Wholistic Fitness

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

click photo to enlarge. i’m the one in blue; see how i pour all of my WF and HP Yoga Training into my “power double pole” technique? comes from growing up racing against Norwegians! good Classic technique is the same as yoga; it’s all about Unity of Power…photo by Wendell Johnson, at the Flagstaff 10k Classic last month.

Feeling very nordic as fresh snow falls again and again upon the Southwest…today i wax my skis, pack my transition bags (up to 5 transitions during the 4-sport race requires heavy logistical thinking…) for Saturday’s Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon

as of last week, the report on the 75-kilometer, 4-sport race up to and back down from the 11,311′ sacred peak of Tsidool read as follows:

Current Mountain Conditions – Saturday, February 09, 2008
Plenty of snow! It’s going to be a great Quad. The road for the bike leg is clear of snow and will be sweept before the race. The run is bladed but snow packed, with two feet of snow along this sides.
Ski is excellent. Snowshoe is groomed and has 9 to 12 foot drifts at the edge of the world.

sounding very, very epic…i recall doing this race in the mid-eighties during a blizzard; it turned from a race into a mountaineering epic very quickly for many. i think there is a picture of that race in my book,The Winter Athlete

in case i don’t get to update this before Race Day, please keep the Tribal Mantra running on Saturday for your ol’ coach. i go off at 9:00 am MST; anticipated start time temperature for the first Bike Up section is 30 degrees with fresh snow on the entire course. yes, i am nervous. mostly because of the 25+ miles of running and running-based volume that has to be transferred through my broken back and neurally impinged sacroilliac region. i have not soloed this monster in 15 years. send prayers, mantras, and positive thoughts, okay? i have Ananda scheduled to teach my yoga class next Tuesday night as i will barely be able to walk or talk. leaving it all out on the Sacred Peak…

my intent is one of devoted Pilgrimage up an old Sacred Peak of mine and to devote my Sacred Sweat to my baby girl and her amma; Ananda. i must pace myself wisely. it’s basically a long workout to keep my base strong for my final two Priority Races of the winter; the final ski race (10k skate) of the Arizona Cup which i am currently leading, and the Agassiz Uphill…an ‘ilg’ creation that has come to fruition thanks to my new SnowShoe Sponsor: Kahtoola. more on that event later.

okay,
off i go to once again field test the 25 year-old Teachings of WF, HP Yoga SUNRIDER Herbs, and MAP Amino Acids to make sure i know by DIRECT EXPERIENCE that i am providing the absolute HIGHEST form of Transpersonal Fitness Training for you, my few yet NOBLE Warriors of the Inwardly Turned Workouts…

ilg loves you all, very much.

enjoy the following Student Input…and until we can meet and gather in this way again, use the Archives and the tremendous Dharma within the WF SanghaLounge…

In Sincerity and Surrender to going for the Go(ol)d
the mountain yogi

above photo; wendell johnson, after my recent 10K Classic victory.

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“Wow…now THAT is one BEAUTIFUL baby!”
– singer/entertainer, Beyonce upon seeing pictures of 5-month old, Dewa Ilg.

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Namaste Coach Ilg,
you simply amaze me with your discipline of time and your discipline of your practice and your discipline of posting and sharing with all of us on DL and keeping your website updated and on and on… this self-employed stuff is more demanding than i ever imagined…

MS.S.

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Coach,

Good luck this weekend, and remember the parting wisdom of one of my chief cycling hero’s:

“Just ease into it”

G

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Thanks, Coach…i can’t believe how personal your service is… I’m just used to mostly those on-line automatic, souless ordering systems that you can’t communicate with at all.

Looking forward to my new PDF training!

I live by the Winter Athlete, Total Body, and your two HP Yoga DVDs.

Paul, CA

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Beloved Coach,
THANK YOU for creating WF!
a ‘Thank you’ moment this weekend as i climbed 37 flights of stairs easily in the ‘bop to the top’ competition here in the flat lands.

i did it to support a client who had gotten it into her mind that she would do it. now, we know that my CV practice has been virtually non existent. a beautiful ‘podium’ it is to be able to get up and do ‘whatever’ and know that it’s always doable.

i was prepared to be sore the next day, however no such phenomenon occurred. gotta love a wholistically fit body — even if it is slim cap challenged.

in peace and practice,
love from student coop

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EC,

Thank you.

Sara was lighter and brighter when she got h(om)e from your yoga class. She was cooking something go(o)d. You give go(o)d ingredients. That’s what true teachers do. She’s been trying to learn to “vent” some of her feelings. Progress made.

-pd

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Dearest Coach Ilg,

I purchased the HP Yoga Basic Strength DVD apx 2 months ago and increased my 1 hour a week of yoga practice to 4 hours a week.I really feel the difference in my strength and endurance. I also have been getting outdoors to do some walking-averaging about 1 1/2 hours a week.I have weak shins and they often sting the day after..and it is not a good sting ..but I keep going..

Turning the switch off… in & to.. my mind is my next journey-

Namaste,
Cathy

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“I choose to be inspired by your lean body rather than to be depressed! Ha! Abs of Fire is an understatement!

It was sooooo wonderful to see you and your beautiful females in Flagstaff. I am, indeed, SO blessed by your presence in my life…..however distant the miles! You looked radiant, Ananda looked stunning, and your daughter is the most beautiful baby girl I have ever laid eyes on in all of my life. The gaze she gave to me has stayed with me; It is with me now. It was/is the most stirring gaze, the most knowing gaze I could ever imagine. She is a gift to all of us.
All Love to You, My Beautiful Friends~
Laurie”

(Laurie Lambert is a multi titled National Snowshoe Champion profiled in DL)

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Hi coach!!!

It was great seeing you again and competing with you in Flagstaff, and in seeing your daughter for the first time. She is very cute! I know you and Joy are very proud.

I just read your account for the Flagstaff race on the Coach Ilg’s Column at USSSA– a very nice article to be sure. I just wanted to thank you again – I have learned a lot about the sport from you and in reading the posts you have put on. I remember when I won the first race and received your dvd as a prize – I took it home that night and played it, learning the different aspects of snowshoeing.

It is very inspiring to talk to you and feel the effects that your spirit has on those that come into contact around you.

Sly

(Sly Coons finished 8th at the World Snowshoe Championships in Europe last year)

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Wow,

Will this snow ever stop. We kept asking for a real winter and now it seems like we have one! As my friend Miles asked yesterday, “Could we maybe save some of this snow for a lean year?!”

Anyway Langlauf yesterday. Soft as can be. Probably the most challenging conditions for me as 1) I sink in 2) I’m racing against fit cyclists with a better power to weight ratio. Anyway finished 6th. The field was small. It was one of those days where neither the wax, too cold, nor the fitness was good. I took an easy week this week and was feeling flat- did that cause I have been feeling a little tired.

So in all respects it’s always a humbling experience to get beaten like that!

Hey in reading the TBT nutritional section, besides electing you president, 2 questions came up which seem to be hot topics with all the fitness/fat loss systems out there: One is high protein versus less protein. The other is meal frequency.

I’m interested to know what your opinion is on the 2nd.

Also reordered by phone. The lady on the line tried to convince me to buy more slim craps, suggesting that I take 10 at a time.

She didn’t get the joke when I quipped, ” Sorry lady, but my 401K is for retirement, not TP!”

Almost buried alive in Durango…

AF

(Andrew Ferguson is a top Masters MTB Champion of Colorado)

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Coach,
I want to say that this has been a most amazing cycle. It was like my body took off on me in so many ways. I made big gains in strength, especially the lower body and I also made some leaps in my CV work, actually stringing together some pretty good runs. I was also better in the Yoga arena and felt like I was finally connecting a bit. Thanks for the listening work. The hardest thing for me in hearing your voice is not drifting back mentally to some pretty long rock climbing trips together. Nutritionally I am holding it together pretty well, though I need to get better about asking myself ‘what is the purpose of putting this in my mouth’. Weight loss seems to have leveled off in the past couple of months. I have additional fat to drop. I seem to be on a plateau here at the moment. your WF Early Morning Ritual continues apace. Shari is now a Neti devotee.

GW
Boulder, CO

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Dear EC,

Glad to hear you’re enjoying some great conditions on the slopes!

I noticed that you responded to a student’s inquiry on PowerCranks. I’ve been using them for the past three years and have found them to indeed be “Big Medicine” and have had a profound impact on my riding, and will hopefully assist me to the podium at the National TT this season. There is a long initial period which requires patience to allow neuromuscular adaptation. I’ve found your yoga study to be essential to their use. Otherwise your hips and hip flexors will turn to stone!

Best wishes and love,
Sammy Morse

Boston, MA

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Dear Coach Ilg,

I loved your Skunk Medicine story in Direct Lines. (The photo of Sammy was pretty cool, too!)

Your Direct Lines provides the answer to the question concerning the origins of the phrase “Getting skunk’d”.
Simply breaking down the circumstances present in nature, when some-being such as Sammy decides it’s time to let loose with his defenses, and how the target of his ire reacts and feels afterwards.

There is the “Skunk-ee” – the being who got skunk’d. They are helpless to avoid the invisible yet devastating defenses of “aroma-therapy”. Yes, their opponent is so powerful, they don’t even see what hit them! They enter a contest with too much confidence, under-estimating their opponent, and once the “game” starts, nothing can go right for them.

The “Skunk-er” on the other hand – that is, some being like Sammy – well, they are someone we wish to emulate. They stroll into the game at their own pace. Everything looks so easy for them. They aren’t concerned about anything flying around in the periphery – they focus on that next step in front of them. They spot their adversary, quickly make an assessment, and go on doing what it is they need to do.

So, when one gets skunk’d – they’ve run across a cool, collected, ultimately competent opponent who, without breaking a sweat and not even seeming to pay much attention to what they are doing, lays waste to your very being, shattering your deepest confidences and leaving you in a quivering, pathetic pile of stink.

I’ve been skunk’d before – I much prefer to be the skunk-er. I think and feel your Direct Lines will help me realize that one day.

Namaste, Coach Ilg,
John

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