Leadership and Yoga Kino MacGregor on Ashtanga Yoga, Leadership & Creating Meaningful Change
In this episode of Leadership and Yoga, I sit down with Kino MacGregor, one of the most thoughtful voices in the yoga world, for a wide-ranging, honest conversation about practice, leadership, creativity, and impact through yoga.
We talk about high standards and self-compassion, ritual and discipline, discernment in creativity, and how to work with failure without letting it turn into self-denigration. We explore lineage and tradition in Ashtanga yoga, the power of storytelling, and what makes an impactful yoga teacher.
This conversation moves from a behind the scenes look at Kino’s daily rituals and decision-making to the deeply spiritual and big questions of, why are we here?
If you’re a yoga teacher, leader, or lifelong student navigating devotion, creativity, and real human life, this one is for you.
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Time Stamps:
00:00 intro
02:16 inspired by Kino’s story
03:32 how did you realize you wanted to dedicate your life to yoga?
07:25 when you were little, what did you dream of being when you grew up?
12:30 do you remember your first ashtanga class?
19:34 from a dream about Pattabhi Jois to traveling to India
23:08 what is the essence of ashtanga yoga for you?
24:12 the guru’s grace
28:01 what characteristics of your teachers helped you the most?
31:00 the ashtanga authorization process
36:39 future of the teacher-student relationship in yoga
38:29 staying rooted in service as a yoga teacher
41:41 how can yoga be a tool for good in the world?
44:07 different paths of change
49:27 how do you prepare yourself to show up in the world to teach?
51:47 what is your relationship with creativity?
55:47 book recommendations?
01:00:00 tradition vs innovation
01:03:00 experiencing the transcendent
01:05:00 why do you think we’re here?
01:07:00 “let everything you do be an act of love”
01:12:00 the billboard question