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 community
is very important and for each
of us that means something
different. and most of us have
multiple communities. for me i
have my community of close dear
friends many of whom i have
known for a number of years. i
met most of them when i was
living out of a suitcase for
about a year traveling to
different offices of my
environmental job.
then there is my yoga community
which is sort of split between
bethesda and dupont since i
teach at both studios. recently
a new community has started to
form out my need to connect with
other moms. now of course there
is some overlap and thank
goodness for that as it is
wonderful to share new
experiences with old friends
just as it is a blessing to find
new friends.
a sad aspect of life is that
sometimes people in our
communities paths take them away
from us. i think for most of us
this is just the way it goes, we
are meant to interact with
certain people for only a day, a
week or years. now to some that
may sound a bit cynical but it
is not meant to be, i have had
many friends in the past that
after a couple of years of
knowing them we stopped having
anything in common. i am
thankful for my time with them
and i do mourn in a way the
“ending” of that friendship but
i have come to realize it is
just a part of life.
maybe this realization is due in
part to my parents need to move
the family when i was eight
years old from new york (queens
to be exact) to houston. i did
not really understand what was
going on since my world really
still centered around my parents
and my siblings but for my
sister who was 12 it was much
more traumatic. she cried on the
last day of school and i
remember sitting on the bus
watching her and asking myself,
“i am suppose to be sad?”
looking back moving to texas was
the best thing my parents did
for us and i wrote to three
friends after we moved. for two
that pen pal relationship did
not last long but my other
friend we kept writing to each
other until high school. i still
think that was pretty impressive
for two eight year old girls to
keep in touch until they were
16. when i realized a year or
two later that we no longer
wrote to each other i was sad
but have lots of fond memories
of our time sharing with each
other.
there have been lots of phases
in my life like this, going away
to college in austin with some
high school friends but finding
at college that i really had
nothing in common with them.
then with my first job i met
lots of people who shared many
of my ideals and i keep in touch
with many of them but it goes in
phases. we love to hear from
each other but it does not have
to be every week or month.
moving to dc 12 years ago also
changed my communities. as i
have gotten older, changed
careers, and started a family it
has impacted my communities. i
don’t think in a negative way
just that we don’t stay the same
so in turn our communities
change to meet our emotional
needs.
one constant in the past 6+
years has been my yoga practice.
my actual practice has changed
and evolved to met my needs but
it has always been there for me.
many of the people and places
have changed but coming back to
mat is always a way to connect
to myself and those around me.
that is one of the many reasons
why i love yoga and love to
share with those who will join
me in class! let your practice
be a part of your community in a
sense. let it support and guide
you as it is a friend for life
no matter where life takes you.
namaste,
siobhan
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the dupont studio is moving back
closer to our
starting ground on 17th street!
the dupont studio will not have
classes on april 30 or may 1
but come see the new space on
may 2! |
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click to enlarge
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-
bring a friend to the
studio who purchases
a class pass and you
get a free class!
-
check
you status of your current
pass, purchase a new
one and you can cancel
your reservation for
class up to 30 minutes
before the start.
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 |
buy a class pass in may
and tranquil space
bethesda will plant a
tree!
|
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yoga membership is
only $125 a month and you
get: unlimited classes each
month, mat storage at the
studio, and 15% off boutique
purchases. email
info@tranquilspacebethesda.com
to find out how to sign up.
-
we have a price change
effective may 1:
o drop ins $18
o one hour class $14
o 6 class pass $98
o 10 class pass $150
o 20 class pass $270
o 1 month unlimited $180
-
on your first visit to any
tranquil space studio you
can either purchase our
3 class pass for $33
or try us out for a whole
month for only $50!
either pass is only
available for purchase at
one of our studios and only
on your first visit.
-
your class pass is good at
bethesda,
dupont and
arlington.
just let the front desk know
where you purchased your pass.
if you want to sign up online
for a class, please remember
that you can only sign up at
the studio where you purchased
your pass.
- join us for these inspiring
lifestyle and yoga workshops:
-
mother and daughter
(ages 9 to13) yoga on
mother’s day, sunday may
11
-
hips & hammies,
saturday may 17
-
detox flow,
saturday may 31
-
family yoga ages
3 to 9, sunday june 1
- community celebration:
our way to celebrate tranquil
space bethesda yogis' honors
and developments! please
share your celebrations
with us by emailing
newsletter@tranquilspacebethesda.com.
-
welcome to studio assistant
rachel!
-
welcome back to teacher
andrea from maternity
leave!
-
congratulations to manager
tj for starting a new
job.
-
good luck to teacher geri
who will begin her maternity
leave mid month
-
congratulations to studio
assistant lauren on
her recent engagement!
- send us your baby
news with a photo of
your new addition to share
by sending it to
newsletter@tranquilspacebethesda.com.
 melissa
van orman
i was the center on my junior
high basketball team. if you are
unfamiliar with the structure of
this sport, the center defends
the basket from the charge of an
opposing team. think big, tough,
intimidating. think shaquille
o'neal.
i stand a wispy five feet, three
inches tall in heels—a physique
unchanged in the last 20 years.
it now bewilders me that anyone,
ever, would have looked at me
and concluded “she could stop
the momentum of a fast break
with the sheer force of her
body.” each game inspired
terrified anxiety. panicked, i’d
flail my arms in fear rather
than defense. i’d stumble into
my opponent rather than stop
her. i fouled out every game.
basketball was a failed
experiment. as was soccer,
softball, and even track. i had
very little sense of my body and
no intuition on how to translate
strength, coordination, or
confidence into athletic
success. i was awkward, stiff,
and ashamed.
halfway through my junior year
in high school i accompanied a
friend’s mom to a yoga class
offered through the adult
education program. the
alternative nature of yoga
appealed to my adolescent desire
for distinction and rebellion.
each week we arranged beach
blankets on the floor of the
high school library. a petite
woman named sudesh gupta lead
the class. sudesh shared with us
the breathing techniques, deep
relaxation sequences, and simple
asanas that she learned growing
up in India. our sessions
resembled nothing of the vinyasa
practice i now enjoy. we spent
most of the class seated or on
our backs. we’d spend a half an
hour tracing energy lines with
our mind’s eye. sometimes we’d
funk it up with a forward fold
or triangle pose. i loved every
minute of it.
though i started the class to
congeal my mark as an
“alternative intellectual,” i
gained something deeper and more
enduring than a solution to a
high school identify crisis. i
felt comfortable in my body for
the first time in my life. i
didn’t need to be coordinated. i
didn’t need to be fast or to
remember complicated team
formations. sudesh taught that i
just needed to breathe and be
aware—a revelation as startling
as it was joyful.
during one of our evening
sessions sudesh directed us into
a wide leg forward fold. i
noticed how the warmth in my
legs increased as my thighs
rolled outward and my spine
extended. i felt active,
energized, and awake, though my
body was restful and still. the
fullness of that moment
surrounded me, lulling me into
deep gratitude for the ability
to experience my body, my mind,
and my soul in this way. i had
no language to describe the
sensation, but imagined it to be
a glimpse of what heaven would
feel like-- a hint of
enlightenment and a promise of
what would become a life’s
journey.
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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.
 bharadvajasana
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benefits
-
stretches
the spine,
shoulders,
and hips
- massages
the
abdominal
organs
- relieves
lower
backache,
neck pain,
and sciatica
- helps
relieve
stress
- improves
digestion
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 clothing,
accessories, and specialties to
enrich your life on and off the
mat
tranquility boutique is a fusion
of fashion and passion in celebration
of yogis' bodies and spirits!
tranquility boutique carries
a delightful selection of
comfy and chic lines that
transition from the yoga mat to
the market or museum. all pieces
are hand picked by kimberly, made
of luxurious fabrics that stretch
with your body, and designed for
nurturing your yoga lifestyle.
look for newly added yoga cards,
organic bath products, and more
books!
tranquil space's own line of yoga
clothing and accessories,
tranquility, is designed
for the style-conscious yogini and
has been featured in shape,
lucky, daily candy,
fit yoga, the washingtonian,
and the washington post.
view our most recent mention
in the examiner.
 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:
reiki
thai yoga bodywork
ayurveda and thai yoga bodywork
raindrop therapy
swedish and
deep tissue massage
acupuncture
most services are available at tranquil
space bethesda. for additional information,
or to schedule an appointment, please
email
spa@tranquilspacebethesda.com.
please note that to cancel an appointment
and not be charged, we need 24 hours
notice.
 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
.
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tranquil space dupont
1632 17th street, nw
washington, dc 20009
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tranquil space bethesda
7475 wisconsin ave, suite
8
bethesda, md 20814
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tranquil space arlington
3260 wilson boulevard
arlington, virginia 22201
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© 2008 tranquil space bethesda,
llc. all rights reserved.
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