The Yoga Student
What an amazing workshop! Hard work but worth every aching muscle!
It was a true pleasure to work with Kino and Tim! There wasn’t an asana which didn’t feel more challenging than ever before! They definitely made us engage those bandhas from deep within! It’s amazing what a difference simple changes can make to your practice…pushing those elbows together in every Ekam position! Engaging that uddiyana bandha on every jump forward and jump back (…and every other asana!) Working that trochanter into those external rotations in those hip openers! And not forgetting lifting that sacrum and ribs high, to elongate the spine for those deep backbends! Thank you to Kino and Tim for sharing their knowledge and techniques with us and with such infectious wit and humour! I’ve got to say…it’s pretty difficult holding those bandhas whilst trying not to giggle!
The way Kino and Tim talked about yoga philosophy through the Yoga Sutras gave some real food for thought! What I hadn’t realised when my body is ‘screaming’ holding Navasana and Utpluthih (Kino’s favourite asanas to count super slow!) was, just observe the body, observe the challenge, and recognise this as part of the journey to my inner self, my inner spirit! The workshop really helped to put some of the challenges in my personal practice into perspective. Since the workshop, it’s helped me to gain better self awareness, which in turn is enabling me to really focus the mind and truly feel the meditative qualities of my personal practice.
Kino and Tim are inspirational teachers and I loved their talk about the obstacles we all encounter on our yogic journey. It’s helpful to be reminded about why we committed to this beautiful, empowering, challenging, soul searching, lifelong journey. These reminders help to keep us inspired and to accept these challenges head on. It was encouraging that they were both so open about sharing their journeys, their own experiences and challenges, and despite there being 200 yogis at the workshop that did not hinder their ability give a personal touch to the experience. Their energy is contagious!
If you ever get the opportunity to work with Kino and Tim I would highly recommend it! No matter how long you have been practicing Ashtanga yoga, we can always deepen our practice, and what amazing, inspiring and vibrant teachers to do this with!
Thank you to all the Yoga Manchester ‘Warriors’ that assisted all us yogis! You made the whole weekend run swimmingly! A truly excellent workshop hosted by Yoga Manchester! Thank you!
I have been practicing Ashtanga yoga for the last 15 years under the supervision of Matt Ryan, I attend Yoga Manchester classes on a weekly basis. I have felt a real transformation in my yoga practice over the last two years, since committing to a daily home practice and the monthly Mysore classes with Yoga Manchester.
Sapphire Raydon-Rennie
The Yoga Teacher
I’ve been a student at Kino and Tim’s workshops before, only when they’ve been operating as separate entities though, this time it was lovely to see them working together as a couple. They are both really warm people and even with their yoga ‘celebrity’ status there’s no need to feel intimidated. After-all, being told what to do with your anus on a Friday evening is certainly going to break the ice!
There were lots of wide grins at the sign-in desk – it was clear students were really excited to be there and as a teacher that makes me excited too! It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to assist Kino and Tim during the led classes, and to observe so many students practicing – shuffling the hands-width distance between the mats was certainly a test of my spacial awareness!
When talking about the practice Kino and Tim skilfully balance years of dedication and respect for the Ashtanga method with a good sense of humour. While there’s a thirst for technical instruction on the more challenging postures they offer consistent reminders to remain equanimous (‘equanimity’ was the word of the weekend with ‘anus’ following closely behind!) and stay on track with the focus of the practice – stay present.
During the Q&A Kino and Tim kept their answers grounded in reality while still referencing philosophical concepts and relevant texts, they weave philosophy into real life choices and experiences very well – rather than it being a subject that remains distant or separated from the practice and our lives. It was nice to see nods of agreement when Kino steered a question about what she eats into making ethical food choices and thinking about the impact that we as consumers have on the world.
I’ve done a reasonable amount of study over the years with some top teachers (although in the context of yoga study this constitutes a tiny, tiny tip of the iceberg). This includes a number of weekend workshops of a similar format, but I always learn something valuable – whether it’s a reminder about the fundamentals of the practice (which we all need from time to time!) or a new technique/point of view that I can use in my own practice or apply to teaching. After all a yoga teacher will always remain a yoga student.
Kino, Tim and their assistant Carmen brought a bit of Miami (and European) sunshine into the Gita Bhavan temple that weekend and I think we all took some of it away with us! I had three classes to teach after the workshop, I should have been shattered, but it’s testament to the enthusiasm of them, the students and the Yoga Manchester Team that I was raring to go!
Marie Harris