YM: How did your path of yoga begin?
MK:  In 1993 I was a graduate student in Biomedical Engineering at Arizona State University.  I had barely even heard of yoga but while walking across campus one day I got this urge to check out yoga.  It was really an inner voice that said "you've got to do yoga".  I checked the schedule of classes, found a yoga class, and signed up.  I was hooked from the very first class.  With only two levels of yoga offered I took yoga 101 that semester and yoga 102 every other semester while I was in school.  I went back to engineering after graduating but nothing came between me and my yoga classes.
 
YM: Why Anusara Yoga?  Why John Friend?   
MK:   My association with John Friend and Anusara Yoga goes back almost to the beginning of my yoga life.  My first teacher at the university was strongly influenced by the Iyengar style.  She invited John, who was teaching Iyengar yoga at that time, to lead a workshop at ASU which I attended.  I felt an immediate connection with John because he made the yoga fun and easily accessible. I started attending every nearby workshop that he offered.  John was developing his own unique style of yoga and as I learned from him all of the pieces began to fall into place for me.  Anusara's life affirming philosophy, cutting edge alignment principles and strong community filled a hunger in my heart and mind that I've had all my life.
 
YM: How do Biomedical Engineering and Yoga compliment each other?
MK:  They are a perfect match for an anatomy geek like me.  Biomedical Engineering is an in-depth study of the workings of our physical bodies.  Yoga does that too plus it adds an in-depth spiritual quest.  I've always been a person who is fascinated by both sides of being human.   As a specialist in yoga anatomy, my Biomedical Engineering degree has been priceless.  I started learning the Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment on the heels of learning graduate level anatomy and the light bulbs really started to go on.  I needed a scientific connection to really bring yoga to life for me, and my engineering background did that.  I have always taken things apart to see how they work so Biomedical Engineering and Anusara Yoga truly rocked for me.
 
 
YM: How do anatomy and therapy work together?
MK:   For me they are inseparable.  In order to be a good yoga therapist you need a strong understanding of anatomy.  There are so many therapeutic techniques that we can learn and practice as teachers but anatomy teaches us WHY we are doing them and that changes everything.  When I began to perfect my understanding of yoga anatomy my skills as a therapist vastly improved.  The slightest difference in touch and manipulation can make the difference in true healing.  Anatomy informs yoga therapy and gives the therapist vastly more confidence.
 
YM: Why is anatomy so important?
MK:  When we understand the anatomy we really understand why the alignment matters in our practice and teaching of yoga.  Understanding WHY redirects our thinking and our approach to the practice.  My appreciation for Anusara's Universal Principles of Alignment skyrocketed once I started to apply them in my study of anatomy.  I discovered how each of the principles is perfectly aligned with the optimal biomechanical function of our bodies.  That is why the principles work for every body every time. 
 
Anatomy helps us to maintain our optimal alignment off the mat as well.  I have found that most of the problems that people have with low back and pelvis issues can be directly correlated to how they carry themselves and move in the world.  In my anatomy trainings I teach these fundamental principles and it makes a huge difference for students both on and off the mat.
 
 
YM: Why do you practice yoga?
MK:  I truly love this practice.  Nothing else I have found in my adult life has fed my body and spirit like yoga.  It is a gateway into a richer life and having tasted that I always want more.  Yoga has also become my social outlet meaning the place that I meet friends and connect with others.  It is a constant source of joy.
 
 
YM: You are known for taking "complex subject matter and making it accessible, clear and applicable for the modern day yogi". How do you do this?
MK:  I have always had a knack for explaining things to people in a way that they get it.  I was a nerd before it was cool to be a nerd.  My cousins called me the professor because I could answer any question.   Today it is my passion for the subject that drives me to find ways that people understand.  When I teach anatomy or therapy I am very interactive and if someone doesn't get what I'm saying I will see that and respond.  I love the challenge of finding more and more ways to say something and I love it when the light bulb goes on for a student.  That's a real adrenaline hit for me.

My wife, Jordan, has been a great teacher’s teacher for me in this area.  She taught me the importance of using a variety of teaching techniques because different people have different ways of learning.  Some are visual learners, others auditory and others kinesthetic.  My courses constantly mix all 3 strategies of learning so that everyone gets it on a very deep level.  Plus, people learn more when they are having fun so we laugh a lot!
 
YM: In your opinion, what is the cause of the amazing EXPLOSION of Anusara Yoga in the last ten years?
MK:   I go back to the source.  John Friend has the most pure, contagious passion for what he does, more than anyone I have ever met.  He opens hearts, sets them on fire and puts them out in the world.  Hearts on fire affect other hearts.  The phenomenon of Anusara Yoga comes directly from the phenomenon of John Friend.  John is also incredibly professional in what he does.  He finds the absolute masters of whatever he pursues and brings them to the table.  For philosophy he recruited Dr. Douglas Brooks, Paul Muller-Ortega and Carlos Pomeda.  For meditation, Sally Kempton.  For Kirtan, Krisha Das, Benjy & Heather Wertheimer, Wah.  For asana, John is the master.  All the pieces come together in an amazing heart exploding package.  What's not to love?
 
YM: Where do you see the future of Yoga?
MK:   I am incredibly optimistic and excited about our yoga future.  Already you see it everywhere you look and tens of millions are practicing yoga just in the US.  The world needs yoga now.  It is the new response that has awakened in the immune system of humanity to heal the planet.  Early on in the development of Anusara John asked a group of us to visualize a future for Anusara.  I saw it growing to become an international phenomenon that would change the world for the better.  I even projected to a future time when it would move out into the galaxy.  Thinking small is not for me.
 
 
YM: What do you love? 
MK:  What a great question!  Everyone should contemplate and answer this for themselves.  Answering this is the quintessential gateway into your heart.  So... (deep breath)...I love life.  I love my wife Jordan.  I love my new baby boy (due Dec 19 but already kicking up a storm).  I love this practice of yoga and anatomy and sharing it with others.  Life is good.
 

YM: Where can we find out more about you?
MK:   My website is www.kirkyoga.com.  You can check the travel schedule for myself and my wife and learn about the anatomy and therapy trainings I will be offering.