Be Movable So You Can Be Moved | Tara Stiles

In this raw and radiant episode, host Dara Levan sits down with yoga teacher, author, and Strala Yoga founder Tara Stiles. Tara opens up about being sexually assaulted at her dance school, how she never reported it, and how yoga became her blueprint for healing. She shares why she stopped dancing professionally at 22, the pushback she received for not using Sanskrit and for putting yoga on YouTube, and the Harvard Business School case study that compared her approach to Bikram. You’ll learn three key takeaways: why “softness is not weakness” and how mobilization builds real strength, how to avoid burnout by not taking credit for others’ transformations, and the simple practice of “never suffer a bad position.” Tara also reveals the somatic symptoms Dara experienced while writing her first novel, the back-to-back exercise that changes everything, and why her upcoming book Living Softly took six years to complete. This is a conversation about presence, protection, and the power of being movable.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Intro
11:28 - Sexual assault disclosure at dance school
15:24 - Drawn to yoga for healing
18:33 - Don’t take credit for transformations
22:42 - Be movable so you can be moved
27:15 - Somatic symptoms while writing
29:45 - Never suffer a bad position
33:39 - Good enough vs perfectionism
40:50 - Pushback from traditional yoga
48:56 - Softness connects diverse people
52:07 - Softness is not weakness
54:57 - Outro

RESOURCES:
• Tara Stiles Website: tarastiles.com
• Tara Stiles on Instagram: @tarastiles
• Tara Stiles on Substack: Tara Stiles


Dara Levan / Every Soul Has a Story:
• https://www.instagram.com/dara.levan/
• Website: daralevan.com