by Tara Stiles | Oct 22, 2013 | Blog
Yoga can bring people together. It can also divide people. Yoga can make people radiantly healthy and happy. It can also make people less healthy and less capable in their lives. For people to come together - to be healthy, happy, capable creators in their own lives - we need to believe that we can come together and create together as beautifully unique individuals. One size doesn't fit all, and we don't need rules and discipline to take this rebellion out of us! Diversity is a good thing. Making anyone believe that there is a single correct way to… by Tara Stiles | Oct 20, 2013 | Blog
We don't lead headstands at Strala. This is partly because safety is not so basic as maintaining "correct" alignment. Of course the vertebrae move coming in and out of the pose, and when that movement is sudden, the force on a rather vulnerable area of your spine is multiplied substantially, in line with our favorite old high school physics equation: F = ma. Sometimes, sudden movements are tough to avoid. People fall. Sometimes, people are quite eager to be somewhere other than where they are! They jump. Either way, our structure isn't well designed for impact and load-bearing here. You… 
by Tara Stiles | Oct 18, 2013 | Blog
Hi Friends, Intentions are a powerful thing. They exists and direct our lives whether we are consciously making them or moving along without them. When we are clear about our intent day-to-day, weekly, yearly, or even for our whole life, we can anchor in the seat of our intuition and the efforts we put out in our life become clear, direct, and powerful. I hope you join me in a commitment to 30 days of Intents beginning today. Whether you intent to feel connected, practice yoga, meditate daily, or see the good in others, watch what happens in your day… by Tara Stiles | Oct 17, 2013 | Blog
Hey yoga teachers! The best use of your time is probably not in teaching people to do poses. Yoga has tremendous potential. It can stand alongside Western medicine as a legitimate path to health. It can replace Western pharmaceuticals as a successful path to happy! It can be unrivaled as a path to an inspired life. You have tremendous potential, to health, to happy, and to inspiring the people around you. Start by inspiring yourself. Use your yoga to get into you, rather than into poses. Hey everyone! The best use of your yoga time is… by Tara Stiles | Oct 15, 2013 | Blog
I just watched a video of a "yoga teacher" thumping from headstand to wheel, then lurching back to headstand. Sensible comments question safety. "Yoga teacher" asserts that done in "correct alignment" this is quite safe. She'll even be posting an explanation of this alignment soon in Yoga Journal (a publication that states you must have a guru to progress in yoga). Of course, she's wrong. And this isn't unique to her. She's just doing what is much too common in the yoga community now: pushing and struggling against her body and her mind to get into poses. This needs…