Tara Stiles - Strala Yoga: Be Strong, Focused Ridiculously Happy from the Inside Out

praise for

strala yoga

Radiant well-being is a practice, not a destination. And theres no better guide than my dear friend Tara Stiles. In her new book Strala Yoga, she shares a gentle process of meditation in motion to help turn on our relaxation response and ignite our most awakened selves. Get your Strala on to simmer in the good, healing, and soulful work.

KRIS CARR
New York Times best-selling author

Tuning into intuition and gaining awareness through the moving meditation, along with approaching challenges with ease, are a dash of the magic ingredients that make up the special sauce of Strala Yoga. You get more with less effort. Everyone wants that.

GABRIELLE BERNSTEIN
New York Times best-selling author of Miracles Now

Our sense of connection to our true inner self comes naturally with the easygoing process of Strala Yoga. This is the yoga revolution that readily brings spiritual practice into our everyday lives.

DR. RUDY TANZI
New York Times best-selling author of Super Brain and Super Genes

Practicing Stralas principles of ease and natural movement helps us not only become strong and balanced in our body and mind, but also maintain a deep connection to accomplishing challenges with ease in our lives.

JASON WACHOB
founder & CEO, mindbodygreen and author of Wellth

Strala Yoga is a wonderful practice to release physical and emotional tension and come back to our energized, balanced, happy state. I love attending Strala classes to move freely, gain physical capability, and enjoy the process of moving how it feels good in my body.

JESSICA ORTNER
New York Times best-selling author of
The Tapping Solution for Weight Loss and Body Confidence

MAKE YOUR OWN RULES COOKBOOK:
More Than 100 Simple, Healthy Recipes
Inspired by Family and Friends Around the World

MAKE YOUR OWN RULES DIET

SLIM CALM SEXY YOGA:
210 Proven Yoga Moves for Mind/Body Bliss

YOGA CURES:
Simple Routines to Conquer
More Than 50 Ailments and Live Pain-Free

Copyright 2016 by Tara Stiles

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com

Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au

Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk

Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty.), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za

Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast Books: www.raincoast.com

Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

book design

Charles McStravick

Photo Credits

Photos on pages

Yoga routine photos courtesy of Thomas Hoeffgen.

All other photos courtesy of Tara Stiles

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress

Tradepaper ISBN: 978-1-4019-4812-2

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1st edition, August 2016

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FOR CHRISTINE ZILKA & PENNY,
WHO REMIND US THAT
EASE OF BODY AND MIND
DOES WONDERS FOR
PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING.

contents

PART ONE
MOVE WITH EASE

PART TWO
RADIATE THROUGH MOVEMENT

PART THREE
DAILY PROGRAMS

Do you want to feel fantastic? Of course you do! We all do. Luckily, there is a way to live each moment of your life feeling strong, energized, inspired, calm, focused, and ridiculously happy from the inside out. And thats what Im here to talk about.

What Ive found, through my own personal exploration, is that tension is the basis of a life that feels out of whack. Its what makes you tired and irritable. Sad and stuck. Frustrated and angry. Its even what makes you get that mediocre meh feeling. Life doesnt have to be terrible to be not fantastic.

For years, my life was fine... but not amazing. I spent ages digging around, trying to find my purpose, achieve something, and find meaning. And during this time, I realized that I was carrying around bucket loads of tension. I thought I was chill, easygoing, an attractor for all the things I desired, but I seemed to never get what I wanted. Why wasnt everything showing up for me? I worked hard. I followed the rules. But my efforts werent adding up to results. What was I doing wrong?

After attempting to work through what was holding me back, something graduallyand then suddenlyshifted in my body. I realized that I needed to use my energy in a more effective way. I didnt know how to do that, but I knew I needed to change. I felt an inexplicable sense of urgency to take myself off my current path and find a better way. I just wasnt sure how.

After years of play and exploration, I discovered that the better way was a path of ease. Not the easiest path, but a path where we approach any situation from a place of calm, wise ease. With ease, we can let go of the tension that squashes our intuition, physical and mental ability, and creativity. We are able to let go of the blocks that keep us stranded in one place. We experience freedom and space.

The discovery of ease was a long process, but it led to the creation of Strala Yogawhich is something I will be eternally grateful for. Strala is a philosophy of movement that takes you back to yourself. It isnt about strict rules or sets of poses. Its about feeling and intuition and natural movement. Its all about the how of moving instead of the what. The classes of Strala focus on moving how it feels good for you instead of on moving into certain poses. They are about lingering where it feels good to linger and breathing your way through difficult moments instead of forcing yourself into rigid poses. Strala classes are about the freedom to move in your own waywithout the pressure of rules.