|
this month's e-news contains:
|
|
May our bodies and minds be healthy.
May our thoughts be filled with love.
May our practice be free of obstacles.
May we carry its benefits into the world.
|
|
|
opening muse
|
"To practice is to pay attention to your whole life: your thoughts, your bodily sensations, and your speech and other actions. As you do, you will discover that nothing is separate from anything else. Thoughts are the sensations of the mind just as sensations are the thoughts of the body. Each moment of your life is a moment of potential practice."
~ Judith Lasater
|
|
At Tranquil Space, we encourage taking your practice off of the yoga mat and into your daily life practice. But what exactly does that mean? How can you take crow pose, May's challenging asana of the month, into a job interview or other stressful situation? It is helpful to begin by viewing the translation of yoga poses into characteristics or traits that assist you in developing a deeper connection to yourself and others. For example, crow pose is about overcoming fear, finding balance, using your core (gut or intuition) to lift up and stay steady, and coupling all this with the breath and complete concentration.
A yoga practice contains so much more than simply the physical asanas that we do in a class. It is truly a way of life. Many Westerners are unclear about the eight limbs of yoga — the physical hatha yoga that we have all come to know and love is only one of these limbs. The majority of the limbs are about controlling the mind. At the beginning of many classes, I like to remind students that focusing into the body and getting out of the head is truly the hardest part of yoga. Throughout the day, we are head-focused — this is what allows us to perform in our daily lives. Tuning into our bodies is what we encourage for on-the-mat practice, allowing us to feel and experience fully what is going on within. Each limb is described briefly below as a reminder of what yoga actually is:
- Yama: Explains the codes of ethical behavior to be observed daily and reminds us of our responsibilities as social beings. These restraints are nonviolence, truthfulness, non-stealing, moderation, and non-attachment.
- Niyama: The positive current that brings discipline, removes inertia and gives shape to follow the yogic path. These observances are purity, contentment, austerity, study of the self and scriptures, and surrender to the Divine.
- Asana: Physical hatha yoga practice.
- Pranayama: Breath or energy practice.
- Pratyahara: Detachment from the senses. Staying steady during life's continual ups and downs.
- Dharana: The ability to focus the mind.
- Dhyana: Meditation. Sitting still, turning inward.
- Samadhi: State of total absorption, superconsciousness.
As you can see, yoga practice goes so much deeper than simply sun salutations and arm balances. The longer you practice yoga, the more you realize that your true practice is both on and off the mat. So how can we best take Patanjali's centuries-old tenets of yoga and incorporate them into the present moment? How about beginning right now by simply becoming present? Notice your breath and how you are sitting. Bring attention to the heart center and notice if it feels constricted. Our bodies can reveal so much that is not consciously brought to the surface. For example, pay attention to your breath and heart center when walking into a situation you're dreading versus one you can't wait to attend. BIG difference. Our bodies are amazing teachers.
This is the continuous challenge of life and yoga — enjoying the here and now with consciousness. I am constantly reminded of Darren's words in Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic, "life is like a yoga mat; each circumstance in which we find ourselves is like a pose. Some poses are hard to hold; others are pleasant. But it is how we hold the pose that determines whether or not we will suffer or grow, and whether or not we will listen to the drama of the ego or the wisdom of the spirit." May the beginning of summer bring you a chance to sit with yourself, enjoy the present moment, and savor a sense of relaxation coupled with continuous self-reflection. As the popular saying goes, the unexamined life is not worth living. By carrying your practice off of the mat, incorporating courage, flexibility, strength, and power into your daily life, you are able to see the effects that the yoga poses on the mat will have in your daily life.
 | Many blessings and gratitude,
Kimberly Wilson
Creative Director |
 |
|
Join Kimberly on Sunday, June 6 from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. to discuss Living Your Yoga by Judith Lasater. Come with the book read or absorb the concepts through discussion of the book. A $5-$15 donation for the Humane Society is requested.
|
|
|
|
latest studio happenings
- Thank you for celebrating our first anniversary on P street and our tranquiliT boutique expansion! View photos of this special evening.
- Nurture yourself with our newly added program: Transformational Life Coaching with Peg Armstrong, an MSW and fabulous Tranquil Space teacher. Work on developing your life off of the yoga mat.
- TranquiliTykes and TranquiliTeens: yoga for kids! Join Siobhan this summer for our 4-week series designed especially for kids and frolic on the yoga mat.
 Race for the Cure! Join the Tranquil Space Team this Saturday, June 5. Meet us at 7:30 a.m. and wear your pink tranquiliT tee! For details, visit our enlightening events page.- Gentle Yoga class is now called Newbie Yoga. New name, same great class!
- Escape to the Yucatan in July with Lisa. Click for details: explore the magic of yoga in mexico.
- Lots of great workshops — letting go of attachments, restorative yoga, finding balance, and more! Visit our enlightening events page for details!
- Interested in free yoga? Visit our studio opportunities page for our current needs.
- Newbie Yogi Series coming on Saturdays in July! A 4-week series catered to the developing, inquisitive yogi. Visit the newbie yogi series page for details!
- Our Prenatal and Baby & Me Programs continue to grow. To receive the special Tranquil Space newsletter catered to moms-to-be and new yogini moms, e-mail prenatalprogram@tranquilspace.com or postnatalprogram@tranquilspace.com.
- Community celebration. A way to celebrate Tranquil Space yogis' honors and developments!
Please share your recent news with us by e-mailing newsletter@tranquilspace.com.
- Congrats to Katie Tison and Eve Copeland for graduating in May.
- Welcome to Miles, who was born to Colleen Bertrand on March 27.
- Congrats to Stephanie Olson who gave birth to a little baby-yogi, Griffin.
- Congrats to Leigh Ann Simmons-Wescott for embarking on a new academic adventure at the University of Kentucky.
- A warm welcome to September Fortier for joining Tranquil Space as a teacher sub, to our newly added studio assistants Marci, Johanna, Jennifer, Pampa, Isabel, Kate and Tamara, and to our newly added Assistant Studio Manager sub Heather Claggett, cookie monster Natasha, and studio upkeep helpers Johanna and Dave.
- Congrats to Alison Lemon on her upcoming June wedding.
- Tranquil Space was mentioned in the Washington Post's article on partner exercise.
 | - A celebration of our first hip tranquil chick workshop and the fabulous women who joined: Michelle, Tracy, Hillary, Zoe, Rachael, Lucia, Melissa, Laura, Shelby, Sabine, Heather, and Gina.
 | - Another BIG congrats to our 200-hour teacher training graduates! Abby, Alise, Angela, Carolyn, Dayna, Dianne, Erin, Felina, Heather, Jemitra, Johanna, Kate, Katharine, Laura I., Laura S., Marci, Marianne, Michele, Nancy, Rob, September, Shay, Vanessa!
|
|
- Please share photos of you wearing tranquiliT tees around the globe! This month's features are Marcia Hoffheins and Shannon McClatchey proudly wearing their tranquiliT hoodies during their Personal Revolution weekend workshop with Baron Baptiste at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, Danielle Polen and her canine yogini Miss Mulabandha, and baby yogi Carson Wilson, nephew of Kimberly, in his blue yogi tranquiliT tee. To be featured in next month's newsletter, send photos to newsletter@tranquilspace.com.
asana of the month
dancer/natarajasana
 |
Benefits:
- Stretches the shoulders and chest
- Stretches the thighs, groins, and abdomen
- Strengthens the legs and ankles
- Improves balance
|
yogi of the month
stephen notes
 |
The teachers at Tranquil Space are fountains of positive energy. And that's what I need. Because I'm a whirlpool of negative funk without my yoga. I am. I get all grumpy. Go into withdrawal. I'm becoming a yoga junkie. Hopefully I'm also working towards some higher level of consciousness. Hopefully I'm burning off some karma. I need to perk up my self-esteem. Calm down. Focus my mind. Mend my broken heart. And I've had some great hallucinations in corpse pose at the end of some classes. I know it helps to strip away my quirks and tones my muscles. But I really dig Tranquil Space because of the creative and challenging vinyasa approach. And the music. And the candles. The atmosphere. And all the teachers are truly sweet. I think I'm in love with at least four or five of them. Maybe six. |
tranquiliTeam player of the month
rachael ahrens
Yoga has been an important part of my life from a very young age. My recent move to DC and my discovery of Tranquil Space renewed my practice after a lapse during my busy college years (probably when I needed yoga the most!). My times at Tranquil Space are welcome moments to center while I explore the adventures of my next stage of life after my college exodus.
In addition to improving my skills and concentration on the mat, I have begun learning more about how to bring my practice off the yoga mat and into other areas of my life through breath, visualization, and energy work. I also love the creative energy that runs through Tranquil Space. It inspires creativity in my own life.
My practice with Tranquil Space reminds me that my study of yoga is always a work in progress, just as is life. I look forward to learning more and more about yoga and what it truly means to be a "hip, tranquil chick."
|
tranquiliT boutique
yoga clothing and accessories
 Shop the tranquiliT boutique this Summer! Tranquil Space's own line of yoga clothing and accessories, tranquiliT, is designed to celebrate the bodies and spirits of the style-conscious yogi. You will find tranquiliT tees, pants, and yoga accessories online at the tranquiliT boutique!
Tranquil Space is excited to share our newly expanded tranquiliT boutique! All pieces are hand picked by Kimberly, made of luxurious fabrics that move with you, and designed for wearing on and off the yoga mat. The tranquiliT boutique blends a love of fashion and desire for comfort with a sprinkle of flair. Enjoy the clothing while on the mat or on the town.
Our featured item this month is the black and white polka dot collection from To The Max — fun, festive wear that stretches with your body and is great for post-practice activities. Share your retail therapy thoughts and register to win a gift certificate by submitting this boutique survey.
|
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.
|
|
|
· 
