Wholistic Fitness

“Attack
thy weaknesses,
Destroy
avidya,
Pursue the Great Spirit
of Wholeness.”
– coach ilg

Such is the sweat-based sutra of the WF Yogi, for we would rather finish in last place doing a sport in which we suck than to go on winning, winning, winning in something that the Go(o)d Lord gifted to us naturally. To excel in a sport is not mastery of self-cultivation. A lot of people get that mixed up. Winning – if not done from a spiritually matured and wholistically relevant inner space – only serves to fortify that aspect of self which is not the True Self. I am speaking here of what yogis know as ‘ahamkara‘ or the egoic construct. In my second book, The Winter Athlete, i coached you that, “Racing is not about, it’s about ourselves.”

Well, that is why New Daddy ilg chose again to find myself toeing yet another Start Line. This particular line – a scribble of chalk across a forlorn forest road tucked within the massive remoteness of the Weminuche Wilderness of southwestern Colorado, was a most precious one. For this line monumented the Start of the Pagosa Mountain Duathlon which covered trails and forest roads upon which, many moons ago, i helped create and trained upon while living in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

…the spontaneous decombustion of self

However, things have changed since becoming a New Daddy. Going into this event was as hilariously inept of a Race Prep as any aging New Daddy could tell you.

For some insane reason, i figured it would be just fine to take my family backcountry camping the night before the Race. Well, let’s just say that so intense and ongoing was Shiva’s Dance upon my stupid notion, that Ananda and i have mutually decided to NEVER, EVER speak of those 24 hours again! ilg rests assured that many outdoor athletes in our Tribe who’ve suddenly found themselves in the spontaneous decombustion chamber known as New Parenthood, can nod their fatigued heads along with me at memories of their own attempts in the “not changing my lifestyle just because i am a new parent,” attitude. Yah, as if. If you want to make Shiva Dance? Have a child, and watch the way Nataraj dances so elegantly upon every morsel of who you thought you were!

Yet, toe the Start Line i did…

Yet, toe the Start Line i did…Not because i thought i would win. Instead, i toed the Start Line for the sake of Wholeness.

And what transpired solidified for me, in the most moving and repeatedly sacred of Ways, was a 1:45 Spiritual Workout that had me wondering, doubting, soaring, crashing, shocked, and divinely graced.

I’ll give you the highlights tomorrow.

For now, i’d like you re-read the above two Race Reports and really take it within your Practice today. I want you to mine my words above; not for revelation but rather self-realization. Because truly, us Wholistic Fitness yogis who choose to toe the Start Lines are completely at a dis-advantage to the sport-specific specialists who suck upon their strengths while ignoring over and over again their weaknesses. So, whenever i – or one of you – contest the Specialists for the sake of Wholeness and actually beat them at their own game?!?!?

That, to ilg, is hilarious, beautiful, and grossly mis-understood and under-appreciated.

So, tune in tomorrow and run and ride with your ol’ coach ilg
who is still out there
competing against the specialists
for the sake
of
Wholeness.

Cause,
well,
somebody has to do it!

May may my time and energy and Love spent here,
be of Benefit in some perhaps tiny Way,
to your own majestic Practice toward Wholeness…

head bowed,
spine straight,
feet bare…

ilg

photo 1; above photo; the ilg body after a run through of the The Kinlani Flow DVD. after crashing on our mountain bikes or undertaking the curriculum of other injuries, the mountain yogi is in no condition to do a full throttle asana practice. what is needed instead is a pranic healing routine that does not rely upon a half-hour of Sun Salutations just to get ‘warmed up.’ my most recent DVD, The Kinlani Flow is an exceptional routine for injured and/or busy fitness warriors, requiring only 10 minutes yet affording a deeply healing and empowering inner journey.

photo 2; Ananda backpacking Dewa into a waterfall near Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado during the Pagosa Duathlon trip. photo by ilg.