Wholistic Fitness

Namaste Noble Warriors!

�Dance, when you�re broken open.

Dance, if you�ve torn the bandage off.

Dance in the middle of the fighting.

Dance in your blood.

Dance, when you are perfectly free.�

– Rumi

yes, that is your humble coach causing trouble again in the Letters To The Editor of the new issue of YOGA JOURNAL (February, 2004).

i figure it�s part of my mission as a mountain yogi to mess with the studio yogis. i say, screw �em if they can�t take a jab at their asana-inflated egos. i�m tired of all those studio yogis getting down on �weightlifters� and bodybuilders many of whom work damn hard getting a set of six-pack abs. i�m fed up with studio yogis poking fun at those of us who happen to understand that there is no difference between a chaturanga and a bench press. especially if you apply one of my WF Strength Training Techniques such as Staccato or 3-Stage. feeble ilg says; studio yogis don�t need to keep stretching so much to hunt around for their treasured �edge.� shit, just do a WF Hill Repeat interval workout and the next day their thighs would be so �well trained� that they couldn�t even touch their om-tatooed toes. why are studio yogis so damn scared to bring the edge toward them, instead of always stretching deeper to chase it?

well, YJ was going to review my new book next issue.

i probably screwed that up.

oh well.

at least i have you, devoted DL reader!

hello?

damn.

oh well. it�s always been rarified air us WF Warriors breathe. i reckon we prefer it that way, cuz we�re always scaring or pissing off conventionally conditioned people with our crazy wisdom warrior ways!

oh, speaking of crazy… tonight is New Years Eve.

i don’t want ANY OF YOU to MAKE ANY “New Years Resolution” unless sweat is pouring off the tip of your nose or intimate silence pounds within your cells.

no genuine resolution should be made save in the presence of elevated heart rate animated by sweat-soaked effort or without great inner silence making deaf the ego layers of illusion. some WF options for your New Years Eve..all of which i�ve done in years past;

YANG OPTION:

�) Do 24 Intervals: Make a New Year�s Resolution after honoring the old year by doing 12 intervals for each month of the past year. Then, after your New Years Resolution, do 12 more intervals, cementing the Resolution into each month of the new year ahead. Sweat must precede a sworn inner statement.

YIN OPTION:

�) Sit Zazen for 24 minutes: Make a New Year�s Resolution after honoring the old year by sitting for 12 minutes for each month of the past year. Then, after your New Years Resolution, sit another 12 minutes, cementing the Resolution into each month of the new year ahead. Inner Stillness must precede a sworn inner statement.

MIXED OPTION:

�) Make a New Year�s Resolution after honoring the old year by doing each of the 12 Ai Imawa Postures for each month of the past year. Then, after your New Years Resolution, flow through the postures again, cementing the Resolution into each month of the new year ahead. Synchronization of body and mind must precede a sworn inner statement.

Until next year, i bid you deep thanks for all your support, strength, and spirit over this amazing year of deep fitness. May all your workouts of the new year ring with excellence and shine with playful joy.

i bow to you.

i close with a another review of TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION that has appeared at amazon.com..

love everyone, and

dance in your sweat…

have a happy, healthy, and a helluva fun New Year!

coach ilg

���

Total Body Transformation: A 3-Month Personal Fitness Prescription for a Strong….

Average Customer Review: 5 out of 5 Stars

A comprehensive summation, December 30, 2003

Reviewer: sblondeau from winder, GA Ilg’s newest book is the fullest expression in print of his Wholistic Fitness teachings. Those familiar with his work may find this book a bit redundant but it’s still worth the $$.

His editors have done a great job in tightening up his prose without losing his flavor. While it would be easy for a cynic to dismiss his philosophy as a watery distillation of various wisdom traditions combined with Western physical cultivation, a la muscle beach, this would be unfair to the genuine enthusiasm he brings to his work. Steve Ilg is the living embodiment of William Blakes aphorism, “Exhuberance is Beauty”.

If you have struggled with making fitness an integral part of your life or would like to use fitness as a transformative tool then this is your book. The step by step yoga instruction, unique strength training routines and periodization of the programs will deliver any fitness aspirant to a place they never imagined… solidly on “the Path”, walking “the Way”.