I wouldn’t call myself an exercise expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I have spent many hours running, sweating, playing volleyball, basketball, and several other similar sports. One type of exercise I’ve never tried is yoga. Recently, Tara Yoga joined the Flowood Chamber and I thought, what better time to give yoga a try?
Tara Blumenthal, owner of Tara Yoga, recommended a beginner class, that met on Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon, which worked perfectly with my work schedule. I arrived at the yoga studio in my “yoga attire”, removed my shoes and walked into a classroom full of people of all ages, shapes and sizes. I think my only preconceived thoughts about yoga were that it was stretching and toning the whole body, and that it usually took place in a very quiet, low-key type of atmosphere. Because I am one that doesn’t sit still well, I did have my concerns about how much I would enjoy the yoga experience, but I left that class feeling renewed, with a clear mind and my body feeling much better than before.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know Tara since she joined the Chamber and I asked if she could share a little more about how her path led her to owner and teacher at Tara Yoga. Her path began by teaching yoga part-time. While she never began teaching with the intentions of one day opening her own studio, her love of teaching and helping people are what led her to open the doors of Tara Yoga. Her main goal since she began was to offer good, solid, safe yoga, and for people to leave feeling better than when they came in. Her thoughts are when we feel better and function better, we are kinder, more generous, and more open to serve.
Tara has taught yoga for 13 years and has over 500 hours of yoga training and is a continuing education provider, which means she educates other yoga instructors, but it also affords her the opportunity to train all of her instructors in house. Although owning her own business has taught her more than she imagined, she agrees the reward of truly helping people create and sustain positive change in their life has been worth all the challenges she has endured and learned from.
We are excited to have Tara Yoga as a member of the Flowood Chamber and look forward to supporting her business and watching it grow. One of the goals, or missions, of Tara Yoga is to give back to the community, and that is a mission we certainly can get behind. I encourage you to try something new, meet Tara and her staff, and let them help you feel better and function better, with yoga.
