Getting started

ByAaron Fleming April 24, 2015

In the 2nd chapter of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Patanjali states that in order to get started in your practice one should follow the path of Kriya Yoga. Kriya Yoga is the yoga of action and is comprised of three parts: Tapas (burning zeal / excitement), Svadhyaya (self-study) and Isvara Pranidhana (surrender of the results of your practice to a higher power / God). The three tiers of Kriya Yoga help us to eradicate our afflictions so that we can meditate more easily and therefore approach a state of Samadhi.

Turn your world upside down!
ByAaron Fleming May 10, 2018

Inversions are a big part of the Iyengar Yoga method. There’s headstand, shoulderstand, handstand, forearm balance — just to name a few. But how do you get started learning these poses? And are they safe to practice? If you want your inversion questions answered come to the Inversions Basics target class! This class is good…

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His end is our beginning
ByAaron Fleming November 12, 2014November 12, 2014

As I write this it has been almost three months since B.K.S. Iyengar died. He passed away on August 20, 2014. Since his death there have been many great articles written in tribute to his life’s work. Teachers from all over writing testimonials about how his work has changed their lives and in turn the…

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The Five Yamas
ByAaron Fleming February 13, 2015

This week in class we went over the five Yamas which are the moral injunctions that a yoga practitioner should follow. They lead to right living. The five Yamas are: Ahimsa: non-violence / non-harming Satya: truthfulness Asteya: non-stealing Brahmacarya: chastity Aparigraha: non-hoarding, without posessions The Yamas are often thought of guide posts to help the…

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Learn to practice at home
ByAaron Fleming February 5, 2018February 5, 2018

1.13 tatra sthitau yatnah abhyasah Practice is the steadfast effort to still these fluctuations. In this yoga sutra “these fluctuations” are the movements of consciousness. We experience the movements in our consciousness when our thoughts are bouncing around. We have a thought which sparks another thought which turns into another thought, and so on and…

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Sticking with it
ByAaron Fleming October 29, 2013

One of the many reasons I love teaching is because the students challenge me to clarify my thoughts. Sometimes the answers to their questions come easily – like “should the legs be straight in Trikonasana”? The answer is yes. Didn’t take much brain power to come up with that answer. But every once in awhile…

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Who cares about interruptions. Practice anyway!
ByAaron Fleming June 25, 2019June 25, 2019

Last week I was practicing at home and settling in for Savasana (usually the last pose where you lay down and just try to be still and quiet). My two year old, who had been mostly playing quietly in the room with me, comes over and begins stroking my eye lids and lips with her…

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Yoga: It’s all in my headSeptember 20, 2022
When I started practicing yoga, in 1999, I was young and wanted to jump around on my mat. I loved the way the poses made me feel. When one of...
Physical vs. mental obstaclesMarch 22, 2022
Are you experiencing an obstacle that is keeping you from practicing? Is your obstacle physical, mental intellectual or spiritual? And how can you know which one it is? Over the...
It’s better to be stiffFebruary 18, 2022
A vast majority of people, even those of us who are not that stiff, are stiff to some extent. We ALL have tight spots but some of us have to...
Mind Improvement, part 3May 4, 2021
I have been writing a bit in other articles (and this one too) about how the pandemic has impacted my practice. Specifically, the stress of the pandemic has impacted my...
Mind Improvement, part 2February 25, 2021
Back in December of last year I wrote that I thought the stress of the pandemic had shown that my mindset needed improving. I am writing now to give an...

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