In the last month (July of 2014) Desi Springer and I introduced Bowspring to Asia for the first time. The response to Bowspring in Korea and Japan was highly positive, where we spent a total of 3 weeks. The Asian hatha yoga students were very open to learning something new and different than the postural alignment that they had previously been taught by their yoga teachers. Over 95% of the students, who took our Bowspring weekend workshops in Seoul, Tokyo and Osaka, want to continue practicing the bow-spring alignment and deepening their studies in Bowspring as a new, healthy lifestyle practice.
All of the Asian students who registered for the weekend events knew very little about Bowspring, but they had faith in the testimony of their local teachers who fully supported Desi and me. Young-Ho Kim, Erika Moon of Inside Yoga in Seoul and Franfurt, and Kenta Nakano of Hot40Yoga studios in Japan were our main sponsors in Korea and Japan. The outstanding interpreters for our Korean and Japanese events were Irene Tong and Joo-eun Kim in Seoul, and Maya Hayashi in Tokyo and Osaka.
Desi and I presented Bowspring and the alignment step-by-step so that it could be effectively translated into the local language and culture. Through excellent translation, and high levels of studentship, first-time Asian students of Bowspring were able to experience immediate benefits of the bow-spring – increased sense of empowerment, the alleviation of chronic low back and hip pain, in addition to the clearing of chronic shoulder and neck issues over a period of years. The students first noted an increased lightness in their bodies arising from the balanced toning on the back side of the bow-spring posture.
The Korean and Japanese students were remarkable in how quickly they learned the Bowspring alignments. In just a matter of a few classes over a weekend, the students shifted their yoga practice to a whole new level. So, they are now excited for more Bowspring, and we will support them with online media until we return to Korea and Japan next Spring 2015.
