Hi Friends,

Happy New Year! I’m writing this from our downtown apartment serenaded by some guy selling blow horns to celebrate 2013. He’s been tooting his own horn for several hours now outside our kitchen window. Hopefully he’s sold a few to some excited New Year celebrators.

We’ll be headed over to Strala in a bit to celebrate in our own way, our tradition since 2011, ring in the new year with 2 hours of Strala STRONG & RELAX, a good ol combo we jokingly call STRALAX. Creating space for the new year by practicing with 80 of the Strala gang sounds pretty perfect.

Ma and Pa Stiles are in town too and have been holding their own the last few days in some sardine like packed sweaty classes.

Strala means to radiate light in Swedish, a happy synchronicitous moment after creating the name out of the ideas of Strength, Awareness, and Balance, ideas we can benefit and expand from. When we cultivate strength with regular practice of ease, sharpening our attention and allowing the movement that exists in balance, we can create some pretty interesting experiences on and off the mat. What we’re really after is creating expansive, capable lives, and that begins with creating space.

I wish for you this new year that you may have the space to feel safe, grounded, expansive, and at ease. When we have space, we become calm and focused, and out of that calm, even more space opens for expansive awesome-ness.

Hard things become easy. We are able to accomplish tasks with grace, and have space left over for our mind to travel inward. We become efficient, energized, and radiant from the inside out.

How to get there? It’s possible for everyone. Trust me. It’s possible for you. It’s a practice and simply requires you to show up and practice.

1) Cultivate a daily movement practice. Whether you practice yoga, tai chi, (Strala is like tai chi), basketball, running, or something else, it’s important to use your body daily. Move around, get it working for you, get strong and energized.

2) Meditate daily. You can do this right within your yoga practice, we do with Strala. It’s also nice to have a space at home where you practice meditation, even if for 5 minutes a day, start it, pay attention to your breath. You won’t regret it. Space will open.

3) Get interested in what you’re interested in. It’s important to give attention to your interests, whether they are your career, or hobby. Doing the activities and learning in the field of your interest is essential to feed your inspiration.

4) Make food for yourself every day. The more you are interested in what you eat, the healthier and more energized you’ll become. Get in the kitchen, chop some veggies and create your own meals. You’ll have fun!

5) Recruit the ones you love. Cooking, yoga, meditation, and all of these fun activities are even more fun with friends, family, and co-workers. It’s fun to be surrounded by people that are interested in promoting healthy and active lifestyle. Get everyone involved and you’ll be expanding the circles you’re helping!

Have fun!

Happy 2013!

Enjoy a Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLvic6rEDdM[/youtube]

xo Tara

About Strala Yoga Training

Strala combines the movement and healing wisdom of tai chi with the form vocabularies of yoga, tai chi, qigong, and Traditional Chinese and Japanese Medicine, to help people release stress, move easily through challenge, and live radiantly inspiring lives.

It begins with a mindset, that says our best way to get where we’re going is to feel good along the way. It also works miracles for whole health, helping us to find ease in our bodies and minds, and create the right conditions both for healing and optimal performance.

In our Strala Yoga Training Courses, you learn to shape your destiny on every level that counts, from your psychology, chemistry and neurology, to your chromosomes and even gene expression. The unique set of skills you develop – for connecting with yourself and others, unblocking your energy, healing what needs healing and accomplishing challenge with ease – uncovers your ability to create the life you want, and be an inspiring leader to the people around you.

Who’s What’s and When’s of Strala Yoga Training