Meet Tara Picklo | Yoga Teacher RYT 500 & Yoga Therapist in Training

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tara Picklo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tara, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Lov Yoga grew out entrepreneurial spirit as well as adversity and loss. My late husband, Nate, and I founded and ran coffee shops in Eagle and Vail, Colorado. We spent a decade building community around coffee and bikes. Along the way we also began a custom bike business, Lov Bikes. Unfortunately, during this busy phase of life Nate was diagnosed for the second time with cancer (stage 3 melanoma in 2009 which resurfaced as stage 4 in 2015). Thankfully we had some really amazing years in between serving coffee and smiles to the Vail Valley community while also living life to the fullest. After he passed away in 2016 it became clear that I couldn’t continue on with our businesses so I transitioned out and traveled for awhile. I did some serious soul searching in Bali, family bonding in Italy, adventuring in Amsterdam, Iceland and Thailand plus grief recovery at an ashram in the Bahamas. I finally realized that I had experienced the struggles of caregiving and heartache for a reason so I set out to learn how to help cancer survivors and those struggling with grief. Lov Yoga was born as a tribute to Nate’s legacy as well as a beacon of light shining clearly upon my future path. Lov Yoga is the rainbow after the biggest storm of my life. For more info see www.lov.yoga/about

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I believe we find magic on our yoga mats by practicing mindfulness and breathing into shapes. This magic happens when we feel balance between body, breath, mind and soul. It is my hope to teach people how to practice yoga, breathwork and meditation to feel balance in life. My yoga practice has evolved over the years and I now focus on what I intuitively need on my mat each day which can be in the form of restorative, yin, vinyasa, therapeutic movements, breathwork, meditation and contemplative practices. This transfers to working with clients because I like to teach others to do the same. We all know what we need deep within, sometimes it just takes some practice 🙂 I specialize in teaching yoga for cancer and grief support to individuals through private sessions online and in person. I also provide yoga programming for various communities through retreat/event planning and other online projects. I am grateful to have worked with the following organizations: Dear Jack Foundation, First Descents, Soul Ryeders, The Cancer Support Community and Lacuna Loft. Another passion of mine is teaching adaptive yoga for students with special needs with Move Through Yoga and Special Olympics.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I currently live in Denver and am new to the city around the time of COVID so I am honestly not as well versed as I would hope by now. These are some of my favorites that have been introduced to me through my fiancee who has lived here for over 10 years. An ideal day would involve starting out with donut delivery from Winchells via Grub Hub because I think it’s pretty cool that we can get food delivered in the city. That’s definitely not a thing in the mountains! Then we would head to a boutique coffee shop such as Sweet Bloom or Corvus. Next stop would be lunch at Watercourse Foods for some vegan buffalo wings. It would then be time to head to Apex Trail or Matthews Winter Park for a hike with my pup, Shanti. To round out the busy day, we would order take out from US Thai and have a beer at JoyRide Brewery on the roof top deck that overlooks Sloan’s Lake (my home neighborhood). I would also love to have an evening out at El Five for cocktails, small plates and an epic night view of the city. One of these days we would most definitely head to a show at Red Rocks and bring along some sandwiches from Snarfs to tailgate pre-concert.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have been beyond blessed to learn from a variety of amazing teachers and mentors along the way. My yoga journey began through Colorado School of Yoga with Julia Clarke and I am currently in my last few months of an 800 hour training through Inner Peace Yoga Therapy. Some of my inspiring yoga therapy teachers are Laura Kupperman, Antonio Sausys, Nichela Joy Devi, Maria Mendola and Michele Lawerence. I am professionally grateful to First Descents and The Dear Jack Foundation which are two of the young adult cancer organizations I work with. I am also personally grateful for my fiancee, Ryan O’Donoghue who has believed in my rebirth and rebranding while holding delicate space to honor my past as we create a beautiful future together.

Website: www.lov.yoga

Instagram: @lov_yoga_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tara.picklo

Image Credits
Shenna Jean – Big Love Jack Affleck – Tree Pose