“the root of being uptight is our unwillingness to accept life as being different, in any way, from our expectations.” letting go of expectations is something that some of us would never think of doing because we expect so much of ourselves. the problem is that we also expect so much of everyone around us too and do we really know if that person who just rudely answered your question is completely unaware of how they sound or if they just got some heartbreaking news and are trying to just "muscle" through the day? ideally we would all like to expect that everyone follows the golden rule, do onto to others as you would have them do onto you, but that is setting ourselves up for a lot of disappoint and frustrations. dr. richard carlson suggests starting a day with no expectations, don't expect others to be friendly and when their not you won't be surprised or if they are you will have a pleasant surprise. it is an interesting idea and one i try to follow but then find myself getting annoyed by the person who just snapped at me. recently i did read this in class and then went to the grocery store thinking about how to not have expectations of others. as i was at the register some power surge occurred and the register went dead, no fault of the cashiers and hers was the only one affected. well, i had to move to another line and was walking to the end when a man let me go in front of him since he saw what happened. i was pleasantly surprised and realized that maybe i am not giving my fellow humans enough room to surprise me. giving ourselves room to go beyond any expectations is a challenge, especially for those of us who are type "a" or perfectionist. i have always expected a lot from myself but for me yoga has always managed to throw me lots of surprises along the way. the first time i was able to do bakasana, crow pose, was in a class kimberly was teaching and i thought, "okay, crow well i can't do it so let us just see what happens." i had no expectations that i would actually be able to balance on my hands but there i was letting my crow fly! it was a great feeling and i realized that i need to let go of what i think i should be able to do and let it come more organically. i had to let myself relax and be okay with what i can do in order to take the pose to the next level. this is very true in my life off of the mat. when i give myself a little room and let go of what i think i should be doing/accomplishing/tackling, i am able to accomplish so much more. now there is always a balance to everything, i still challenge myself but i try to avoid beating myself up over some "failing" and try to incorporate a little ahisma (yama of non-violence) into the thought process. the asana this month is sirsasana, headstand, and i encourage you to let go of your expectations of what you think you can or cannot do in it. 95% of the time there is some variation or starting point we can all work on with a pose and we all had to start somewhere. for many of us the idea of balancing on our head is an extremely scary thought, but don't expect it to undoable even if you never come into the full pose. give yourself a little room to explore and think about this last thought from carlson, "rather than fighting against life, ...danc(e) with it."
listen to siobhan tell kimberly about her start with yoga and the journey to opening tranquil space bethesda on kimberly's podcast.
  
"let me go! let me go!" my three-year old self yelled as i struggled from my mother's firm grasp and stormed the stage of a friend's ballet recital performing my own interpretive dance. thus began my love affair with movement. as far back as i can remember i have always loved freestyle dancing, skipping, twirling, jumping, and turning somersaults. moving my body through space has always been a joyous affair as natural as breathing. soon after the ballet incident my parents enrolled me in dance classes: jazz, tap and ballet. i continued with formal dance training off and on into my late teens but by that time movement or at least the type of movement i was doing in dance class had lost a good bit of its appeal. i loved to dance but hated the competitive mindset between dancers not too mention the butterflies that at times reached panic attack proportions on opening night. dance class gave way to boys, braces and eventually college where i earned a place on the university of maryland dance team and later became a professional cheerleader for the nba. through it all I desperately missed that feeling of bliss i so often experienced as a child. several years later, acting on my intuition during a particularly trying time in my life, i decided to take a yoga class. i was amazed at how challenging it was but more then that i was able to rediscover a little bit of the joy and peace i thought i had lost. i have been a practitioner of yoga for seven years and a teacher for the last two and I feel myself blessed to be apart of such an honorable profession. as i prepare to teach class i am often reminded of a quote by mother theresa: "be the living expression of god's kindness. kindness in your face. kindness in your eyes. kindness in your smile. let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier." i hope that in some small way i have been able to impart this to my students and that they in turn feel inspired to find their own innate bliss through yoga.
clothing, accessories, and specialties to enrich your life on and off the mat
tranquil space's own line of yoga clothing and accessories, tranquiliT, is designed for the style-conscious yogini and has been featured in shape, lucky, fit yoga, the washingtonian, and the washington post.
specials valid through march 31, 2006 bring the traveling tranquiliT boutique to you. couple it with a yoga practice for your fave girlfriends, add chair massage to help destress, or simply set up for retail therapy. for all the scoop, contact info@tranquiliTboutique.com.
most services are available at tranquil space bethesda. for additional information, or to schedule an appointment, please email bethesdatreatments@tranquilspace.com. 
© 2006 tranquil space, llc. all rights reserved. |
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blessings and love,
tranquiliT treatments are a delightful way to nurture your body and complement your yoga practice on and off the yoga mat. at tranquil space we believe that yoga is a lifestyle, and are pleased to offer the following services as part of our specialty spa, to help nurture your lifestyle:
the mission of tranquil space is to provide a nurturing environment that encourages the unfolding of a creative yoga practice that is carried off the yoga mat into one's daily life.
the vision of tranquil space is to use yoga as a catalyst to live life fully and consciously.
