by Tara Stiles | Nov 22, 2019 | Be, Blog, Heal
Hi Friends, We’re taught our whole lives to work hard and push through the pain to get anywhere good – be it the next career level or a stronger body. It’s easy to end up in a cycle of stress and exhaustion. A shift in activities and priorities will get you on track. When we spend too much time bathed in stress, our chemical wiring gets even more frazzled and our new natural state sets to strung-out. When you’re in frazzled state, your body simmers in the stress hormone cortisol, a breeding ground for even more stress, wear and tear,… 
by Tara Stiles | Apr 3, 2018 | Be, Blog, Heal, Move
There's a problem with "Be here now." It's not really possible. In particular, it's not possible if where we want to be isn't here. And even more, it's not possible if we don't really like here all that much. After all, that's the whole point of why we're trying to get someplace else. It's better there than here. But somehow we're asked to stop trying to get where we think we should be, and instead get into where we are. It's complicated. So, this has to do with a bit more than yoga or tai chi, running or climbing, or whatever our fitness and wellbeing practices might… 
by Tara Stiles | Mar 21, 2018 | Be, Blog, Heal, Move
Strala combines the movement wisdom of tai chi with the forms of yoga, tai chi, qigong, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, as a way to help people release stress, heal, and move more easily through all kinds of challenge. As a result, Strala is used all around the world, in a wide variety of contexts - from bringing ease into everyday life, training for professional athletes, healing of disease, injury and pain, to finding connection, creativity, and inspiration in the work place. It's easy to get started here, and most of what we do is free for everyone. As… 
by Tara Stiles | Mar 21, 2018 | Blog, Heal, Move
For athletes, both yoga and tai chi forms can be useful cross-training, as a way to connect your whole body together and move more efficiently. You develop increased energy for greater levels of challenge, so this kind of training is useful for substantial gains in mobility, agility, and endurance. Practice here can also decrease the likelihood of injury, and support faster healing when injuries do happen. You can even work your way out of chronic injury and pain, where traditional approaches haven't worked so well. Following are some resources to get you started. Background a) Strala program and approach for athletes… 
by Tara Stiles | Jan 4, 2018 | Be, Blog, Heal, Move
Bruises, strains and sprains come up a lot. Could be from a fall, over-stretching, or just regular everyday life. So what's the best way to heal when these injuries keep sticking around? What's the best thing to do when you're trying everything - therapies, exercises, treatments, specialists, yoga, the whole kitchen sink - and it kind of helps. But it kind of doesn't. The injury is still there, making a home in you. This is so common. And we might have a way out that's common to all of us. I've been hearing about sacrum injuries quite a lot lately,… 
by Tara Stiles | Dec 15, 2017 | Blog, Heal, Move
"If everyone where I come from thinks touch only happens from a teacher when I'm doing something wrong, should we avoid connecting through touch?" This came up in our online training group recently, and it's such a good and common question. As a start, always do what's in you, what you're comfortable doing. This is the most important thing. When you're comfortable people feel this. More is possible from here. When you're uncomfortable, people feel this too, and less is possible. Forming a positive connection with the people in your class - and with people in general -…