Ilg, at 51, is a modern day warrior. His battlefield though, is one of his own creation. It is a place of mental and physical competition, toeing start lines, and seeking enlightenment through what he calls, “sacred sweat.”
To my ears, the term, “stronger athlete” equates to a wholistically balanced being capable of high performance in all physiologic areas; strength, endurance (short, mid and ultra), suppleness/agility, mental fitness, and a mastery of nutrition. That, to me, monuments a “stronger athlete” and that is precisely how i train those who knock upon my humble, powerful Temple Door of Wholistic Fitness®…
“As a 50+ year-old steadfast student of sustained high heart-rates while immersed in diversified outdoor sports has and continues to reveal more to feeble ilg about the nature of lower mind (manas), ego (ahamkara), and Higher Mind (buddhi) to me than all my university level and personally-pursued studies of comparative religion and spirituality.
…besides, how often do you get to see a bona fide Princess picking up
other people’s trash?
“Daddy?”
“Yes, my love?”
“How come some people throw trash on our Mother Earth?”
“Well, baby girl?…they just didn’t have Go(o)d Teachers…that’s all…”
So how do you make Self Transformation stick like red klister onto your Soul cells for one year? I’ll tell ya.
Replace habits with Ritual. You see, Noble One Awakening, ‘habits’ are by definition unconscious. Unless you are a Wholistic Fitness® student/yogi, you probably brushed your teeth this morning, with what, uh, let ilg guess…your DOMINATE HAND. Why? Because it was easy. It is your HABIT. Whatever HABITS you hold? Keep yours spiritual self asleep. For instance, let’s say
Trust your Practice…all confidence that we bring to the Start Line of a race,
or one m(om)ent; our Bardo Entry,
pivots upon the integrity of the trust and faith we develop in our solo training/Practice…
Abhayasin ilg
pic; the master student of endurance squats, still at it at age 51…are you? 10 sets of 10…you kiddin’ me?! who else does this? get on WF Online Training and quit dinkin’ around! How baaaaad do you want to Rise Higher?
after 3+ decades of yoga-asana, including a broken back from winter mountaineering and high-volume/intensity cardio, ilg is closing in on Baddha Padmasana (Bound Full Lotus)… give me another 3 years…i’ll make it…ilg is nothing if not a steadfast, if feeble, Practitioner.
…cuz in Wholistic Fitness®? each day is but a dharmic dance among the disciplines and principles of WF, baby! How Blessed Are We Who Have Found and Walk This Precious Path of Wholeness?!
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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