Wholistic Fitness

Namaste Noble Warriors!

Those dedicated DL readers have been hearing a lot about Tuna Canyon and HP Yoga recently. Well, here we go again:

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When I first moved to LA and started poking around the cycling and yoga scenes, everybody said the same things.

Cyclists said; Don�t ever try riding your bike up Tuna Canyon. Nobody does. It�s way too steep and it will only �make your legs slow.�

Yogis said; Oh, there is no good yoga in the San Fernando Valley. You should only teach and take classes in Santa Monica…the Valley sucks. Nobody who is anybody teaches yoga out there.

Today, seven years later, i own my own High Performance Yoga studio in the Valley and ride Tuna Canyon just about every week.

Without so much as a stinkin� Press Release, people of all walks of life including several celebrities and accomplished yogins are regularly visiting my humble new Practice Cave on Ventura Boulevard. Build it, and they will come.

Oh, and, if you think riding Tuna Canyon every week has made me �slow,� come on…let�s ride! I�ll show you �slow.�

It�s weird to me how pigeon holed are people�s opinions. The unawakened are so prideful in being �different� yet regurgitate whatever they hear. Why not Follow your own Heart? Pave your own Pathway Higher. Screw what other people think. Feel things out for yourself. Find your own Tuna Canyon and suffer yourself upon it every week until suffering becomes only effort…clean, clear, spirit drenched effort, baby!

I love practicing and sharing yoga in the Valley. I mean, West LA is great and all…I�ve taught in Westwood, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. But to this New Mexico mountain yogi, i prefer the Valley for asana and outdoor athletics. It�s drier than the Westside and, as WF and HP Student Steve Mackel writes so beautifully about below, the access to the mountains such as Tuna Canyon is quick and stress less unlike the traffic bloated Westside.

Hearing myself write the last few paragraphs, I reckon the transformation is complete; I am a Valley Boy. I am nearly proud of it too…yesterday I rode my mountain bike for over 2.50 hours up in the mountains…all i saw were two drop dead gorgeous blondes, one wearing a, yes, i tell you true; a bikini. Besides them, only a rattlesnake, a doe, a kestrel, and three grazing horses. This tally was far superior to my ride a few days prior where all Steve Marlowe and i saw was coyote scat and Heidi Fleis. I am not kidding and I�ll leave the juxtaposition to your own contemplation.

Enjoy today�s two entries….

and may You

somehow in some way

today,

Take the Path less traveled…

i bow to you,

coach ilg

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Steve:

I received my order for the High Performance Yoga tape. I found it

interesting and challenging. It will give me something to strive for since I cannot do everything on the tape at this time. I also have finished reading your most recent book Total Body Transformation and have gleamed much from it. Your program is right on the mark for combining strength training, yoga, cardio,and meditation. I’m 55 years young and feel this is what I need to really get the best out of myself. You have put together a Masterpiece and should be very proud of your work.

Namaste Mr. Ilg

– Michael K.

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Coach,

I must say Tuna Canyon was more than I expected. As a loyal Direct Lines reader, WF Student and new to the cycling scene, Tuna Canyon was on my list. Well this is to let the other readers know, when ?finding your Tuna Canyon? you better pick something harder than you think.

I pride myself on climbing but after half a mile I got that feeling this was going to be more difficult than I read about. In fact, 8 miles of H – E double hockey sticks. Tuna Canyon helped me find something deep inside me and the last mile was very rewarding, let me explain. I tried to stay on your wheel but that lasted less than a mile. Next thing I new I was out of the saddle using every fiber of muscle to turn the cranks over. My heart was pounding and I was praying for a little shade when I started to wonder if I was going to have to get off my bike and walk it to a flatter part, hoping it would eventually flatten out. But that?s when I decided it was time to stop the negative self talk. I started to repeat two mantras for the next couple miles, ?Energy and light flood my body cells? and ?I am strong.? About a half hour into the ride the hill becomes manageable but your legs don?t know it. That?s when you take a good look around and realize how lucky you are. The ocean i

s to the extreme right and below you. The mountains are all around you and the city is off in the distance. What I am forgetting to describe that the day was one you see in a LA travel brochure, 75 degrees, air as clean as the rockies, all in the middle of January and great riding partners to share it with.

I used those moments in the last mile to reflect on the graces bestowed on me, my wife, family, friends, you, the WF sangha and injoyed my breath. At this point I reached the top. I threw it into a big gear and headed for Stunt Road and that when it got fast. What goes up must come down. Riding behind Steve Marlowe, Jim Badd and you pushing 50 mph, it was the fastest I have ever ridden. Of course, I should have known riding with you meant there was still some more work to do,with around 10 miles to go we hit Dry Creek Road and more inclines. With you pushing all of us, I know why we read about Marlowe?s podium finishes.

Thank you for inviting me. I found my Tuna Canyon. When I met Fit Kit he told me the secret to riding with you is a third chain ring. I guess that?s why he?s a master student.

Namaste,

New Student Mackel

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