Wholistic Fitness

Namaste Noble Warriors!

sorry i�ve been late in updating this…it�s NEW YEAR Resolution time…a busy time for us personal trainers! right now i am in Vegas working with a private student.

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“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is

that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary

man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse.”

– Carlos Castaneda

Master WF Student John �Hakado Ru� Kuhlman submitted that quote to me. It�s a very WF kind of quote. It falls in line with the WF maxim, �There are no rights or wrongs, just consequences.�

Now the funny (or shall i say, �perfectly synchronistic�) thing about �Hak� sending me that Castaneda quote is that mere hours earlier i had experienced a wonderful spiritual victory; my motorcycle had gotten impounded by cops who pulled me over for speeding, said i did not have the appropriate papers, wrote me up, and impounded my bike leaving me to walk home through a thankfully warm winter night in the Valley.

now, why is THAT a spiritual victory?

because i chose to accept the whole situation as a challenge to strengthen my yoga Practice…all of it, from seeing the whirling police lights in my side view mirrors, to dealing with the bureaucratic bs to get my bike out of the pound, i remained utterly, completely calm – even joyful – through it all. it was great!

after the cops pulled me over, i just sat down in the gutter in half lotus (i figured full lotus would have freaked them out too much), realized that 1) i had voluntarily broken the rules of the game by speeding, changing lanes too fast, and without signaling, 2) although completely unintentional, i had the wrong papers with me, 3) the cops were just doing their job, and 4) this was merely the consequence of my actions (karma) and…it was a perfect situation to practice my yoga…to walk my talk.

so, sitting there in the gutter, under the spinning sirens, i began to silently chant a name of God. i merged into the moment.

a steady stream of what transpired after i surrendered to this situation like this was nothing shy of miraculous. my heartrate never increased. i never took the officers out of my heart. and Divinity flowed into the moment instead of drama, worry, anxiety, and stress.

the officers picked up on the Divine vibrations…instead of throwing the book at me, the cops basically let me go of everything except the speeding. and, they started asking me about yoga! they still had to impound my bike by law. but when i got home, i fetched the right papers, and raced through the night on my bicycle back to where their patrol car still stood idling. i asked them if this was the paper they needed not to tow my bike. it was indeed. but, the tow truck had carted off my bike a mere 30 seconds earlier. i know this, because i saw my Nighthawk being towed away as i rounded the final corner on my bicycle.

as the officers saw my sincerity we cut through the masks of police persons and lawbreaker and met in the Namaste space. it was great. so was the unreal way the Universe parted the red tape for me the next morning to get my motorcycle back. i loved the whole affair, even paying the $200 to the impound yard. for me, that test of how effective my yoga has become for keeping me in touch with the Divine instead of Drama was worth far more than $200.

but then again, i should reserve my enthusiasm until i see what my insurance rate is going to be jacked up to!

oh, and of course, i no longer speed.

may your enjoy this update and may your Practice be strong during YOUR next challenging moment so that you find only Divinity smiling at you, testing you to see if you�ve overcome the Drama.

“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is

that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary

man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse.”

– Carlos Castaneda

i bow to you,

coach ilg

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congratulations to Lenore Fusano and Greg Diaz who won the coveted HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA WARRIORESS AND WARRIOR AWARD for displaying unmatched consistency and follow through in their Practice during 2002! Lenore and Greg received gifts courtesy of MelodicaMusic.com and POWERBAR.

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speaking of POWERBAR…

the only approved �engineered food� supplement of WF,

i wish to thank my friends at POWERBAR for approving my 17th consecutive year as a sponsored athlete of POWERBAR! from ultra endurance athletics to climbing to skiing to cycling and now to yoga…POWERBAR has been and remains my choice for those moments when just a little more POWER is needed for that workout!

yes, my favorite flavor remains the original malt-nut although i must say the new SUGAR FREE PROTEIN PLUS Strawberry Cream Something Or Other is pretty dang good! i like the POWERGELS too, especially when i am teaching consecutive yoga classes and don�t want any food in my gut but would like some glycogen refilling, you know?

Although whole foods and herbs remain my primary personal and professional choice for food 99% of the time, it�s nice to keep POWERBARS and POWERGELS in the cupboard for that extra long bike ride or that extra helping of nutrients to help recover or get through a busy day. www.powerbar.com

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This comes in from WF Online Student Shawna as she summarizes her practice in Meditation for last week:

M: I did 2 Zazen sessions (1-15min., 1-10min.), I practiced my early morning cleaning ritual – while staying focused and very mindful., I got the Peace is Every Step and started to read it. I have Beeper guru set on my computer at work and sometimes – I find it very difficult to stop and say “Am I at peace?” sometimes it is very abstract to fit that into “work” when it is so demanding, and it doesn’t feel like I am at peace with myself. I caught myself falling into the drama of a stressful situation at work on Friday. After festering for moments about it – I caught myself and then just said “don’t buy into the drama – now, let it go.” It felt so good. It was beyond my control – so I just acknowledged it and then moved on.

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Coach Ilg,

Many thanks for your comments. I also wanted to thank you for some of the writings in your direct lines column. I just finished a 5 day family ski trip in Michigan and it might have been pretty awful if not for your writing. To begin with, there was no natural snow and therefore no Nordic skiing. Not a problem. I remembered your column about early morning Nordic skiing and got up early and skied at the downhill resort. It was an incredible experience (and yes I did ski up to the top multiple times). I also brought my leather telemark boots thanks to your columns and this again, was an excellent choice. Many thanks.

Jim Johnston

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Dear Steve, i loved tonites Direct Lines. i’d love to put a copy of that in every room of my house and golf shop. Steve, Dr. Robert Arnot has come out with a book entitled, WEAR AND TEAR. In it he says”Trust me, yoga may be the single most effective way of dealing with wear and tear or even mild to moderate arthritis.” i have all of his books and have enjoyed each and every one of them. As you have said to me many times YOGA IS WHAT WILL HELP ME THE MOST. i am ready.

LOVE, Student Kendo

Dear Student Kendo –

this is a wonderful sign of the times as MD�s begin to really FEEL the difference that a direct experience of yoga can provide for themselves AND their patients!

perhaps Dr. Arnot will help forward a movement to have Yoga teachers paid on the scale of doctors and doctors get paid like Yoga teachers have been for the last twenty years? Hmmmmmm….i wish!

Hey, before Greg LeMond effectively changed the situation, pro bike racers received poverty level paychecks!