E-Museletter

with the holidays upon us, it is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of it all. even if you love shopping, the smell of apple cider, and gift-wrapping, the chaos of the season can easily knock you off your tranquil path. as a yogi wanting to live consciously, you may wonder how to avoid getting wrapped up in the drama while instead trying to make a difference. how can we be more savvy in our social consciousness? considering many of you will begin your holiday planning and gift giving any day now, i wanted to pass along tips for staying tranquil and mindful among the visions of sugar plums.

1. be a global girlfriend. give gifts that are globally chic and environmentally friendly.
2. volunteer. you may think you don’t have any time, but i promise you can find an hour to go visit someone at an assisted living center, serve food at a soup kitchen, or bake cookies for someone having a hard time.
3. buy organic flowers. flowers certified by veriflora label are raised organically with a focus on conserving water and restoring habitat.
4. buy eco-friendly clothing. organic cotton and bamboo are soft, less toxic on the environment, add a dash of consciousness to your look. our line, TranquiliT, is the perfect combo of eco-friendly flair.
5. give a goat or adopt a pig. yep, i’m serious! for the mum who has it all, this may make her feel very good.
6. take care of yourself. many people get sick this time of the year due to the stress and long hours of it all. slow down, breathe deeply, sip your herbal tea (over that espresso), and remember the reason for the season. joy!
7. phone a senior. visit eldercare.gov to see how a few minutes of your day can brighten another's.
8. practice yoga. of course i had to throw this in, but honestly it is crucial during this time of the year. heart openers, hip openers, restorative poses, and yin yoga are must-haves for the holidays! when in doubt, put your legs up the wall for immediate relief.
9. surround yourself with positivity. holidays are stressful enough, why allow yourself to be brought down? if you feel like you have no choice, limit the interaction time with negative people as we are sponges that absorb what is around us. choose wisely.
10. slow down. carve out a day, afternoon, or hour just for you. hit the bookstore, sit at a local café, or visit an art gallery. refresh.
11. recycle. reuse paper bags, ribbons, and gift bags to personalize your gift giving in a green and tranquil way. i like to wrap shoe boxes with the inside of a whole food brown paper bag, tie a few lovely ribbons left over from gifts i’ve received, and viola, i have a darling package with little expense and waste.
12. reduce waste. the amount of waste among households increases substantially this time of year. forgo tons of holiday cards, avoid gifts with lots of packaging, make only enough food necessary for your guests, replace disposable with reusable, use what you buy.

i hope that these tips offer you some respite. thank you for your support as we’ve just celebrated our eighth year in business and we are truly honored to serve you. if there is anything you’d like us to add to our offerings or that you need, please let me know. oh, and we have a very special surprise to share in the new year. stay tuned.

here's to chic and conscious holidays! (picture a raised glass with a festive gold bow tied around the stem, filled with a delicious sparkling cranberry juice, topped off with a sliver of orange.) may your holidays be very merry, bright and tranquil!

xoxo,
kimberly wilson

some thoughts on abundance

the other day at the office, management sent around an email notifying staff that, due to some necessary belt-tightening, one of the year-end holiday bonuses that employees formerly received would henceforth be discontinued. i could hear several colleagues from my department gather in my neighbor’s office and begin to grumble about the news. one colleague, in particular, became quite upset, and immediately began to recite a list of expenditures that the organization had undertaken in the past year as evidence that management was simply being tightfisted with regard to holiday bonuses. even a few newer employees began to complain, though they hadn’t yet been with the organization long enough to receive the bonus at issue. there was a clear sense that some entitlement had been taken away with news of the bonus’s demise, and neither the generous year-end holiday party or other tokens of appreciation that management continues to provide seem likely to make up for this perceived sense of “lack.”

oddly, it often seems that the season of holiday giving, itself, stirs up our feelings of lack. we secretly feel slighted when a loved one doesn’t present us with the gift we’ve hinted at wanting. we become upset when a colleague receives a bigger year-end raise than we receive. relatives show up at our home for a holiday meal and we grumble inwardly that they haven’t contributed their share or helped out enough. we queue up outside of the shopping mall at 5:00 am on “black friday” for fear that somebody else will get the best deal, or we’ll be unable to get our hands on that new solar-powered salad spinner that our sister-in-law expects to receive for christmas.

in short, we have an amazing capacity to forget all of the gifts that are already ours when our focus is constantly on the next purchase, the next goal, the next milestone.

one of my greatest teachers in the art of abundance is my friend and former client, who we’ll call “jc” for short. jc walked across many deserts to come to this country in search of more opportunity than was available in his native land. since arriving, he’s worked two and three jobs at a time, saving as much as he can while still sending money home to his family. jc has very little material wealth, yet is always ready to give a dollar or two to the guy sitting on the corner, asking for change. jc’s friends often call on him for emergency loans, and he readily lends them the money—not because he has extra to spare, but simply because others are in need and he can relate. each time i see jc, he’s busy repairing something he’s found discarded by others in an alleyway or dumpster. “in my country, nobody throws anything out,” he says, amazed at the american penchant for discarding perfectly serviceable items. indeed, he sees parallels between our discard/upgrade-oriented consumer mentality and our treatment of the elderly. “in my culture,” he notes, “our old people are honored for the abundance of wisdom and experience they carry, and remain an important part of the family unit.” jc is a master in the art of recycling, renewing, giving new life to old things, of appreciating the abundance that surrounds us all.

the words of eckhart tolle are instructive here:

rather than acknowledging the good that is already in your life, all you see is lack. acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance. the fact is: whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you are withholding from the world…. the source of abundance is not outside you. it is part of who you are. however, start by acknowledging and recognizing abundance without. see the fullness of life all around you. the warmth of the sun on your skin, the display of magnificent flowers outside a florist’s shop, biting into a succulent fruit, or getting soaked in an abundance of water falling from the sky…. the acknowledgment of that abundance that is all around you awakens the dormant abundance within.

an attitude of gratitude can allow us to be sufficiently present to recognize the abundance with which most of us are blessed. i once read that “gratitude is like a flashlight. if you go out in your yard at night and turn on a flashlight, you suddenly can see what’s there. it was always there, but you couldn’t see it in the dark.”

while the holiday bonus may be a thing of the past, my “abundance account” is rich beyond measure. i am grateful to all my teachers in the art of abundance. i am grateful for the gift of yoga and for the clarity and perspective it provides. and finally, i am grateful to all the students who pass through my classes for sharing with me their lives, their stories, their challenges, and their abundant spirits. may we all recognize the abundance that surrounds us during this season and all the days of our lives.

om shanti.

tranquility boutique is a fusion of fashion and passion in celebration of yogis' bodies and spirits! tranquility boutique carries a delightful selection of comfy and chic lines that transition from the yoga mat to the market or museum. all pieces are hand picked by kimberly, made of luxurious fabrics that stretch with your body, and designed for nurturing your yoga lifestyle. come in and browse our newly added chiffon scarves, long legwarmers, velvet tunics, and more!

tranquil space's own line of yoga clothing and accessories, Tranquility, is designed for the style-conscious yogini and has been featured in shape, lucky, daily candy, fit yoga, the washingtonian, and the washington post.

stop by this saturday, december 1, 2007, for our annual trunk show featuring women artists. the tranquil space boutique will also be open until 9 pm on saturday.

we have lots of great gift packages in the boutique, perfect for the holiday season, as well as new books to enlighten you into the new year.

happy shopping this season,

joanna & julia

karma yoga is the yoga of selfless action: from feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, housing the poor and helping all in need. it is also the offering of our ingenuity, inventiveness, wisdom, love, and connection to humanity. there are many ways to do this…through teaching, community service, the arts, meditation, charity work and more.

we've created a new karma yoga corner both online and at the studio to give you tools to connect with each other and the community. contact our karma yoga director niyati shah with any feedback or questions.

karmic thoughts for the holiday season
by lauren brownstein

as you may know, yoga is more than just the practice of physical poses (known as asana). there are 7 other branches of yoga, and one of them is karma, or the yoga of selfless service. in karma yoga, we give to others without thought of the rewards that we may receive. no matter who you are or what your personal circumstances, you have many resources at your disposal to practice karma yoga, including your time (which you can use to volunteer, or care for friends and family in need) and your money (which you can donate to worthy causes).

during this holiday season, when your holiday gift list seems endless and your mailbox is clogged with charity solicitations, you can reframe your relationship with money through the lens of karma yoga. can you purchase a holiday gift that will positively change the life of the recipient… or the seller? (e.g. buying fair trade goods) can you give a small gift to a worthy cause that touches your heart? (and before you say “i can’t afford it,” ask yourself – can you afford to give up 5 trips per year to the local coffee shop? one night per month at the movies?) if you make conscious choices about how to use your money, it can be a tool for good and a part of your karmic path.

thank you for coming out to support our thanksgiving day charity classes. we raised $400 for SOME and $100 for food for others.