Kino Macgregor & Tim Feldmann on Ashtanga Yoga Practice and Teaching

Join Stu Girling as he interviews Ashtanga Yoga teachers Kino Macgregor and Tim Feldmann on their practice, methods of teaching and relationship.
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Film by Nikhil Kripalani
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[@_elfifle_]

Who is also watching this in 2023? Great interview, Kino and Tim are such a knowledgeable and humble couple. They don't want to be put under a label. I liked Tim's words on how the physical part of yoga (or appearance for that matter) is not the end-of-all, and even tends to become less important as you age - no Photoshop needed! True beauty comes from within.

[@danielssister7086]

Tim said that he didn’t like the “handstands” being shown online because it sends the wrong message. While that is understandable, I think its great that she does that, because while I might have initially been inspired by that kind of thing, I have become much more interested in the spiritual journey due to her guidance. I love how they make each other laugh, and how they are careful not to interrupt one another. They seem to have such a balanced relationship.

[@keladaseges2558]

During my.years in South Beach , I was among other activities, a student of Anthropology and a 101 practice of Ashtanga . Non of the South Beach Yoga / Yoga in America / Yoga in India seductions were sufficiently entissing to make me salivate !!! . However, the experience was one of the major teams of my Anthropology study .

[@nirmalapatil9793]

Good to know so many people all over the world getting benefited from the knowledge of our great land, INDIA !!!!

[@randywalker511]

I love the spirituality you speak about. I also caught kino’s reference to surrender ( Ishvaara Pranidahana) by humbling myself and working through the sequences in order. I will never see Ashtanga in a purely physical way again. Thank you both very much. Ronnie

[@bloodbuddy7]

Thank you Kino and Tim, and thank you Purple Valley for these videos, they are so appreciated xx

[@m.martens8962]

this is exactly the same for me. If I do not work on my physical strength it goes away and I have incredible pain in my joints. Thanks so much for this insight. It is all about each day working on this asset. There is a beauty in it and it is great to be reminded and to get going. I really love to choose focus and target and to see the beauty in it. Thanks for this interview. beautiful to see your fluid relationship and the respect and in the mean time that both take care of him-/herself while sharing love and sensitivity.

[@nicholehobson4990]

I really appreciate both Kino and Tim's candor. Their so humble, so down to earth. I love their approach to yoga. It's not about grandiose posturing for them. It's about progressively meeting and surpassing personal obstacle. Keep meeting your obstacLes embracing the opportunities and possibility growth. Thank you. Namaste.

[@mathiastravis603]

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[@atticusbrentley8694]

@Mathias Travis instablaster :)

[@mathiastravis603]

@Atticus Brentley i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im in the hacking process now. Takes a while so I will reply here later with my results.

[@mathiastravis603]

@Atticus Brentley It worked and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy:D Thank you so much, you saved my account :D

[@atticusbrentley8694]

@Mathias Travis Happy to help =)

[@randywalker511]

I love seeing the two of you together! I’m sending you both love and positive energy. Ronnie

[@jeanc7921]

i agree with her on the strength thing - i find it goes away really quickly so i like to strength train every day. It might be different for men as they have more muscle mass naturally, but muscle memory can be lost super quickly...

[@beecharly]

Amazing interview! thank you to the three of you!

[@Luciayogaretreats]

such a good team! good balance between they both! thanks purple valley for such a nice videos and interviews!

[@Naomi-yv1nv]

Lovely way to think - about sharing your knowledge. Such a lovely interview!

[@mapleyoga8116]

Cannot wait to study with both of you! What a pleasure & honour to meet you both. Thank you for the knowledge you share.

[@magdachrzastek2340]

Absolutely superb interview!!!

[@sophier5508]

Great interview. I like how the 2 of you complement each other. Keep your sense of humor, mutual respect and dedication, these are the most important things.

[@bidalecoq3804]

Thanks Kino, thanks Tim, you're awsome practitioners and teachers ❤❤❤❤

[@YLalgondar]

Well thought questions by the interviewer and great response from Kino and Tim.

[@JerryDougherty]

This was such an amazing interview. Thank you so much! It is on my dream board to one day unroll my mat on a regular basis down at the Miami Life Center and attend one of your amazing workshops.

[@apallen7]

I loved this video. So informational. I would love to see it broken up into pieces because there is so much good stuff!!

[@rajayogawithfred4718]

Such great knowledge and teaching. Thank you so much...

[@aislingchepi11]

I liked how they explained how yoga can be used as therapy, but that ashtanga yoga is primarily a spiritual practice and the physical benefits are secondary. I didn't think that skipping on to postures that are easier for me also limits my spiritual growth by avoiding discomfort.

[@dominoplay3712]

exactly. I think the right way is to the the work and be with whatever happens during and after. then sometimes I will think about certain sensations but mostly about new questions that come along, usually spiritual nature.. I won’t over-analyse. And the next day come back to practice. But it lasts whole day, not only on mat. Very difficult to explain. Also, I don’t do Ashtanga everyday bcuz I came to realization I easily become too ambitious and serious, exactly the cycle that I want to stop. It’s funny really

[@annetteflower6492]

I loved this so much.

[@TakanashiYuuji]

Thank You. Namasté.

[@Gaea2378]

Amazing interview

[@shonaaitken7635]

Thank you for sharing.

[@karolina.thomson]

Great interview, a few things you talked about that will stay with me.

[@aldihenry289]

great interview... !

[@jimjam3877]

I think Tim's answers are very clear. Yoga in the west has become a self-improvement method. Of course, commercialisation means that people will demand something for their money and aren't ready for talk about a so-called illusory self. Most people come to Ashtanga to get a strong body, perhaps with a vague notion that it will make them a better, more 'spiritual' person. It seems we quickly arrive in a double-bind, or 'what isn't spiritual materialism'? I don't see how one can promote the practice as self-empowering one moment and then make the claim that's it's a serious sadhana, the next. Of course, the problem doesn't arise in the same way when one goes to sit a vipassana course - and for good reason. Nobody wants to pay for what will likely be a crap ten days in many ways so they don't ask. I enjoyed the interview. Tim's got a lot of interesting things to say and Kino seems like a nice person.

[@dpw1989]

Great interview

[@dominoplay3712]

nice, down to earth people, pleasantly surprised

[@tconcotelli]

They are adorable.

[@sivnehahgsteggen7182]

Thanks

[@adameve15]

i like tim's take on the empowerment movement. i agree with him. it stiffens the ego and encourages too much entitlement. empowerment should always work within a context or a framework. even in the practice, if a teacher encourages the student too much, the student may unknowingly create circumstances that he/she is not ready for. it takes a very discerning teacher to know when to push and pull back and a very wise student to follow.

[@jimjam3877]

Yes, I think Tim's answers are very clear. I've long thought that yoga in the west has become a self-improvement method. Of course, the commercialisation means that people usually demand something and aren't ready for talk about a so-called illusory self. I'm not sure I agree with their last answer. I don't think it was the question Stu was asking. My impression was that he was asking what should be done if someone was never likely to progress beyond an Mari D, for example. I think Tim had really already answered that. They seem like a nice couple, I enjoyed how they were both very good at giving eachother space.

[@rachelmacdonald7160]

Kino didn't say that she used it as "self improvement"; she was talking about finding her inner strength, which she qualified by saying that before she struggled with being trampled on in the world. Then, her husband dismissed this as building ego. She later talks about how it is all god. I don't know these people, but I thought it was a clear man-splaining moment. Yoga has, absolutely, helped me find an inner strength by helping me center, which has been a spiritual growth. That's what I heard her say and I was disappointed in her husband's reply. (Even though I don't know these people.) .

[@ASMRyouVEGANyet]

Rachel MacDonald agreed

[@melaniethuringer8362]

Do you have a podcast?

[@nataliaristadewi8408]

🙏🏾

[@sahdevpatil9284]

Who are you both are you yogis karmyogi,gruhastagi ?i rispect this cupale. Good job .

[@dosalastheatre]

I appreciate the question about sequencing, and being "stuck" mastering an asana before advancing to the next in the series. This is a controversial point about ashtanga. There is still no good answer...should a yogi really avoid doing one-armed handstand (Eka Hasta Vrksasana) if they can't master, say, kapotasana?

[@brentgallagher3603]

How tall is Tim?

[@Viaquer]

[@SD-hh5wz]

15:30

[@joserolandofelixportocarre6583]

0:51 Kino want a Kiss. You Fool Tim don't give one to her (even being a great croaky hawk). With the years Kino become a beatiful Megaera (one of the three Ερινυες). Blessed couple.

[@laurabelford2589]

My verbal capacity goes away when I'm practicing.

[@compassionplease7380]

Kino and Tim, I am hoping you and others who studied with K. Pattabhi Jois, and who perhaps did not experience his criminal sexual behavior, will muster the courage to face the truth and say something like this: “‘We (I) were wrong about this man. We were deceived. He hurt and traumatized hundreds of people with his criminal behavior, and betrayed the trust and love we gave him. Although I still enjoy and practice the system of yoga attributed to him, Ashtanga, I hereby declare that because I was brainwashed and blinded by guruism, I did not see the truth about this man. I hereby renounce him and will no longer refer to him as my guru or apply any terms of respect to his name. He does not deserve them.” When I see a statement like this, I’ll believe that you really get it. But as of now, Tim and Kino, I don’t believe you do. Get it, that is.

[@AlisonWonderland999]

Were they brainwashed and blinded by guruism? Or is it that they accept his imperfections in light of his contribution to the world of yoga? This is a genuine question, and as someone who has also experienced sexual abuse I don't mean to downplay the experiences of his victims.

[@compassionplease7380]

Alison Wonderland Well, I haven’t checked recently, but IMO the statements they have made about this issue tend to downplay his abusive behavior, and if memory serves, in at least one case they suggested that one of his victims might have been misinterpreting the abuse. To me, it seems as if they are reluctant to acknowledge the seriousness of what he did and the pain of the persons he did it to. Ashtanga Yoga as developed by Jois is a marvelous system of yoga, and has changed the lives of many people for the better (although I personally feel that its rigorousness must be handled carefully to avoid injury, which some practitioners, including advanced ones, later said that they did not do). However, I say again, just because Jois was an innovator in the world of yoga DOESN’T mean that his ‘followers’ need to hang his picture up in their studios and practice rooms to bow before with religious reverence. I think that your word ‘imperfections’ is inadequate to describe what he did. Having a few too many bowls of ice cream or failing to pick up after yourself are ‘imperfections.’ Sexually violating persons repeatedly over many years is a pathology which comes under the heading of violence towards others.

[@AlisonWonderland999]

@@compassionplease7380 Yes, in its usual conversational sense "imperfections" is certainly an understatement 😉 I tend to think that the Western world is so starved of spiritual guidance (I don't count the Church) that we are suckers for any culture that promises to have all the answers. The guru tradition strikes me as being littered with examples of exploitation, and those are just the ones we know about.

[@compassionplease7380]

Alison Wonderland Very true. I wrote my original post quite a while back and just now I read it again. It sounds a little harsh to me now. Maybe I’ll edit or even delete it altogether. I think your last reply about the spiritual hunger of Westerners made me see the harshness of that first post of mine. We all (or at least many of us) want to ‘connect up’ with The Source and we’re all just doing the best we can. I’ve certainly been disappointed by ‘gurus’ in the past and so who am I to judge.

[@AlisonWonderland999]

​@@compassionplease7380 Don't be hard on yourself, your point was worth making!

[@ErinnEarth]

Not once is actual ashtanga yoga mentioned? Ashtanga means 8 and is used in the context of PATANJALI. These people exploit yoga to the max. All they reeeealllly at the end of the day focus on is gymnastics and image.

[@yogawithvibha4444]

I agree..ashtanga means 8. 8 limbs if yoga includes yama, niyama , asanas, pranayam,pratyahara, dhyana ,dhaarana and samadhi. Now they covered just the asanas part. What I don't get is why they don't talk about pranayam as pranayam is the closest practice for spiritual practice. Yoga is mostly for fitness and a form of exercise for many people these days.

[@MrMusicformyhead]

Too many hard lines....are you on the mat trying? Then u win.