Mary Casey found herself at Tranquil Space after losing the competition for mat space with a cat while attempting to yoga through some Rodney Yee videos. Beginning her practice at P Street, she became a dedicated yogi at the 17th Street and Arlington studios after a personal record in the Philadelphia Marathon landed her under the knife where the nice doctor told her she would no longer be running every day. While yoga has certainly become a rewarding cross training activity for her, Mary was surprised to discover how her introduction to Tranquil Space and a regular yoga practice would be a complete spiritual and lifestyle change.

Mary has an undergraduate degree in Music Industry, and after reconciling that she was not meant to be a rock star after all, wound up in a career in media as an Audio Engineer. She has worked mostly on documentaries for the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and National Geographic. After a long stint in television, Mary decided to pursue a master’s degree in International Development and Conflict Resolution at the George Washington University. While opening up her schedule for basking in the sunshine at the National Cathedral rose garden to read hundreds of books on politics, governments, and war, additionally Mary became a studio assistant at Tranquil Space, and later, a Tranquility Concierge. She is now incredibly exited to be spending her time as Weekend Manager helping others to enjoy the benefits of yoga and doing her best to extend her peace studies into creating the most nurturing and peaceful environment for her weekend yogis to practice and rejuvenate.

Please join us in welcOMing our beloved Mary Casey into the oh-so-talented management team mix! Stop by and say "namaste" next Saturday or Sunday when you're at the Dupont studio.

Papaya was also there showing off new journals, bags and cards with their signature flare. Earthlust was also showing off new designs and we hope to have new Tranquil Space branded bottles by Earthlust sometime in the spring.

One of the goals of attending the gift fair is to find new items for the boutique. Julia and stopped by the Leakey Collection booth where they had beautiful necklaces, bracelets and otherhandmade jewelry by the Maasai women in Africa. They also had an amazing product called marula oil which you could use all over your body.

We placed an order of lovely French soaps from La Lavande. Scents include lemongrass, jasmine, mint leaf, lavender and ocean. This new company has several other great gifts that will make the receipient a happy person. The soaps will arrive in March.

Joya studios had a wonderful selection of candles and our favorite find solid perfume inside beautiful necklaces and pendants. A great way to enchance your wardrobe and have a fragrance to boot.

We took the shuttle over to the piers to view the new vendors to the show. Spotted on the showroom floor was Ping Wu from season 7 of Project Runway. She was showing her cool collection of accessories.

Kimberly and I will be looking over the catalogs, samples and information from the new vendors and making decisions to bring in new merchandise for you to choose from. If you are out and about and see something that you think may fit the vibe of the boutique, please let me know. You can find me at the studio in the evenings Monday through Friday or shoot me an email at marq@tranquilspace.com.

Craniosacral therapy is a very gentle, hands-on energy therapy that works to free up tension patterns in the body.  Tension patterns can be created through stress from physical, emotional, or mental disturbances.  The result of that stress can create feelings or symptoms of anxiety, headaches, low energy, back pain, or central nervous system disorders, among other imbalances.

During the treatment, you are fully clothed, lying down on the treatment table.  Evaluation of the craniosacral system is done through light touch on various parts of the body (feet, shins, lower back, upper chest, neck and head), assessing for imbalances, restrictions and constrictions in the fascia layer.
The fascia layer is the connective tissue that surrounds and envelops all of our organs, muscles, bones, and nerves. It is also connected to the layer that surrounds our spinal cord and brain. Essentially, it’s like the sock or nylon that keeps everything together and connected.

Tension patterns are released by placing both hands on the area of restriction, and following the energy rhythm or pull. What you feel at the end of the treatment is complete relaxation and a sense of being more grounded.

Unlike massage, the amount of pressure is very light and non-forceful. Craniosacral therapy differs from acupuncture because there are no needles involved and is completely non-invasive.

One of the key aspects of craniosacral therapy is the connection between the doctor and patient. Craniosacral therapy requires creating a sacred space, quieting and grounding body and mind, in order to tune in to the subtle energy rhythms of the craniosacral system. In that quiet space of listening to the body, I have come to find that much information is held in the tissues, information I find that is very useful to assist in the patients healing process.

If you've been feeling like your shoulders are scrunched up at your ears, or know that you carry your stress in your stomach or elsewhere, craniosacral therapy may be the treatment that will help you find your ease.

Dr. Rhodo Nguyen addresses the health of the whole person in an integrated approach that uses Naturopathic Medicine, nutritional counseling, colon hydrotherapy and Craniosacral Therapy. To book your appointment, please call 202.328.9642 or email drnguyen@tranquilspace.com

each month we choose a pose to focus on in each class through strong attention to alignment, variations, and/or modifications as a way to grow and expand our yogic horizons.

Preeminent Iyengar yoga teacher John Schumacher, in his eloquently written column for Yoga Journal, reminds us that, although Urdhva Dhanurasana and the other backbending asanas strengthen and stretch your muscles and create mobility in the spine and the hip and shoulder joints, the real power of the poses is more subtle. Mr. Schumacher writes:

"The physical presence of your bones and muscles is evident. Your nervous system, however, is essentially unseen—like the back of your body. Since both your back and your nervous system cannot be seen, they must be perceived from within, sensed rather than thought about. And since most of the actions of the backbends occur in the unseeable back of your body, developing the power to perceive what is happening and what to do draws you from the front of your brain and your externally oriented organs of perception into the deep recesses of the back brain and the unknown corners of the intuitive mind. The flow of awareness in the practice of yoga is from the external toward the internal, from the periphery to the core, from the objective to the subjective. You must depart eventually from the familiarity and solidity of the known and embark on the great, perennial adventure into the unknown. As with the practice of Urdhva Dhanurasana, effort is required on this journey; mistakes are inevitable; obstacles will arise. As with the practice of Urdhva Dhanurasana, you must persist. If the words of the sages are true, when your spiritual travels bring you to that mysterious place where you embrace and transcend the duality of the known and unknown, you will find your Self waiting there." [Yoga Journal, online edition, "Asana Column: Urdhva Dhanurasana (Backbend)"]

Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow or Wheel Pose):
Urdhva = upward
Dhanu = bow

Benefits:
• Stretches the chest and lungs
• Strengthens the arms and wrists, legs, buttocks, abdomen, and spine
• Stimulates the thyroid and pituitary
• Increases energy and counteracts depression
• Therapeutic for asthma, back pain, infertility, and osteoporosis

Cautions/Contraindications:
• Back injury
• Carpal Tunnel syndrome
• Heart condition
• High or low blood pressure
• Headache

Preparatory Poses:
• Bhujangasana (Cobra)
• Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog)
• Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)
• Virasana (Hero's)

Song that Most Comes to Mind While Moving into the Posture:
The Corrs' cover of: "Heart Like a Wheel"

Video is coming midweek to the blog... in the meantime:

(cc) wheel