Wholistic Fitness

Coach,
Namaste! Your “Top 10” DL the other day got me musing on “Top 10 Signs WF has changed my life”. There are a bunch of obvious physical changes – tighter abs, increased aerobic capacity, etc.. Some less obvious, and potentially more interesting, things on the list:

The Liranzo / Ludgate family – barefeet, bared souls. Our whole clan drops shoes and socks at the door these days. Back in 2003, when I suggested this practice, my wife said “it’s not lady like to go barefoot”. I passed that feedback onto you, and your response was “is it ladylike to hobble around on brittle feet?” She said “point taken”, and has been on board ever since.

Yoga toes, yoga toes, yoga toes: The missus and I are never far from these magical devices, and I have probably put 10 or more friends / family into them over the past few years (if only I could get that many people in my Sunrider downline!)

If I’m workin’, I’m rollin’: Gave away the home office chair some time ago, replaced with a big, beautiful, blue physio ball. Older son Lucas just got his first desk, and he asked for a ball to sit on as well.

Bugs are people too: In my youth, I prided myself on my fly swatter technique, engaged in one-up contests with my Dad to see who could take out the most six legged critters (extra credit for getting them in mid-flight). Flying or crawling, we now guide these friends to outdoor freedom. Especially treasure the spiders who have taken up residence on our deck – what amazing beings they are to study. We had two noble spider friends this summer, named by my boyz “Charlotte” (obvious) and “Rock and Roll All Night” (3 year old Isaac’s idea).

Training To Die.Read The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, and am still processing the spiritual 2×4 it hit me with. Deepest teaching for me was a passage (paraphrasing) in which Rinpoche wrote “there are two universal truths; first, that we are all dying, and second that none of us knows the time and place of our demise. While we say we understand this, if we truly believed the first, we would live with more compassion, and if we truly believed the second, we would live with a greater sense of urgency”. If I hold my own life up to this mirror, I find myself feeble in-deed.

New bedtime game. Lucas and I have started a new routine. Before bedtime, we sit a few feet apart, balance on our sit bones (i.e. arms and legs in the air), and play catch with a nerf ball. Goal is to go two minutes without dropping the ball or touching the floor. Came closest last night, as I had the only drop. Plan is to extend the time once we master the technique. In the Isaac (3 year old) version, we do the two actions separately, first playing catch then trying to butt balance.

Morning coffee out, morning ritual in: Other than the occasional espresso with dinner, have eliminated caffeine from my life. No need for that stimuli in a cup in the morning as long as I get my EMR in, which provides higher quality and quantity energy and equanimity

Prop Yoga: Popped that sucker in for the first time in a while the other day…Ohmygod!!! Brought back memories of my first prop class at your HP studio in LA…just me and one other student…staccato pushups!?!?!?!?!?…such sweet agony. Then saw your announcement of the new Prop program in Flag, and thought to myself…”those poor bastards have no idea what they’re signing up for…”

The incredible mental focus of ku bottom pulldowns – nothing makes the cares of the day melt away more completely, except for maybe…
Two bench triceps. Talk about Minutes are Forever!!

Love to Dewa and Ananda.

Head bowed.

Student L’Gate

New York, NY

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coach’s note:
i granted a non-dramatic WF Master Student Inka to L’gate a while ago. non-plussed by this highest recognition available in my System, L’gate still signs off as simply, “Student L’gate”, testimony to his understanding of the humble nature of a WF Master Student. This guy ‘gets It’ with a capital “I”. Regardless of any tardy communication from me, he never complains, keeps his account up to date, always does at least one Private Intensive per year, and showers the Temple with so much humor and generosity. my lifework and my life has been deeply Blessed by the presence of my Beloved Warrior, Master Student L’gate!

Photo 1) L’gate displaying hallmark WF Running Form at the Pfalz Point Challenge, a 10 mile journey of what L’gate describes as” trail running Nirvana.” He goes on to describe his Master Student approach to his Race Day; “Slowly and calmly engage Mula Bandha and Uddiyana and breathe my way through WF toilet yoga, pranayama, and a couple of inversions. Today’s race is open meadows, carriage paths, single track, killer views of the Shawagunk Ridge (the “Gunks” to you rock climbing types), vegan chili and cornbread waiting at the finish line – it all adds up to one positive vibration. This is my second year running Pfalz POint, and my modest goals are to improve on my time (1:27:17) and place (114th out of 300) from the prior year. I also looked to this as a test of Coach’s “Weekend Warrior” program (available for purchase by Pay Per PDF on the Tribal Pro Shop!). I intentionally limited myself to the moderate intensity and duration of those workouts, figuring this race would be a great validator of that program’s ability to crank me for an “epic” weekend adventure. This race was blue collar effort all the way – definitely didn’t have much jump in the old legs this day. So how did I do? Improved my time by over two minutes (1:25:11) and got 20 spots closer to the podium (94th out of 300). Also worth mentioning the inspirational showing by the crew of cadets from West Point, which is just down the road. These warriors in training (some 20 strong) showed up with strong character, strong spirit, and strong upper bodies (no wispy running physiques in this crowd). Through force of will and power, they swept the under 20 and 20-29 age groups for both men and women. Their future may be daunting, but they were fully present and alive this fine fall day.

Photo 2) i supervise like a Mother Hen, as L’gate sizzles the air with the hallmark one-pointed concentration of a WF Master Student! THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE VERSATILITY of a WF Master Student! You think you got what it takes to earn YOUR WF Master Student Inka? Fill out an Online Training Application today on The WF Pro Shop

Photo 3) Crankin’ plastic at Vertical Relief Climbing Gym during a Private Intensive last year with me. Vertical Relief is the owner of Northern Arizona Yoga Center, where i now teach 2x weekly.