by Tara Stiles | Sep 10, 2013 | Blog
Hope you are having a great week so far. I've been lucky recently, to spend several weeks in New York, with the Strala gang, practicing, leading, and hanging out with everyone. Strala is our laboratory for moving with ease, getting to hang out with people over time, and connecting and expanding from the inside out. Strala is my favorite place to be. I get told a lot by visitors from other cities and countries that it's so rare that a yoga teacher who has been teaching for so long still leads classes, and they are surprised to see me on… by Tara Stiles | Sep 9, 2013 | Blog
Q: How long can you hold plank pose? A: 3 hours, at least. On each hand. We sometimes get "expert trainer" questions like this. I usually make it a little light, by saying something like "3 hours on each hand" with a straight face. Followed by "Why, how long did you hold it in your training?" Then we get talking. I follow up with how we move, and how we practice to do hard things easily, by keeping relaxed movability in your body, and a lot of ease in your mind. You can hold a plank as long as… by Tara Stiles | Sep 8, 2013 | Blog
I've been reflecting a lot on how we spend our time and what we choose to pursue. Helping people be at ease and move with ease through Strala - in their bodies, minds, and lives - has clearly presented itself in the forefront of my energy. It's where I should be spending my efforts. I've seen how moving with ease - permission to find your own way and make your own rules - with calm, focused attention, has put me in the center of my own energy. It has allowed me to be capable in my own life.… 
by Tara Stiles | Sep 8, 2013 | Blog
Yoga injuries shouldn't exist. They happen when you force, push, and slam your body into a pose, and stop feeling into you. Yoga is a practice that should heal the body and mind, not hurt it. Too often, yoga injuries become normal, and a badge of honor on the road to a "deeper practice." What a bummer! Of course, it doesn't need to be this way. As long as yoga is about getting into a pose, instead of feeling your way into yourself, injuries will happen. Sensible people who haven't begun yoga - and see all of the… by Tara Stiles | Sep 7, 2013 | Blog
I don't care if you can stand on your hands. It doesn't matter. What's interesting is, what happens when you try? What happens when you're in one of those rooms full of other people who are trying? Do you explore easily around what you Can do in your body? Are you happy for the explore time? Is this suddenly the best feeling time ever to wiggle around and get into you?? Or do you really want it to be over. Are you embarrassed or frustrated? Annoyed or bored? Do you head right for child's pose? Wherever you…