Wholistic Fitness

PART TWO OF STUDENT FEATHER’s PRIVATE INTENSIVE WITH COACH ILG

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Ananda catches the “Boyz in the Bathroom” – Coach Ilg imparting Secret Teachings
of ‘Toilet Yoga’ to visiting Online Student Featherman.

Dear WF Sangha…
Day two of my Intensive with Coach Ilg – his last in Los Angeles – started off with some toilet yoga and pranayama, both of which Coach had gone over with me the night before. Then, on to stair yoga and inversions. For this, I had a front row seat, and watched Ilg go through his morning stair/inversions routine. It was very enlightening to watch Coach just do his thing. The amount of concentration…the amazing openness of his hips and spine … the breathing …. all of this gave me something to emulate, and to strive towards. Plus, seeing a yogi at that level go through his moves imprints those moves more firmly on/in one. Then, my turn to go through the routine (or parts of it, anyway).

For this, Coach was right there. Before the intensive, I felt nervous that I wouldn�t “measure up,” or that Coach could see the amount of slacking I do in my personal practice. But with Coach there, I really pushed my edges and concentrated intently. This allowed me to see how much farther my practice could go with the proper concentration and effort. Coach made many little suggestions. At the same time, Coach built me up with comments on what I was doing right.

Then, down came the hammer. We went out for another mountain bike ride, me on Grunt, Coach on his cross bike. The ride consisted of lots of climbing. Coach “Hillig” pushed the pace for most of it, and I followed his wheel. By the end of the ride, I was quite spent. As with every other part of the Intensive, though, it was not so much that Coach hammered me, but that I hammered myself. Just being around Coach Ilg led me to go a little deeper. Again, Coach had some comments to make about form, some breath issues, some tips. Coach also had lots of complimentary things to say as well.

After a shower, a strength training clinic. We went body part through body part and Coach asked were I needed some help. I first watched Coach, then he watched me. The highlight was pull-ups and other fun upper body work on a climbing apparatus hung on a pull-up bar.

In the end, what I learned at the Intensive was not so much the physical stuff, but the mental and internal. Coach Ilg has a very powerful presence, and just being near it is empowering. In fact, the day after the Intensive I fet extremely drained because of the withdrawal of the energy I had been exposed to.

The chi in Coach Ilg’s LA apartment was quite intense. As the last Intensive in LA I feel blessed. But not as blessed as those who will be able to soak in the chi in Flagstaff.
Feather

{You can read about Student Featherman’s Day One in DL one week ago. Student Featherman, a lawyer, has been taking Online Studies under WF Teacher Haku for two years. His advancement through the Levels of WF Online Training and his devoted effort to come to two Private Intensives, now positions him in the near future for a Master Student Inka and will likely now take studies directly under Coach Ilg in the coming year.}