About Wild and Physical

A bit about me, Kester Hynds:

I have practised and studied various different movement disciplines over the years which inform my approach to physical health, exercise and mindset.

I began training in judo aged seven and after my local club closed down I dabbled in various different martial arts over the next few years (Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do, Kung Fu, Tai Chi, to name a few...) before ultimately settling on Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) the "Art of Eight Limbs". After few years I realised that hitting (and getting hit) wasn't for me and cast my net wider in search of movement disciplines... Although I still love pad drills and hitting the bag whenever I get the chance!

In 2012 I took a two-week dance summer school at Trinity Laban and started training in aerial circus, tumbling, and handstands at NCCA (then known as Circus Space). It was a big shift in awareness as to what my body was capable of and also what I enjoyed doing... Like many people I had been under the misapprehension that to practice gymnastic and acrobatic movement you needed to have started when you were a kid. I also began a regular yoga practice in 2012 — although at the time I considered it a remedial activity to support my aerial circus training! I was training intensely and I even managed to squeeze in some cross-fit and a bit of gym work on the side!

Then in 2014 I had a really horrible bicycle accident. I suffered a right sterno-clavicular dislocation and broken jaw. I went from training multiple times a week to being pretty much immobile... As well as pretty quiet due to my jaw being braced shut!

After the accident I had to avoid high-impact activities so I turned towards yoga as a path to healing and recovery. At this point yoga became the bedrock of my life and I started to practice 5 or 6 times a week. Initially drawn to Rocket yoga and Vinyasa flow I then started to practice Ashtanga Yoga. The various Ashtanga series are challenging but the tradition demands you commit entire sequences to memory (with each movement linked to an in- or out-breath) which makes it a very meditative practice. It is bit like playing a piece of music from memory. Under the traditional Mysore-style practice students enter the studio and undertake their yoga practice in silence and complete it in their own time, whilst a teacher moves around the room offering assistance and adjustments.

In 2015 I sat my first 10-day Vipassana meditation course which began to shift my internal awareness and has also hugely influenced my yoga practice as well as many other facets of my life. I now try and sit a 10-day course once a year if possible 🧘

After maintaining a regular yoga practice my body began to fix itself and get even stronger than before 🤸‍ and began to I practice aerial circus, dance, and movement training once more! In 2018 I decided it was time to go deeper and went to Bali to undertake take my first yoga teaching qualification.

I now teach and practice yoga regularly and continue to study and acquire further teaching qualifications. I have found value and benefit in many different styles including Rocket Yoga (derived by Larry Schultz from Ashtanga and which has vastly influenced many modern yoga methods) and Dharma Yoga (a dynamic style in the Hatha-Raja tradition).

In 2022 I established Wild Soul yoga and movement with my partner Kasia and we teach regular classes every week.

I continue to embrace a wide range of movement disciplines including body-weight exercise and calisthenics, gymnastics and acrobatics, martial arts, dance, strength and resistance training, rock climbing/bouldering.