Kino MacGregor

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Kino's Yogi Assignment Blog

9 Feb 2012

Hilltop Yoga 4.26.13

kinoyoga

Author, Yoga Teacher, YouTuber
🚀Next Workshops: NYC, Miami, Mallorca
🌟Practice Online @omstarsofficial
📚 Accessible Ashtanga
🌴Shala @miamilifecenter

If the body is stiff but the mind is flexible, we

If the body is stiff but the mind is flexible, we are much closer to the true state of yoga than if the situation were reversed. A rigid mind paired with a supple body often leads us further from the heart of the practice. Yoga is not defined by how far we can bend but by how deeply we can perceive, feel, and transform.

No matter what arises—no matter where we are or what we face—there is always the possibility to access an inner reservoir of peace and joy. This refuge is not dependent on external circumstances, but discovered through consistent practice. In fact, this is the very essence and purpose of yoga: to guide us through the storms of life with clarity, wisdom, and compassion.

Patañjali offers us a profound tool for inner transformation when he advises, “vitarka-bādhane pratipakṣa-bhāvanam”—“When disturbed by negative thoughts, cultivate their opposite” (Yoga Sūtra 2.33). This teaching doesn’t promise ease; replacing harmful patterns with beneficial ones requires effort and awareness. But it points to a deep truth: we hold within us the power to reshape our experience by changing how we think.

We cannot always control what happens around us, but we can learn to guide our inner response. Dwelling in worry, rehashing painful memories, or spiraling in self-criticism does not bring resolution—it only deepens suffering. By applying Patañjali’s wisdom, we begin to update the mind, replacing cycles of negativity with seeds of insight, compassion, and hope.

This is not denial. It is discipline. It is yoga.

Through breath, presence, and perseverance, we train ourselves to meet life not with resistance, but with resilience. In this way, the practice becomes more than postures—it becomes a path to freedom.

Keep practicing 🙏
Next workshops:

NYC @souk.studio This Weekend!

Miami @miamilifecenter

Mallorca @balearicretreats

London @mission.e1

Switzerland @yogaflamestudio

Amsterdam @yogacircle.amsterdam

Sweden @atmajyotiyoga

Barcelona @harayogabcn

🌸

Photos @urbanshots_
#ashtangayoga #kinoyoga #ashtanga #ashtangi #yogaworkshop #yogateacher #omstars #yoga #nycyoga #nyyoga #yoganyc #yoganewyork #yogadandasana #grasshopper
💕

A friend from back in the old old shala days asked

A friend from back in the old old shala days asked me if I still do deep backbends and catching. When I replied that yes, I do, and on that day in fact I had asked my husband Tim to assist me to catch higher, my friend looked genuinely surprised.

Practically speaking, you might not be able to see it, but I felt a little stiff in this practice. On days like this it was always their Grace that lifted me up. Now, what is there to do except crawl forward little by little and follow the tracks of memory that their guidance left behind.

Many years ago I asked SharathJi what he missed the most about his grandfather. He said his backbending assisting. Now, here I am, continuing the practice without either of them. It’s not the same, it will never be the same. I, like all of us, are still coming to terms with this new reality.

One of the tests that a teacher puts their student through is to see what the student does when they are left alone. Do they hold steady and maintain integrity? Or do they deviate from the teaching without the strong hand to hold them on the path? Every student will eventually be without their teacher. Who we are when we are left finally on our own is maybe the last teaching we receive.

What can we do? I think the answer is simple. Keep practicing.

🙏

My next Yoga Drills class on @omstarsofficial is at 1 pm EST on Wednesday!

Join me and @timfeldmannyoga @miamilifecenter for our Mysore season and one month course where we will teach in June 2025 and January 2026. You can also sign up only for our Assisting School in June for one week!

Next workshops:

NYC @souk.studio This Weekend!

Switzerland @yogaflamestudio

Amsterdam @yogacircle.amsterdam

Sweden @atmajyotiyoga

Barcelona @harayogabcn

🌸

Retreats

Mallorca @balearicretreats

London @mission.e1

Norway @nosenyoga

Turkey @easternageanyoga

Salento @yogainsalento

Bali @radiantlyaliveyoga

Video @osmanitellez
#ashtangayoga #kinoyoga #ashtanga #ashtangi #yogaworkshop #yogateacher #omstars #yoga #mysorestyle #mysoreseason #yogaretreat #yogaretreats #miamiyoga #miamibeachyoga #homepractice #vrschikasana #scorpion #handstand #backbend #catching #urdhvadhanurasana
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London calling. We have been going to London since

London calling. We have been going to London since the time we met! That’s over 20 years ago. It’s one of our favorite cities in the world and we love teaching there.

We will be teaching in London for six days this July. You can join for a single class, morning practice or the whole immersion.

5 Mysore Mornings
Led Primary Series + Conference
Daily Workshops on Anatomy, Philosophy, Handstands, Hips, Pranayama and More!

Full booking details @mission.e1
https://www.mission-e1.com/kino-tim/

#londonyoga #ukyoga #yogaworkshop #yogaimmersion #yoga #yogateacher #ashtanga #ashtangalove #ashtangayoga #ashtangi #yogi #yogacouple
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What looks like flexibility is often strength. Wha

What looks like flexibility is often strength. What looks like strength is often flexibility. Understanding the hidden nature of each asana helps better inform technique in the practice.

Putting both legs behind the head focuses on building strength to support flexibility more than it does on developing flexibility. While there is absolutely a base level of external rotation required, most students who struggle with this asana face a test of strength. Dwi Pada Sirsasana demands that the upper body be strong enough to carry the weight of the legs, the shoulders be strong enough to push back against the calves and the lower spine be strong enough to hold the weight of the body in flexion.

Tips—

1. Snuggle the calf muscles behind the shoulders when putting the legs behind the head.

2. Let the feet do the work. Once the second foot touches the first, use the activation of the feet to guide them around each other.

3. Lock the head and shoulders in place. Once the first foot is behind the head, don’t change the head position. Keep actively pressing back into the foot or shinbone throughout the entire asana.

4. Don’t get assisted in this pose every day. If you’re relying on your teacher to put the legs behind your head and stretch you, then you might be missing the lesson of the struggle.

Keep practicing 🙏

My next Yoga Drills class on @omstarsofficial is at 1 pm EST on Wednesday!

Join me and @timfeldmannyoga @miamilifecenter for our Mysore season and one month course where we will teach in June 2025 and January 2026. You can also sign up only for our Assisting School in June for one week!

Next workshops:

NYC @souk.studio

Switzerland @yogaflamestudio

Amsterdam @yogacircle.amsterdam

Sweden @atmajyotiyoga

Barcelona @harayogabcn

🌸

Retreats

Mallorca @balearicretreats

London @mission.e1

Norway @nosenyoga

Salento @yogainsalento

Bali @radiantlyaliveyoga

Video @osmanitellez
#ashtangayoga #kinoyoga #ashtanga #ashtangi #yogaworkshop #yogateacher #omstars #yoga #mysorestyle #mysoreseason #yogaretreat #yogaretreats #miamiyoga #miamibeachyoga #legbehindhead #dwipadasirsasana #lbh
💕

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Kino Macgregor, Miami Yoga Garage
1940 NW Miami Ct
Miami, FL 33136
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