Wholistic Fitness

Namaste DIRECT LINES Readers!

i’d like to thank the growing readership over in Germany, where it seems, through the years, feeble ilg has become nearly as popular as David Hasselhoff (sp?)! Germans are always interested in physical training and they become very interested, in my experience, when physical training is linked with mental or spiritual training…thus explains their attraction to WF, baby! Anyway, thank you over there and Gooden Tag!

Discovered ANOTHER new hidden mountain trail just up the street! Not one human footprint, yet the trail was perfectly groomed as if by Divine Design! Unreal how Mother Earth’s abundance just keeps giving, giving, giving! A rattlesnake at the trailhead spurred my Awareness to new heights and low and behold, a most perfect sandstone boulder appeared on this new trail about 19 minutes up the ridge! i will develop this 13′ boulder this summer for my very own private bouldering sessions! thank you God, for being so magical in Your abundance! while power hiking up a very steep pitch on my new, hidden trail, i startled a huge deer who crashed through the manzanita at about about 35 mph! shortly after this encounter, i also very nearly stepped on what appeared to be a weasel! or perhaps an escaped ferret?

and people say LA is overcrowded!

not for those of us who get out and explore! my LA is filled with wilderness and wonder…right in my backyard!

what i love about the Practice of WF: it in-courages us to develop the mind/body fitness that ignites our willingness to explore fringes of convention.

speaking of exploring the lunatic’s fringe…it’s always such an honor to hear input from new online Students of formal WF Study…in the words that follow, i’ll grant you permission to “listen in” to my actual coaching counsel to an update from New Student Allan Ludgate of NYC. Allan is going to be a fine Student of WF…perhaps even a Master Student one day…his Awareness is sharp and more importantly, there is a distinct sense of pacing to his insights.

please, enjoy this privilege of listening in, but USE his and my Work together to deepen your own Practice so that all beings may benefit from this type of inner and outer work that WF is so amazing at developing…

i bow to you,

coach ilg

founder/Wholistic Fitness & High Performance Yoga

����

Dear Coach-

Impressions and questions from week 1 of Green Tara:

Impressions:

Overall: Holy Up the Ante Batman! You officially had my attention by 7:00

AM last Tuesday, as I worked my way through the upper body workout.

Definitely felt a step up in intensity, with associated shocks to the

system (let’s just say my calves, chest, and back have never felt so “well

trained”!). All in all, it was my best week of practice. Things were a

little light on the work front, so I could really put in the time, and

more importantly, the focus, into my work. Comments on specific elements

as follows:

Strength training: Best job to date of matching resistance to reps – I’m

starting to get a feel for the “colors” of the weight room. Good

confidence boost doing dips and pull-ups, as I was able to do more of both

than expected.

� yes, good. “He who has no expectations shall never be disappointed.” i want you to enter each workout with what Suzuki terms, “Beginner’s Mind.” start each workout anew!

RE: Very important lesson in humility on bench press, as by

the last set I had almost nothing left.

� YES!

that is the way the Game is played, baby!

mean people are mean because they don’t train hard enough!

when we Practice properly,

who has enough energy to waste on being angry or mean?

RE: However, rather than worry about

how “98 pound weakling” I looked, I went and grabbed a 35 lb. barbell and

squeezed one final, great set.

� this is classic WF:

“Less is More!”

RE: Was dealt some “life judo” yesterday, my

EEE-GAD day. I pulled by butt out of bed at 6 AM, so I could get my

workout in before my many Easter commitments began, only to get to the gym

and find…they were closed for Easter!

� ha!

humor of the UniVerse;

don’t be overly attached to anything…even workouts!

RE: Wanting to get

in some work, I improvised the following home workout (call it the uh-oh):

3 sets pull-ups

3 sets push-ups (tried two sets of plyo push-ups, although my hangtime was

something short of Jordanesque!)

3 sets squats with dumbbells

3 sets overhead press with dumbbells

3 sets triceps extensions

3 sets dumbbell curls

To finish off, had my wife and son join me on the floor for 3 repetitions

of navasana pose

� WONDERFUL ad lib!

RE:

Cardio: My biggest barrier here is really letting go and pushing all the

way to the edge on my intervals.

� it is go(o)d that you recognize your barrier.

now, dance the edge…

RE: While my heart monitor and lungs tell me

I’m working plenty hard, at least part of me is thinking “remember, you

have four more of these – leave something in the tank”.

� screw the tank…GO!!!!!!!

RE: I also notice I

slow noticeably over the course of the minute,

� that’s because you are finding a fundamental Truth which makes itself known to all WF Students….

MINUTES ARE FOREVER!

😉

RE: and from the first interval

to the last.

� yes, this is known as your training amplitude…many athletes can go hard for the first few intervals, but then, as they go on and on…their quality of mind and intensity deteriorates.

a year from now, you will be sooo much stronger in both body and mind.

know this.

RE: Finally, I found it difficult to calibrate my 3:00 minute

interval pace, unsure whether to go out as fast as possible and try to

hold on, or to pick a brisk pace I can sustain over the full three

minutes.

� training is ART…

most people have no idea of the Anaerobic Chess playing that is quality cardio training…the art of pacing!

RE:

Yoga: Here the challenge is finding the flow for the Green Tara and Ai

Imawa series. In both cases, I found the descriptions and advice in LOY

and your Ai Imawa inspiring and helpful. However, while I have done most

of these postures before, I don’t have immediate recognition when I see

the names. Therefore, on both Ai Imawa and Green Tara, I ended up with

pieces of paper arrayed all around my mat to remind me what each pose

looks like. Processing that, plus trying to remember all the

instructions, plus trying to remember to breathe, made for mechanistic,

rather than soulful, workouts. I state this as a fact, not a concern, as

I know the flow will come with practice.

� yes, you will be grateful when my new book comes out in January, yes?

until then, KNOW that your RESEARCH and digging about and mechanistic ways are VITAL for the DEPTH of teaching…hang in there…

RE: Also had entertaining

experiences with the two postures I hadn’t done before. The first was

malasana, in which I brought my feet together, spread my knees apart,

and…fell on my ass (REPEAT)! The fun continued in bakasana, where I was

pleasantly surprised to find I had the strength to hold my weight on my

arms, but less pleasantly surprised to repeatedly face plant on my yoga

mat. I guess I have some balance work to do.

� and perhaps a helmet to buy?!?!

😉

RE:

Nutrition: Herbs continue to go in and out like clockwork – I’d say I’ve

fully integrated them into my daily life. On your recommendation, bought

a copy of Three Bowls, and have started to incorporate that into the family meal plan. Also made

my first batch of Ilg granola (from TWA) – have eaten it both as a

breakfast cereal (with soy milk, berries, and wheat germ), and as an

afternoon snack. Good stuff. Had a bummer of an experience on Saturday.

I stopped by GNC looking for a carb recovery drink to have after my

intervals. Couldn’t find one (carbs really are a dirty word these days!)

but did find another drink that said it was indicated for “energy and

recovery”. Did my workout, drank it down, then looked at the ingredients

and found…it was loaded with caffeine and ephedra! In an hour, I was

definitely buzzed, and not in a good way. Next time I read before I

drink.

� you are learning again, Grasshopper!

RE:

Meditation / Pranayama: Adjusting to the change from counting breath to

focusing on the sound. Continue to find zazen a great way to start the

day. Still finding my place in pranayama. Sitting zazen, from the first,

I have felt like I was really connecting to something (even if only for a

second). In pranayama, I feel like…I’m breathing through one nostril,

then the other. Haven’t yet been able to move past the mechanics. Again,

more a statement of fact than a concern, since I have now practiced

pranayama all of four times in my life! I did find it very interesting to

meditate / do pranayama after my Sunday workout. Two things happened:

Time moved much more slowly than in the morning

My arms tingled like crazy, especially from the elbows down

� perfect!

this is the base field energy (chi) beginning to flow throughout new channels (meridians or, for yogis, nadis).

RE:

On the barefoot rule: my son and I are going barefoot and digging it, but

my wife (after giving it a shot) will only go as far as socks (the bit

about toughening up the feet was opposed to her sense of femininity!)

� here is what is least feminine; brittle bones. go barefoot. blast through the adaptation phase. otherwise, arthritis and other joint-afflictions in later life will become quite un-feminine! going barefoot stimulates meridians and nourishes all five major organ systems. wearing shoes and socks suffocates the inner body.

RE: Questions:

Ujjayi in strength training: In my bench press instructions, you specify

“ujjayi breathing only”. Should this hold true for all of my strength

training, or just the bench press.

� for now, just the bench press.

later, Ujjayi (the Victory Breath) will infuse all your ST sessions.

RE: I try hard to focus on my breath,

� don’t ever try too hard

try softer

RE:

specifically on matching my breath to yin and yang, and keeping the breath

low. However, I generally inhale and exhale through my mouth to do this.

Is this incorrect? Per your instructions, I used nose breathing on my

bench press reps, but have not on other exercises.

� see my coaching counsel

RE:

Breathing low while running: I have had success keeping my breath low in

spinning class and in the gym. However, I find it extremely hard to do

while doing my intervals. In the Zone 3/4 segments, my breath doesn’t go

below my rib cage, a function (I think) of the tension in my abs required

to hold my posture and power my legs. Is there anything specific you

recommend to work on this?

�yes, trust in the Path.

your Awareness is very high for a New Student.

you will go far in this Path…definitely Master Student potential, but pace yourself, don’t push the river of your natural progress otherwise your learning with me will be shallow.

RE:

Hydration: I have been meaning to ask you how and when I should hydrate

while I do my prescribed workouts.

� this will change over the years ahead as your cells get more adept at assimilating pran.

RE: I typically drink a lot of water

before and after exercise, but not during. I have started carrying a

small bottle of water during my strength workouts, taking quick sips

between sets. I don’t take in fluids during my cardio workouts.

� i’d reverse that.

sip during Cardio.

don’t drink during ST.

you douse the pran whenever you drink.

to keep pranic energy on high, don’t drink until after your ST session.

sip during Cardio is okay for now.

all those articles about “proper hydration” are written by those addicted to Western textbooks on physiology.

your Work with me is designed to take you much Higher than all of that regurgitated, sterile, hollow stuff.

buckle up…you’re going Higher baby!

RE: Running

buddies of mine say you should take in fluids during any cardio workout

longer than 45 minutes. What do you recommend?

� see above.

the day will come when you will be able to do cardio for hours without taking fluids. but for now, sip every 20 minutes.

RE: I’ll leave it there for now. Looking forward to getting back at it

tomorrow morning.

� the reward of good workouts are more good workouts.

proud of you…

head bowed from the humble Helm,

coach ilg