MIU Alum Brings Yoga to Inner-City Wilmington
Any mention of Jason Aviles on the Maharishi International University campus will have even the quietest students gushing about how enthusiastic, vibrant, positive, and relatable he is.
Jason’s happiness is infectious, so I wasn’t surprised to hear that he had not only been named one of the top 40 under 40 professionals in Delaware but had also received a “Business Brand Award” on behalf of the Mayor’s Office Of Economic Development for his company FLYOGI.
Jason and his mother with the Business Brand Award on behalf of the Mayor’s Office Of Economic Development.
Jason grew up in the Bronx. “Being exposed to such an environment,” he says, “you see the toll that certain cultures can take on our young adults when they don’t have the proper guidance or they haven’t been exposed to knowledge that can help them live a better quality of life.”
When Jason was introduced to meditation and yoga, at MIU, he experienced the profound impact that these techniques had on his personal growth. “I felt like it was my responsibility to give that back.”
Upon graduating from MIU, Jason decided to set up a yoga studio in Wilmington, Delaware, a town that was ranked third on the FBI’s annual list of most violent cities. FLYOGI’s mission is to bring yoga to all people “no matter shape, size, gender, or profession.”
For Jason, the idea of a yogi is much more than someone with the ability to contort their body. “I like to define a yogi as someone who has the courage and conviction to say yes to themselves and who decides to uphold themselves to being the best version of themselves every moment that they’re living,” he explains.
In a town where 80% of his students have never been exposed to yoga, Jason believes that people can relate to him as a spokesperson for spirituality “because it was so different coming from a young African-American male.” “I felt like the urban world was being left out of the yogi world,” he continues “so FLYOGI is allowing those two worlds to coexist.”
In regards to their top 40 under 40 professionals award, Chain’s Inc. explains that, “With the rise of violence in Delaware, our children need to see that there are people from their community setting a positive example.” Not only does Jason embody this message, but he is also enjoying the success that comes with owning his own company.
“Business is an outlet, a platform which allows you to expose and facilitate what it is you truly have a love and passion for.” Jason reflects back on MIU’s successful entrepreneur class where every day different businesspeople came into the classroom to give advice and answer questions.
The “exposure to these people’s stories really gives you the inspiration to say ‘I can be an entrepreneur in my own way’… because there was a diversity in these people and their businesses and their ideas and their projects and their journeys.”
When asked what advice he would give to future entrepreneurs, Jason explains that the most effective way to relate to another person, no matter where they come from, is to establish a relationship with his own inner heart value.
When we “come in contact with the connections within ourselves it helps us build bridges to other people’s connections within themselves and that has been the biggest, absolutely the biggest, key to all of my success.”
Stay up to date with Jason by checking out his Instagram.