Braving Boroughs- Strala Yoga

It had been sometime since I’d practiced yoga (I got side tracked by opening my own studio), but one of the first stops I had to make was Strala Yoga owned by Tara Stiles.

While Tara is the personal yoga teacher to Jane Fonda and Deepak Chopra, she is just like you and me, and it shows at her gorgeous loft-like NoHo studio- Strala Yoga. You won’t find om-ing or a woo-woo vibe here. The classes at Strala are straight forward and unpretentious. Tara pads around in her baggy sweat pants, no make-up, leading the class in her carefree manner, making jokes, and reminding you that it’s just yoga- so breathe. The classes are simply identified by Strong, Relax, and Stralax (a combo of the two). I’ve practiced there several times now, mostly because it’s affordable (only $10 a class), but also because Tara and Heidi (who is uber-cheery and much more giggly than Tara- but will seriously kick your butt with a smile) are quickly becoming my favorite teachers. I don’t do yoga because it’ll make my butt smaller, or because I want to be closer to god, but because I always leave feeling better than when I walked in, and Strala always leaves me with a smile.