Wholistic Fitness

STANFORD UNIVERSITY PROJECT
the Skin of the Soul of Stanford turned inside out…

There is a reason you don’t see my words and images in certain magazines…i grant interviews
to those where i sense Sincerity, not column square inches. gaining fame is not my Dharma,
training those Finders, like 51 year young, WF Online Student Shelli….is! Above; coach ilg living
his Dharma with Student Shel on his backyard “2-Tree Duathlon” course in Flagstaff. photo by Ananda.

Like the weak flower gropes for and yet glances the Sun,
i periodically accept questions from mainstream yoga and fitness media.
not often, though. our humble Path flies Higher than most and our philosophies and techniques
get abused by those who do not Study the work directly.

yet, i bow all those who, for one reason or another, have been attracted to our Diamond Body, Crystal Mind
Path of Wholistic Fitness.

my reasons for such chronic turning down of free publicity and advertisting
can be found in my WF Lifestyle Principle #3.

Over the past couple of weeks,
i have been touched by a particular Seeker, Vikram, from Stanford University
(i told you our Path flies Higher than most!)
who is working on a Psychology Project.

Following is an excerpt…perhaps, i will publish the entire Interview at a later date.

May it benefit your own Practice,

Coach Ilg

****

Dear Coach Ilg,
First and foremost, thank you for your time, thoughts, and wisdom in your responses. I truly appreciate it.

� you are welc(om)e.
i Sense that you do…
Sadhu Vikram, your communication with me is for your Project only on a superficial Level.
there are many other Levels involved,
and on one particular Level, you writing me and i answering
it is what the Tibetan Teachers would call a “Contact Vehicle” (for a Transmission).

QUESTION: It may be presumptuous of me to assume that this happens to you, but in your physical workouts and competitions, what is the inner motivation/drive, or the inner dialogue that is going on to get you to push yourself harder?

COACH ILG:
When you develop Chi,
there is no need for Motivation.
Motivation comes from the Outer.
Appropriate Action comes from the Inner.
Wholistic Fitness training, multi-disciplined lifestyle exercise,
is
the most Appropriate Action a wise human could possibly embrace for their
long term health, fitness, and spiritual growth.

Does a tiger need motivation to hunt when hungry?
Does the falcon need motivation to tuck in her wings to ramp up more speed for a strike?
Does the Glacier Lily in a mountain snowfield require motivation to push herself up through the ice to grow in the short summer season?

No, they just Do.

“Just Do It”
as a former Sponsor of mine put it.

The appropriately trained Fitness Warrior requires no motivation to pursue lifestyle exercise
for he realizes that breathing and moving each day is utterly, indelibly natural.

The realization of Natural Fitness,
is so…natural!
So is the absurd waste of not pushing into our Higher Selves
and appreciating the Divine Gift of a fit body/mind/spirit.

Motivation is a Vibrational density.

It originates from instinctive, karmic, and egoic structures before being transcended
into spiritual architecture.

For those new to Wholistic Fitness philosophy, i teach three Levels of Motivation:
* outer motivation (comes in the form of perky personal trainers, coffee, drugs {prescribed or not}, headphones, music, magazines, etc)
* inward motivation (comes from within)
* Divine motivation (comes from a Higher Source/Joy/Wisdom)

A Teacher is often required to shine a Light onto a new Student’s awareness of where he or she is choosing to be ‘motivated.’ Often, pre-conditions from the Outer World (society)
cloud the common fitness enthusiast with a veil of ignorance regarding the Source of their motivation.
In other words, many bodybuilders lift weights
never realizing it is not the body that they are after.
Many are adept at Meditation
without ever having a Realization.

Wholistic Fitness appeals to those Fitness Warriors already inwardly motivated and are at least open to the notion of drawing personal growth or spiritual
growth lessons from within the context of their Personal Fitness practices.

QUESTION: what is getting you to, let�s say, bike harder or faster or longer, �when the going gets tough�?

COACH ILG:
…the Chi.

the accumulative Wisdom, Energy, and Poetics that is the Training Effect from Abhyasa (steady Practice).

often, Less is More.

if you are trying too hard, your technique is off.

technique is not about restraint, it’s about freedom…

releasing the Inner Trigger and being able to Flow.

QUESTION: Do you Ever get in a negative mood about anything � situations out your control, workouts, annoying students emailing you about a project J, even for 5 seconds, and what do you do to change that?

COACH ILG: {smiling}….

5 seconds? yep, you nailed it! that’s what my years of doing the Work have produced, my ability to whittle down negativity to 5 seconds!

let me say two things;

1) it is not best to ask questions relative to my personal Practice….i have been at this a long time and my answers would cause confusion and inspire doubt to those new to transpersonal fitness,

and

2) though i cannot recall the last time i was in a negative “mood”…if such a mood happens upon me, i tell you this; i would not attempt to “change” it. i would, as a yogi, accept it. learn from it. i would know it as something indispensable to my growth and capacities! i was taught by my Teachers to “Always embrace. Never run away.” This is known as Accepting Ones Throwing Karma.

QUESTION: From my perspective, the situations you have overcome are amazing and not to be taken lightly � broken spine, qualifying for 5 World Championships in 4 physiologically different sports. Is there not any special place for the accomplishment of these events in you, as I have seen them mentioned in your book �Total Body Transformation�, on your website (one of them), and in this conversation?

COACH ILG:
well,

1) this is a humble Path…

the sheer Steepness and Humble Nature of it

filters out the Seekers and retains only the Finders.

my Work only works with the latter.

QUESTION: I bring this up because I went to my first yoga class two days ago,

COACH ILG: {interrupting}
good for YOU!!!!!!

i bow to your efforts in self cultivation!

QUESTION: with a teacher teaching the Iyengar Yoga style. Today, I wanted some more information and found this site on the internet – http://www.bksiyengar.com/modules/Guruji/achieve.htm . This specific page is about the Yogi�s achievements and I am just curious as to your thoughts about this relating to pride.

COACH ILG:
all i have to say is this;

Mr. Iyengar has helped many people, including myself, reMember with the Light of Yoga. I have not seen many Iyengar teachers on the Start Line of multi-disciplined races. The Iyengar tradition is from a Lineage different than my Teachers. I was taught that Strength and Endurance must develop Suppleness, otherwise, the Suppleness is non functional and impure.

The Truth is One, the Paths leading there are many.

QUESTION:
Coach Ilg,

Thank you so much for your time and effort into helping me. I have learned a lot about you and surprisingly much about myself during this conversation, and I feel that I am better for it. Thank you,

Sincerely,

Vikram

COACH:
i consider it honor to have Been Here for you…

may you be Brave and Honest in your pursuit of that which Leads you.

just be true to the Dharma as It flows through you.

my Humble Temple would love to you see you one day

study within her halls…

thus begins your inner odyssey,

namaste,

coach ilg
**
photos:
#1) Coming this week to DL; my Private Intensive with amazing WF Warrioress Shelli. photo by Ananda
#2) Ananda and her bike, ‘Grunt’…lost again somewhere near the entrance of Walnut Canyon, an ancient energetic portal of the southwest. There are so many trails and forest roads webbing through the wilderness around Flagstaff that even the elk get lost. photo by ilg.
#3) To explore the bowels of Mother Earth, one needs a light to brave the sensory deprivation. In spiritual fitness training, one requires the wisdom of a Teacher to navigate the current spiritual Dark Age (Kali Yuga), otherwise, one easily gets confused by the overwhelming input of entertainment, noise, gossip, and false prophets. Headlight on, Ananda prepares to enter the mystical Lava Cave; one mile of utter darkness. The descent into and through this Earth Nadic line is empowering, each breath is pure Pran from the freezing subterranean temperatures. i am training Ananda to encounter her Fear and to sit in utter darkness, deprived of senses, for her advanced WF Teacher Training. I consider such training, Bardo Training; entry into the dying realms requires the casting off all senses, all attachments, and a very fit Consciousness. more on the Lava Cave coming to DL. ilg archives.
#4) Coach Ilg has attained the covers of International Media since 1985, yet he does not rest upon, nor attempt to gain fame by his recognition from the Outer World. “Just be true to the Dharma as It flows through you,” he advises.
#5) yesterday; The Backyard Buddha at the WF Temple. ilg archives.