Wholistic Fitness

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Namaste Noble Fitness Warriors!

here are some bits and pieces from today�s email.

i�ve now let myself miss my morning mountain run…i can feel my spirit itching inside my body, so i�m off to the gym…

enjoy today�s update..

love,

coach ilg

ps; Happy Birthday to one of my local heroes and training bros; Steve Marlowe…now forty-something and still a ZERO TOLERANCE bicycle commuter…feeble ilg bows to YOU big TIME! you amaze me with your dedication, effort, and sweat to live lightly between our beautiful Father Sky, Mother Earth. Once i become President, i am appointing YOU Secretary of Transportation! then our national obesity rate will plummet! i cherish our riding together…let�s do Reseda to the Sea this weekend and burn off some more �old man� fat together! stay hungry baby!

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Tight Hips, Tight Mind

Dear Coach –

My only question today is that because of the tightness in my hips my spine does not seem totally straight during my daily zazen. I try to lengthen during it as best I can. The tightness in my hips becomes a tightness in my mind after about seven minutes. I try to breath into my hips but sometime lose my count. I switch leg crossing every day so I won’t get lopsided. I then do another 10 mins with a cushion for comfort. Suggestions?

– Student Mackel

New Student Mackel –

you hit the mark on how tightness in the body during meditation = tightness of the mind. this is the ENTIRE purpose of the 600+ yoga asanas…all those yoga poses are designed to do ONE THING: equip the physical body with enough supple strength to sustain more advanced (longer) meditation sessions. if the body is not comfortable, the mind is not comfortable and thus, cannot be adequately explored. along the way of learning the yoga postures, our minds learn how to concentrate better, which is the other vital component required for advanced meditation.

so,

do this:

take your time.

i prefer it if you switch leg positions at precisely halfway through prescribed sitting times, not session by session. this will help.

thank you and may your Study be fruitful today…

love,

coach ilg

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El Coache,

I was reading the newest copy of BICYCLING MAGAZINE today. In the Editors column (page 16) there is a side bar talking about plyometric training. Your book, THE WINTER ATHLETE, was recommended as a reference for plyometric training. In case you were not aware.

I pray that all is well with You and Kathy, and that your new book is coming along OK. I miss you.

Love,

warrior clay

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Dear Ilg Master –

from Canada i just wanted to say,

Thank you for YOUR PRESENCE,

YOUR WORDS.

YOUR TRUTH.

– Lance Zein

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When Do I Breathe?

Dear Coach –

One other question. In terms of breathing when strength

training, can you remind me of the ying and the yang. Is it to exhale

on muscle contraction?

Student Bannister

New Student B –

well, working muscles are ALWAYS in various states of contraction. when strength training, you�ve GOT to give your mind an accurate picture of how you want your body to look like and function. for now, i need you to practice this during your gym workouts;

1) picture the bodypart you are training

2) picture how the muscle fibers in that bodypart SHORTEN AS THEY CONTRACT (i.e., when the bicep ‘rolls up’ the upper arm bone…the bicep is SHORTENING as it contracts)

3) USUALLY, the Yang Phase (explosive, exhale) occurs during this SHORTENING CONTRACTION (i.e, as you RAISE the barbell during a bicep curl).

4) the Yin Phase (more controlled and done on an inhale) USUALLY occurs during the LENGTHENING part of the CONTRACTION.

WF makes you CONCENTRATE and LEARN ABOUT YOUR BODY in the gym!

this is PERFECT!

proud of you…

i’m off to the gym temple myself to listen

to the dance between the lengthening

and the shortening

and apply my breath

to facilitate both…

inner study = inner joy

love,

coach ilg

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All Who Wander…

Dear Coach Ilg –

this may sound a little daft but what do you do if your not sure what your goals are? all i seem to read about is setting goals for your self (ie Bill Phillips) but i dont know what i want,other people tell me why don’t you do this or try that that would be good for you,i don’t know what sport i want to do. Sometimes I like running sometimes I hate it then again I can throw my self into biking then just stop and I don’t know why I can’t be bothered will it any more.

thanks,

Chris

Dear Fitness Warrior Chris –

you are ripe to become a formal student of Wholistic Fitness…you fluctuate between your desires because your mind fluctuates and thus, your spirit can�t settle onto any one thing for very long.

but, this can also be perfect, especially for Wholistic Fitness. you see, sport specialization leads to imbalance. so it can be a source of wisdom not to attach yourself for very long to any one sport. why not find the Dance of ALL Sports?

finding the Dance which unites ALL fitness disciplines is where the Fun and the spiritual gateways lie…

but in the meantime, don�t get upset about �not knowing� what you want right now. it is your Soul�s way of waiting for the most Appropriate Path to arise….it�s like waiting for the breath to arise while holding a yoga posture…don�t push it, just stabilize where you are and wait for the breath (spirit) to arrive…

“All who wander, are not lost.”

– Neruda

enjoy your fitness wandering…

it is a Path unto itself…

as valid as any other…

in strength & spirit,

coach ilg

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Dearest Coach –

Your yoga class on Sunday was awesome as usual. I look forward to that special time each week. Thank you for your words of wisdom during each class and your encouragement. I felt like a strong yogi on Sunday.

-Alisha

Yogini Alisha –

yes, you came to HP Yoga in need of more strength, you were �frightened� by the �strength element� of my style of yoga teaching…BUT, you overcame your fear, came to class, breathed into the fears and realized your fear was just illusion…

and just LOOK at how FAST your body is becoming stronger AND more supple. your body looks SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL!

strength first, suppleness second.

strong, supple body = strong, supple mind.

keep up your Practice, you are looking ever more RADIANT!

i am pleased you enjoy and benefit from my humble path of Service…head bowed in Namaste,

coach ilg