Aaron Kron

I had never planned to teach yoga when I  started practicing, but at some point that  idea began to sprout in my mind and take  root. Toward the end of 2015 I decided to  sign up for an Ashtanga teacher training with  Tim Miller. Three days before that training  was scheduled to start I was riding my  bicycle back to work, lost balance and took  a pretty serious tumble. I heard a loud crack  as I hit the pavement, felt rushing fluids  going to my lower right leg, and the first  thing I thought was “hmmmm…I wonder if  this will be okay in the next couple days..” I  spent three months in a full leg cast, and the  number months or so after the cast came off  regaining strength and mobility in that leg. It  was a very challenging and humbling time.  I was, however, determined not to abandon  my Sadhana, and I maintained an upper body  based and seated asana practice, and also  began to explore meditation. Later that year  I attended my first yoga workshops, both  with powerful Ashtanga women, namely  Alexandra Santos and Chandana Bhowmick.  2017 was my yoga year! Not willing to give  up on my teacher training with Tim Miller, I  signed up for the exact same course again.  This time I managed to avoid breaking any  bones and got a solid dose of Timji’s tough  love! Immediately on the heels of that trip I  began a two month 200 hour YTT with Agnes  Balawejder Busch in Placencia, Belize. And  in the midst of that training I flew to Dallas  for a weekend workshop with the one and  only Mark Robberds. I did not realise then  the profound influence he would have on  the way I now approach asana practice.  Later that same year I hosted Jani Jaatinen  (Gokulacandra Das) for a weekend of  workshops, and I also met for the first time  Yogi Charu. Yogi Charu has been my guru  since that time, and I have learned almost  everything I know about kriyas, meditation  and subtle practices through him

It was a persistently cranky lower back  which set me up on my first date with yoga.  I vividly remember arriving at the home of  a Belgian woman, completely unprepared  for what awaited me. My first experience  with yoga came in the form of the primary  series of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga. It kicked  my ass. I was sore in places I did not know  it was possible to be sore. And I loved it,  not only for the physicality of it (at the age  of 23 I thought yoga was only for girls), but  also for the deep sense of calm that comes  with performing ujjayi pranayama for an  hour and a half while moving from one  posture to the next.

The way I teach these days is to meet people  where they’re at. In classes with people  of various levels I offer modifications that  either increase challenge or make postures  more accessible. My style tends to be  slower, more traditional Hatha, though my  Ashtanga roots are pretty plain in some  of my sequencing. Rather than speed  through postures I focus on alignment and  breath. I also make time for pranayama and  meditation toward the end of class.

2020 was the year of subtle practice. I  had the good fortune of doing multiple  meditation teacher trainings with my  teacher, Yogi Charu, and more importantly,  to make meditation a part of my everyday  life and practice. Lockdown presented its  challenges, but consistent practice and the  ability to maintain a strong connection to  nature helped immensely.

Find Aaron Krohn on the Global Yoga Collective You at: theglobalcollectiveyou.com @globalcollectiveyou