Tara Stiles

Tara Leann Stiles is an American model turned yoga instructor, and founder of Strala yoga in New York City. Stiles grew Strala from a studio based in SoHo, New York City to a studio and training business with over 1,000 instructors. Harvard did a case study on Stiles' business titled The Branding of Yoga.

In 2007, Tara starred in Yoga For, produced by Ford Models. Vanity Fair reported on a yoga video that Stiles specifically designed for Sarah Palin; the "Vanity Fair" reporter commented, "Tara Stiles has got to be the coolest yoga instructor ever."

Early life

Stiles grew up in Morris, Illinois. Her parents designed their passive solar home, helped by the fact her father worked at a nuclear plant.

Career

Stiles studied dancing in Chicago, where one of her ballet instructors introduced her to yoga. Stiles appeared in ads for American Apparel. Stiles has been a spokesperson for Nissan Motors.

Strala Yoga

In 2008, Stiles met her husband Michael Taylor at the Ananda Ashram in Monroe, New York. The couple founded the NYC yoga studio Strala later that year. They made up the name, which is similar to the Swedish word "stråla" which means to "radiate light". Deepak Chopra and Jane Fonda are among her students; the former considers her his personal instructor. "I have been doing yoga for 30 years," he says. "I have had teachers of all kinds. Taking lessons from her has been more useful to me than taking yoga from anyone else."

Collaborations

Stiles partnered with Reebok to design and launch Reebok Yoga in 2012.

Stiles is an avid knitter and collaborated with Wool and the Gang on a yoga-street wear line, featuring ready-to-wear, as well as knit kits, designed by Wool and the Gang and Tara Stiles, featuring the "Tara Stiles" label on the garments.

Books

2014 Make Your Own Rules Diet (Hay House). 2015 Make Your Own Rules Cookbook (Hay House).

Television

Stiles was a contestant and winner of MTV's Fear episode 9, "Fort Gains." She also has appeared in Matthew Barney's The Cremaster Cycle: Cremester 3. She co-hosted three segments on fitness and fashion with Pedro Andrade, Siafa Lewis, and Margherita Missoni.