‘Wherever You Go, There You Are’

Yoga rebel with a cause, laughter addict and a fountain of energy, Tara Stiles can be easily credited for being the coolest and the freshest face of yoga.

She bounced into the room with a beaming smile as if she had been struck by the first rays of sunlight. Tara Stiles had arrived from New York just the day before, but this long-limbed yoga addict, and instructor to the likes of Deepak Chopra, looked as if she belonged here. A few videos, quotes and a whole lot of yoga poses later, we sat down to have a chat about her philosophy of seizing the moment, her style sensibilities and her affair with everything else that ties in with happiness. And, of course, one constant that layered every second was her calming smile.

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India bound

This is Tara’s first trip to India, the mother ship of yoga. What with all the asanas, the namaskars and the East-ness of yoga, one would have thought she would have made the trip here long back. Au contraire, she says, “I never wanted to be one of those American girls who comes to India and thinks ‘I’ll live in an ashram and feel really good about myself’. It’s so Eat, Pray, Love. It’s so clichéd. I knew that if I went to India, it will be to help people or to do something useful.” There is no talk of ashrams, sacred Hindu scripts, meditating atop a mountain, chants or chakras in her style of yoga; it’s all speak-easy and main street. So refreshing, and so real!

Boho beginnings

Raised in a farm town in Illinois with lots of land and an all-American lifestyle, Tara found herself going into the woods and meditating. “I would sit there, cross-legged, and start to breathe, meditate and see a lot of colours. I felt really connected with a growing feeling that we are all here to help. At the time, I didn’t know what this was. Much later, when I met Deepak Chopra and Rudy Tanzi, they told me all about it. Anyway, I went to a ballet school and yoga was part of my programme. I saw the yoga teacher sitting there and smiling and I realised—hey, this is what I was doing,” exclaims Tara. Upon the realisation that she wasn’t crazy and that there were a lot of people in the world doing this, Tara moved ahead to learn all that she could from different yoga instructors and Strala was born.

Strala-la-la-la

Squishing of the words strength and balance was the drift behind the name Strala. It was later that Tara found out that Strala also meant ‘radiating light’ in Swedish. Then, her mom pointed out that Strala seemed like a musical play on her name—Tara Stiles. All in all, Strala Yoga earned the definition of a movement-based system that ignites freedom. “My background in dance really changed the way I thought about yoga. It wasn’t about a performance, it wasn’t about yoga being rigid movements and intimidating, but more about being able to connect with your body and move as it pleases. People, scared by the difficulty of it all, quit easily. But you will see that a lot of participants in my class move in different ways and that’s OK,” explains Tara. An impromptu class that Tara took later proved just that. “It lights up the freedom in you. I have it, you have it and I am not doing anything for you, just lighting it up. That’s it! You are doing it all,” laughs Tara.

Vintage love

Tara had somewhat ‘straight-edged’ hippie, independent-thinkers for parents. Her style sensibilities have been formed over the years of raiding her mother’s closet, making her a ’70s vintage fan. “My mom grew up in the ’70s and had cool stuff from that time. So I’m always pulling out her bell bottoms and teaming them with my brother’s old T-shirts, for a crazy mixed-matched look,” says a bemused Tara. She goes on to add that she likes a cool, relaxed vibe when she dresses up. “Wearing clothes that make you feel comfy and easy is more important for me. Style is not about showing skin or curves and being flouncy, but more about having a personality and having an artistic point of view.”

Yogi wear

Her personal sense of style has translated into the line of clothing she has been designing for Reebok. Oversized jerseys and sweatshirts, cool hippie cloud pants, soft and feminine yoga tops, worn-out tees, the whole feel of the collection is tomboyish yet girly. Asked about what catches her fancy apart moving her limbs around, Tara laughs and says she has a keen interest in knitting. “I am always knitting hats for total strangers and giving them away. I love this idea of protecting peoples’ minds and giving them something warm to wear.” Her interest in knitting has been usurped by Reebok and she whispers into my ear that the Fall/Winter 2014 collection for Reebok will see a lot of knitted pants, jackets and tops. Very eager to come back to India again and for longer, Tara signs off in her sing-song voice, “Yoga is the dance of life.”

From the January 2014 issue of L’Officiel India.