Tara the rule-breaking yogi
LUMUT: As she curved her body backwards, her face full of concentration, the first light of the morning sun illuminated a shadow of her fit and slender physique.
The chatter of monkeys and chirping of birds, which echoed in the lush greenery of the upscale Pangkor Laut Resort, did little to disrupt her yoga class, held on the resort’s helipad.
With the crystal blue sea in the background and coconut fronds swaying to the gentle breeze, the attractive woman deftly went through her yoga movements while her 50-odd “students” gaped at her and attemped to follow her instructions.
Their instructor is none other than New York City-based Tara Stiles, 36, model-turned-founder of the modern and easy-going yoga brand, Strala.
Strala is a form of yoga that focuses on movements, instead of all those intricate poses usually associated with yoga, and the exercises are aimed at enabling practitioners to feel good about themselves and attain that mindbody connection.
Dubbed “Yoga Rebel” by the New York Times, Stiles’ approaches to movement, meditation, exercise, awareness, nutrition and everyday well-being have been described by many as “relatable”.
Stiles was at Pangkor Laut Resort, which is located on an island near Pulau Pangkor, recently as part of a Wellness Week 2015 programme, organised by Reebok Malaysia, and Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines.
The amiable Stiles, who is also an ambassador for Reebok, started her yoga workshop at Pangkor Laut Resort with this declaration: “There are no rules in this class!” And, this writer relieved to hear that, being the complete novice that she was.
The one-hour session was a funfilled one, with the participants - and the celebrity instructor herself - remaining jovial even when they could not get a pose correct. When it ended, everyone felt energised and happy, and could not wait for the next session by Stiles. The reason Stiles introduced this “rules-free” yoga in 2008 was to make yoga more accessible to the people, no matter what their fitness levels or backgrounds were. Best of all, they did not have to subscribe to any particular religious sentiment to participate in Strala yoga.
Strala is totally divorced from the yoga practice’s religious roots, and it focuses on improving the health and well-being of the practitioner.
At a typical Strala yoga class, there is no spiritual talk and no chanting of mantras. Why, Stiles even eschews the Sanskrit terms, which are used to describe the various poses, and does not encourage participants to address their instructor as “guru” or “master”.
“In Strala, we have ‘guides’ and ‘people’. Not teachers and students. We’re not preaching, nor teaching. We’re guiding people to connect with themselves and feel great, which leads to a more relaxing yoga (session) and more peace of mind,” she explained.
Stiles said there was a time in the United States when many Christians were not keen to take up yoga, thinking that it was against their religion.
Even Muslims all around the world felt the same way and were not comfortable doing yoga exercises due to their perception that it was linked to Hindu religious practices.
“Each type of yoga has its own individual goals, but to me yoga is not supposed to be about religion... in this modern era, there are so many varieties and styles of yoga.
“The beauty of yoga can be misunderstood, especially when you have yoga teachers or ‘gurus’ insisting that you do what they tell you to do and force you to listen to them... it is usually very much about them (the gurus) instead of the people,” she told reporters, who were invited to cover the Wellness Week 2015 programme at Pangkor Laut Resort.
Stiles, who is married to Strala co-founder and guide Michael Taylor, 41, was introduced to yoga by her ballet teacher when she was 16 and she immediately fell in love with it.
“I grew up doing all kinds of yoga, but none of my friends were doing yoga as they felt they were not flexible enough.
“I really wanted to get them into yoga and that’s when I decided to create something much more fun, softer, easy-going and gave people much more freedom,” she said.
Thus, came about Strala. And, while traditional yoga exercises are done amidst calm music, Stiles likes guiding her classes to the tune of upbeat music.
What does the term Strala mean? It means “to radiate light” in Swedish, said Stiles, adding that it was also the abbreviation for strength, balance and awareness.
Two decades have passed since Stiles got hooked to yoga and she still finds it a captivating and fitting fitness regimen for her.
Does she attribute her slender physique and radiant complexion to the goodness of yoga?
“Physically, it’s mostly yoga which I get to do all the time, but I also follow a healthy lifestyle by eating food that’s very close to nature such as non-processed foods, plants, vegetables and fruits,” she said.
She also explained that yoga provided a good cardiovascular workout and helped with body balancing as well. It also boosts the body’s immune system, lowers blood pressure and reduces insomnia and stress.
“The main benefit is that you will feel amazing mentally and physically, and really feel connected to how you feel, so you become aware of what works for you or doesn’t work for you.
“You start to train your brain to eat better. Your life gets better, your fears start to dissolve, and health-wise, your immunity goes way up and you get super healthy,” she gushed.
Stiles operates three yoga studios, with the main one in New York City, a partner studio in Seattle and a recently-opened studio in Singapore.
Over 1,000 instructors are now conducting Strala yoga in partner studios, clubs and gymnasiums in 15 countries.
Stiles has authored three books titled ‘Slim Calm Sexy Yoga’, ‘Yoga Cures’ and ‘Make Your Own Rules Diet’. Her next book is expected to be out this November and it is a collection of healthy recipes from people she had met all around the world, including Malaysia and Japan. - Bernama