teachers
andrea creel, andrea@tranquilspacebethesda.com
andrea is a registered yoga teacher with yoga
alliance, having received training through the
tranquil space 200-hour teacher training program.
andrea’s classes emphasize the power of
the breath to still the mind and create peace
in the heart and body. her calm, gentle presence
creates a nurturing space in which students can
relax and allow their inner beauty to shine through.
she believes that asana is the gateway which guides
the spirit to deeper levels of consciousness and
self-realization. andrea is inspired by nature
and the changing seasons, and often creates flowing
sequences to align the body’s energy with
the energy of the earth.
andrea enjoys sharing the benefits of yoga with
yogis of all ages. she has received specialized
training in prenatal and postnatal yoga from tranquil
space and baby om, and is certified to teach children
and teens through the radiant child yoga program
and yoga 4 teens. She has also received training
in integrated movement therapy (imt) from the
samarya center.
her inspiration comes from the joseph campbell
quotation, "if you do follow your bliss you
put yourself on a kind of track that has been
there all the while, waiting for you, and the
life that you ought to be living is the one you
are living." she believes that following
her bliss is what put her on the path to become
a yoga teacher. through her teaching, she hopes
to give her students the encouragement to follow
their own bliss and lead more joyful lives.
andrea serves as the coordinator for tranquil
space bethesda’s baby & me and yoga
4 kids programs.
september fortier, september@tranquilspacebethesda.com
september is thrilled to be teaching at tranquil
space, where she completed her 200-hour yoga teacher
training. she is the coordinator for tranquil
space bethesda’s prenatal program and first
came to yoga in 1997 in the hopes of finding a
little inner stillness after the death of a loved
one. what she found was so much more and she's
been hooked ever since.
she loves yoga's emphasis on present moment
awareness and acceptance as well as its noncompetitive
nature, and feels herself blessed to be among
so many wonderful creative people at tranquil
space. september is a former dancer and professional
cheerleader and holds an MFA in acting from the
catholic university of america in washington,
dc, where she studied stage combat, suzuki, tai
chi and the alexander technique.
she is a member of the actors' equity association,
and when not on the mat she can be found performing
onstage and working behind the scenes as a founding
company member of catalyst theater company.
september is also a reiki II practitioner and
will be completing her reiki III master certification.
marianne leal
although she feels like she has been practicing
yoga all her life (evidenced by early childhood
photos of her in eka pada sirsanana), marianne
was formally introduced to yoga in 1999 and immediately
fell in love with the poetry of meditation in
movement. She is certified at the 200 hour level
with the yoga teacher’s alliance having
completed her teacher training at tranquil space
in 2004 and has done additional trainings with
sarah powers (yin), paul grilley (yin & anatomy),
shiva rea (vinyasa), cyndi lee (vinyasa) and judith
lasater (restorative).
marianne is honored to be a part of the tranquil
space community and hopes her classes will provide
the space for students to cultivate inner awareness,
joy, and compassion while enlivening and nourishing
the body, mind and heart. 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.
she wishes to thank all her teachers, past and
present, for being constant examples of how to
live your yoga practice and her daughters, tracy
and kristin, husband, chris, and her own yoga
mat for their daily inspiration.
marianne is a registered nurse with over 20
years experience in women’s health, and
a returned peace corps volunteer.
niyati shah (niya)
"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.
geri smith, geri@tranquilspacebethesda.com
geri’s love for studying the movement of
the body began with ballet training while living
in the rugged australian outback, where she danced
with the australian dancers company. after dancing
for many years, she began teaching and choreographing
for adults, teens and children. geri is a registered
yoga teacher through yoga alliance. she is a graduate
of the tranquil space 200-hour teacher training
program, and has also studied yin yoga under paul
grilley. geri also completed specialized training
for teaching yoga to teens, and is our teen yoga
program coordinator.
geri embarked on her yoga journey several years
ago, practicing yoga to complement her other loves:
running, hiking and kayaking. she soon discovered
the profound states of peace, focus and bliss
that yoga generates. yoga brought geri many unexpected
benefits, too. she suffered from chronic neurological
pain in her extremities for a decade that no specialist
was ever able to diagnose. shortly after beginning
her regular practice, her symptoms diminished
to a barely-perceptible level. now she is pain-free.
she also credits yoga for the transformational
development of her appreciation for and acceptance
of the value of the non-perfect in all areas of
life.
as a yoga teacher, geri brings respect for every
student's individuality and place along their
own precious journey. she believes that, if properly
aligned within the physical allowances of her
or his unique body, each student’s expression
of a pose is the perfect place for them to be
in that pose at that time. she believes that everyone
has the potential to benefit equally from each
asana, regardless of how deeply they can physically
go into a posture. her goal in teaching yoga is
to assist her students in allowing their bodies
and minds to find their own beautiful place of
balance, as she has been so inspired to do at
tranquil space bethesda.
geri is the coordinator for tranquil space bethesda’s
yoga 4 teens program.
gina tauschek
gina's yoga journey began in 2000 when she landed
in washington, dc, after some major life changes.
initially, she sought out yoga at her local gym
to manage stress and to counteract the wear and
tear of running and cycling. looking back now,
she couldn't even begin to understand the impact
yoga would have on her life in the years to come.
early in 2005, gina's path became clear to her
and she knew she wanted to teach yoga; she just
needed to find a studio that fit her independent
style. after months of searching, she took a class
at tranquil space and in 75 minutes she just knew.
the rest, as they say, is history.
gina completed her 200-hour teacher training
certification at tranquil space in 2006 and is
a registered teacher with yoga alliance. she believes
that every person has the ability to find beauty
and wholeness within themselves — their
own way — but it is her hope that through
teaching yoga she can contribute to that process
in the tiniest way.
when she's not on her yoga mat, gina can be
found running or biking on the various dc trails
or on the mall walking her main man — her
8-year-old yellow lab. she has a master's in public
administration and for years has worked for a
small consulting firm whose main focus is strengthening
education.
she is grateful to all of the tranquil space
teachers and students who have contributed to
her growth through study, support, and inspiration.
in particular, kimberly wilson for her vision
and siobhan troy for her guidance. she would also
like to give a heartfelt thank you to her mom,
who has been her biggest supporter on this journey.
anne thiel, anne@tranquilspace.com
anne wears several hats at tranquil space; she
is a teacher, certified prenatal yoga teacher,
prenatal program coordinator, thai yoga body worker
and a budding ayurvedic consultant. she completed
the 200-hour yoga alliance-approved teacher training
at tranquil space and has studied with several
nationally-known teachers (shiva rea, sarah powers,
doug swenson, ana forrest etc.).
originally, anne is from germany where she worked
as a midwife and delivered 450 babies before moving
to the united states to pursue an a graduate degree
in german studies. after completing her phd, anne
left the academic world and has since then worked
in various positions in the environmental field.
initially, she began practicing yoga to find
relief from a stressful dissertation-writing process,
but has since then 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; i seek to cultivate openness
and strength that i then try to carry with me
into my 'practice off the mat.' at the end of
a practice, i usually feel more evenness and peace
in my mind and body; i have connected with a different
part of me; with my classes i hope to offer my
students to experience something similar."
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 completed her 200-hour teacher training
at tranquil space and is a 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.
learn more about siobhan>
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