Kino Macgregor First Time in Russia Interview

Hi everyone! I'm Kino McGregor. And I'm coming to Moscow in August 2014. So see you there! Will it be your first time in Russia? It would be my first time in Russia teaching visiting.I've always been facinated. You know, I think it's there's a lot of images of Russian movies. And I always wanted to go really excited to see And I also excited that it will be August and not the winter yeah so what are your expectations about Russia? Have you heard something about Moscow before? I've heard that the Russian yoga students are are very good students.And I don't know I am just looking forward to seeing the culture and trying the food and seeing the sites everything including the people. So now you practice the 4th series and then will be the 5th etc And what will be the next? -_- Guruji always said that the 7th series is having children and a family. So may be after that...:p yeah I mean the practice is really transformed me. When I first started practicing I was so weak that I couldn't properly hold Navasana I couldn't properly hold Chaturanga Dandasana. It took me more than a year to balance in headstand. like a simple posture like Shirshasana. So for me to be at the very end of 4th series and have that be my daily practice is a huge milestone something I never imagined possible. And for me yoga very much represents the transformation from impossibility to world possibility. And it shows you that you know what you believe about your body is not really true. You can do so much more then you really think. I've learned that from my teachers. So how do you inspire yourself on hard days so when you can't wake up, when you have pain or something like that Can you miss one day or have a day off? That's a good question. First of all for me whenever I feel lack of inspiration I look at Guruji's photo. I have a photo of Guruji in the Shala and in my home. You know, in my home space and also in the Shala where I practice and teach at. And also I have a picture of Sharath. I look at them and they're watching you know. So when I work at least I do something. I think this is very very important you can't be too tough on yourself. You can't maintain a level of practice that we have here in Mysore in your home practice. So whenever I'm feeling uninspired, I see Guruji and I think okay well What did Guruji say that the minimum requirements of practice? And he always said that the minimum requirements of practice are Sun Salutations. So I think ok if I'm uninspired, I'm very sore the body is tired, I've been traveling a long flight all the way to Russia. something like that -_- Then okay I'll just do Sun Salutations. Just Sun Salutations A 5 times. At the end when I see okay I check in usually after 5 Sun Salutations. Okay I'll do a little more.But I think that if I think that okay now I have to do the whole practice. It must be very strong then the body is tense from the beginning. But if it's okay I just relax and listen to the body Sun Salutations A - okay, I feel a little better. Okay. Sun Salutations B - okay standing postures - oooohhh >_< May be little primary series. then suddenly it's over. You know one hour one hour and a half little by little the body opens, but if you start off with a big expectation then there's too much tension So I mean it's yoga you have to relax also Please tell us about your workshop. What are you going to teach Russian students? Well I love to teach strength so it's been a huge part of my journey and I love to see people think they can't do a handstand and can't lift up and jump back and love to teach that. So I'm sure that we'll be offering some strenght classes and I hope to break your boundaries for what you believe is possible for yourself. I'm sure you're so much stronger then you think you are. And the last question. What do you think is the most important in Ashtanga Yoga. I think the most important thing in Ashtanga Yoga is to make sure that your intention is pure, to make sure that the desire to practice comes from a yearning inside of your heart to live a more peaceful life. And that happens that all of the postures you know they are secondary to that yearning to live a peaceful life. Then the asana practice which is so hard and so arduous, that require so much effort becomes a tool for you to be a better person. And then that better person is the true yogi in the world. As long as your intention when you're doing the Ashtanga Yoga path is to use the tool of asana to be a better person. And it never matters whether you put your legs behind your head and do a deep backbend. It only matters that you leave the world the more peaceful place. That I think is the essence of Guruji's teachings. To be a vehicle of love, to be a vehicle of peace in the world.