Wholistic Fitness

this DL first appeared on Monday, January 15, 2007, and re-appears now due to several students vibrating at a particular Level whereupon this Teaching needs re-studying. all photos by steve ilg.

May Your Practice Be Strong and Sincere this week…

“To discover an Outer World, we must first recognize and establish some sort of a relationship with our Inner World. The key is development of sustained concentration.” – coach ilg

above; WF Teacher Ananda sustains her concentration during vinyasa in 28-degree weather. the yogi must work hard to keep chipping away at overcoming Duality. a wise starting place is to develop even-mindedness during intense heat and cold.

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Dear Coach,
you puzzle me. you jump from kickass hard core training like in your PROP DVD and all your racing to talking about God and all sorts of spiritual stuff that i just don’t get. i have been trying to read the “Yoga Sutras’ because of your TBT book, but i don’t understand ANYTHING those cats are talking about and i am not sure that i even want to! all this stuff about Divine Will and that the “Outer World is only an illusion,’ etc. I don’t even understand what you mean when you talk about the “Outer World.” and this bit about using fitness to “Strengthen our filaments of Consciousness for the Bardo” HUH?!?! Excuse me?

anyway, you got me thinking but i can’t share ANY of your stuff with my training partners, they would think i am NUTS!

not really your “Student” greg

Namaste Noble Seeker G!

thank you for writing and sorry i took so long to get back to you. i have to prioritize, to be fair, my Active Online Students and Sunrider Herbal Warriors before answering “fan” mail, however, i always do my best answer ANY Knock upon my humble Temple…so, thank you for your Patience.

first; don’t live your life for the opinions of others. promise yourself that much, okay?

to discover an Outer World, we must first recognize and establish some sort of a relationship with our Inner World. the Outer World is the world of changing forms (thus, it is termed by yogis as ‘illusory’…now it’s there, now it’s not!).

this Spring, the snows which fell upon the Sacred Peak this week will melt. in time, Shiva (the Destructive guna of the universe) will even wither away or erupt the Sacred Peak into something else. not even Mountains live forever. such are the Ways of the Outer World.

the Inner World is beyond the reach of all this coming and going and is termed Atma or the “Self” by yogis. the challenge in understanding this is immediate because realization of the Self is beyond the definition of both mind and senses.

you do not need to struggle so. that you do not understand Divine Will is absolutely in tune with your natural progression of the spiritual journey. hey, you have already Awakened or you would not have even heard or explored Wholistic Fitness! however, never ever push beyond what you can sustain; be it in physical, mental emotional, relationship, or spiritual training.

there is great art in learning our limits and then transcending them. focus on doing your Practices steadfastly without Attachment or Expectation. then, you will become delightedly intimate with Divine Will in the way of fresh insights, new strengths, fresh ways of coping, higher levels of capability in all sorts of circumstances. in yoga, such attainments are called, siddhis.

in other words, be Patient! you are young and anxious. you forget about Natural Gearing (known as ‘chakra work’). there is much to process along the Path. so enjoy it! just listen to your Teacher(s), study the Teachings now and then, and relax! if you do those simple things; you will safely and surely arrive at the Highest Summit.

now, about this Outer vs. Inner World question you have:
when Spiritual Teachers speak about the Outer World they are referring to that which is always changing. you can tell an object or a relationship in the Outer World because it is transitory; it suffers from decay, decomposition, and death as the Buddha put it. The person who is caught up in this world knows no other and thus, remains in it. they don’t do anything except get angry, sad, depressed, and frustrated when they themselves start aging, getting ill, and having their family and friends start dying. such a sad person unwittingly tries to escape or ward off the decay by applying medications, cosmetics, or getting surgery to pull up their faces or have a ‘doctor’ glue upon them younger looking bodyparts…it is all very, very weird and sad.

the well trained Warrior knows that within them there is a Pranic Ocean full of endlessly living fields of consciousness that are not subject to decay, decomposition, or death. such a Warrior takes great delight in exploring and developing these Inner Fields for in the cultivation of these Fields lies great wealth.

when i prescribe an Early Morning Ritual for a Student of Wholistic Fitness, what i am doing is pointing a Finger toward those Inner Worldly fields. the key is the same as when i am coaching you through my Prop Workout; FOCUS!!! the key to All Inner Powers lies in concentration of your mind. this is why we all need Dharma Teachers; someone who has navigated the Inner Terrain and knows by Direct Experience how to guide us Higher, safely. how to teach us to soar like an Eagle above the suffering cycle of decay and death. does that not sound like FUN?!? it IS! Spiritual Working Out and playing in the Inner Fields is WAAAAY more fun and engrossing than even mountain biking, skiing, climbing, and yep, even sex! Hard to believe, eh?

that’s okay, take your time.

do your Practice.

it’ll all make Sense sooner than you “think.”

you are in for a Ton of Fun; just stay focused on what feels to you like Appropriate Action.

Keep Listening.

that is all,

namaste,
coach ilg