Wholistic Fitness

At h(om)e among the Flagstaff ponderosa, HP Yogini Of 2007; Leslie Hutchinson holds her champion agility dog; Kai with her stalwart other animal companion, Yoda, looking on below.

DL: When was your first formal introduction to yoga?

LH: I was first “introduced” to yoga in the early 1980’s. My teachers were history professor Dr. John Nicholson, a scholar in Asian Studies and Dr. Vasant Merchant, a humanities professor who was also a devotee of Sri Aurobindo, a famous yogi in India. No asana practice yet – however a seed was planted deep within my psyche to search out this mysterious and marvelous “yoga” – a way to the heart of what it means to be truly human.

In the winter of 1990, I just happened into Michael Wolcott’s yoga class at Flagstaff Athletic Club. The feeling of sheer delight is with me still. I practiced Kripalu yoga with Michael for a couple of years. He and I used to fire up his wood stove and do a crazy version of Bikram’s yoga sequence and go out and roll in the snow. I have been practicing ever since!

DL: That’s a pretty venerable introduction! So, what do you love most about yoga?

LH: Practicing yoga, for me, is an opportunity to move into stillness every day. Every day, no matter what happens out there in the world or in there in my own mind, the practice of yoga is nourishment and wisdom for my body and mind and heart.

Practicing and studying with a genuine Yogiraj is a rare and perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I feel truly blessed to have crossed paths with Coach right here in Flagstaff. Yogiraj Ilg embodies the perennial teachings of the great wisdom traditions. Students have the opportunity to learn both body practice (asana and athletic training) and wisdom practice (meditation and self-study). A true and gifted teacher, he has and continues to, immerse himself in all aspects of practice.

That said, on a more personal note, I appreciate Coach’s sense of humor, his dedication to what really matters, his kindness and compassion, his abiding love of the natural world – he is truly a person of good heart. And lastly, his willingness to take on this humble yogi – me – a difficult case if there ever was one!

DL: We understand that you and Coach ran in some similar Zen circles?

I was introduced to Zen Buddhism through an English professor, Arnold Johnson. His class included beat poets and writers. We read Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey, Gary Snyder, Alan Ginsburg and Shunryu Suzuki. Mr. Johnson was a formal Zen student and invited anyone interested to come and sit zazen on Wednesday evenings. Arnold introduced me to Bodhi Mandala Zen Center in Jemez Springs, New Mexico (here is where Coach has studied as well). There I became a student of Joshu Sasaki Roshi. He is now 100 years old and continues to teach. I consider him my root teacher.

My Zen practice was a zig- zag for many years. I didn’t wake up one morning and say, “It’s a beautiful day. I think I’ll go practice Zen Buddhism.” Most of us, I think, come to practice after experiencing some life-changing events that call into question many of our personal beliefs. Perhaps, this will be a loss, a disappointment, or something we perceive as a personal failure. Zen and yoga practice give us the tools to look inward, to study ourselves, to awaken to and genuinely appreciate our life with all of its light and dark sides.

DL: Is this shared foundation in Zen training what makes Coach speak so highly of you? He truly Recognizes you as a Sister, in a Tibetan sense of the word…

LH: Coach and I share a deep love and appreciation for the natural world – our other family. I walk among the non-sentient with Kai and Yoda, my beloved canine companions, as many times a week as I am able to. I sit by rivers, creeks and potholes. I sing prayers to the moon. I meditate under trees. I feed birds and squirrels every day. Simple stuff, really. The non-human world nourishes me in ways that the human world does not. This is the family that Steve and I share. And my dog Kai, to my great delight, absolutely adores coach with all of her heart.

DL: So, how has your Zen training influenced your Yoga Practice?

LH: I think that my Zen practice has taught my yoga practice a great deal about being willing to showing up, practice, and go on. Accept whatever comes up. Practice with kindness. No big deal. Come back tomorrow. I used to obsess about what asanas I could and couldn’t do. One day, I realized, that is not the most important thing. Now, I feel perfectly ok making modifications to difficult poses and accept that some will be out of reach, however, the essence is not. By nature, I take pleasure in being a student. I enjoy studying, reading and experimenting – and consider my practice a work-in-progress.

DL: After his LA Yoga Teaching Mission, Coach said it was that it was the ‘unmatched Pranic quality of the air,” that brought him to Flagstaff, primarily to heal his body, mind, and spirit. How did you come to ‘coincidently’ end up in the same town as Coach?

LH: I have lived in Flagstaff for a long while now. I have left a time or two or three, but like a homing pigeon I return to the Sacred Mountain, my home country. I officially came to learn and practice anthropology, but in my own zigzag way I have I had the great pleasure to; teach kids, work and play in the Grand Canyon, groom dogs, explore the Colorado Plateau, caretaker elders, direct education programs at the Museum of Northern Arizona, be a writer and a naturalist, do archeology, train a champion agility dog. These experiences have allowed me to cross paths with remarkable people and prodigious places.

DL: So, we are sure you are still reeling after the ‘media blitz’ of being named as the 2007 HP Yogi Of The Year! Whassup?

LH: I never in a zillion years expected Coach to choose and honor me with the HP Yogi of the Year. Earlier in the day, I had read in DL that Steve would make the announcement that evening. I, of course, wondered who it would be. That evening, I was annoyed by the bathroom fan buzzing and tiptoed off to investigate. On my return, I heard my name and when I sat down I heard the HP yogi of the Year part. During the first or second down dog it occurred to me that Coach was talking about me. Wow.

DL: So the HP Yoga style just immediately ‘clicked’ with you, eh?

LH: Practicing yoga with Steve and Joy has been a great delight. However, it could have gone just as easily the other way. I remember almost not going to their very first class a snowy evening two Januaries ago. The urge to stay home by the fire was strong and I remember thinking – oh you can go next week. (yea, right) Thankfully, my intuition kicked in and I showed up with practically my PJ’s on and sat by the door just in case. Having endured some unpleasant yoga experiences around town, I was ready to skedaddle if need be. Well. It didn’t take long. I knew within a few down dogs that I was in the presence of the real deal and this was going to be a trustworthy fit for me. I had come H(om)e. And, let me tell you this as well; Joy designs a great personalized fun WF program!

DL: Okay, Yogini Of The Year, time to fess up; we all know that Coach don’t care about our strengths, he zero’s our attention toward our weaker links…

LH: …Say no more…the weaker links in my practice are more psychological in nature. Mr. Inyengar said that yoga asks us to address our habitual tendencies in both mind and body. This requires a tremendous willingness to release firmly held beliefs and face ourselves directly. A certain awareness arises as practice unfolds and we can do what we need to do – radical acceptance, therapy, meditation, yoga or perhaps nothing at all. In the Zen tradition, the illness is also the medicine.

DL: Wow, that’s a great line…“the illness is also the medicine,” is that kinda like why Coach always insists that is a Great Sign of a Genuine Path to have Difficulty arise…

LH: This past year, the Buddha’s teachings on sickness, impermanence, and death, hit home. I became very ill and required surgery. For six months I was in-and-out of the hospital 5 times. I was face-to-face with what Buddhism calls the full catastrophe. Over time developing my personal mantra became my antidote to worry, fear, pain and confusion. In all things show gratitude. I also came to terms with the why me question – instead – asking why not me. These insights along with the practices of Wholistic Fitness and High Performance yoga became the most important things- the medicine, if you will, to take this situation in stride.

DL: Leslie, this has been a great honor to share this time with you, it is actually quite easy to see now, why Coach chose you as HP Yogi of 2007; you are the definition of a yogi! Anything else you would like to add?

LH: I would like to share some wise words from Roshi Joan Halifax, and Yogiraj Coach Ilg. I repeat them to myself every day. Clarify the mind. Be clear about your commitment. Know how precious this life is. And use it well. In the words of the great Zen Master Dogen, “Give life to life.” And from Coach, “…And da beat goes on!”

Happy New Year to the WF and HP yoga sangha. May your practice be strong and fruitful.