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studio
hours:
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monday
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10:00
a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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tuesday
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11:30
a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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wednesday
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10:00
a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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thursday
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11:30
a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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friday
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10:00
a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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saturday
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9:00
a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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sunday
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10:00
a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
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take
a yoga class,
shop the tranquiliT
boutique or stop in to say hello
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opening muse
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"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage." ~ Anais Nin
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As we journey into the last month of 2004, I find it important to
reflect on the year’s lessons and stories. I wanted my final muse of
the year to relay the continued vision of Tranquil Space with a
focus on its creatively humble beginnings. As many of you may know,
Tranquil Space began a little over five years ago in my one-bedroom
apartment on the outskirts of Dupont. There was little to no yoga to
be found in DC. Yoga was an edgy thing to do, not receiving the
interest nor respect it now commands. I was working as a paralegal,
reading The Artist’s Way, seeking a more creative way of life,
longing for kindred spirits, and hoping that they existed in DC—but
how to find them?
With visions of special strangers huddled around my fireplace,
drinking tea, doing yoga and connecting, I began hanging fliers
around Dupont. This was a BIG step, I realize it now but it felt so
natural at the time. Inviting strangers into one’s living room is
not a habit I recommend, but my faith in the practice of yoga and my
desire for community demanded it. I continued to surprise myself
along the way: they joy that brewing a homemade batch of chai for
every class brought, the excitement of watching student’s eye light
up when they truly felt a pose, the pleasure yoga was bringing to
people who met through class, the love of which I approached the
business. With a psychology degree and no clue about business, I
began with a focus on the special details: ribbons wrapped around
inspirational quotes which greeted the students on their mat,
aromatic scents, the blazing fire that welcomed students, the chai
served in porcelain tea cups, the homemade business cards and
brochures. I loved putting time into making people feel special
because I feel that is severely lacking in our society. I wanted
students to walk into class and feel welcomed and accepted, not
judged. I especially wanted women to find a safe space to work with
their bodies, develop a sense of empowerment, and realize the
importance of taking steps towards their idealized life. Thus
Tranquil Space began.
We
have grown by 1000% over the past 5 years and I am constantly amazed by
the sacred souls I’ve met which would never have happened had I not
hung up that first neighborhood flier. The reason I started the studio
has been an important reflection of mine over the past few months as we
hit our fifth year. With the weaving of trunk shows, lifestyle-focused
"off the mat" workshops, the tranquiliT boutique, expansion to
Bethesda, the various charities, the greening efforts, and my book
writing on the blending of yoga and the modern girl's life, I wanted to
explore how my initial reason for starting the studio was
expanding. One may have trouble seeing how all of these
components are connected but I’m hopeful my philosophy and reason for
developing Tranquil Space brings clarity. I truly believe that yoga for
the sake of yoga is powerful, but not as powerful as sprinkling it
throughout one’s lifestyle. Yoga serves as my catalyst, my core, that
place I turn to when my world is spinning. I was drawn to it for the
healing powers that it provided mentally and physically. How unique to
actually spend time connecting to the body, surrendering the mind,
pushing edges of comfort, and honoring limitations?
By
thinking of yoga as a lifestyle and knowing how much better I feel
when I’m comfortably put together, I traveled around the country to
bring some of my favorite stretchy and fun pieces perfect for yogis
to our unique boutique. The trunk shows offer female artists a
chance to showcase their creativity and help give women the start
and courage that they may have trouble finding. How many of us say,
"Oh, I’d love to do such and such but now just isn’t the right
time"? NOW is the time to begin taking steps to create what you
desire. Social consciousness has always been an important component
to me with the numerous charities we support: Susan G. Komen
Foundation, Humane Society, Arbor Day, My Sister’s Place, TAPS.
Liz’s (read more about her in the community celebration) focus on
greening Tranquil Space aligns with ahimsa (non-harming) — treating
the environment consciously. The "off the mat" workshops help to
teach students how to treat their lives consciously. All of these
random parts blend to form the focus of Tranquil Space.
My hope is that Tranquil Space serves as an inspiration to anyone
who enters its doors. It was created with a whole lot of love, an
incredible amount of time, energy and passion, and LOTS of baby
steps. I truly believe and seek to embody Anais Nin’s above quote.
Life is lived by stepping strategically outside of one’s comfort
zone to head in the direction of one’s dreams. This direction is not
without mistakes, drama, or sometimes failure, but it is filled with
authenticity because you are DOING, along with dreaming. I recently
read, "the world needs dreamers and the world needs doers but above
all the world needs dreamers who do." Tranquil Space could not exist without the support and love that
each of you bring to the studio. I am incredibly grateful that the
vision of Tranquil Space resonates with so many special
Washingtonians. May the end of 2004 offer you some time to reflect
on what it is you want to create — a family, a screenplay, a dress,
a business — whatever it is, listen to your heart and take the
simple steps of heading in that direction one flier at a time...
latest
studio happenings
- Please join us for the annual Tranquil Space holiday party on Sunday, December 19 from 7-9 at the Blue Room on 18th Street. Vegetarian hors d'oeuvres, holiday cheer, treats for all, and a chance to mingle with your fellow yogis. $5 karma donation requested for the Find Your Tranquil Space fund which assists
various charities in creating a tranquil space within our society.
- Tranquil Space is on a reduced schedule over the holidays and
closed on Christmas. Best wishes for a beautiful holiday season.
- Sign up in advance for class, check your class pass status, and see who's teaching with webscheduler.
- Newly added tranquiliT treatment: Thai yoga massage with Peg.
- Thank you for sharing your thoughts with our online survey.
Visit the student survey results page for a summary from the 80+
respondents, our responses AND the 10 tranquiliT tee winners!
- For every pass purchased in the month of December, Tranquil Space will plant a tree! We LOVE helping our yogis breathe better.
- Join us THIS Saturday from 6-8 for our seasonal tranquiliT trunk show
featuring our tranquiliT line and local female artists. Our trunk
shows serve to empower women to create and we donate a portion of our
proceeds to womenarts.org who state, "We dream about what will
happen as more and more women artists gain the resources they need to
express their creativity fully. We are convinced that they will change
the world." Tranquil Space agrees!
- We offer lots of great lifestyle AND yoga workshops.
This month: baby & us, awaken your core, self-nurturing before the holidays and MORE!
Visit enlightening events for ALL the scoop.
- tranquiliTheme of the season: saucha/cleanliness. Please remember to practice one
of the niyamas of yoga, saucha, by
putting away yoga props, stepping around other student's mats, lining
up with the daisies, washing mats and your lovely yoga bodies
regularly. All of this helps the energy of a collective group,
the air that is breathed, and the cultivation of awareness with one's
surroundings. We've placed 4 mat spray bottles in each studio for
your mat-cleansing pleasure and sprays and lotions in the dressing
rooms for your body-cleansing pleasure!
Community celebration. Our way to celebrate Tranquil Space yogis' honors and developments! Please share your celebrations with us by e-mailing newsletter@tranquilspace.com.
- Congrats to Gina Davis on
her new, “off the mat” job as a Program Officer at the Academy for Educational
Development!
- Congrats to Heather Martin who got hitched last month!
- A BIG thank you to Liz Falk, our PR assistant of many months, who has been passionately working on greening Tranquil Space since this summer. Being “green” can have
a few different meanings, but the all-inclusive meaning is to reduce one’s
impact on the planet and support fair and just treatment of individuals
worldwide. Stemming from
Tranquil Space’s mission and vision to provide a nurturing and healthy
atmosphere, an improved environmental and social consciousness will allow for
full achievement of these goals. The Greening
process entails reducing trash through our new recycling program; conserving
energy by switching to CFL light bulbs and procuring 20% of our electricity
from wind energy; reducing water use through our new low-flow faucets and
toilets; using environmentally friendly cleaning products; and serving Fair
Trade™ and Organic™ tea after yoga. If you would
like to know more about the greening process or to get involved, contact Liz
Falk.
- Thank you for celebrating Thanksgiving with Tranquil Space. We raised $430 for
TAPS - an organization that gives financial support to families who
have lost a loved one in the war.
- Congrats! Christian William Hansen was born 11/16 to yogini Lori Nitschke-Hansen.
- Congratulations to our recent newbie series graduates! - Rachel, Britt, Heather, Lisa Hudson, Lisa Hix, Erik, Amanda, Jen, Lorna, T, and Gwyneth! We look forward to your new yoga practice unfolding at Tranquil Space!
- Tranquil Space is participating in a toy drive for the Washington DC Jewish
Community Center. Drop off your toys for a special child in need.
teacher feature
lisa farmer
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When I was a young girl in the 70s, I would watch my mother doing poses like lotus or shoulder stand. I’d do what she was doing simply because I was a kid and kids imitate. I had no idea that I was doing asanas--I was just having fun. I became adept at bending my wiry frame and decided that in the 3rd grade I would join the circus. As I grew a bit older, I learned to put my foot behind my head, do backbends, and stand on my head. So, naturally, in the 5th grade my girlfriend and I decided to become contortionists. My parents’ response was sensible: "You can become a contortionist if you go to college first".
Fifteen years later I rediscovered yoga on suggestion of a friend and Iyengar yogini in Colorado. It wasn’t until then that I figured out that what I’d been doing way back in childhood was just a tiny piece of this yoga puzzle. I tried all sorts of styles, including Iyengar, Sivananda, Ashtanga, Anusara and found my home with Vinyasa. Five years after graduating college (thanks to the parental advice) I became a yoga teacher. It’s a joke in my family now. While some people think being a yoga teacher and contortionist is one and the same, we yogis know it’s a lot different.
I love yoga—it’s my passion and it goes everywhere with me. I’ve practiced on mountaintops in Africa, beaches in Mexico, hills in Greece, and the back woods of West Virginia.
Yoga is the greatest metaphor for life--challenging us to be engaged yet relaxed on our journey. The more I teach and study the practice, the more I realize how much there is to learn and for that I’m forever grateful. Whether I’m teaching or simply practicing as a student, I’m constantly learning. The gratitude I feel to all of my students and the Tranquil Space family is enormous, as they’ve taught me a great deal over my last 3+years of teaching. I’ve learned that regardless of how long you’ve practiced, whom you’ve practiced with or where, there is no greater teacher than yourself. I’ve observed this in classes and love to see students get a pose after struggling and experimenting with it for a time.
Yoga has helped me to be thankful for the little things—the depth of my breath, the quiet that is possible in my mind, the strength and potential of my body, humility and probably most importantly, the power of each moment. There’s a line in a U2 song that I sometimes say to myself when practicing, "What you don’t have you don’t need it now". How relevant that is to yoga practice. As the holiday season approaches, let’s keep that in mind. Whether we’re on the yoga mat or off, more than likely, what you have is what you need.
To read more about Lisa, visit our
teacher page.
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asana of the
month
tree/vrksasana
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Benefits:
This pose helps celebrate the holiday season, strengthens thighs,
calves, ankles, and spine, stretches the groins and inner thighs, chest
and shoulders, improves sense of balance, relieves sciatica and reduces
flat feet.
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yogi of the month
michelle beamer
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I'm
not religious, but I am spiritual. And I believe that having a place to
"practice," whether it's spiritual, physical or religious, is very
important for one's body and soul.
I had practiced yoga for
about four years, at a couple different yoga studios before I got
pregnant. After I gave birth, I hesitated about finding another studio
because, frankly, my energy was different—I no longer had the time or
the inclination to work out like a maniac. I wanted to exercise and get
stronger, but I felt like being a little gentler with myself and I
didn't want to feel like I was in competition anymore.
About 8
months after I had my son Kaj, (who is an avid downdogger) we started
coming to Tranquil Space for the Thursday Baby & Me classes. We
loved it! There was such a nurturing, creative and playful atmosphere,
it was perfect for us.
Now that Kaj is 1 1/2, I usually go to
classes by myself and I've been inspired to start practicing at home as
well. I stay at home with Kaj, and I'm also pursuing a master's in
interior design, so right now my time seems to go so fast and in a
million different directions. I imagine it's that way for many of us.
Yoga, especially in Tranquil Space's unique atmosphere, allows me to
stop time, relax and renew myself. If I could bottle that after-class
feeling for all new mothers out there, I'd be a gazillionaire!!
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tranquiliTeam
player of the month
johanna birkel
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Sometimes in life you find yourself looking around thinking how did I
get here? Life is far from that Irish saying your friends use to
send you out into the world: "may the road rise to meet you. may the
wind be at your back and may the sun shine..." Oh sure there's wind
and there is a road but that's about it. You find yourself at the
climbing part of the adventure. Constantly looking up wondering how
much further and looking down thinking why am I doing this—where am i
going? Somehow in this commotion of life, I keep finding my way back
to Tranquil Space.
Tranquil Space has become more like a dojo to me in recent months. I
feel like the karate kid "if she makes us chaturanga one more time..."
But I know there is no way I can fight back the day and keep climbing
without it. I know that only with my tranquiliT training am I going
to be able to kick some cobra kai butt tomorrow. Whether that cobra
kai is climbing up a cliff or smiling at my "inbox". I know that
when I leave the tranquil space doors, each time I am a little more
prepared, a little more ready to face the day.
So next time my wise sensai yoga teacher tells me in their own Mr.
Miyagi "first, you accomplish paint the fence" I can remember that,
if the man who catches fly with chopstick can accomplish anything, wax
on wax off or chaturanga dandasana can sometimes mean the same as
onward and upward. Keep going—namaste and hi-ya. |
tranquiliT
boutique
clothing, accessories, and specialties to enrich your life on and off the mat
featured in this month's shape magazine,
tranquiliT
boutique: a fusion of fashion and passion in celebration of
yogis' bodies and spirits! Tranquil Space's
own line of yoga clothing and accessories, tranquiliT,
is designed to celebrate the
bodies and spirits of the style-conscious yogini. Give the gift of tranquility this holiday season, gift certificates available.
tranquiliT boutique carries Sweetees, Sweet Pea, Velvet, and other FABULOUS
lines. All pieces are
hand picked by Kimberly, made of luxurious fabrics
that stretch with your body, and designed for wearing on and
off the yoga mat. The tranquiliT boutique blends a love of fashion, a desire
for comfort, and a sprinkle
of flair.
Join us on Saturday, December 4
for our holiday trunk show debuting
the tranquiliT designs and featuring other local female artists. Our tranquiliT trunk shows have been featured in Lucky online.
tranquiliT boutique's featured item this month is the poncho
- the perfect accessory for covering up en route to class and
transitioning to the cafe later. Passion for poncho sale this
month! 25% off ALL ponchos!
Share your retail therapy thoughts
by submitting this boutique
survey. Shop tax-free in DC through December 5!
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As
a continuing benefit of our Charity
Community, a portion of the tranquiliT proceeds are donated to My Sister's Place — an
organization committed to eradicating domestic violence.
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