Wholistic Fitness

ADDICTS TO DESTRUCTION: HOW TO CALM THE DRAGON OF DIFFICULTY/THE URGE TO MERGE: SOLID OR REAL?/TRAINING DHARMA WITH KO AND DANSAN/PHOTOGENESIS & SPONSORED ATHLETICS

our Ancient Ones knew how to accept obstacles in the Path of Life. They merged into obstacles and integrated difficulty into the Flow of their Life. In today’s society, we have become addicts to destruction as we seek futilely for comfort that can never be maintained; we bulldoze Mother Earth instead of wisely weaving our lifestyle with Wise Discrimination among the challenges of Lila (the Play of Life). ilg photo of a Sinaguan (Those Who Live Without Water) ruin built around 1040 AD.
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“Everything that we see around us is seen as it is because we have repeatedly solidified our experience of inner and outer reality in the same way, lifetime after lifetime, and this has led to the mistaken assumption that what we see is objectively real. In fact, as we go further along the spiritual path, we learn how to work directly with our fixed perceptions. All our old concepts of the world or of matter or of even ourselves are purified and dissolved, and an entirely new, what you could call �heavenly� field of vision and perception opens up. As William Blake said:

If the doors of perception were cleansed
Everything would appear . . . as it is, infinite.”

– Sogyal Rinpoche

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To integrate my fractured spine and smashed pelvic girdle into my Path Of Life, i had to begin with the only thing i could move; my breath. Then, i began to focus on my spine; keeping her straight as possible as often as possible to allow the subtle anatomy to come ‘online’ and nourish my injured, broken areas with Prana or Life Force. i visited Sacred Spaces of the country, like Sedona, where the Life Force is strong; places where Mother Earth’s chakras reside. I ate the Sunrider Herbs devotedly, even when i could not afford them…thus, cultivating conscious Breath and Posuture (WF Lifestyle Principle #1) was and remains the Great Unifier and the first step toward all growth, healing, and transformation. to this day, i still must eat the herbs, and practice both Indian and Taoist Yoga – the latter shown below – in order to keep the Pran fluid and trainable as i continue my dance of overcoming stiffness, paralysis, and chronic pain.

the Ai Imawa posture; Calming The Dragon, high up on the Bell Rock ‘vortex’ in Sedona, Arizona. Note my priority of keeping my spine elegant before working on the depth of the pose. photo/Ananda.

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LISTENING IN ON ACTUAL TRAINING EXCHANGE: Teacher Ko and Online Student Dansan Honor The Urge To MERGE!

Student Dan (SD):
am: toilet yoga, nadi shod III..this is gonna take some work.. the whole agni sara thang…but i am not bummed/frustrated out , rather intrigued by the challenge.

�
WF Teacher Ko (KO):
Amen.� With Agni Sara, perhaps some words of Wisdom that Coach Ilg shared with me will benefit you.� i’ll paraphrase — don’t go trying to set any course records.� just like developing your pedal stroke on the bike, just work on getting the spin.

SD:
am: neti wash(usually do this everyday), at sink pranayama, nasi shod III, really helps my sinus…i used to take flonase, but stopped when i started �neti-ing�..

�KO:
that’s major stuff!

{WF Online Student ‘Dansan’ – our esteemed Taoist Tribal Surfer}
SD:
am: hp yoga solo 60:00…whew did this ever open me up…

3 x 30…really helped me slow down at dinner..when i tend to devour

�KO:
i bow, Dansan.

SD:
RE: beeper guru was working overtime on my cell phone!

KO:
thought this would be a “fun” one for you, considering your profession..

SD:
RE:�fri

am: toilet yoga-nadi shod III..getting better

cv..surf hard two hours on fish board..hey i worked in santa cruz all day..� 😉

KO:�
gotta love it, bro.

Namaste,

Teacher ko

�(WF Teacher Ko has limited availability for a new Online Student…are YOU the one? Join our Online Training Temple today! sign up via the Online Catalog at www.wholisticfitness.com)

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A PICTURE IS WORTH A….

Steve,
I have a ahhmmm interesting question for you.
after perusing your Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon pics {DL 2/23},
It seems to me the past couple years, with rare exception, that photographs of me suck…
It does not seem to be a matter of looks. Mine are ok, if not great.
More than once people say in person I am much more attractive than in photo�s. It is not a matter of vanity though that figures in I imagine.
I ask this because I am wondering if at a deeper level the poor shots of me reflect something else?
Any thoughts?

Namaste�
(name withheld)

NOBLE ONE!

i would suggest asking yourself from where this question arises.

i will share this from Direct Experience;
some people are naturally photogenic. in HollyWeird, this is known as the “pop factor”…
regardless of how a person looks in real life,
either their photos “pop” with that special “something” or they don’t.
even our own Ananda, a movie actress,
experiences this; she has been told by several Casting Agents that her real life “pop” is more powerful than in her photos.

secondly; it’s about training.
meaning, hours and hours of being in front of various cameras helps to produce “pop” which truly is ‘confidence turned outward’.

third; spiritually, like Native Americans, it may be that your Higher Self recognizes that a camera can ‘steal chi’ if you do
not know how to (or were not ready to) energetically create an auric shield when a camera “takes your” image.

as a continuously sponsored athlete in very fringe outdoor sports, i had to learn quickly to take photographs during races so as to promote my sponsors. if an athlete does not give his sponsors visibility, he (or she) will not long be sponsored. often times, the best athletes are not the ones
that remain sponsored. the athlete that produces ongoing “pop” for his or her sponsors is what keeps an athlete competing.
let’s get real: a sponsored athlete is essentially
a breathing billboard. to stay sponsored, you gotta be the most beautiful or powerful or highly visible ‘billboard’ as possible if you
want to remain sponsored! at Mt.Taylor, for instance, the moment i saw that Media Photographer (you have to learn which photographers
are the Media ones) then instinctively shifted my Chi and body position to catch the best light, angle toward the camera, etc…

finally, as Ananda said, “Burt Reynolds told us never to pick out our own headshots…because what we see in our own pictures is NOT what other
people see.”

i trust this helps?

love,
coach