One of my favorite you tube channels is the Tara Stiles Yoga channel Where she talks about yoga, cooking and meditation. I can relate to her yoga philosophy of any one can do yoga and its accessible because of the way I have modified my own yoga practice to meet my needs and lifestyle. There is no right way to practice because we all are all unique in our own way. I had the pleasure of chatting with Tara about yoga

1. How did you discover yoga?
My earliest memories were feelings and experiences of universal connectivity. I taught myself how to meditate and experienced a lot of synesthesia from my early years. For me, an expression of yoga is who we all are . . . connected.

2. What made you decide to become a yoga instructor?

I shared what I learned from a hatha yoga teacher I had in ballet school with my friends who hadn’t had exposure to yoga. I had a strong urge that everyone needed to connect and so I began to share that. I never thought. . . I want to be a yoga instructor, it sort of happened naturally as a by product of following and cultivating my interests.

3. What is your message about yoga?
Yoga is already there inside all of us. It is for everyone, because it is everyone. When we connect back with ourselves, we remember that everything we need to know, is already right there.

4. What is your goal with your studio, DVDs and books?

Sharing yoga with an aim to connect people back to themselves. People get radiantly healthy, happy, intuitive, creative, and connected. It’s nice.

5. Advice any one beginning yoga?
Start where you are, because that is right where you need to be. And being in the present moment is what it’s all about anyway. Don’t worry about achieving a pose. Yoga isn’t about poses. But when you relax, focus, and practice consistently, you’ll be able to do all the poses with ease, and you’ll really realize that it’s not about the poses. Enjoy your breath and allow yourself to experience whatever it’s like to be inside of you right now. Buckel up, it’s going to be a great ride!

6. Any future projects?
New book coming out in April, Yoga Cures, with Random House. New DVD series with Deepak launching at Christmas called Yoga Transformations. Other fun stuff upcoming also 🙂

visit Tara athttp://www.youtube.com/user/TaraStilesYoga

This is actually this weeks column printed today in the Republican a important reminder

Very recently, I read a news story on the Channel 22 News website about how two wheelchairs were stolen off of a disabled woman’s front porch. Thankfully, they were recovered a short time later. My first thought was how and why would someone take something that is so vitally important to a person’s survival and independence. We often don’t realize how our words and actions can affect others in a negative or positive way. Another example is how some words in the English language are considered offensive, such as the word retarded.

A ripple effect is a gradual slow chain reaction to our own actions in life. We often get so caught up in life that we don’t take into consideration how our actions really affecting others, especially those in our lives. We can all take the time to be more empathic, the practice of feeling another person’s feelings while understanding their situation. The key is acknowledging and understanding your own feelings before relating to others. Once we have that understanding it can be expressed through words and affection. Showing empathy allows us to be more sensitive, compassionate and conscious.

On a daily basis I practice mindful communication, choosing my words with love and honesty. I also ensure that all of my actions reflect my peaceful nature with only the intention of helping others. When we listen, feel and speak with our heart we will always stay true to others and ourselves. My regular meditation and yoga practice help me stay connected with both my compassion and empathic skills while surrounding myself with positive energy. I have always believed you should treat others the way you want to be treated.

My favorite part of my yoga practice is doing sun salutations. They are the cores of a vinyasa yoga practice. It is traditionally done in the morning to greet the new day. Sun salutations are a series of 8 to 12 postures linked with the breath. It is a continuous flow repeated 2 to 5 times. The purpose is to warm up the body to add more poses to the practice. When I do my regular sun salutations I can feel the stiffness and tightness leaving my body leaving feeling energized, flexible and alive. I often do a quick sun salutation practice to wake up my body especially after an after noon of writing at my laptop because it is a great way to get your body moving.

My writing mentor and friend Kathryn Budig demonstrates the sun salutations beautifully at

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/yourbestsummerbody/here-comes-the-sun-and-bikinis-466588/

One of my favorite sayings is where there is a will there is a way, which means having the determination to accomplish a goal with a strong belief that a solution will be found. A perfect example would be the story of Jennifer Darmom a young lady who was paralyzed in a car accident in 2008. After getting engaged in 2010 she vowed to walk down the aisle on her wedding day. After years of physical therapy three times week for three hours Jennifer dream came true on her wedding day as she walk down the aisle wearing leg braces and being assisted by her father. Check out her amazing story at http://abcnews.go.com/US/paralzyed-bride-jennifer-darmon-walks-aisle/story?id=13399347
Anything is possible in this world with motivation, hard work and a strong belief based in positive power. A regular meditation and yoga practice can prepare our mind and body to handle anything that comes our way. It helps us to be strong, focused, and calmed. When we have faith fueled by love, peace and positive energy we can accomplish so much and make our dreams a reality.