When I found out that Kino MacGregor along with her husband Tim Feldmann from Miami life center were due to stay at Atmosphere Resorts, I was beside myself with excitement. I first discovered and committed to the ashtanga primary series as an asana practice a number of years ago, I spent a lot of time reading, googling and collecting DVD’s. Living in an area where there were limited yoga classes on offer, I spent the time looking for other avenues to assist me with my practice. That was when I first stumbled across Kino. From the moment I first watched her practice yoga on DVD, she became an inspiration to me. A young female who showed strength, grace and agility, I wanted an asana practice just like that… And so she became one of the motivations behind my own practice. Believe me I am still a light year away from achieving anything similar but I believe having goals is good!
This blog post isn’t actually about my asana practice, nor is it directly related to yoga per se, (other than the main focal point being a well-known prominent yogi) but it’s about the rare times in our lives when we get to meet someone famous, someone whom you had dreamt of meeting and then discovering that they are simply a regular person like you or I.
At a loss for words meeting Kino MacGregor
I am not shy when it comes to talking, or at least not generally! Conversation is something I can strike up with almost anyone, until I found myself a little lost for words when I met Kino MacGregor. Call it star-struck, call it self-consciousness, but I was at a loss of what to say.
There are many guidelines in how to live your life as a yogi, for some people they embrace yoga with a full on commitment to the purity of clean, healthy, sinless living, there are others who take the components of yoga that suit them and their life style and their are many others somewhere in between. I have both vices and virtues. I try to live consciously and mindfully, I am thankful and humble, I can accept my failings and treasure my achievements. Non-judgement is a big part of being a yogii and whilst I never thought that I would be judged by Kino, I was conscious that I was judging myself, I didn’t want to say or do anything I considered ‘ditzy’, being somewhat overly cautious in my commitment to conscious speech. Simply put; I didn’t want to have one of those ‘doh’ moments, so whether consciously or subconsciously I modified the famous adage to ‘if you don’t have anything worthwhile to say, do not say anything at all!’
My lack of ability to converse with Kino drew me to reflect abstractly on the poem ‘Desiderata’, that we are all children of the universe. In yoga we believe that no one is of any greater or lesser importance than the next.
Picking up the courage
So when I saw Kino walk past me with a chocolate cake from our bakery, when I found out that she likes a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks, has a penchant for manicures, a love of shoes, hate bugs, on an occasion sleeps in of a morning, and talks passionately about her family, I smiled inside and noted to myself that she was just like anyone else. And then I reflected why wouldn’t she be? She was friendly, talkative and passionate about yoga. We were not really that different after all, she had just embraced her passion to a deeper level and has an amazing asana ability that will still continue to inspire me to practice more, work harder, and continue following my goals.
I did actually find the courage to talk with Kino and am thankful for the time she shared with me to chat about the simple things in life. I express my gratitude to her for making me introspect, showing me of my own insecurities, reminding me of a poem I dearly love and humbling me into realizing we are all one of the same, children of the universe!
Rae Collins – Yoga teacher and Spa manager at Atmosphere Resorts
