dibora’s journey into yoga emerged from a desire to spend time nurturing relationships with friends who were already practicing. her commitment to the practice continued to grow as new friends were made through the love of the practice and as challenges on the yoga mat became inspiring, joyful, and humbling events. teaching yoga is her way of sharing something valuable to her, and also a way to express gratitude to the many teachers and fellow yogis who have inspired, challenged, and supported her on the journey.

she brings to her classes an enthusiasm for the practice, and a belief in the benefits of allowing ease for each student’s practice to evolve as it may. she views the journey to the yoga mat as a continuous process of perseverance, commitment, and joy – as new boundaries are met, challenged, and happily navigated. dibora enjoys teaching energetic and fluid classes, focusing on the breath to guide movements of the body. she completed tranquil space’s 200-hour teacher training in 2007.

caroline green - dupont

caroline is deeply devoted to the practice of yoga, having studied in washington since 1999 and with kimberly wilson since 2000. a graduate of tranquil space vinyasa yoga teacher training program, she is a registered yoga teacher (ryt) certified with yoga alliance. her approach to teaching and life is dynamic, adventurous, and filled with love. her teachers have influenced and inspired her to teach from a place of compassion and wisdom.

caroline has a playful and supportive teaching style as she encourages students to explore the boundaries of the mind, body, and soul as they reconnect with the authentic joy and beauty within themselves. she uses purposeful sequencing in which students open their bodies safely through alignment, recharging and feeling satisfying evolutions in their practice. her classes are filled with carefully selected music, creating an environment for focus and movement through vinyasa flow. cervantes said: "where there is music, there can be no evil."

born and raised in the south, caroline is a classical pianist having earned a ba in music from the university of georgia. she sings with the cathedral choral society, holds a degree in french culinary techniques, and is an active member of the jr. league of washington. she is admissions and concert manager at the phillips collection. she believes her own soulful practice reflects her conviction of yoga's strengthening powers on and off the mat.
 

although she feels like she has been practicing yoga all her life (evidenced by early childhood photos of her in eka pada sirsasana), marianne was formally introduced to yoga in 1999 and immediately fell in love with the poetry of meditation in movement. she is certified through yoga alliance, having completed the 200-hour teacher training at tranquil space.

marianne is honored to be a part of the tranquil space community and hopes her classes will provide the space for students to connect to spirit, cultivate inner awareness, joy, and compassion. she loves that yoga teaches us that every breath, every moment, is a moment of potential practice and that we already possess all we need to be truly happy. yoga allows us to be in a state of awareness and gratitude for our own strength, our own body, our precious heart, and because of this we find it much easier to share that awareness and compassion with others. it is this simple act of honoring the divinity in ourselves and everyone else that make the little moments in life much more profound.

marianne is a registered nurse with over 20 years experience in women's health, as a labor and delivery, high risk obstetrical and neonatal nurse, childbirth educator and grief counselor. she is also a returned peace corps volunteer having served in lesotho, southern africa, from 2001-2003 where she taught women about health, nutrition and cooking, hiv/aids and yoga. she is a breast cancer survivor!

marianne wishes to thank all her teachers, past and present, for being constant examples of how to live one's yoga practice. she is grateful to her daughters tracy and kristin, her husband chris, and her own yoga mat for their daily inspiration.

sharing the benefits of yoga with others is one of marci's true pleasures. she began practicing kundalini yoga over ten years ago in columbus, ohio. marci was not immediately enamored with yoga, but she did appreciate the physical benefits her yoga practice had on her long-distance running. as marci developed a regular yoga practice, she discovered additional rewards; she felt more grounded, gained a new sense of awareness, and increased her joie de vivre.

marci completed her 200-hour teaching training with tranquil space in 2004, is a registered teacher with yoga alliance, and has received additional training specifically dedicated to prenatal and postnatal moms. marci is passionate about guiding students through a supportive and challenging breath-driven vinyasa practice. marci encourages students to use meditation and movement to discover and celebrate the divine in each day. currently, marci serves as an attorney with the u.s. small business administration, shares her yoga mat with her son, dylan, and is working with her husband, ryan, on home improvement projects. she continues to enjoy running and is making progress on a pact with a best friend to run a half-marathon in every state.

brittny's yoga journey began in 2002 when she discovered an ashtanga yoga studio in minnesota while attending graduate school. After a move to washington dc in 2004, she practiced at several different studios until she found what she had been searching for -- a studio that combined her passion for vinyasa and her desire to find a sense of community within the hectic pace of the nation's capitol- tranquil space!

when taking a seat as a yoga teacher, her intention is to create a space in which each student can discover his or her own yoga path through a flow of asanas that calm the mind, open the heart, and awaken the spirit. her yoga and teaching style honors the beauty of the breath, the power of the bandhas, and the amazing connection between our asanas on the mat and our lives off the mat. her yoga - on and off the mat - is inspired by tanya boigenzahn, jennifer grey, darren main, max strom, doug swenson, and the teachers at tranquil space. as co-coordinator of the yoga at work program at tranquil space, brittny is committed to spreading the benefits of yoga into dc's cubicles, conference rooms, and corner offices so that we can all experience the benefits of more yogis breathing a little deeper here in the nation's capitol.

brittny completed her 200-hour teacher training certification in may 2007 at tranquil space and is a registered teacher with the yoga alliance. she has a masters degree in education policy, is currently writing her dissertation for a phd in education policy; she also directs the federal relations program for the american association of state colleges and universities.

jenni came to the practice of yoga through a chance meeting with a wise, old indian man at a local college coffee shop. in 2002, she moved back to the DC area and found tranquil space in a church off of 16th street. in 200,7 she completed the 200-hour teacher training program at tranquil space.

working as a teaching assistant for the equally engaging, yet different anne thiel and danielle pollen has helped to nurture her understanding of the art of teaching yoga. she believes that tranquil space is the best yoga studio in DC because of its community, people who are dedicated to practice yoga off the mat and in their daily lives.

her favorite definition of pranayama is "life force extension," and she believes that the most powerful practice lies in the balance of pose and breath. she loves the vinyasa style of yoga because it invites the yogi to creatively explore the possibilities of the practice.

jenni encourages all yogis to give their best, and let the rest be given to them…

"the sage sees things as they are, without trying to control them. she lets them go their own way and resides at the
center of the circle." – tao te ching, chapter 29 (stephen mitchell translation)

danielle, a native of texas, initially sought out yoga as a means of recovery from recurring dance-related injuries, but quickly found that the effects of her practice reached far deeper than the major muscle groups. while danielle currently earns her livelihood as an immigration attorney, she views the role of teacher as a great privilege, and has enjoyed teaching a variety of movement, writing, and law courses over the years. she completed the 200-hour teacher training at tranquil space, and her classes reflect her solid grounding in both the iyengar and anusara traditions coupled with the vinyasa flow. in addition, both her respect for yoga and her interdisciplinary teaching style continue to be informed by ongoing studies with shiva rea, rodney yee and sarah powers, among others.

danielle is also a massage therapist specializing in deep muscle massage and brings to her classes a solid foundation in anatomy and physiology gained both from her training in massage therapy, and from her many years in the dance studio. danielle has been a longtime member of the spanish dance theater, and has also performed as a dancer with the washington opera, gala hispanic theater, ballet el paso and ballet chrysalis, among others.

danielle believes creative expression to be a powerful, transformational force, and aside from her dancing, enjoys creative writing, photography, road trips, and quality time at the dog park with her willful but soulful xoloitzcuintle dog, miss mulabandha. she also volunteers her time as chair emeritus of the international "just say no to bakasana" coalition. when not at the studio or lobbying for positive immigration reform, danielle can be found at her favorite local cafe, penning anonymous love poetry to senator ted kennedy or working on her autobiography, tentatively entitled "men & hair — my not-so-secret obsession." she also continues to be haunted by the eternal, burning question — "kirk or spock?"

danielle is grateful to, and continues to be inspired by, kimberly wilson, as well as by her fabulous colleagues and students here at tranquil space. through a sense of compassion, humor, and intuitive awareness, danielle encourages her students to challenge themselves while simultaneously accepting and embracing their current state of being.

brian turned to yoga in 2005 after knee surgery and ongoing injuries kept hindering his ability to play soccer and squash competitively. he immediately felt a connection to the yoga mat. his yoga journey has allowed him to express his creativity and fun, energetic approach to life in a joyful way that allows him to challenge himself while simultaneously letting go of the ego’s desire and need to be praised or achieve recognition.

his teaching philosophy and style incorporates the ideas of playfulness, power, poise, precision, persistence, and presentness and has been greatly influenced by his time playing on the yoga mat with simon park, jasmine tarkeshi, darren main, cameron shayne, judith lasater, kevin waldorf-cruz, and kimberly wilson. he encourages his students to practice yoga off the mat by going towards the places that scare us, facing our challenges with a gentle, open heart and curious mind, seeing that everything is workable.

brian is a practitioner and student of tibetan buddhism in the shambhala tradition of chögyam trungpa rinpoche, sakyong mipham rinpoche, and pema chödrön, to whom he is especially grateful. brian also leads a weekly meditation practice at tranquil space'’s dupont studio. he is a level i reiki practitioner and hopes to become a level ii practitioner.

"the sun and moon guide me, lift me and soothe me . . ."

it is the spirit of this image that drew niya to yoga — the forces of opposition and the resulting space created where passion, peace, and love reside.

though she was born and raised in the midwest, her passion for yoga stems from numerous life-changing trips to india. she sincerely thanks her teachers, students, family, and friends for supporting and inspiring her on her own journey. after practicing many years on and off, niya completed the 200-hour teacher training at tranquil space and she is certified through yoga alliance. she is elated to be part of the tranquil space community and thankful for her training with such an amazing group of yogis. she hopes that her classes will be a place to call "home" for students, a place to connect with their spirit and grow passion, just as she has. niya views every class as an opportunity for transformation, growth and healing on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

niya has a degree in communications and documentary film. she currently works in television production, and is involved in numerous artistic endeavors, including painting and spoken word. she is continually energized and humbled by how teaching and practicing yoga continues to grow and nurture her journey.

anne is a teacher and the prenatal program coordinator at tranquil space. she completed the 200-hour yoga alliance -approved teacher training at tranquil space, is a certified prenatal yoga teacher, and has studied with several nationally-known teachers (shiva rae, sarah powers, doug swenson, etc.).

she has worked as a midwife in germany and delivered 450 babies before moving to the united states to enter a PhD program in german studies. she later left the academic world and has since then worked in various positions in environmental ngo's.

initially, she began practicing yoga to find relief from stressful dissertation-writing process, but has discovered that it is much richer than just a stress management tool.

"every time i step onto the mat i become witness of a fascinating interplay of oppositional, yet harmonious forces. it is an opportunity for me to quiet my mind and reconnect with a still center inside myself while getting blocked energies inside me moving; it is a chance to cultivate a healthy balance of strength and flexibility that i then try to carry with me into my 'practice off the mat.' in my classes i hope to create an environment that allows my students to do the same."

for her prenatal yoga classes, she hopes that they will support women during their pregnancy as they prepare for labor and childbirth and begin the journey of becoming a parent.

siobhan troy- dupont, bethesda

siobhan completed her 200-hour teacher training at tranquil space and is an experienced registered yoga teacher with yoga alliance. she first came to tranquil space in 2001 and has since been opened up to a whole new world. in 2004 she embarked with kimberly wilson on opening tranquil space bethesda. siobhan enjoys teaching since it allows her to nurture her students and in turn she has learned so much from them.

in addition to studying at tranquil space, siobhan has studied with nationally known teachers: ana forrest, shiva rea, and baron baptiste. her knowledge of yoga, past experience teaching and her love for children motivated her to study with shakta kaur khalsa, author of fly like a butterfly: yoga for children. siobhan enjoys encouraging adults to nurture their inner child while finding their edge on the mat.

drawing on her experience not only from yoga but from running three marathons, swimming, coaching, protecting the environment, and helping to raise money for AIDS services enables siobhan to relate to her students. all of us come onto to the mat with our own strengths and weaknesses, siobhan strives to help her students embrace these and see themselves as the beautiful person they are meant to be.

in 2006, siobhan became a mother to a baby girl. she and her husband are enjoying their new roles and have each gained a greater respect for their parents.

melissa began her study of yoga in 1993 as a high school student in rural maine. since that time she has practiced several styles, including iyengar, kripalu, and slow flow, before finding her home at tranquil space, where she recently completed her 200-hour teacher training certification.

melissa's style is fluid and creative, with a reverence for classical teachings and attention to alignment. she emphasizes breath, mindfulness, and sheer delight in the experience of movement. witnessing how her own practice changes with time, she believes that yoga adapts to the needs of each practitioner. she strives to create a nurturing space where students can safely explore their innate gracefulness.

melissa's style has been influenced by kimberly wilson and the tranquil space team, barbara benagh, and seane corn. she has a master's degree in health communication and works as a health educator.

alison began practicing yoga in 2001, and completed both level 1 and 2 teacher training at tranquil space and an advanced yoga therapy training with joseph lepage of integrative yoga therapy. she has also studied with such noted teachers as doug swenson, cyndi lee, rodney yee, shiva rea, darren main, and baron baptiste.

alison has taught human sexuality, yoga, and pilates in the exercise science department of george washington university. her work at gw also includes a "therapeutic yoga for depression" series that she taught at the center for integrative medicine and a teacher training for future gw yoga teachers. she has created yoga workshops on back pain, stress reduction, and women's health, as well as lectured on yoga to the american medical association. she has been the tranquil space at work teacher for the kaiser family foundation since 2003.

in her "day job," alison works as a health educator in the food and drug administration's office of women's health. she holds a b.a. in public relations and psychology from syracuse university, and a master's degree in health science from the johns hopkins university school of public health.

kevin is a yogi who seeks to bring creativity and laughter to his yogic path. he has studied under kimberly wilson and is a tranquilspace certified teacher. kevin teaches energetic basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. he encourages his students to detoxify the body and clear their minds of clutter, in a safe and nurturing environment.

kevin has also had the opportunity to study with other amazing instructors including: cyndi lee from om yoga, baron baptiste of the power vinyasa institute, as well as darren main from yoga tree. he appreciates the integrated path of yoga, which honors the individual and the whole, through body, mind, and spirit process.

kevin is licensed social worker and holds a combined master's degree of social work focusing on welfare policy and clinical therapeutic practice. he has worked with many disenfranchised individuals and populations. he has mainly worked with hiv/aids issues over the last several years. kevin believes that every individual has the potential to develop their own sense of peace, regardless of circumstance.

kimberly wilson is a teacher, designer, writer, activist, and entrepreneur with a master’s in women’s studies. she is the founder of tranquil space yoga in washington, d.c.

she penned hip tranquil chick  with hopes of inspiring fellow femmes to lead a mindfully extravagant life on and off the yoga mat, and is currently working on her next opus, tranquilology – a fusion of spirituality, entrepreneurship, and creativity. when she's not bookstore browsing, you'll find her designing the eco-luxe TranquiliT lifestyle line and her one-of-a-kind tranquilista jewelry collection, sipping oodles of tea, or leading retreats globally. her work has been featured on martha stewart living radio and in daily candy, fit yoga, yoga journal, lucky, and shape.

with a passion for do-gooding, kimberly founded the tranquil space foundation  to assist women and girls with finding their inner voice through yoga, creativity, and leadership. she also serves on the board of the mid-atlantic yoga association.

indulge in ongoing musings of the yoga lifestyle through her blog and podcast. learn more at www.kimberlywilson.com.

chuck started on the yoga journey with tranquil space in 2002. he has taken the level 1 teacher training and will complete the level 2 teacher training at tranquil space this april. chuck started climbing 10 years ago and was instantly hooked. chuck's climbing has taken him to some of the most beautiful places in the eastern and western united states as well as british columbia, mexico, ecuador and france. currently chuck teaches movement technique to climbers at the sportrock indoor climbing gym in alexandria, virginia. the links between climbing and yoga exist on a number of levels. both activities offer pathways to nurture the spirit through mindful movement, balance, breathing, and connection with the world. chuck is always excited to help make that connection with fellow climbers and yogis.