We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tara Seeley . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tara below.
Hi Tara, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
In 2015 a contract job I had with a municipality was coming to a close. I had poured my heart and soul into building a community kitchen for rural town and had to watch it fall apart due to a shift in politics and budget cuts.
At the time, I was also very aware of how much I had put my personal interests to the side and was watching my bucket list of hopes and dreams grow longer and longer. In fact for 5 years, the same heart felt desire to take another thai massage training was on the list. Having already been a yoga teacher for nearly 5 years and already completing a basic thai massage training course, there was a part of me that didnt feel quite complete that didn’t feel in alignment with who I truly was..
So, with big changes in my employment and a nest egg of savings I decided to take a leap of faith. I packed up my van, rented out my condo, and put most of my belongings in storage. With the intention to give myself 1 year to explore what a life fully aligned with my values, and authenticity might look like.
At the time I didn’t realize I was crossing a major bridge and I didnt know what the other side would look like. That first year, I spent 2 months training in Traditional Thai Massage in Chiang Mai Thailand, took a life coaching course in California, and landed on a small Gulph Island in British Columbia where I started teaching yoga by the ocean and offering thai massage in a yurt. It was un convential, but I loved being out of the mainstream lifestyle. I taught yoga in the mornings, gave thai massage during the day, and would meet my friends for dinner and camp fire in the evenings at the beach. I felt like I had found my ideal life.
However, finding a way to make this work year round was challenging. So after the first year, I began to travel back to Thailand in the winters where rent was cheaper and I dove deeply into studying thai massage with different teachers and schools. It was a form of meditation for me, and to be honest I felt like nothing else in my life at the time made sense, I didn’t have kids, accumulating wealth was of no interest to me, and I didn’t really know where to turn too. Practicing Thai Massage was a meditation, a place where I could feel at home in myself, where I could just be present with another person and hopefully help them in good way feel better in their body. I think if I am honest, I was angry with the world, the materialism, the destruction of the environment, and the wastefulness of our modern culture. I didn’t want to participate so decided to dive deeply into a meditative practice instead.
So if you ask me how I found my purpose. I guess I would say, I followed my heart, took a leap of faith, and listened deeply to myself. I questioned the status quo, and when nothing else made sense I found the one thing that did to me.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I launched Wild Lotus School of Yoga and Thai Massage after years of studying in Thailand and practicing yoga. It is part school with thai massage training programs and part private practice where I support clients through traditional thai massage and Ayurveda
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Professionally, I am wildly passionate about being a bridge that shares the wisdom and traditional medicine of the east in relevant ways that can help people live a happier, healthier life.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Faith – You have got to have faith in yourself, your journey and your creator, your cause. You came here for a purpose and you have gifts and talents to share with your community and the world. If you are carving your own path, it is not always going to be clear, part of the journey is the obscurity, the personal growth that comes from challenges, during hard time, cultivate the quality of faith it will carry you forward.
Discipline – Having discipline frees up a tremendous amount of energy to get things done. When I turned 20, I realized I needed to teach myself how to be disciplined. My yoga practice helped immensely in this. To wake up, stay motivated, continue to take action everyday towards your goals takes discipline. Honestly, if you can be disciplined in your personal life, sleep early, eat well, exercise, do the selfcare, it is going to be so much easier to stay disciplined in the work you are perusing.
Learn how to save and manage money – unless you are already financially free, then money is important. If you want to leave a job you don’t like, you will likely need money to cultivate new skills and pay for training. Which I believe is the best investment you can make, in yourself. Start saving regularly, even if its only $50 a month, start with something. Soon your savings will turn into a nest egg.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Honestly, Marie Forleo’s B School was worth every penny. I would 100% recommend. .
