Photo credit Matthew Murphy of Murphy Made

Photo credit Matthew Murphy of Murphy Made

Join TaraMarie each week for open Yoga practice in Brooklyn. 90-minute comprehensive classes in a beautiful healing space.


TaraMarie meets with private students for mentoring and holistic care sessions. Click below for more information or to inquire about working one-to-one with TaraMarie in person or via remote connection.


TaraMarie is available for conferences, seminars, private retreats, speaking engagements, and curriculum implementation.


 

For more than two decades, TaraMarie has been teacher and practitioner of dance, classical Yoga, meditation, contemplative arts and sciences, somatic therapies, and integrative medicine.

Founder/Director, The Perri Institute for Mind and Body and Mind Body Dancer®. M.F.A. Dance Performance and Choreography, New York University; B.A., Visual Arts History, College of the Holy Cross, MA. Faculty, NYU Tisch School of the Arts in New York City. Guest teaching engagements at Harvard University, University of Iowa, DeSales University, Vassar College, College of the Holy Cross, Goldsmiths and Queen Mary Universities in London, among others. Past faculty positions include Joffrey Ballet School, Dance New Amsterdam, Steps on Broadway, and American Dance Festival. TaraMarie has been consulted for her expertise and her writing has been published in periodicals such as Dance Teacher Magazine, Elle, Women’s Health, Dance Informa, Dance and Pointe Magazines. She wrote regularly for MindBodyBrew.

TaraMarie seeks out environments that nurture introspection and connectivity with others and the natural world. Her research is inspired by interdisciplinary collaborations with colleagues, performers, artists, and makers in-studio, onstage, and outdoors. Recent collaborations include new Yoga programming at Grand Street Healing Project in Brooklyn, cultural/contemplative arts retreats and residencies with Craigardan in the Adirondacks and Sicily, and architecture-inspired retreats abroad with Emily Moss, Director BFA Architectural Design, BSc Urban Design at Parsons School of Design, NY.

Whether in the classroom or one-to-one practice setting, TaraMarie honors the tradition of establishing compassionate teacher-student relationships, allowing each student to learn on a unique path to cultivate sadhana (personal practice). She integrates classical Yoga with dharma, meditation, Ayurvedic principles, and hands-on healing arts. Classes and private sessions accommodate a variety of wellness needs: physical re-education, injury rehabilitation, illness support, seasonal self-care, stress management, work/life balance, creative development, performance optimization, mentoring, and guidance.

In 2009, TaraMarie founded Perri Institute for Mind and Body, an international sangha (community) of educators, researchers, and holistic health practitioners. The Institute sangha established a unique educational environment combining pedagogy, research, holistic medicine, and collaborations with the arts and sciences. From 2009 - 2019, TaraMarie trained and mentored a team of teachers, wellness professionals, and researchers working across the US and abroad. She implemented and customized Yoga, Yoga therapy, and mind/body wellness curriculum/programs in commercial studios, gyms, performing arts schools, and higher education environments. Graduates of the Institute’s nationally recognized courses have established a trusted presence in Yoga, therapeutic, and performing arts environments. Several graduates have pursued their studies at the Institute to complement or initiate new careers in medicine, social work, physical therapy, acupuncture, early childhood education, higher education, and psychotherapy.

Concurrent with teaching dance and movement, TaraMarie embarked on Yoga and related studies in 1997 and began teaching Yoga in 2004. To support her teaching and personal sadhana, TaraMarie continues to deepen her studies under the one-to-one tutelage of her own beloved circle of teachers and colleagues in a variety of disciplines thus exploring an ongoing integration of Eastern and Western healing arts and sciences.

TaraMarie never retired from her dance career and continues to seek out new performance projects. In the past, she performed professionally with ballet, contemporary, and dance theater companies in NY, PA, and MA. Her choreography and costume designs have been critically acclaimed in The New Yorker and The Village Voice, among other publications. She still makes dances and also explores painting, drawing, and writing as daily contemplative practices.

Concurrent with her work in the arts, education, and research, TaraMarie was Senior Account Manager at Siemens Healthcare Services where she developed her passion for healthcare (1998 – 2006).

research topics and continuing education


Dance and Movement Education (Higher Education Degrees), 1992 – present

SCHOOLS

BA, College of the Holy Cross (MA)
MFA, NYU Tisch School of the Arts (NY)


Functional Anatomy, Kinesiology, Ideokinesis, and Movement Therapy, 1996 - present

SCHOOLS / LINEAGES

NYU Tisch School of the Arts (NY)
Mabel Todd and Lulu Sweigard

TEACHERS

Andre Bernard
Irene Dowd
Rebecca Dietzel
Lynn Martin


Classical Yoga, Pranayama, and Sadhana, 1997 – present

SCHOOLS / LINEAGES

Hatha
Iyengar
Ashtanga
Jivamukti


Yoga Certification, 2004 – 2005

SCHOOL

OM Yoga (NY)

TEACHERS

Cyndi Lee
Joe Miller
Christie Clark


Shambhala Meditation Training (Level IV), Dharma Art, Secular and Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, 2005 – present

SCHOOLS / LINEAGES

Shambhala (NY)
The Interdependence Project (NY)
Tibet House (NY)

TEACHERS

Ethan Nichtern
Arawana Hayashi
Sharon Salzberg
Robert Thurman


Yoga Anatomy Advanced Studies, 2006 - 2007

SCHOOL

The Breathing Project (NY)

TEACHERS

Leslie Kaminoff
Amy Matthews


Applied Physical Therapy and Medical Imaging Literacy, 2006 – present

INSTITUTIONS

NYU Sports Medicine
Harkness
Siemens Medical Solutions

TEACHERS

Vicki Lazos
Christian Kunz
Sally Donaubauer
Rebecca Dietzel
Lynn Martin


Principles of Breathing Coordination, 2006 – present

LINEAGE

Carl Stough Institute

TEACHER

Lynn Martin


Ayurveda, 2007 – present

LINEAGE

Alandi Ashram (Alakananda Ma)

Ayurvedic Institute (Vasant Lad)

Wise Earth School of Ayurvedic Medicine (Bri Maya Tiwari)

TEACHERS

Rebecca Dietzel
Cary Twomey

David McConaghay


Applied Psychotherapy and Philosophy, 2011 – present

LINEAGE

Jungian Theory
Vedic Philosophy

TEACHER

Cary Twomey


Physiology and Medical Study Literacy, 2010 – present

TEACHER

Dr. Alexandre West, OB/Gyn Resident/Researcher, University of Connecticut


Reiki Level III, 2013 – present (Reiki Master, pending)

LINEAGE

Usui Reiki Ryoho (William Lee Rand)

TEACHER

Kristin Deiss


Psychic Studies and Alchemy Energetics Level III, 2017

LINEAGES

Celtic
Native American
Neo-Shamanic

TEACHER

James Philip


Traditional Thai Massage and Integrative Therapy and Stretch, 2015 – present

LINEAGE

Nuad Bo-Rarn Traditional Thai Massage

TEACHER

Al Turner II, Two Souls Thai Massage