambers of input
and sit still?

It's okay,
for at least you are unplugged from the iPod as you sweat
and
that alone,
might just be enough fodder for Awakening Higher
in the next life.

Is that not the very nature of your Sweat?
Tell feeble ilg if it is not.

Is not everything that is your Weakness
also your Gateway Higher?

Is not the muscle that is tight and restricted
also the the same springboard to Sacred Joy
as you soften it
and grow
more accurate in your silent m(om)ents?


Dharma Blessings upon thy Practice today...

your Rever-End ilg



photo: Leg of ilg. there is actually a rock climbing route in Eldorado Canyon named after these wheels of my current incarnation. Let us all be grateful - those of us who have two legs - let us use them as Go(o)d intended:
as our Dharma Wheels! Get out and do...sweat so you can begin to See.

NEW MP3 RELEASE: ilg's Pre-Event Meditation!

"The Body Follows The Mind...
so, train your mind for your highest podium
and your body will follow."
- coach steve ilg
America's Most Versatile Athlete/Yogi

Announcing the release of my latest astral weaponry for whatever is your podium; be it a trophy,
overcoming injury or dis-ease,
or even to nudge ahead in the Race Toward Enlightenment...

ONLY $5
no shipping/handling charges!
immediate download!
proven by hundreds of fitness warrior for decades!

"This 4.5 minute Meditation was designed way back in 1983 from my personal pre-sport performance ritual and has become a relied upon ceremonial weapon for athletes and those in need of courage the world over..."
-steve ilg

CLICK HERE NOW
for more info and to order!

2 New Releases! Order Now and Deepen Your Practice Today!

Most Noble Sangha,

i am very stoked to offer my two latest Audio Teachings for you:

The Pain Guru -
Transforming Injury Into Advancement

and


HP Asana Mudra

Available for the first time outside of my private classes!

the greatest endeavor of your life

please do not republish without consent. thank you.

coach in MahaMudra by James Q Martin

now,
click HERE
for a tremendous asset to your own Practice of Meditation and Yoga...

***

Just as a writer learns the spontaneous freedom of expression only after years of often grueling study, and just as the simple grace of a dancer is achieved only with enormous, patient effort, so when you begin to understand where meditation will lead you, you will approach it as the greatest endeavor of your life, one that demands of you the deepest perseverance, enthusiasm, intelligence, and discipline. - Sogyal Rinpoche

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.

meditation posture like "an arrow"

ilg in meditation. photo by k. faulstich

"The most essential point of the meditation posture is to keep the back straight, like “an arrow” or “a pile of golden coins.” The “inner energy,” or prana , will then flow easily through the subtle channels of the body, and your mind will find its true state of rest. Don’t force anything. The lower part of the spine has a natural curve; it should be relaxed but upright. Your head should be balanced comfortably on your neck. It is your shoulders and the upper part of your torso that carry the strength and grace of the posture, and they should be held in strong poise, but without any tension.

Sit with your legs crossed. You do not have to sit in the “full-lotus” posture, which is..."

READ THE FULL TEACHING ON TODAY's DIRECT LINES

The Only Thing We Have...

The cells of our body are dying, the neurons in our brain are decaying, even the expressions on our face are always changing, depending on our mood. What we call our basic character is only a “mindstream,” nothing more. Today we feel good because things are going well; tomorrow we feel the opposite. Where did that good feeling go?

What could be more unpredictable than our thoughts and emotions: Do you have any idea what you are going to think or feel next? The mind, in fact, is as empty, as impermanent, and as transient as a dream. Look at a thought: It comes, it stays, and it goes. The past is past, the future not yet risen, and even the present thought, as we experience it, becomes the past.

The only thing we really have is nowness, is now.

- Sogyal Rinpoche

***



Settle the turbulence of your own MindStream
with Coach's latest Meditation MP3:

The Blue Light Healing Meditation

Less Desire

less desire
means
less pain...

no anger inside
means no enemies outside...





quit sweating for purposes other than (y)our Awakening


read Coach's entire Teaching
on today's DL Subscription format;
support Turtle Island's original
Transpersonal Fitness Path since 1982



photo; coach in japa mala

Blue Light Healing Meditation MP3 Now Available

By popular request; this is my 15-minute guided; "Blue Light Healing Meditation" found in my book, TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION. I'll often use this very same meditation to conclude my HP Yoga® classes while my students are in Savasana...inevitably, the entire class becomes bathed in the astral serenity and innate self healing empowerment transmitted through this relaxing meditation.

Transmission integrity is on High Throttle; this Meditation was Transmitted to me by my own MahaNidraRishi, with whom i studied Tibetan EnergyWork and PhysioDynamic Bodywork in New Mexico for 3 years.

In this Meditation you will be guided to;

• a deep, restorative inner space of healing

• using proven colored light visualizations to ignite chakral field energetics

• release physical, mental, and spiritual adhesions

• neurohormonal balance for a calmer, more whole 'you'

"Coach, i am still in a Pranic afterglow after your Blue Light Healing Meditation last evening! Thank you!" - HP Yoga® Student Carrie

besides ending your asana session, suggested use of this Meditation includes falling asleep to it and using it daily during injury or traumatic times in life. Very powerful. Very gentle. Very effective. You'll be able to listen and re-listen to this Meditation for a long time...I've been using for over 20 years!

this MP3 is also available as a CD upon request for an additional fee.

please do NOT listen to this Meditation while driving.

Ananda Sings for our Tribe!!!

photo; my Beloved Ananda (Joy)...with Patrick Stewart in the movie; SAFEHOUSE

***

Oh man, is Ananda ever gonna kill me for doing this...
shhhh...
maybe she won't find out...

okay, so the other day i was knee deep in last year's home video footage of Dewa, trying to
get a home DVD done in time for Thanksgiving...i grabbed Joy (Ananda) from doing what she is all-ways doing these precious days; mothering Dewa. this is like at about 7:45 am...Joy's just absolutely fatigued these days...Dewa is not sleeping well due to some more teeth coming in and well, you guys know that Joy and i haven't had so much of a babysitter since Dewa was born, so we're both just shipwrecks, right? so, i grab her and put her in front of my computer with GarageBand ready to go and with absolutely no warning and i say,

"Honey, i need you to sing the 'The Rose' right now...i need it for the section of Dewa's DVD where your dad came to visit."

Joy's dad, the famous Marine/Martial Art stud, always breaks down and cries like a baby whenever Joy sings 'The Rose' for him...(you'll soon hear and feel why; right down your cells...)

"Oh Steve, there is no WAY i can sing that song right now...i, i, i..."

suffice it to say, i walked out the room, and forced her to sing it...she doesn't even know all the words...however,
i just want you all to LISTEN to what i get to live with,
and
to the unbelievable voice that Dewachen has grown up with...singing to her every day...it's this voice which called Dewa's Atman toward us as potential parents. this, Dewa told me during her pre-born meditations with me.

enjoy,
and
shhhhh!!!
if you want to comment on this song (DO NOT FORWARD in any way to anybody else)...do so in the WF SanghaLounge, DL chamber, okay?

enjoy...and meditate on this...

Joy's recording available only for DL Subscribers

Hit the Divine Being Transition Switch, Please!

click to enlarge the image:

Thanks Steve...for what you do,
for keeping the 'do' in
how you live your life
and
how you sweat out loud
yet with such wisely paced compassion and fierce grace!

You're always in my thoughts.
Namaste.
- your Devoted Warrior Jerry A
CA

COACH RESPONDS:

Precious Tribal Brother,
if ilg is indeed 'all-ways' in your thoughts,
then, please!... switch the arising ILG thoughts
over to your Divine Being prayers or mantra!

do not settle for feeble ilg thoughts
when you can be sending & receiving Prayer Chi to your Divine Source whose emanations

CONTINUED at DL SUBSCRIPTION FORMAT

Go, Fight, Win (the podium of Enlightenment)!

in love and Higher Light,
feeble ilg

ps; need a Mantra?