Wholistic Fitness

“Yoga is a very confrontational science by design. The intent of Yoga should not be swept away by the seductive sweat of merely asana or, for the Awakening Athlete, the intoxicating effect from daily training. Attachment to sweat remains an Attachment and breeds only a more sexy brand of compulsion instead of an elegant, balanced effort toward Higher Consciousness. Though vital, our Daily Sweat must be used as karmic acid to erase our accumulation of mental and physical tensions (samskara). That which is tense becomes either fragmented or simply snaps. Thus, Oh Noble Fitness Warriors, let us consistently reMind ourselves that Yoga is a Path of radical self-transformation. This steep and direct Path, outlined by Fire and Light (fear and joy, pain and pleasure), veers not away from our inherent weaknesses and imbalances. Rather, a genuine Path of Yoga makes a direct line right toward the dark, frail, tight, and fearsome holding-vats of our energetic self.

Not often do even elite athletes or the highest intellectuals possess the caliber of Warrior needed to tread the Yogic Path. Regardless, to me, Outdoor Athletes constitute our current crop of the modern “Warrior Caste*” and remain the optimal caste for becoming Enlightened the fastest, if they are Practicing Yoga wisely.

Why do i say such a thing? Two-fold are my reasons;
1) The Ancient Masters were tough as nails and lived high in the Himalaya embracing a rigorous lifestyle which demanded outdoor fitness and multi-physiologic fitness.
2) Outdoor Athletes already know by Direct Experience the three main hallmarks which make for a victorious Yogin; Perseverance Through Hot or Cold, High or Low Motivation (Abhyasa), Sweat (Tapas/Austerity), and Surrender To Our Own Limits (Ishvara-Pradnidhana).

I have designed the system of Wholistic Fitness which includes High Performance Yoga (Union of Divine Action) from extreme outdoor sports in order to carefully create a Warrior Pathway sensitive to the overall constitutional and temperamental capacities of the modern Western fitness athlete. At a minimum level, WF is a Lightswitch which illuminates a most joyful, powerful, and fun Entry into an Ancient Path Toward Enlightenment.

The Practice of Yoga inevitably brings us over and over again to a partnership with the yin (female/Shakti) and yang (male/Shiva) forces within our Soul (purusha). The wise Yogin learns to use these UniVersal Forces, not fight them.

I offer this DL in the visualization that all Beings everywhere realize the utter necessity of a spiritual-based approach to daily fitness effort.

om so ti,

coach ilg”

photo 1; the Sacred Peak this morning during my Kin Hin Buddha Path Walking Meditation (see DL:10/22)

photo 2; local Flag cyclist, Tim Allen, training high on the Snowbowl Ski Road during a sopping wet and cold day. photo by Josh Biggs.

photo 3; coach and ananda in partnership; shakti energy resides low in the spine and must be brought up through an ancient sensory-loaded chakrafield known as the Sushumna within the spine before Shakti can unite with Shiva to bring about Enlightenment Energetics. photo by Wayne Williams.

* = means, “Color Of Mind” as Taught in previous DL’s