“This spring, before the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, all I had going for me was not the bike, but Coach’s HIGH PERFORMANCE YOGA™ classes…and man, did it pay off!”
– Champion cyclist Mark Rosenthal, Durango, Colorado
…check out my first tracks of the season in BOTH nordic and alpine skiing! i had a great time and after enjoying this photo essay? you’re gonna be JONESIN’ to hit up our Precious Mother Earth/Father Sky in all Their benevolent snowy abundance! today was INCREDIBLE to be ALIVE in the southwest San Juans…c’mon; let’s SNOWPLAY!
as i lay prostrate upon Mother Earth in an attempt to photograph the stupa-like, bare-heiny’d figure of Dewa beneath the generous-in-death dying of an apple tree, even feeble ilg began to realize that this Fatherhood Journey of mine connects me ike an eon-old phurba to all my kind Teachers, Deities, and Guides of my past as well as to the Ancient yogis, saints, and compassionate actions-no-matter-what of practitioners. though my ego would have preferred the path of hermit than to the endless ricocheting of schedules and time/energy demands inherent to being the householder yogi ilg now finds himself in…all i can say is that i sense beyond the shadow of a Buddha, that these daze/days are in fact, sacred topography upon the map of my ever-evolving Soul..and that all my outer Pilgrimages give birth again and again to an inner pilgrimage far more sacred, far more subtle, far more exquisite than my feeble incarnation can even imagine to place before thee in word or form or action of any kind…
…to race as hard as you are able across this sparse, high terrain makes you stumble and each step seems to take twice as long as the one before it…and three times as long as all the steps you’ve taken in training to Be Here Now..yet, here you are now…and the drizzle of barometrically-challenged oxygen that you are able to eat disappears as fast as sage smoke in a sweat lodge…there is not – i promise thee – an unaching bone in your body nor does there remain an enthusiastic fiber for more punishment left in the deepest chambers of your will and you feel the little campfire of tapas within you dwindling as fast as evening sunlight in September…
Jai Jai Ma, Jai Jai Ma! Hey Ma Durga!
As Donna DeLory sings, “I want to feel what You Feel/i want to see what is real Beyond this Illusion!” …and, one of the most effective ways i’ve found to discover just That, is crushin’ a hard uphill run with ski poles…like my morning workout today…come join me, i’ll show you exactly WHY you need to reap the MYRIAD benefits of this type of cardio/strength workout!
hey there, Noble Sangha!
after yesterday’s fantastic 4th place AG at the bru-tee-full Kennebec 14-mile, 12,000’+ Challenge which was the pranic climax of my spiritually orgasmic 3-Day Wholistic Fitness™ build cycle (see this week’s Teachings), it was time to make it less about me today and ALL ABOUT my girls…so…i did whatever any WF Master Student would do…
Another priceless m(om)ent from my Early Morning Practice this morning…before heading out into a 2 hour+ mountain trot among the summer splendor of Durango…the juxtaposition of softness (yoga/meditation/pranayama) with concussion (mountain running) is a sweet/sweat dance which has ignited my inner life for well over 35 years; it’s what Wholistic Fitness™ is all about. Indeed, if personal training methods were given an Animal Totem, surely WF’s would be my nickname; The Chameleon…for we can dance among various sports/disciplines like nobody!
Ride Stats:
date: this morning, July 3rd, 2011 with my chi-ldhood best friend; Greg.
type of purification: mountain biking
effort: 36 miles, 4,600′ of climbing, all on double & singletrack from elevation ranging from 8,000′ to 11,750′ with a technical grading of 4+ bike skills and significant will power
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Coach’s Teachings
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