Wholistic Fitness

Rama-da Saga; Part III

A photo essay…

�Trees dying/grass grows (5)

Santa Fe Peak does not care (7)

wake up from inside!� (5)

– steve ilg

8/18/04

spontaneous haiku poem enroute to Santa Fe

� a very tired yet inwardly beaming mountain yogi after 4 days of work on the Rama-da creation

Yesterday was yang. The Tough Love day.

Today was yin. The Spiritual Amp Day.

Our Rama-da project is done. What began as a gift idea for our parents 50th Wedding Anniversary by us ilg kids; a simple Garden Shelter has now been transformed into a veritable Rama-da (House of Rama).

�my �little� brother by 6 years and our Head Engineer for the Rama-da Project; Craig �Two Man� Ilg. Here, two days ago, we have just finished the main physical construction. Note our “Two Man” mudra! Photo; Self Timer, can you tell?

Mom and Dad arrive tomorrow (Thursday) evening….i will stay here to await their reaction to their �Extreme Backyard Makeover.� I have built many things in my Blessed Life, including the nation�s first rock climbing wall, my own boxing/martial art/bodybuilding gym (called, The 15th Athletic Club) in Boulder, and the HP Yoga Studio in LA…yet this simple little structure has stolen my heart and has amplified my spirit and my bond to my sister and brother.

�detail; �corvelle� cut made my Two Man into 5�x5� pine. Photo; ilg

Yesterday: the easiest hardest day of manual labor I�ve ever done. Deep spiritual victories were made available to my soul as i insisted upon walking my talk of finding my Workout Everywhere; i switched hands as i shoveled, hammered, and pulled things. I yoga squatted as often as possible. I chanted yogic sutras and held loving images of my parents while busting my ass to build this structure with my sweat and breath. No other parents shall have bestowed upon them such a personalized �Golden Anniversary� gift! Our gift to our parents was no way going to be created by a Hallmark Card sent with gold raped from Mother Earth! Here, in their own children�s sweat shines their true gold, their allure of our love for them throughout these years! THANK YOU MOM AND DAD for STAYING TOGETHER, for PERSEVERING, for TEACHING me to be utterly me! By calloused hand and happy heart, i rejoice as i sweat in this daily sun with my little brother!

� looking East at 10, 678� Sandia Peak from the Rama-da. This and all other remaining photos by ilg.

Smiling, joking, and treating Two Man with Sunrider herb drinks to empower our long hot day of labor. I followed my little brother�s requests with Navy Seal like demeanor. Ever the �leader� in my Teaching life, i encountered quaint and undeniable joy in simply being a worker bee or a �karma yogi� – one who finds Unity in selfless action.*

� detail; a prayer soaked special Tibetan Yak bone mala Blessed from the Kagyu Shenpen Kunchab Stupa where i Practice. the mala is immersed with 27 years of meditation and Blessings for my parents.

Today: Worked on the Rama-da until early morning, yet i awoke with my natural southwestern pranic vigor after an auspicious Dreamstate with one of my Tibetan Teachers. I knew in my bones that today i was going to be �Hooked Up.� Today was a mystical day, perfect for spiritually empowering all the hard physical accomplishments already done on the Rama-da. Driving toward Santa Fe, I soon enter her Vortex and am commanded by years of tears and sweat in these beautiful Sangre de Christo mountains shimmering before me. A seventeen (5/7/5) syllable �Haiku� poem spontaneously comes to me:

trees dying/grass grows (5)

Santa Fe Peak does not care (7)

wake up from inside! (5)

Soon enough, i find my legs spinning a synthesis around the yoga of the last few days. My morning meditation is an elite pilgrimage: a Time Trial on my bicycle up the notorious Santa Fe Ski Basin Hillclimb, one of the world�s most lung bursting race courses which covers 4 climate zones in 15.2 miles. By comparison, the summit of the highly regarded Alpe d�Huez climb that Lance just showered with a victory in the Tour de France is only 6,000�…a thousand feet lower than the start of this time trial! The finish line here is a breathtaking (literally) 10,350�. I�ve known the podium in this race during my younger years yet am happy with my time today given the hard physical labor of the previous days and low caloric intake. 1:11:38 was my time for today�s 3000� ascent; about 20th place in this year�s Pro Class (thank you SUNRIDER herbs!). I used a special mantra during my effort as Graced by my Dreamstate Teacher. My effort seemed to pass with no great suffering; i was floating on the Pran! Below my airplane height, i see stretched beneath me Poaquque mesa and the volcanic tuft of the Jemez. So easy on the eyes this southwestern land! Such a Blessing to the soul! Now nearly sixty miles distant, Sandia Peak stands like a king wrapped in white robes of mist. Diagonal sun shatters forth from a celestial sky like God�s own gleam! How blessed am i to witness, let alone dance with such a day? God it is GREAT to be FIT!!!!!! Insight comes Highest when ones Heart Rate is highest! Thank you, Brahma for allowing feeble ilg so many Blessed Moments like this one! Please help me, God, help me to show others how FUN, how BEAUTIFULLY SPIRITUAL it is to be Wholistically Fit!

� Tibetan �Lung Ta� or �Windhorse� Prayer Flags grace north and south sides of the Rama-da, while a rendering of Amithaba Buddha, my lineage Dhyana Buddha, anchors the west pillar. Green Tara picture can be seen on far left post.

� my cat-son, Spencer Sandis Smith llg. he has to live in New Mexico while i am in LA. i miss him everyday. he is orange, sweet, mild-mannered, and nearly 22 pounds of pure love!

After my Time Trial, i head straight for the Kagyu Shenpen Kunchab Stupa. I have arranged for some ritual items be set aside for me. I take the items with me into the Stupa and mediate for 45 minutes. the cross-legged position stinging me with Lactic Acid rebellion and bloated musculature from my effort up the high peak as the Buddha permeated Stupa imparts the Transmission into my items. Finally, i arrive at the Rama-da and go about a special placement of the Blessed items; a Tibetan Yak bone mala which is to face Sandia Peak, two Lung-Ta prayer flags in appropriate position, a picture of Amithaba Buddha and Green Tara for their respective pillars. Ahhhhh….

this Garden Shelter

is now a Vehicle of Protection

a monument to their enduring marriage,

and a Craft toward delivering my Parents

all the Joy they deserve…each day

in their

backyard.

if you are going to do something…

by God,

do it from your heart and spirit, baby!

that is all.

i bow to you,

coach ilg

��� Coming Up: Olmpics and Coach�s parent�s reaction to the Rama-da!

��� Since i know you will ask, YES, Two Man and i will build you your own Backyard Rama-da…fully Blessed and fully Amp�d with WF Chi straight from Coach�s own stupa, sweat, and prayers. serious inquiries only. i reserve the right to refuse. for pricing contact: ilgtrain@pacbell.net.

*Such kind behavior toward my kid brother was NEVER the case when i was the Captain of �Fort Horny Toad�…our childhood play fort in Durango, Colorado. More than once during the heat of summer, i commanded (the then much smaller) Two Man to ride his bicycle to town and fetch me giant red licorice ropes and Fanta Red Cream soda. �Town� was four miles away on a twisting country road! When the soda arrived too warm, i made Two Man haul granite rocks, steal timber, and dig excavations for future additions to F.H.T. Karma…can�t escape it, baby!