Wholistic Fitness

The dragonfly
cannot come to rest
on the blades of grass

– Basho

{contributed by Lisa “Vishnu Doll” Goldsmith, pictured above in Trikonasana before kicking total ass again at the East Coast Stair Running Championships, is using SUNRIDER Herbs and TBT for her next podium at Mt. Washington Running Race next month. Lisa is scheduled to be Coach’s teammate at the ’07 Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon.}

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I BOW TO WARRIOR BENJAMIN!
Last summer, suffering within the local Peleton of bike racers, i hooked up with a charming, polite, and ripping strong young warrior, Ben Sullivan, fresh from Montana.

Ben and i had a mutual friend in my old New Mexico training partner, Mike Longmire. After a few more sufferfests along the pav� of Flag, i learned that Ben was also a nordic skier. i told him that he should consider taking my HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA class once per week during the winter to assist his off season training for cycling. pictured here at our Flagstaff HP Yoga� cave at the back, Ben Sullivan is one of the rare, one of the few Warrior Men willing to come to yoga classes. Ben appeared one winter night at my class determined…”…to prove to you, Coach, that I am the world’s stiffest 26-year old.”

Oh sure, his hips and lower back were super tight from all the endurance training, yet the quaint and unique Science of HP Yoga instantly began working its Shamanic like magic upon his body and mind. and with only ONE HP YOGA CLASS per week, this young Warrior realized that HP Yoga ain’t no joke, baby…it is an instrumental part of his body/mind training…

as you can read below in his own words, the proof is in the podium!
again and again, and endless again…

“The Path works,
when YOU work the Path!”

– coach ilg
creator of the Wholistic Fitness and High Performance Yoga Paths

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Namaste Noble Coach and Ananda,
Sometimes, after an especially fruitful HP yoga session, i find that i don’t want to leave the Cave. Later in the week, i find that though i left the cave, the cave did not leave me.

this became especially true last weekend in smoggy Fontana, CA, at a NORBA national mtb race.

i took third place in the expert men short track race and a third place in the expert XC race.

they were my best finishes ever at a NORBA, and i now qualify for the semi-pro class.

midway through the XC, as my body was suffering, and the smog was permeating my conscious, my body tried to go to its happy place. i wouldn’t let it. and that’s when i heard: “engage root lock.” “pay attention to your breathing.” “on the inhale…” “vinyasa sequence.” i sat up straight, blew out the clouds, and kept on hammering. i was happy with my third place because it was one of the fastest times of the day overall, and my lap times were as good as the upper-middle of the pro field.

HP yoga has been doing many good things for my mind and body, but i finally had a chance to really see how it works when all else within me is failing. i’ll send you a photo when i have one. many thanks for the lessons past and the lessons to come. see you wednesday. i hope Utah was remarkable.

-ben sullivan