From November 1-14, we're playing a little yoga bingo!

Our January and June yoga challenges were... well, challenging. To kick off the stretch run to the holiday season, Tranquil Space is making our next challenge a fun way to shake up your practice and experience at the studios. It's bingo with a Tranquil Space twist:

Labels: arlington, dupont, yoga

At our Dupont Studio:

• Level 1 Teacher Training, starts November 4th
  
• Newbie Yogi workshop with Alison, Sunday, November 6, 11:00 to 1:30 pm
• Art Journal Playshop with Kimberly, Sunday, November 6, 2:00 to 5:00 pm
• Technique & Intuition: Deepening your Practice with Lauren B, Friday, November 11, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
• 2nd Sunday Charity Class to benefit Food & Friends with Christine, November 13, 3:30 to 4:30 pm
  
• Tantra and Unlocking your Energy with Kristin Leal, Friday, November 18, 6:00 to 10:00 pm
• Anatomy of Breath and Pranayama with Kristin Leal, Saturday, November 19, 11:00 to 4:00 pm
• Yin Yoga University 101 with Danielle, Saturday, November 19, 5:00 to 8:00 pm
• Ayurveda I with Anne, Sunday, November 20, 2:30 to 5:30 pm

Thanksgiving Day classes to benefit SOME:

• Yin/Yang with Danielle 9:30 to 11:00 am
• Slow Flow with Anne, 10:30 to 12:00 pm
• On-the-Go with Christine, 11:00 to 12:00 pm
• On-the-Go with Kimberly, 11:30 to 12:30 pm
  

At our Arlington Studio:

• Massage for Couples of Friends with Barbara Jazzo, November 5, 5:00 to 7:00 pm
• Member Playshop: Asana Alignment with Lisa, November 12, 5:00 to 6:30 pm
• Infant Massage with Barbara Jazzo, November 17, 10:00 to 11:30 am
• Holiday Detox with Jodi, November 19, 5:00 to 7:00 pm
• Thanksgiving Charity to class to benefit SOME: Open Flow with Jodi, 10:00 to 11:15 am
  

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These two questions are ones that I get asked once someone knows that I teach one of our Yoga 3 classes. First off Yoga 3 is not as scary as you may think it is. You don't have to be a master of all those crazy arm balancing poses, be able to put your foot behind your head nor are you expected to levitate. What you do need is an open mind and heart to allow yourself to explore asanas and sequences that you may have never practiced before. Be open to the idea that you probably won't know nor be able to do all the poses or variations that are being taught, allow yourself to be uncomfortable and maybe even encounter a fear (for some that is being upside down and for others it may be the fear of not having any idea what Adho Dhanurasana is).

What happens in a Yoga 3?

There are similarities to all our other vinyasa classes at Tranquil Space. We do sun salutations, standing poses, backbends, seated poses, hip openers and inversions. It is just that we take deeper variations of poses, work into more advanced variations, play with arm balancing poses, work to float from a pose to another (think tripod headstand to side crow and back up again), and this is the class where you get the time to work in handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana), forearm stand (Pincha Mayurasana) and scorpion (Vrishchikasana).

How do you know you are ready for a Yoga 3 class?

It is a class that is meant to challenge you and you should have a solid Yoga 2 practice, meaning you are very familiar with the standing asanas (warrior 1, 2, 3, revolved triangle/side angle/half moon), be familiar with arm balancing poses (more than just 1 or 2), comfortable practicing headstand (barring any medical reasons you don't), and in my opinion have a strong vinyasa (chaturanga to up dog does not wear you out after 2-3).

If you have all that and you are curious to take your practice to the next level then come to a Yoga 3. We have two on the schedule at Dupont:

Mondays, 6:30 pm with Dave
Thursdays, 7:30 pm with me (Siobhan)

Still not sure?? Then attend a Yoga 2 with Dave and/or me; that will give you a sense of our teaching style and you can ask us after class about what specifically we would do differently in a Yoga 3.

Come join us as we have fun exploring our edge and being humbled by the practice of yoga!

Namaste,
Siobhan

Labels: community, yoga

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Why I Run? Because you never know who is suffering from HIV or AIDS?

Please join me in supporting Whitman-Walker Health by supporting the Washington AIDS Walk. Only four more days to help me reach my $5000 fundraising goal. Please help support if you can by clicking here.


It is common that in this day and age, that you often don’t know who is HIV+. Earlier this year I was surprised when my favorite barista became my client. We both had the same reaction “what are you doing here?” After years of serving me coffee, now it was my job to serve her. I helped her work through the grief of the diagnosis, prevent her from being evicted, manage some issues with addiction, share her diagnosis with her family, and eventually help her return to work, briefly. She reminded me how full life can be with a terminal diagnosis. She had the funniest jokes, the most insightful poetry, and then keen ability to support the “outsiders” in groups and make them feel at home. Unfortunately, for my favorite barista her condition was too advanced for current medical treatment. So my service became helping her reconcile her own dying process. This is not easy work for anyone. At her memorial, it became obvious how many people she touched. During her life she uplifted and supported so many individuals with small gestures of kindness and support. It is for her memory and the memory of my other clients that I run. Even small contributions matter.

Please support today!

Namaste,
Kevin

The weather is getting cooler (I'm a big fan, in case anyone is wondering), but our weekend events are continuing to heat up. We've got a little bit of everything this weekend from a workshop on meditation to a puppy pet-a-thon!

Spiritual Warrior Series: Mantra Meditation: the Yoga of Transcendental Sound on Saturday, October 29: from 5:00pm-8:00pm
Adoption Event with the Washington Humane Society on Sunday, October 30 from 1:00pm-3:00pm

Want the latest scoop on how open or crowded a class? Take a look at our updated traffic report, now featuring both Dupont Circle and Arlington!

tranquilspace.com/traffic

Green means more elbow room, red means a tighter fit (and more energy in the room!) and yellow is somewhere in between. Take a look and plan your practice - for the red classes, we strongly urge booking online ahead of time to ensure your spot.

Dupont Circle



Arlington

Labels: arlington, dupont, yoga

At Tranquil Space, we practice our yoga off the mat too... including 320 miles on a bike from Fortuna to San Francisco, CA! Join Tranquil Space's Tim Mooney on the journey that helped raise funds for organizations dedicated to combatting climate change:



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Labels: arlington, book club, hand wash cold, off the mat

What a night! Our fifth annual celebration raised nearly $2700 for our programming and generosity grants. In our five years, TSF has given over $10,000 to like-minded organizations, including some of the grantees we celebrated with last night. The foundation has also served over 300 girls through its TranquilTeens program.

A big thanks to everyone who came to support, those who were with us in spirit, our raffle and auction winners, and of course to DJ Ten for spinning the tunes on our celebratory night!

Labels: karma corner

We're excited to announce that Ayurvedic services will continue to be offered here at Tranquil Space even with the planned closing of the Spa on October 31.

What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, is an ancient Indian healing art. one of the key concepts of this healing system is the identification of a person's constitutional body type (dosha) which will determine recommendations for diet and lifestyle, as well as treatment. one-hour consultations are offered to determine your individual body type, assess possible imbalances and discuss recommendations for diet and lifestyle adjustments. To learn more about Ayurveda, check out this short video.

If you're interested in an Ayurveda evaluation you can call the studio and we can help find availability or you can email Anne directly at anne@tranquilspace.com.

Also, if would like to learn more about this ancient art, save the date for Anne teaching Ayurveda I on Sunday, November 20 from 2:30pm-5:30pm. This session will focus on one of the basic concepts of the ancient healing science of Ayurveda: the tri-dosha system. We will learn about the three basic functional energies, how to identify them in us and other people, and about basic diet and lifestyle adjustments for each dosha. The underlying purpose is to learn how to create a state of more optimal balance in the body and to thereby lay a solid foundation for our yoga practice. You can sign up for this workshop by clicking here.

Starting tonight you'll notice a subtle shift in class layout at our Dupont Circle studio that allows for better spacing and a more comfortable practice.

Labels: dupont, yoga

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Want another way to take your yoga off of the mat and into the world? Join us for the Tranquil Space Arlington Book Club! Our first meeting will be Sunday, October 16th at 7:30pm and our first book selection is Hand Wash Cold by Karen Maezen Miller.

Join Lisa, Sarah and Clare for a lively discussion and time to mingle with your fellow TSA yogis over tea and cookies. Restorative yoga will be held right before, so feel free to come early to get your relaxation on before delving into this delicious read.

Copies are available in the boutique at both studios, but they've proved to be a hot seller! The book is also available via Amazon, Indiebound or Barnes & Noble--or download it to your favorite e-reader.

Miller is a Zen Priest and Mother, and author of the beloved Momma Zen. Hand Wash Cold is described as a "playful yet profound reflection on awareness, the compelling voice of a self-described errant wife and delinquent mother reveals the happiness at the bottom of the laundry basket, the love in the kitchen sink, and the peace possible in one’s own backyard."

Can't make it to this book club meeting? Join us later in the year (or in 2012!). Here's the upcoming schedule and books planned for the future:

12/11: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
2/19: Myths of the Asanas by Alanna Kaivalya
4/15: Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer
6/10: Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron
8/19: enLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer by Jessica Berger Gross

Happy reading!

Labels: arlington, oct11

Are you looking for a great karma activity this weekend? Join Abby and Tranquil Space for this month's 2nd Sunday Charity Class. Abby will be leading a one-hour vinyasa class at 3:30pm with all proceeds benefiting The Center for Mind-Body Medicine.

Read on for a message from Abby about why she's so passionate about the cause:

As a yoga practitioner and teacher, I feel incredibly connected to the mission of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), and as a former fundraiser for the organization, I've seen the impact of the organization's work first-hand. CMBM is aspiring to create a more effective, comprehensive and compassionate model of healthcare and health education. The founder and director of the Center, Dr. James Gordon, a Harvard trained psychiatrist and world-renowned practitioner of mind-body medicine, founded CMBM on the premise that every human being has an innate and almost infinite capacity within to heal oneself. Rather than using drugs as magic bullets, CMBM trains health and mental health professionals, community leaders and educators to use mind-body techniques, including yoga, dance and meditation, to heal stress and trauma. They first learn how to integrate these techniques into their own lives, and then they learn how to share the techniques with the communities they serve. CMBM, which is based here in DC, has taken its approach to war-torn and disaster-afflicted regions around the world, including Kosovo, Israel, Gaza, Haiti, post-Katrina New Orleans, post-9/11 New York City and to troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The work of the Center has been featured in The New York Times. To understand the power of the Center's work through the faces of Haitians who lived through the earthquake, watch this video on Haiti.

You can sign up online to attend the class or just stop in on Sunday. We look forward to seeing you there.

If you're an avid Marie Claire reader, you may have been learning about a yogi practicing on the mat next to you! Julie Flygare was featured in the article, Eyes Wide Shut, in the current edition of the magazine on newsstands now.


A message from Julie:

I am so honored to be featured in Marie Claire magazine this month. "Eyes Wide Shut," by Sophia Banay Moura details my journey getting narcolepsy in law school. Narcolepsy, an autoimmune neurological sleep disorder, affects 3 million people worldwide, yet it's rarely discussed publicly. Yoga plays a major role in my successful health management. Although symptoms and side-effects still present challenges - yoga's taught me that everything is constantly shifting. Oddly enough, this adversity allows me to live in the moment with gratitude and joy for my healthier times. Thank you to Tranquil Space for being apart of my journey towards peace and balance - mind, body and soul.

Please take a moment to read the article online (or grab a hard copy) and help Julie spread the word about Narcolepsy.

Here's the link to the full article.

Another group of amazing yoga teachers emerged from our Level 1 Teacher Training program in September. If you see these folks around the community, make sure to congratulate them on graduating!


Group 1


Group 2


Group 3


Group 4

This week's Tranquil Space TV features our baby yoga expert Carol Collins on practicing yoga with your baby... see how our tiniest yogis and yoginis rock the mat with their moms and dads!



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Did you visit the Tranquil Space booth at the 17th Street Festival on September 24? Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi, purchased a newbie pass or dropped their name in our raffle.

Our team had a blast leaving our lavender-infused home to spread the word about our offerings. If you weren't one of the 10,000+ people in attendance, see a couple of photos below of our team in action. A big THANK YOU goes out to Sarah, Emily and Joanna who did an amazing job of representing Tranquil Space at the Festival.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the 17th Street Festival next year!

Labels: arlington, Clarendon Day