Wholistic Fitness

Namaste Noble Warriors!

The more fun we have with life, the more fun life has with us. Don’t stop growing just because you are grown up.

– coach ilg

��� LOCAL NEWS…

The new PowerHouse Gym is OPEN! It is big enough to qualify as a nation unto itself! I want ALL of you HP Yogis to write a comment card to DEREK thanking him for being brave to create this new beautiful facility that will help so many people in so many profound ways! I owned my own gym before, and let me tell you, it is stress with a capital �S�…so give Derek some yogic lovin� and thank him for our new Yoga & More Studio!

Group Exercise including HP Yoga Classes start on Monday! Be sure to pick up a new schedule of classes. Kathy has added YOGA FOR KIDS, a PILATES MAT class, and of course Kathy, Trina, and I continue bringing you HP YOGA!

NEW!!! Beginning 10/27… I will be teaching on SUNDAY AFTERNOONS…an easy yoga flow (Level 1) into meditation. This totally kicked back class begins at 4:00 pm and ends at 5:30 pm. Come and merge softly into your evening. I want you to show up after doing a long hike or bike ride or run and be centered for a new week! I look forward to seeing you there…at our new studio!!!!

������ WF DHARMATALK…

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“We dance round in a ring and suppose,

But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.”

– Robert Frost

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����� VARIOUS QUESTIONS, VARIOUS ANSWERS

question: good luck on your book deadline! what music do you listen to when you write?

answer: 80% of the time, silence. other times, i have my Mac PowerBook G4 plugged into international radio and listen to ambient, classical, new age, or trance. tonight i am listening to:

www.astreauxworld.com

question: what is the name of that freakin� cool yoga pose that Madonna strikes in her latest music video for the 007 movie?

answer: a variation of Eka Pada Sirsasana. Madonna rules!

question: Do you have any instructor training classes scheduled for the near future?

answer: Kathy and i are shooting for March, 2003 for the next HP Yoga Teacher Training. will announce later.

question: what is the purpose behind Ujjayi breathing and Mula Bandha in yoga? you are about the only Teacher that really keeps reminding people to do those things in class.

answer: to amplify the pran (life force), condition your system to handle more pran, and eventually to merge prana with apana which are the upper and lower aspects of pran within the body. this merging of pran and apana awakens the Kundalini. in yoga class however, you are just trying to strengthen and empower your energy conduits. direction of the pran comes later, usually with a guru or experienced Teacher.

������ STUDENT INPUT

Hello!

I am currently teaching Yoga in Bakersfield, CA. (I missed your seminar a few months back, unfortunately, but a friend of mine gave me one of your videos, which I do follow in my private practice regularly…and LOVE IT!!)

-Valerie-

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Steve,

You’re the Best! I just read your latest piece on “Gurus, Sex and Videotape”, and I have to tell you, I laughed so hard out loud. It was hilarious. You are really gifted. Thanks for making me smile.

– Michele

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I appreciate so much of www.wholisticfitness.com which

is a cool site!

Love,

Cecilia

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Dear Coach,

Namaste. Teacher Sheader suggested I ask you this question. Please recommend inline skates for cross training (brand) and snowshoes.

� I absolutely endorse inline skating and snowshoeing as cross training as well as for specialty sports. My first book, THE OUTDOOR ATHLETE, helped popularize these forms of training in the mid eighties. I do not think any of us who initially began clanking around on those big, heavy lace-up skates or who grew up on wood and rawhide ‘Eskimo’ snowshoes ever imagined the magnitude of what inline skating and sport snowshoeing has turned into!

INLINE SKATING: Any type of inline skating develops the power chain musculature of the quadriceps and gluteal muscles. Inner thighs are trained in a neurally fresh way which I have found contributive to a more powerful knee snap at Top Dead Position on the pedal stroke of cyclists. The entire midsection is strengthened in a very athletic conducive manner. The activity also gives a needed spiritual refreshment from the monotony of cycling. I suggest two forms of inline skating; traditional inline skating and inline skiing.

Traditional: Here, cyclists should mimic a speedskater, that is, focus on keeping the upper body parallel to the earth and really work on using the glutes as the generator for your propulsion. Keeping the upper body low and quiet while producing power from the hips is key. You�ve got to stay low! This type of skating is best done on terrain with only gradual hills and advanced skaters can fly using skates with 5 wheels instead of the more common 4 wheels.

Inline skiing: A pair of roller ski poles are needed along with your skates. These are available from catalog sources such as Reliable Racing Supply (800) 223-4448. Once these roller ski poles have been purchased, a whole new brave world opens! You can engage the upper body (SUPERB for MTB cyclists) which turns the activity into a full body, caloric burnfest! Both nordic styles (classic and skate) can be employed on flats and uphills then, when a downhill comes around, you can be just like Tomba and run imaginary gates! Because this activity is done with poles, falling is not such a big, scary thing and balance is much easier is two poles. Uphill terrain is fun and aggressive and downhills are just a blast. With practice, inline skiing may arise to be your favorite cross training activity…it is for me!

Some studies have shown that inline skating is tremendously effective at burning calories, significantly more than running or cycling at the same heart rates. Inline skating is much easier on the joints than running, but your lower back and spine muscles must undergo a long adaptation phase to dynamically stabilize your core. Always wear protective gear and invest in high quality equipment (high performance bearings and a lightweight, comfortable heel are very important). Get a skate that you are comfortable braking with. Most skaters can’t brake well and that is how injuries happen. Since I skate mostly very steep uphills and downhills, I prioritize a skate that can brake fast while under sheer forces.

I�ve been with RollerBlade since the early days, and there is no other company with as much R&D into their products. For cross training, I suggest trying out the Lightning 05 or 07 models both of which have micro bearings are lightweight and responsive. www.rollerblade.com has a cool Skate Selector that you can test.

Snowshoes:

Go Atlas. For running/racing get the Dual-Trac: I helped design their Dual-Trac technology and they have only refined this shoe for the better.

http://store.yahoo.com/skishop/atdualtractr.html

if you want less sport performance, a more reasonable price and a more durable training/all condition shoe get the Atlas 7 Series:

http://store.yahoo.com/skishop/atdualtractr.html

Enjoy the snow,

Steve Ilg

USCF Coach/Founder, WHOLISTIC FITNESS

author; THE WINTER ATHLETE (Johnson Books)