Lately the name Tara Stiles has been popping up all over the place – in facebook posts, yoga journal blogs, and the New York Times to name a few! Until recently I had never heard of Ms. Stiles, but now I feel like I am being bombarded with information about her. The information, I must say, is very interesting and thought provoking, so I thought I would share a few thoughts of my own.
Tara Stiles is the owner of Strala Yoga in NoHo, New York City where she teaches about 12 out of the 37 classes offered each week. Ms Stiles keeps the options simple, calling her classes Strong, Relax, and Recover. The classes are also very affordable at only $10 each. She is also the author of the very popular yoga book, Slim Calm Sexy. Among her devoted followers are actress, model and fitness expert Jane Fonda, and Deepak Chopra, author of self-help and mind-body medicine books as well as the co-founder of the Chopra Center for Well Being in California.
So, what is the problem?
According to a recent New York Times article about this famous NYC yogi entitled Rebel Yoga, Tara “focuses on the physical and health aspects of yoga, not the spiritual or the philosophical. For traditionalists, this is heresy, reducing what they see as a way of life to just another gym class.” There seem to be many people in the yoga community who are up in arms about Ms Stiles approach to teaching yoga. They want to know, Where is the chanting? Where is the Sanskrit? Where is the yoga philosophy?
If these elements are removed from a class, is it still yoga? Some say no. But Tara Stiles says, “who made these rules?”
On one hand, I understand her approach: She says she wants to make yoga more accessible to everyone, even those who are not interested in the spiritual aspect of the practice. And to be fair, we have to acknowledge that not everyone out there wants to listen to Sanskrit chanting from Girish or Krishna Das or spend a few moments in the beginning of class chanting Om. Some people are simply looking for a good physical workout or a great class full of stretching and flexibility training. Jane Fonda said, “One of the things I like about her is her ability to make yoga accessible to people who might be scared of it or think it might be too esoteric.”
On the other hand, I understand the critics: Yoga is not just about the physical postures. It is a science, a philosophy, and a lifestyle. Yoga consists of many different parts, from moral and social guidelines, pranayama (breath work) and asanas (poses) to concentration and meditation. It is said that when a practitioner participates in all parts of yoga, their body mind and spirit will unite and they will lead a happy, fulfilled life. To participate in only one part of yoga is like fixing one piece of a broken clock and wondering why the clock doesn’t function properly. Jennilyn Carson, author of a popular yoga blog, YogaDork, says yoga is not “..a few minutes a day, it’s not fitness, it’s a lifestyle.”
So where do I stand in this debate, you may ask? Good question. I’m not quite sure myself. I believe yoga should be available to anyone who wants to practice it, whether they want to participate in the complete yoga lifestyle, or just take a class here and there, leaving the yoga on their mat when they leave. But in feeling this way it creates a bit of cognitive dissonance inside me, because I struggle with the idea of removing the whole of yoga and only seeing one part of it. I think underneath it all, I firmly believe that no matter why you are drawn to yoga, or what your reasons are for rolling out your mat and settling into a posture, yoga will do its job on you. Whether you know it or not, there are many things you need to learn from yoga, about yourself and about others, and you don’t have to be looking for these lessons to learn them. Everyone will come to yoga for a different reason, but regardless of that reason, yoga is still yoga, and it will effect you in the way it is meant to.
Regardless of how I feel about it all, I cannot deny the fact that for some unknown reason the universe has made sure Tara Stiles’ name has made it into my mind and my blog. So there is only one thing left to do now… hop on a NYC bound train and head over to Strala Yoga. I need to see what all the fuss is about for myself!
*Read the article on Tara Stiles? Taken a class at Strala? Share your opinions here!*
