Beginning where i left off last winter; On The Podium, baby! 4th Overall fastest time plus a Silver Medal (AG) on a course that was dirt 24 hours earlier! Can’t say enough about the Durango Nordic Center’s snow and race crew! Also can’t give enough thanks for Wholistic Fitness® for this early season podium! Sunrider Secret Herbs, MAP Aminos, and Asea Sacred Water…and of course, HP Yoga®, especially the priceless HP PROP Workouts®! Thanks to my faithful sponsors; Fischer, Swix, and Tailwind!
at the Starting Gate…it’s Dewachen and NoName Pony vs. Ananda and Black Thunder…disregard the disinterested Cat Beings behind them…
on your Mark,
Get Set…
up here, high above the now fancy smancy base lodge resort which caws toward Texans and others with hot tubs, heated swimming pools, and valet ski assistants whom will pre heat your stinkin’ alpine ski boots and serve you an expresso at the same time…here? ilg uses only breath and 1990’s skate ski equipment to elevate above the froth of the common man….up here?…ilg’s old ears hears no whining from the Mother Earth/Father Sky -sapping gearing of chairlifts running, snow blowing, and no arrogant, if not drunk, bellowing from visitors. hec? up here? ilg has the whole mountain to himself…no nothing save for silence, uphill sweat solo, through my beloved pines…
yet on days like today when it’s time for a final farewell to the OM-sounds from chairlifts
servicing such puja as these sacred snows?
it’s all Go(o)d baby…
it’s all God…
get out and do…
the Bardo comes quicker than we think…
and what a precious Plane(t)
we have to immerse within…
…why are mine the only ski tracks now poised in splendid juxtaposition
with the forlorn, empty, entropic lifts?
what happens to the brash and verve of the young
when the lifts simply stop?
too lazy to crave the pines in soliloquy?
remember i told you that Durango’s Tad Elliot – son of Mike…my ski coach who you read about in my books – won America’s biggest nordic race; the Birkebeiner….well, i found this fantastic post race
interview with Tadd and his two American podium shareholders talking about breaking ski poles, course conditions, and ‘amping up’ those Norwegian dudes… Tad’s interview skills are getting polished by the victory,
giving up for his ski maker and his grinder…check it if you’re into such nordic warriorism:
This morning?
The magnificent Deities of the WF Path once again Blessed ilg….for ilg was seeking that last, lingering spring ski day where all of my 100+ Ski Days just coalesced into a precious, hummingly sweet surrender of ski into soft, forgiving snow…where all my former bucking-bronco telemarks merged into a monumental line evidenced by 8 x 3,000′ vertical descents matched only by probably 3,000+ deep knee lunges linked by instantaneous fast-twitch neuro-muscular movements and present mind…this morning? It was all Wholistic Fitness®…my breath and movement down the dwindling snowslopes of my beloved local ski hill an anthem to all which made ilg, ilg…thank YOU Deities for GRACING through feeble conduit ilg the majesty, the power, and the Ancient Warrior mystique which is WF! here, then, are a few shots from my Good-Bye morning to Purgatory Ski Area…
This is why feeble ilg calls Wholistic Fitness™ the true practice of peace, the true practice of nonaggression and nonviolence, and the real and greatest disarmament toward that which hinders us from Enlightenment in the Bardo; our egoic attachment. Tis better to cultivate an Endless Beginner’s status and keep working our weaknesses instead of becoming famous and applauded in our specific and Divinely-granted strengths…Contemplate these words until we meet again, Noble Warriors toward Wholeness….be free and roar toward Enlightenment…
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
