Wholistic Fitness

Dear Mr. Triscooter,
The goal of WF is to experience and behold the self. Every workout is an opportunity for me to experience the moment and through that to live nobly. I’ve observed that becoming fit and gaining control of my body is a basic need and a step towards the final goal of enlightenment. Attaining enlightenment takes time, reflection and practice – I perceive Coach Ilg’s website, blog and the list of his acheivements at major competitions as a reminder for me to practice with patience and to continue to challenge myself to evolve. My acheivement as a result of WF is the daily practice of WF and the reward is an opportunity to live a life filled with awareness and love.
– Author: WF Student Praneet

***
WF Warrior Praneet stepping up in my defense after a certain Mr. TriScooter publicly lambasted me in Hakado Ru’s blog on MultiSport Coaches. Mr. TriScooter, who has never studied WF, accused me of only bragging about my accomplishments and never speaking about the accomplishments of my students. Sadly, Mr. TriScooter did not take the time to familiarize himself with the 25 years of torrential love i pour upon my cherished Sangha. Quick judgments are like that; they hurt people and muddy the dharma.

In yoga, the ignorance displayed by Mr. TriScooter is known as ‘avidya‘ which the Buddha pointed to as the cause of all obstacles encountered on the spiritual Path.
To me, avidya reminds me of this wild mushroom (Boletus edulis) i photographed this morning in the dewy dampness of ‘aspen corner’ in the WF Temple H(om)e’s backyard. like a mushroom, our spiritual ignorance tends to grow and feast upon decaying matter. In WF, our own damp and dark weaknesses are ferreted out through the The 4 Noble WF Lifestyle Principles and other forms of engaged Conscious Awareness practices within the WF system. Only when we peel back the branches and undergrowth, can the Light strike with alacrity into darkness. Hey, WF is a STEEP and DIRECT Path and every m(om)ent is an opportunity to sweep back our undergrowth of afflictions to remain Conscious. Without a strong Path and strong Teacher, it becomes all too easy for us to retreat into our conditioned habits and patterns to feast, like the Boletus edulis, upon our own spiritual entropy.

To follow steve ilg’s footsteps through the terrain of WF would be impossible. nor has it ever been my intent to have you step in my precise footsteps through the high mountain solos, the broken back, the divorces, the Big City Missions, the building of yoga programs across the country, the kneeling and spiritual bleeding before my Teachers, the sutra repetitions, etc., etc. that is my Path, the Path of my Soul, not yours. my pilgrimages across the sandstone rimrock and snowy heights was meant – is meant – for the untying of my particular karmic web; not yours.

what each of you can do, like Warrior Praneet so elegantly expressed, is use my Path through the deep snow and up the steep rock faces, to draw yourself closer to the expansion of your own mind, in your OWN unique way and thus bring Light to your Dark Corners. this is what Dharma Teachers provide; a light. that is all. you provide the gumption, the sweat, the willingness. a Teacher only provides a unique angle of focus for you to draw your own Dharma bow – using your own strength and suppleness not his – and fire your own arrows of devotion toward your Highest Self, Highest Mind.

this work of expanding our mind is the first work of a WF Warrior who needs to understand the two laws of life:
1) contraction
or
2) expansion.

Yang or yin. just like in all my books and collected Teachings. Yang or yin; in the gym, in any sport or performance and most subtly and artfully in our life; there is always a dance between contraction and expansion. as we mature as Peaceful Warriors, we use our DharmaSword of Wisdom – which can only get and remain sharp through our purity and steadfastness of Practice – to sever the amount of contraction in our life and work upward, inward, and onward toward expansion. if people like Mr. TriScooter would accept a DharmaPath – a DharmaTeacher – then arrives a Grace borne from a much Higher Perspective from within the sweat and silence of our workouts and work-ins.

some words from a Himalayan Yogi Master, Swami Rama synthesize my Teaching to cherished you on this morning of all mornings;

“In expansion one learns to love, serve, and to give selflessly; in contraction one goes on building the boundaries around oneself by becoming selfish, egotistical, and finally miserable. To be on the path of selflessness enhances and enriches the human personality and potentiality. It is just like creating a taste for music. In spirituality, expansion of the mind is important – and for that a student should learn to direct mind, action, and experience according to the goal he wants to attain: selfless actions, speech that relates to the factual world, and a mind that learns to fathom the inner dimensions of life. There are also other methods for expanding this state, called “love without object.” You do not need some object to love; there is a quality of love that is called love without an object. That quality comes after a long time.”

to Love without need for an object.
no person, no guru, no nothing.
just Love.
Love for sweat, stillness, interaction with Others as we See them as the go(o)d they are…

Loving, Loving,
Dedication, Dedication,
Giving, Giving…

Yah Teh HEY!

May your own naked, wet footprint press with delight into Mother Earth often today and may the Structure of such grounded delight squeeze into every molecule of ether before you like a Kachina Spirit wind sweeping,
Hawk-like
in great spirals
circling ever upward
toward your Highest Self…

ilg bows deep to Praneet’s loyal and faithful Service to this humble, misunderstood, and incredibly Tribal Path!
ilg bows deep to each of you for choosing to Be Here Now…

om so ti,

the mountain yogi

photo 1) by ilg, this morning, for you.
photo 2) an ilg barefoot print across Arizona Flagstone during an Early Morning Ritual
photo 3) Red Shoulder Hawk, photo by WF Master Student Shawna Schaub

To see all the comment’s on WF Student’s Hakado Ru’s blog regarding his piece on:
“A (Too Long) Essay on Multisport Coaches”…click here:

Hak’ Blog On Coach