C<\/span>ertainly, in looking back over the past decade plus I\u2019ve been practicing, the changes are far more than just physical \u2013 still, it\u2019s not so simple to explain that connection.\u00a0<\/span>Add social media in there, and now the whole idea that yoga asana is even remotely spiritual \u2026 well, it\u2019s more than just confusing.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, I made the mistake of watching the start of the first awful episode of\u00a0Yoga Girls<\/a>, a show that is not a parody\u00a0(as much as I\u2019d hoped)\u00a0and rather, an attempted reality show, pitting the Instafamous\u00a0yogis\u00a0(as in, legends-in-their-own-lunchtime kind)\u00a0with Traditionalists\u00a0(the kind that apparently don\u2019t mind reality T.V. shows). I only lasted 15 minutes, but it was really a terrible 15 minutes I can never get back.<\/span><\/p>\n Anyway, then I pick up Kino MacGregor\u2019s new book,\u00a0The Yogi Assignment<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Kino MacGregor<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n THE TRUE-TO-LIFE YOGA GIRL.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Kino happens to be one of the most celebrated Ashtanga yoga teachers on social media, with over a million followers on Instagram alone. In fact, the idea for the book actually came from Instagram and so accordingly, the cover plays like a post: Kino smiling, doing her signature backbendy handstand \u2026 in a bikini \u2026 on the beach.<\/span><\/p>\n I won\u2019t lie. Part of me sighed heavily. But that was before I cracked open the book \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, I should know better simply because I know Kino better. And sure, she is beautiful, charming, and physically talented \u2013 but also incredibly smart, disciplined, well studied, and dedicated to the Ashtanga yoga practice.<\/span><\/p>\n Which is precisely why I have turned to her for advice in the past, during moments of unfocused weakness \u2026 and also why I invited her to contribute to the\u00a0Ashtanga Dispatch Magazine<\/a>\u00a0as well as be a guest (twice now) on the\u00a0Ashtanga Dispatch Podcast<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Because the true brilliance of someone like Kino \u2013 she can lure us in with her winning Insta-package \u2013 but then also knows exactly how to draw that line, connecting the physical practice to something much deeper. And in language we all can understand.<\/span><\/p>\n Kino is the original Yoga Girl. Only she understands that in today\u2019s world, tradition and the various social mediums aren\u2019t to be pitted, one against the other. They both have a place, so long as we know ours.<\/span><\/p>\n ‘Each day is actually a journey in itself and should push you to question your emotional, physical and mental limitations. It is my hope that these thirty days of Yogi Assignments will elicit hope and change your life.’ Kino Macgregor<\/p><\/div>\n The Yogi Assignment<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n SIX DAYS OF CONNECTING THE YOGA PRACTICE TO EVERYDAY LIFE.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The Yogi Assignment\u00a0presents as a 30-day program, though it also doesn\u2019t have to be read that way because every chapter is meaningful all by itself. So I took the liberty of jumping around, choosing the topics that personally resonated \u2013 creating my own mini-week of yogi assignments and learning:<\/span><\/p>\n DAY 1: PRANA \/\/ THE BREATH BODY<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere may be times when you will not be able to perform asanas, but there will never be a time while you\u2019re alive when you are not breathing.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n If you know me, you could already predict that this is where I\u2019d start. I\u2019m a bit obsessed these days. As someone who suffered from asthma most of her life, to hike without an inhaler now is a tremendous and meaningful connection between my yoga practice and life. Such a gift to be able to breathe!<\/span><\/p>\n Interestingly enough, the asana is often what distracts us from our breath \u2013 but if we can stay stubbornly committed to it,\u00a0it\u2019s the breath that can also unlock the yoga\u2019s magic<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n While I generally skipped the homework and asana portion of each day\/chapter\u00a0(and yes, I have always been that kind of student!)\u00a0I made time for Kino\u2019s Constructive Rest Pose. You lie on your back with your knees bent, hip-width apart, and belly breathe for ten. I did this every evening before bed. Crazy how something so basic can quickly calm and put me to sleep. Like I said, magic!<\/span><\/p>\n DAY 2: TAPAS \/\/ HOLDING MY HAND TO THE FIRE<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOnly with consistent, sustained effort will the real work of yoga happen; that is, old negative thoughts are replaced with positive ones.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n There isn\u2019t a teacher or friend (including Kino) who hasn\u2019t said this (or yelled it\u00a0across the practice room \u2013 thank you,\u00a0David Garrigues<\/a>):\u00a0Discipline!\u00a0You need discipline.\u00a0It\u2019s the story of my life, though I\u2019ve definitely gotten much better. Like most things,\u00a0staying focused takes practice.<\/span><\/p>\n abhy\u0101sa-vair\u0101gy\u0101bhy\u0101\u1e43 tan-nirodha\u1e25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(YS\u00a01.12)<\/span><\/p>\n According to Patanjali, we need to\u00a0practice\u00a0(abhy\u0101sa)\u00a0not\u00a0attaching\u00a0(vair\u0101gy\u0101)\u00a0to all the thought distractions. And through a\u00a0sustained, devoted, and committed practice \u2013\u00a0over time, we might find the stillness to see my own true nature.\u00a0Or at the very least in my case, I might muster up the determination to actually finish something I start.<\/span><\/p>\n Ironically, Kino\u2019s three example postures are perhaps the very three I like to come out of early:\u00a0chaturanga dandasana<\/a>\u00a0(low push-up),\u00a0urdhva dhanuarasana\u00a0(wheel), and\u00a0pinchamayurasana(fore-arm balance). And for the homework, Kino took on cursing. I think I better stick to chaturanga first.<\/span><\/p>\n DAY 3: VIRA \/\/ A BRAVE HEART<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEssentially we must become like Arjuna in our daily lives \u2013 filled simultaneously with the strength and magnificence of a warrior prince and the peace and sanctity of a spiritual aspirant.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n More and more lately, I find myself turning to the\u00a0Bhagavad Gita<\/a>\u00a0as a way to understand my place in the world today. The battle is real and it\u2019s inside me. How do I stand up for what\u2019s right without being consumed by the injustice? How do I maintain a righteous relationship with God all the while, staying humble and open?<\/span><\/p>\n I have been in real life situations where I have been personally threatened \u2013 a victim of abuse. Part of changing this was in fact, learning to stand up and fight for myself. Not exactly the peaceful warrior extolled in typical vinyasa classes, you know? And yet,\u00a0cultivating my own sense of power was vital\u00a0\u2013 as was having the grace later to forgive (not forget).<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s all very complicated sometimes and Kino makes no attempt to simplify. Which I appreciate.<\/span><\/p>\n DAY 4: PRATYAHARA \/\/ SENSIBLE TRAINING<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhile it may be tempting to think you can just turn of your senses, much like you would switch off a television, the yogic training of pratyahara is achieved through a conscious redirection of the faculties of the senses to the inner body.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n My daughter, Meghan, was trying to withdraw her senses (as pratyahara is often defined) and concentrate on a black hole. It didn\u2019t work \u2013 but did give us both a good laugh!<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, the cool thing is,\u00a0our practice is that yogic training by limiting the distractions that take us away from the real work at hand.\u00a0The drishti gives a looking place \u2026 the breath, a sound to follow \u2026 the shapes and movements bring touch \u2026 and provided we showered and have empty stomachs, there is no smell or taste to distract. The method shows us how to shift our perspective from the outside world to within.<\/span><\/p>\n DAY 5: SANTOSHA \/\/ I AM ENOUGH<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBusyness is addictive \u2026 Most busyness operates from a sense of emptiness; there is a void that drives you to throw yourself into activities and achievements to prove you are \u2018worthy.’\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n People who are truly busy never complain about being busy \u2013 because they are usually too exhausted to complain. You never hear a single mom, shuffling her kids from school to daycare, working two jobs trying to pay a stack of bills or put food on the table, complain about being busy.<\/span><\/p>\n No. Our busy schedules are by choice. They make us feel important. I know, I do it too. Finding contentment where I am, as I am, is a full time practice. But at least it\u2019s one I am privileged enough to enjoy.<\/span><\/p>\n DAY 6: SHANTI \/\/ FINDING PEACE<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTry to bend someone to your will, and it always goes wrong. Try to bend the world to your will, and it will fight back.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n We can\u2019t will or force peace. Not on ourselves and not in our world. It\u2019s like trying to will yourself to sleep \u2013\u00a0the harder you try, the further sleep becomes.\u00a0If you want to sleep, you have to simply let it come and trust it will.<\/span><\/p>\n This is the piece (or peace) I\u2019ve been missing. I keep thinking I have more control than I actually do. Of course, our actions hold meaning and make a difference but the outcome is something we need to allow, and not force. It\u2019s like at the end of every practice, we take rest. Do what you need to do, then rest.<\/span><\/p>\n Which on Day 7, I did.<\/span><\/p>\n + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<\/span><\/p>\n The universe is funny sometimes.\u00a0Here I am, forever struggling with the whole social media scene that I\u2019m also very much a part of \u2013 even going so far in\u00a0making the decision to step away my personal Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 \u2026 and then just this past week, three students show up to their very first week of Mysore practice because they follow Kino.<\/span><\/p>\n Seriously, one of them traveled all the way here to Montana from upstate New York. These are the kinds of students Kino inspires to practice Ashtanga through her posts, videos, and books.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s pretty freaking amazing, right?\u00a0And perhaps a bit ironic, don\u2019t you think?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you By Peg Mulqueen<\/p><\/p>\n Click here for more Peg’s writing and her podcast on Ashtanga Dispatch<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Kinos-book2-300x190.jpg\")
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\nAnd life has a funny way of helping you out.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n