Wholistic Fitness

Namaste Noble Warriors!

�The highest Quality moment in training is the one we invest in choosing softness over tightness. Don�t try harder, try softer.�

– Coach Ilg

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Hey, it�s SUPERBOWL SUNDAY weekend!!!!

YIPPEE, YAHOO!!!

Super Bowl Sunday can only mean two things to the Student of Wholistic Fitness:

1) ski areas, yoga studios, and mountain biking trails will be less crowded

and

2) see # 1

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i haven�t updated DL for a few days. i�ve been teaching a 3-Day Private Intensive with New Student Patrick from Montana here in LA. Patrick, whom I�ve given the WF nickname – �Student B� – will one day earn his Master Student Inka, i am sure. Although over fifty, Student B has all the requisites for becoming a Master Student of WF. he loves learning. he loves being creative. he seeks integration of fitness into his busy and international travel intensive lifestyle. his weakest disciplines are similar to many �successful� American men his age; yoga and meditation. the older we get, the more important those softer, more spiritual fitness disciplines become rather than strength and cardio training. but don�t take my word for it. just age. you�ll see.

anyway, for those of you who still have not gotten your ass out here to take a 1-3 Private Training Intensive with Kathy and i or with one of my other WF Teachers, here is the actual itinerary with my work with new Student B. Note: i had never met Student B before. he had read my books and stuff about me in magazines, but it was his wife who surprised him with a 3-Day Intensive with me for his birthday. we had a great time, check it out:

New Student B�s Itinerary

Based upon your input, here�s how i�ve designed your personalized Wholistic Fitness Intensive for optimal body/mind training during your Intensive:

Wednesday, January 22

8:00 am

Orientation/Consultation with Steve

10:45 am

HP Yoga with Kathy

and Lunch

Location: PowerHouse Gym

2:30 pm Private Yoga Basics with Kathy

Private session to orient your body in the basic poses

Location: Home

3:00 pm Breath & Posture Clinic with Steve

Specific facilitation of your body and awareness for daily practice of WF Lifestyle Principle #1: Breath & Posture

Location: Home

4:00 pm

Hiking & Taoist Yoga Postures

clears mental & emotional clutter while fortifying heart & lungs..enjoy breathing and moving!

Route: �Hectic Hill� a rather abrupt 1.3 mile climb from the floor of the San Fernando Valley up a steep hill of the Santa Monica Mountains to a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

On the ridge, the Taoist Yoga Postures will be introduced to you before the technical descent!

8:00pm Vegetarian Dinner with Steve and Kathy

9:00 Hei Wa Video & Zazen Instruction

enjoy Sensei Kishiyama�s beautiful video on the Ai Imawa (Taoist Yoga) Postures followed by a brief instruction in Zazen for tomorrow morning

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Thursday, January 23

7:00 am

Morning Zazen & Pranayama

clears and stabilizes mind/enhances awareness/deepens uptake and control of prana.

Location: home Zendo

8:30 am – Breakfast/Free Time

10:15 am

Strength Training: Upper Body with Steve

a shared workout that covers basic WF technique and philosophy and intensity

Location: PowerHouse Gym

12:30 pm – Lunch/Nutrition Discussion

3:30 pm

Mountain Trail Run/Walk with Kathy

a Cardio workout to balance the gym…

Route: El Caballero Trailhead to Dirt Mullholland, approximately 5.5 miles roundtrip

7:15 pm

HP Yoga with Kathy

what a perfect ending to a perfect WF day!

Location: PowerHouse Gym

9:00 pm

Ethiopian Dinner & Cinema

Meet WF Teacher Q while enjoying Coach�s favorite cuisine and film to inspire training energy: �Endurance� – a great film about Olympic gold medal distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie.

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Friday, January 24

7:00 am

Morning Zazen & Pranayama

8:30 am – Breakfast/Free Time

10:00 am

Strength Training; Lower Body & Midsection with Steve

12:00 pm

Private Yoga with Steve

2:00 pm

High Performance Bodywork/Energywork with Steve

A final release to bring your first Intensive to a sweet surrender!

3:30 pm

Departure

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sound like fun?

it is.

schedule yours today!

wholisticfitness.com

tribal catalog; Private Intensive

we�ll completely tailor your WF Intensive to suit your ability and enjoyment.

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Now some WF DHARMA …

Common Yoga Question:

�should pranayama (yogic breathing) be done before or after doing asana (postures)? the teachers at my studio seem to do it both ways.�

Pranayama volumes depend upon the �nadic� – subtle energy channel – capacities of the student. let me give you a personal example of what i mean.

it’s great for me to do an hour bike ride.

but with my past fitness abilities in cardio, an hour workout will not increase in my cardio fitness. it will help sustain it, but it won’t increase it.

if i wanted to increase my cycling fitness, i’d need several weeks of 3+ hour rides just to get back to a level i once had.

even more to surpass it.

same with Pranayama.

an advanced yogi who can voluntarily open and facilitate chakra (energy center) and nadic channels really doesn’t need too much asana practice. just sit in Maha Mudra (the �Great Meditation Posture�) and Tap into deep levels of universal energy or �pran.�

students hear many things about how to blend Pranayama with Asana, which defines �Hatha Yoga.� but until the student feels for him or herself, their own inner circuitry grow more fit and their sense of Pran becomes more refined, it is best to do Pranayama before Asana. otherwise, it’s like doing abs after a kickass upper body workout in the gym…the energy level just ain’t there and it won’t be a quality ab workout. for a better set of abdominals, do abs first thing in a workout, when you�re freshest. same thing with Pranayama. until your yoga becomes highly conditioned, if you wait until after Asana practice to do Pranayama, your subtle channels could be fatigued and your mental concentration tired.

when privately working with students, i often prescribe this format:

DAY ONE: Meditation and Pranayama

DAY TWO: asana

DAY THREE: recovery

proper choreography in the spiritual arts is the same as with physical training: it�s all about priority training.

and the Student’s intent, capacity, and Tapas (inner desire).

– coach ilg

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HP Teacher Grant Couture adds to this discussion:

�doing Pranayama at the end of your yoga session can settle the energy that you have generated or it can hinder the release of energy. the dissipation and movement of energy during the practice is controlled and manipulated through Ujjayi and the Bhandas (internal locks) in the moment of practice ideally. from my experience we do not store energy we transmit it, like a conduit. the pranayama gives us some hard wiring to transmit this energy. any lingering energy needs to be dissipated and transmitted. by the end of practice, you are balanced (with the ideal comes the actual!!)�

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welcome New WF Online Student:

Diane Johnston of Denver, CO

(taking training under Teacher J.)

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WANTED:

before and after photos of WF Warriors/Warrioresses for possible inclusion in my next book.

send before and after photos to

coach ilg

5720 yolanda ave #2

tarzana, ca 91356

deadline: March 1st

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i bow to you,

coach ilg