KINO MACGREGOR: a workshop, a journey : Jump back Jump Through Workshop

First off this is not an Ashtanga Primary series teaching video in the sense of Swenson, Scott, Sharath or Freeman. It's about 40 mins and split into two parts (NOT two DVD's) First part is basically a promotional video for Kino and her Studio in Miami. Her thoughts on Ashtanga inter cut with her performing a demo of some advanced series asanas. You can get a flavor of it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAHh0ysgyC0&feature=related The second part is a workshop on Strength. Basically preparation for jumping back and Jumping through. I watched it tried it and pulled my best jump back and jump through right away.

So what's she doing? Well nothing really new, you'll find the different elements all over my blog from one source or another but Kino brings them together well. She starts off having you on all fours in a relaxed collapsed state.

Then she starts working up the body, tilting in and up the pelvis, drawing in and up the stomach, arching up the back and drawing the ribs together. She focuses on the point between the shoulder blades attaches it to the sternum. Imagine a thread passing through the point between your shoulder blades through to your sternum and as you pull up on the thread everything lifts up, that kind of thing. So you now have this "arched structure" if you look from the frount your hands are the base of the arch which comes up one arm over the shoulders and down the other arm, the total opposite of the collapsed posture. And it's that, and the shifting of your body weight over your hands that you want to transfer to your Jump backs and your jump through. So before you lift off your create that structure and it does seem to help.

This video is following my practice the morning after watching her DVD and trying to employ her principles. It's probably my best jump back so far.

If you can't get to one of her workshops then this is the next best thing. You can get the video from her website here http://ashtanga-awareness.com/dvd.html best of all you can use Paypal. Took a little over a week to reach me in the the UK

STOP PRESS : Just noticed that Kino now has an Ashtanga primary series DVD out available on her site.