aryanmehr

Aryanmehr’s path in the study of body and mind began before entering the YMAA educational system and has continued over the years through practice, study, and direct experience across a range of traditions and methods. Yoga and Qigong were among the first serious paths in this journey, while the study and practice of Neigong and Chinese internal traditions also began before his formal training within YMAA.

In martial arts, he began Judo as a child under the guidance of Amir Ghommi, the first Iranian judoka to compete in the Olympic Games. At the same time, he trained in wrestling under Abdollah Zare, named an FILA Coach of the Year in 2009, alongside coaches with extensive experience at the highest levels of the sport. These early experiences provided a practical foundation for understanding the body, structure, force, balance, and the relationship between movement and mind.

His subsequent training in Yang-style Taijiquan, Qigong, Neigong, Tuishou, and Taijiquan martial applications developed within the YMAA educational system. This path included training with Arash Rezaei in Taijiquan, Tuishou, and Taiji Jian, and gradually became a central part of his specialized practice alongside independent study and personal training.

Ongoing participation in seminars, courses, and training sessions with Grandmaster Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming has been an important part of the continued development and deepening of this path. Over the years, the teaching and experience of Michelle Lin and Bill Buckley have also contributed to this journey, along with participation in selected courses with Kathy Yang of TCM Time.

Alongside the Chinese internal arts, Yoga practice and study began many years before his introduction to Taijiquan and eventually led to teaching Yoga before his specialized path in Taijiquan took shape. Yoga practice continued alongside Taijiquan throughout the years and later led to obtaining a Level 2 Yoga teaching certification. This path subsequently expanded into specialized training in Viniyoga and Yoga Therapy. Teacher-training and Yoga Therapy programs at the American Viniyoga Institute under Gary Kraftsow, together with studies of Ayurveda, mantra, and Vedic sciences with Barzou Ghaderi, have been part of this development.

His approach to practice has never been limited to a single tradition or system. At one stage, seeking a more precise understanding of movement structure and biomechanics, he also studied foundational Aerobic Gymnastics with Mehdi Jalili. This experience, alongside years of martial arts, Yoga, and internal arts practice, contributed to a deeper practical and analytical understanding of the body and movement.

Throughout these years, his education within the YMAA Curriculum has continued alongside personal practice, independent study, and related research. Formal training has been one part of this path; continuous practice, observation, experience, and inquiry have remained equally integral to it.

This path has also been complemented by further training in Yumeiho Therapy at the official Yumeiho center in Iran, Wushu Taolu judging, Yoga judging, and continued study of the body, movement, and health.

Alongside his practical training and teaching, Aryanmehr has pursued a continuous and largely independent study of philosophy, mythology, linguistics, religious studies, and, particularly, the philosophical and intellectual traditions of the East since his early years. Over time, this path has expanded through focused studies in Eastern philosophy, Indian studies, Vedic texts and traditions, Daoist studies, Ayurveda, Advaita Vedanta, cognitive sciences, embodied learning, and cultural studies.

A significant part of this journey has developed through independent study and sustained self-directed learning, complemented by specialized instruction with scholars and teachers in these fields.

Within the field of Indian studies, he has completed courses in Sanskrit, as well as studies of the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata, ancient Indian history, the Ramayana, and Indian intellectual traditions and texts, under Dr. Alireza Esmaeilpour.

His studies of China have included courses and seminars on mysticism in ancient China, the metaphysics of written language in ancient China, and Liu Yiming’s perspective on metaphorical and non-metaphorical modes of expression, under Dr. Esmail Radpour.

Specialized studies in Iranian mythology and comparative mythology with Dr. Zhāleh Amuzegar, along with the course Myth and Healing under Dr. Abolqasem Esmaeilpour Motlaq and Dr. Bahman Namvar-Motlagh, have formed another part of this trajectory.

Together with more than two decades of professional experience in art, design, and diverse creative practices, these studies have contributed to an interdisciplinary perspective that does not treat art, culture, body, mind, and human experience as separate domains, but explores the relationships between them as a field of study and lived inquiry.

Before focusing professionally on teaching and research, Aryanmehr spent more than two decades working across design, design management, web design and development, project management, business development, creative team leadership, and international projects. His professional path began in design and communications and gradually expanded to include brand management, digital solutions, planning and management of interdisciplinary projects, and organizational development.

Over the years, working with specialized teams and organizations across different fields provided extensive experience in designing and building solutions, managing complex processes, connecting different areas of expertise, and turning ideas into executable projects.

Professional work in art and design also remained closely connected with management and business development, ranging from identity and communication design to cultural, artistic, media, and digital projects. This intersection of creative practice and management gradually expanded the role of design beyond producing a specific product or outcome, turning it into a way of observing, analyzing, organizing, and solving problems.

Today, this experience is integrated with years of education, practice, and research in the study of body and mind, and continues to inform the design of educational programs, development of structures, project management, and international collaboration.

• Director & Official Representative of YMAA Iran
• Business Development Director & Board Member, YMAA International
• Taijiquan, Qigong & Yoga Teacher
• Researcher of Internal Traditions & Cultural Systems

Teaching along this path is grounded in three foundations: tradition, experience, and inquiry.

Tradition provides continuity and a framework for knowledge. Experience makes direct understanding possible and allows what is learned to be tested through practice. Inquiry creates space for observation, questioning, and continual reflection.

Within this approach, movement is not simply an object of practice. It can become a way of exploring the quality of presence, the relationship between body and mind, patterns of perception, and the ways we meet life.

The aim is not to transmit a collection of techniques, but to create the conditions for study, practice, and the cultivation of a way of living.

Background & Foundations →