Wholistic Fitness

*** TENSION TEACHING

Whenever i climb, the rope (which i see as a metaphor of conscious breathing) should neither be too taut, nor too loose. The yogi learns to Dance the Breath which bridges the Body and Mind. If one of those gets too stiff (stressed out) or too loose (undisciplined), then the yogi will notice it immediately and use the breath to come back to Balance. That is why “Breath and Posture” is the first Wholistic Fitness Lifestyle Principle. It all comes down to the quality and consciousness of our daily breathing integrity. One cannot know themselves nor their optimal performances without knowing their breath. Shown above, yesterday, after surprising myself by climbing the 5.10+ finger crack/roof system that you see to my left in the picture, i rap’d off…enjoying the glow of spiritual and physical victory on a little crag of dacite across the street from the new WF Temple Home. photo by Ananda.

“Neither too taut, nor too loose…”

Not only does the WF Student practice their Fitness Disciplines (strength, cardio, yoga, meditation, and nutrition) that way, we attempt to “Practice our Life” that way!

Most of us are driven throughout our day by the relative tensions of our desires.

Think about it. Right now, you yourself might be wondering, “Oh geez, here goes Coach again, lecturing my shit on something spiritual…how much longer is this gonna take…i’ve got to go brush my teeth, get to work, go train,…etc, etc.”
We each have these ongoing inner desires that cascade through our egoic structures constantly. This steady torrent of ‘things i want to do’ keeps the rope of our life (breath) usually too tight or often, too loose (watching too much TV or media for instance).

Thus the meaning of Buddha’s First Noble Truth; “Life is Suffering.”…in other words, “Life is tension.”
The Buddha then taught Ways to appropriately release the tensions (sufferings) inherent to life.

“In meditation, as in all arts, there has to be a delicate balance between relaxation and alertness. Once a monk called Shrona was studying meditation with one of Buddha�s closest disciples. He had difficulty finding the right frame of mind. He tried very hard to concentrate, and gave himself a headache. Then he relaxed his mind, but so much that he fell asleep. Finally he appealed to Buddha for help.

Knowing that Shrona had been a famous musician before he became a monk, Buddha asked him: �Weren�t you a vina player when you were a layperson?�

Shrona nodded.

�How did you get the best sound out of your vina? Was it when the strings were very tight or when they were very loose?�

�Neither. When they had just the right tension, neither too taut nor too slack.�

�Well, it�s exactly the same with your mind.�

– Sogyal Rinpoche

***
WF-Approved Ways Of Relaxing Daily Tension:

Including regular asana practice, shown above, is like taking an ‘inner iron’ to melt out tension from our connective tissues. As our connective tissues experience release and freedom, so too, does our mind! Those who do not compress and stretch and sweat their bodies are doomed to suffer, for the word ‘suffering’ is synonymous with ‘tension’…
photo of coach ilg in “Ardha Chandrasana.”

Taking “cat naps”…literally! Ananda and Charlie. Cats are Master Teachers of Suppleness, Strength, and Self Soothing.

Not one to be outperformed in ANYthing…i match Ananda’s cat nap and raise her by including YogaToes as i slumber off a 22-mile Mountain Bike ride. Charlie supervises my Self-Soothing.

Ananda practicing a few moments of Pre-Mealtime Pranayam. Stoking the internal fire (agni) before eating is vital to properly ‘burn’ the fuel of physical food. WF Master Students own and operate very clean, powerful, and efficient internal ‘engine rooms’ otherwise known as the endocrine and digestive systems.

“After Ecstasy…the laundry.” Re-Minding ourselves that we no longer need to walk 7 miles to the nearest stream and beat our clothes against rocks to wash them, keeps the WF Student feeling particularly Blessed while doing the laundry. Mindfully doing the laundry with using our Non Dominant hand as much as possible (and of course using “SunBright ‘Superclean’ Laundry Detergent” from SUNRIDER Herbs!), appreciating the 10,000 Beings that help bring water which often comes from pure snowfields into our laundry machines, and being grateful that your cycling and workout clothes make up 90% of your laundry make doing the laundry an amazing Ritual of appreciation and of relaxation.

And of course; it all boils down to the Practice of mom and dad. My mom, last year at age 74, getting in her Morning Pool Workout while visiting me in LA. Spiritual (Conscious) parenting – or the lack thereof – is perhaps the number one reason why our National Tribe is overfat and undertrained and dis-eased. Kids imprint themselves from their parents. How each child embraces or ignores their respective karmic and samskaric work to be done during their precious life can be duly facilitated by the Wise Discrimination and inner certainty of their biologic parents. If one cannot control their own tendencies and primitive urges (eating, sleeping, sex, self-preservation), then their children are going to be…uh… well…let’s just say, it is very vital for each adult to increase their physical and spiritual fitness capacity before having children. Here is an example of a Warrior Family:
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=111610

enjoy the tautness and softness of today and do your best to Dance The Middle Path,

coach ilg