Student of the Month for April-Tarsi Dunlop

We are happy to announce our first ever student of the month at Mind Your Body Oasis is Tarsi Dunlop!

MYBO will be choosing a student of the month each month and highlighting their efforts to live a more centered and healthy life!
There are many qualities that make students at MYBO special and we look forward to highlighting and celebrating all those wonderful qualities!
In addition to all the unique attributes that our students add to our practice, the student of the month exhibits the following characteristics:

• Is dedicated to a consistent practice
• Has a willingness and desire to help others
• Lives and practices the elements of a yogi lifestyle
• Treats their body as a temple through good nutrition, meditation, etc.
• Serves as an ambassador to MYBO through social media and recommendations

Tarsi not only exhibits all these characteristics but also signed up and completed a 90 day yoga challenge! Her dedication has not gone unnoticed and we love having Tarsi as part of our yoga family! 

Tarsi is a wonderful person and we highly recommend you introduce yourself to her next time you are mat to mat! We asked Tarsi to share a little bit about herself and her commitment to yoga. 

Read more to learn about our April Student of the Month: 

A little about Tarsi: 

Tarsi currently lives in Arlington and works as the Program and Operations Manager at the Learning First Alliance, an education nonprofit based in Alexandria, Virginia. The organization is a coalition of national education member associations dedicated to strengthening public schools and promoting best practices and sound public polices that support teaching and learning for all kids.  When Tarsi is not at the yoga studio, she loves to try new restaurants, spend time with her friends, cook, write and read. 

Tarsi was adopted as a baby in India and home-schooled for a good portion of her childhood. She attended Middlebury College in Vermont where she earned her BA in political science. She also spent a year abroad studying in England at the London School of Economics.  

Tarsi's motivation to practice yoga regularly:

Tarsi finds practicing yoga to be incredibly calming, both mentally and physically. She started doing yoga for exercise and now she does it to make her feel good! She also finds when she practices often, she is able to progress more quickly in mastering harder asana poses. 

Some of the benefits that Tarsi has noticed from a consistent practice is increased flexibility and a calmer mental state.  The constant practice of yoga has brought back the level of flexibility that Tarsi enjoyed as a young gymnast in her childhood. She has also developed more core and upper body strength and has found her posture has improved as well.  Her strength continues to improve and she looks forward to the day when she can do a handstand without fear of falling over! 

In addition to improving her strength and flexibility, Tarsi has found that yoga gives her a much needed outlet where she can settle her mind. She likens yoga to hitting the restart power button every day on a computer instead of waiting until it freezes and crashes.

"Yoga has also encouraged me to set a range of intentions during the past year that are facilitating a healthier outlook on life."

Tarsi's favorite thing about MYBO!

Tarsi loves the instructors and staff at MYBO!  She finds the staff and instructors to be very supportive and committed to helping her be the best version of herself!  Tarsi finds the community at MYBO makes the experience of doing yoga so much more than just going to a class.  She loves the diversity of classes offered and loves the studio space. 

Advice to people considering yoga:

"First, I would say that you should find a studio and instructor that you like working with and who makes you feel comfortable. My first class with Soozie was great because she gave us options in the poses so I didn't feel totally clueless and out of my league, and she also gave me pointers and made adjustments so I could learn the foundations correctly. The second thing I would say is to treat it as an opportunity to focus on breathing: let the breath instigate each movement, focus on feeling oxygen moving in and out of your lungs, and use it as an exercise to focus on your body and give your mind a rest. If you do the proper breathing technique for a full hour, your brain will have gotten a real break and your body will feel energized. Finally, I would probably say – mostly from personal experience – that the more you put into your practice, the more you will get out of the experience over time."