Wholistic Fitness

Of gurus,sex, lies, and videotape?

With the agony of love

Not the ecstasy

Then the Beloved

Will fall in love with you.”

-RUMI

Namaste Noble Warriors!

I�ve gotten a few letters from some of you remarking on the recent gossip regarding famous �Yoga Masters� like Amrit Desai, Bikram Choudhury, and the omnipotent Rodney Yee falling prey to sex and financial scandal and other not-so-yoga like behavior. One of the quotes from Bikram which caused a considerable stir among some of my female students came when the self acclaimed �superhuman� yoga guru Bikram stated in

defense of the behavior of Yee and Desai, that he himself was actually blackmailed several times into having sex with students, “What happens when they say they will commit suicide unless you sleep with them?” he says. “What am I supposed to do? Sometimes having an affair is the only way to save someone’s life.”

Of course to me, with 15 years of training in yogic philosophy and practice, Bikram�s remark begs the obvious question,

�Why would anyone want to have sex with a tubby little fellow who teaches in Speedo�s?�

But seriously, it�s important not to take egomaniacs like Bikram seriously. I know and have talked with Bikram at his gaudy, smelly Beverly Hills �studio�. He is quite an arrogant little chap,comparing himself to Christ and Buddha and told me outright he could kick my ass in any outdoor or extreme sport because he was, well, �Superhuman� and that i basically �knew nothing about yoga.� He said this to me in front of my girlfriend at that time and we both just looked at each other and cracked up. It takes all kinds. Bikram and many of the yoga �stars� are clever…but Bikram takes the cake with his flippancy about how big his mansion is, how many Rolls Royce’s he has, blah, blah. On one Level, he is very good spiritual rascal, testing all of us not to pass judgment on him, for if we do, we are no spiritually Higher than is his ego.

But on another Level, if Bikram would see it in him to send a tiny bit of his millions of dollars to help Tibet, Ethiopia, or Buddha help him…his own India, then i personally feel his �message� would be even greater. The fact that we remark about his idiocy and that i am writing about it is in itself testimony to Bikram�s ability to generate energy about him.

If you want to read more about what happens to people when they call themselves Yoga Teachers but reduce Yoga to merely asana practice (and don’t do Intervals!), you can read the whole article at:

http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,42783|5,FF.html

Thanks to WF Warrior Bradley for the site reference.

Now, back to our much more humble, but to me, far more Beautiful Light…here are some catch up quotes from you about this and that…

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Dear coach,

Thanks for ever-ything.

I was in the gym last week. Moving through a ‘flow’ series, this thought came to me, ‘you must start practicing more earnestly, you are slacking off in your WF studies, if you would only work harder…blah, blah, blah’. The voice of constant discontent, my constant reminder and companion, rears its ugly head. I smile and come back to the weight, the rooting through the feet, the breath deep in the belly, the muscle fibers, pull, stretching, contracting…I am practice, this is practice, there is no other moment, I start to feel, as I do (k)now, a welling of emotion, of udder gratitude as my legs start to caress the floor, my hands sweating , the rhythm smooth. Tears come to my eyes, I feel them roll down my face, in gratitude, such beauty, I move through and dance with these feelings, there is no-one else in the gym, I am alone together with all the others in the gym…’this is what steve was talking about’, it was so sweet and kind and nurturing. placing the dumbbells back, feet connected. A stranger comes up to me he says, ‘wow, your form is amazing, I never seen such impeccable form, do you do this alot…’ ‘no, not alot, just enough’…I walk away and the tears roll down my face, everywhere I see god, everywhere I see god…

Let me know how your book is going and when it will be in Wall-marts across the country!!

cheers,

Heikosan Couture

Canada

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i see yoga everywhere

because yoga is in

everything i see…

– ilgism

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Dear Coach –

I am going to take an in depth study program on buddhism and I would end up being able to “teach” but I don’t think i want to do that. your thoughts?

– R

Dear R –

at Naropa University, my Tibetan teachers always refused to call themselves teachers of Buddhism since beyond time and space (maya) there is only now and it is the emptiness of now that teaches…no human can teach, only experience.

too many strive to teach

instead of just in-joying Practice…

personally, i know i pretty much suck as a �teacher�…that is why i force myself to come to the Big City from my Rocky Mountains…so i can work hard to become a good teacher…but personally, i would MUCH rather be back in Durango

unknown

happily practicing my personal brand of yoga & meditation on my skis, bikes, and snowshoes

emptying into the emptiness

moving beyond the Beyond

(paragate, paragate, parasamgate…)

just in-joy your time well

because it’s all you have…

teaching, learning, loving…

ilg

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Dear Steve –

Does Fortune Delight make you go the bathroom more efficiently? You know “keep the mail moving?” Is it a stimulant in any way? Should I drink it before bed?

– K. W

Dear K –

yes, if you are familiar with any of my published writings, you know that i am very big on getting people to understand that nutrition is only one half of putting food into you…the other half of nutrition is cleansing; ridding the cells from the molecular debris and toxins accumulated from food ingestion, exercise, stress, etc. Basically, how well you ‘poop’ and how fast your ‘transit time’ is a key indicator to how well your entire digestive health. Dr. Chen is committed to keeping food moving through the body system as fast as possible and to assimilate all the nutrients in the most optimal manner.

Cleansing foods (like Calli and FD) keep the cell membranes functioning properly, cleansing nutrition is tantamount; that is why WF Students use Fortune Delight and/or Calli throughout the day.

Both FD and Calli work like barbells for your colonic system; it strengthens its function while cleansing it of encrusted fecal and toxic matter during the first few months or years of Sunriding.

FD and Calli are not stimulants in the Western term. FD and Calli do however, ‘stimulate’ the physiology to liberate impacted fat stores from the body which, as you know, contains many kcals of energy, but also liberating that stored fat produces fluid and often, toxic burnoff which can result in headaches, nausea, and uncommon elimination patterns. All these things are manifestations of the herbs attempting to bring the body into balance, clarity, and strength.

After several months of being on Sunrider, almost anyone can drink Calli or FD before bed…but until the cells of your body get clearer, the resultant enzymatic and digestive and assimilation activity from Calli or FD could be too much before bed. In that case, just don’t drink and Calli or FD a few hours before retiring.

Also, Dr. Chen created CALLI NIGHT, a BEAUTIFUL version of Calli Tea that actually does what the original Calli does but with herbs that promote a calming effect neurally…perfect for before bedtime with a good book!

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