Sarah Tacy Tangredi
I am a new mama, an evolving partner, a yoga educator and a devoted disciple of the intelligent body. I believe that yoga presents transformative opportunities by bringing awareness to subconscious mental and physical patterns through inquiry, observation, and play.
My intention is to interweave my 15 years of study in anatomy and physiology to optimally align the body and its energy systems; depth-psychology and philosophy to unravel the symbolic and tangible experience of a yoga practice, and most importantly the intelligence of each individual body and inner-teacher to create a practice that is true to honest individual growth. I use movement, music, poetry, and laughter to help the participants and me let go, have fun, and enjoy the journey.
I recently moved from NY where I had a yoga studio specifically for one-on-one work with professional athletes, avid golfers, yoga teachers, people who simply want to feel good, and helping people prepare or recover from surgery. I have been teaching yoga anatomy and mindbody teacher trainings internationally since 2010. You can find me on Mind2Motion and coming this November Top Speed Golf.
I’m psyched to be back in New England where the wilderness, ocean, and local food rule. Thanks for having me!
My Story
EVERYTHING I KNEW TO BE TRUE CHANGED WHEN I WAS 18.
I was a three-sport captain, set to play collegiate soccer and lacrosse. In one moment while bending forward my world shifted. My back gave out and for the next year I was unable to sit, walk, hang out with friends, or even lay down like I once did. Sports were out of the question. All I identified with was gone. Doctors and Physical Therapists were unable to help.
Eventually I was permitted to do yoga. Imagine this: A proud college athlete getting her butt kicked in a senior citizen yoga class (notice the ego!). It happened. That’s right, there was no way I could touch my toes and forget about holding a darn down-dog! It was humbling beginnings. My priorities were made clear, there was no impressing anyone with my moves, so I best learn to be and act for the sake of self-improvement and love. Big Lesson.
My psyche suffered as much as my body with this injury, so I knew my modality of healing would have to honor this connection. Yoga gave me that opportunity.
I returned to play collegiate lacrosse with more life-balance, mental steadiness, passion, health and success. My practice was to show up fully, play out of love, and let go of the illusion that I could control the outcome. I went on to earn multiple lacrosse accolades including two-time Academic All-American. Amazing the good that can come from letting go!
Into the World
My calling: to share with others the possibility of healing through awareness, choice, and participation. Although I had a background in psychology, religion, and beginner’s knowledge in physical therapy, none seemed complete to me.
I researched many yoga teacher trainings, and found myself drawn to the world-renowned Nosara Yoga Institute with yogis Amba and Don Stapleton PhD. Their system is built around the innate wisdom and multiple layers of a human being. It was the perfect building block to balance my future that was to be layered with science and physiology!
I was recruited by an elite sports training facility to be Director of Research and Development. I traveled the country learning from forward thinkers in the realm of anatomy and physiology of elite performance (as well as thousands of hours of experience with athletes!). I integrated everything I knew and began presenting at conferences, wrote for magazines, and created and taught technique trainings at Athletic Republic facilities across the country.
When it was time to move on I started my own yoga business. By the age of 25 I was living one of my dreams, teaching regenerative yoga to some of the NHL’s top players. That year Bill Guerin, a former Olympian, went on to captain his team and win the Stanley Cup. Pretty cool, right?
At 27 another dream came true when I was invited to be faculty at the Nosara Yoga Institute. There I created and now direct a 100-hr yoga anatomy teacher training, Experiential Yoga Anatomy for the Multi-Dimensional Being. Holy butterflies in my stomach! I was scared to death and thrilled. The reward of teaching such a well-rounded program is immeasurable. The success of the annual anatomy program has sparked opportunities for me to teach anatomy for yoga teacher trainings throughout the northeast as well as being hired on by other yoga schools to teach full 100hr modules in anatomy and therapeutics.
My full time NY private yoga practice was built on the ability to create space and support in people’s bodies and lives. I worked with avid golfers, people with nerve damage, bone deformation, arthritis, back injuries, dancers, and people who simply wanted one-on-one attention. My aim for everyone was to get them doing more of what they love with greater ease and enjoyment.
XO
Sarah Tacy Tangredi
Professional Bio
People Ask Who’s your Teacher? What’s your linage?
My daughter Sophia. Holy Smokes. But I’m guessing you want to know what disciplines I pull from and what you can expect.
My background is dynamic in that I’ve never found one teacher or one school that had all the answers. It’s quite clear to me that no school can have all the answers, but they can all offer a variety of perspectives to create a pretty solid tool belt.
I was a two time academic all-American (meaning I was a pretty good geeky lacrosse player). My senior project looked at sport psychology of youth athletes using western studies and eastern mentodology (yoga, meditation, Taoist philosophy) to help gain a mental edge. I went on to be the Director of Research and Development at BlueStreak Sport Training. Here I became highly skilled in understanding how the nervous system relates to performance, proprioception, flexibly, balance and reflexes. I received an AR Level 3 certificate, and trained other trainers in Athletic Republic’s science-based programs on over speed training, gait analysis, and agility.
I served as a presenter at the AR National Conference, was featured in Accelerate Magazine, and published 4 articles in US Lacrosse Magazine. Athletic Republic hired me to aid in their training education program for facility directors and interns across the country. I created manuals on gait analysis, posture, and basic anatomy and physiology and presented with the brilliant John Frappier, AR founder and head physiologist on speed development and performance enhancement.
I received my 200hr yoga training at the Nosara Yoga Institute in Costa Rica in 2005. By early 2007 I completed my 500hr certification with additional hours and certifications in Pranassage™, Advanced Teacher Training, and Yoga for Athletes. Since 2008 I have been running a busy private yoga business, and by 2009 I was registered as an E-RYT 500 with over 2,000hr of teaching experience. Since 2010 I have been teaching 100hr, 50hr and weekend long anatomy teacher trainings in the US, Costa Rica and Norway.
My studies have continued under the tutelage of the Corrective High-performance Exercise Kinesiology (CHEK) Institute with certifications as a Holistic Life Coach and Exercise Coach. I have also received training from the Titleist Performance Institute on the biomechanics of the golf swing and how to apply yoga to help create an efficient pain free game. I studied Energy Kinesiology at the International College of Healing Arts to better understand the way our outer and inner environment affect our muscle patterns and over-all health. I also spent many one-on-one hours with doctors and physical therapist to learn techniques and methodologies that can be applied to the yoga context.
My biggest influences in yoga have been Amba and Don Stapleton PhD in the areas of transformational teaching, yoga therapeutics, self-inquiry and the multi-dimensional being; Mitchel Bleier for yoga therapeutics and effective teaching; David Whyte and Carl Jung for symbolic life philosophy; Tom Myer’s work in fasciae tansegrity; Alexander Lowen Bioenergetics; Thomas Hanna on Somatics, Amy Cuddy and Candace Pert on the emotional body, and the Amrit Institute for Yoga Nidra. I’ve also studied Consciousness Studies at the master’s level with a focus on anatomy, physiology, psychology, and spirituality at Goddard College.