pic by ilg this morning before heading off to my 50-mile Road Race Championship where i had the bulls-eye on my jersey…
and…WAY more importantly?
what a 5th Birthday Party Day it proved for ALL of the humble ilg clan today..
my full race report ONLY for Members…
If i could take more than a m(om)ent to ruminate over the past five years, i could probably c(om)e up with some pretty snappy prose about these past 5 years…yet, Parenthood – especially at age 50 and trying to eek out a living as a yoga teacher? Well, rumination is a trait of my former life…not the current Time Trial within which my Practice now must evolve…instead of de-volve or dee-minish entirely!
Why exactly are we so frightened of death that we avoid looking at it altogether? Somewhere, deep down, we know we cannot avoid facing death forever. We know, in Milarepa’s words: “This thing called ‘corpse’ we dread so much is living with us here and now.”
Precious Giving Teacher Of All Things,
I have noticed that after yoga class sometimes you merge into what sounds like a cascade of chants or mantras or prayers or something…can you tell me more?
For all the decades of your Giving, Loving, and Devotion to dweebs like me trying to move Higher…
your endless student RM
COACH RESPONDS:
Ilg only has one Direct Experience with Lance Armstrong. It wasn’t much of a moment…yet it was profound. If my personal encounter with Lance was like the one I’m about to describe below? Then, love him, tolerate him, or otherwise, you gotta admit; this King of the TDF (Tour de France) has certainly entertained a heccuva Karmic incarnation affecting millions – perhaps billions – of people, many of them Cancer warriors and warrioress’s. And that is enough to make this feeble yogi bow at the (maybe not so) Lotus Feet of Lance.
Dear Coach,
Thank you ever so much for your thoughtful reassurance during our recent Phone Consult; it was just what i needed! I have been feeling some pretty intense and unnerving things, so it’s nice to know that they are normal when starting up. For how long do they normally last??
Funny thing about Refuge Routes; after enough noble efforts on them, we begin to develop a weird sense of ownership. It’s like, we kinda think we are Lord Master of this route and all her delights and tortures because we’ve tested our body, mind, and spirit over this same canvas of terra firma countless times through countless seasons of rain, snow, heat, and hail. We know how she feels as the early morning wall of light glints like a string of pearls through the pine boughs or marsh grasses. We’ve felt the fear of upcoming darkness on this route when Grandfather Sun slipped too quickly behind the buttes and cloaked our sweaty body with a shock of cold getting colder.
Most teachings are for Wholistic Fitness Members only. Some are complimentary.
These teachings are the "Rasas" or "sap" of Wholistic Fitness. You’ll find insights to ponder, student chi to keep your own chi topped off, and plenty of proven training techniques to test on your own body, mind, and spirit! Also, you’ll find my very popular Race Reports, and news of our Sangha’s (community’s) latest transpersonal fitness adventures!
You have access to thousands of posts going all the way back to 2002. The Archives makes for ideal Svadhyaya, and if you don’t know what that important term means ... all the more reason to dive into these amazing WF Scriptural Recordings!
Checking out one or two archived teachings every day or so is an AMAZINGLY EFFECTIVE way to stay connected with your Tribe AND maintain consistency and motivation in what matters most: your own practice.
Note: We'll be fixing broken image links, and cleaning up the categorization of archived posts, over time.
Photo of Coach and daughter Dewachen, living the Path (upside down!) by www.jamesqmartin.com
