Yoga at Tranquil Souls

                        Yoga at Tranquil Souls

            For my midterm project, I chose to spend time at Tranquil Souls, a yoga studio for all ages located in Wrentham, Massachusetts. Tranquil Souls mixes popular culture and traditional yoga together in the studio to make it attractive to western people, while keeping the traditions of yoga an important part of the practice. The classes attended were based on Hatha Yoga and I felt like it was similar to the yoga our class practices. I felt like I could identify with the teen class the best, since the practice was on my level.

            Tranquil Souls was founded December first in two thousand and twelve by Heather Martin. Heather first started doing yoga six years ago. Her friend dragged her to a class because Heather had been experiencing back pain. After her back surgery, Heather found yoga to be helpful for the pain. She decided to become a yoga teacher a few years ago. Her practice has carried her to a few different studios. She loves teaching yoga because she gets to meet new people.  The Tranquil Souls building had been used for an ice cream parlor that Heather came to when she was younger. When she saw it up for sale, she decided it would be the perfect place to open her own Yoga studio (Martin).

            Tranquil Souls is located on the first floor of a three-story building. When one walks in, they will find themselves in a lobby, where there are benches, shoe bins, and a desk. The teacher usually sits at the desk and checks everyone in before the session begins. For the session, one walks through the lobby into an open studio complete with a fireplace. There are no shoes allowed in the studio. There is a system for music in the corner. Another corner contains tools that can be used in the sessions such as blocks, mats, and straps. The studio is large with windows across the back wall. The building looks worn down on the outside and the lobby feels dark, but once one walks into the studio, it is a roomy, comfortable, spiritual haven. The Tranquil Souls building is designed to provide a retreat for the body and comfort for the spirit.

            Tranquil Souls has anywhere from five to fifteen people in the classes. Tranquil Souls yoga classes teach vinyasa, hatha, and power yoga. The culture of Tranquil Souls is to be a place for anyone to happily practice Yoga, no matter the level of expertise. Tranquil Souls is a place that brings the surrounding community together. Tranquil Souls strives to adapt to the communities’ needs. The culture of Tranquil Souls is based on the Eight Limbs of Yoga, which says yoga is about giving back to the community (Martin).

            At Tranquil Souls their mission is to nurture one’s mind, body, and spirit through the practice of yoga. They believe the goal of yoga is to connect the body, mind, and spirit to create a new person that lives in the moment. They strive to help every individual feel relaxed and “infused with a warm and peaceful energy,” no matter what level of yoga experience one has ("Tranquil Souls Yoga”). They believe living in the moment, relaxation, and peaceful energy will ultimately result in a happier more joyful person. From my experience, I believe their mission as a yoga studio is carried out not only through the yoga classes, but also in the way the instructors and students interact. The instructors are keen on making sure every individual is pushing themselves during the classes. The instructors tailor the classes to fit the needs and skill level of the students. When I attended the teen class, most of the students were beginners. The instructor Heather noticed this and picked poses that challenged all of the class. She asked how we were feeling before class and if we wanted an easier or harder practice. When someone needed help with a pose, Heather would come right up to them and help adjust their body to get the pose right. The younger students asked a lot of questions about the poses and breathing, and Heather was happy to provide them with answers to every question. She really wanted to make sure that the students not only applied themselves to the practice, but also understood the reason behind the poses and why they are used in yoga. The students demonstrated a clear understanding of why they were doing yoga when I interviewed them.

            The first class I visited was Teen Yoga. The teacher Heather had all the students introduce each other. She said that normally this class was very relaxed, and easy-going. The class consisted of three young teenagers, my sister, and myself. We all had our own yoga matt to practice on. Before we practiced Hatha Yoga, the teacher had us we set intentions. My intention was to give all my energy and concentration to this new class that I had never practiced at before. The teacher put on some pop music for us to listen to while we practiced. We started out with some of the common Hatha poses such as downward dog and cat stretch. The teacher then told us a pose to get in touch with our knowledge chakra. Heather really knew what she was talking about. She decided to make the class more challenging than usual since I was attending. The poses were a good challenge and I broke a sweat. Some other poses that we did were cobra, child’s pose, happy baby, plank, warrior one, warrior two, bridge, shoulder stand, plow, and side plank. The teacher reminded us throughout the practice to focus on our breath, and she guided us on when to inhale and exhale. We practiced the breath called ocean breath, or ujjayi breath (“Easing Ujjayi Breathing”). The ocean breath is when one breathes in through the nose, constricts the back of the throat, and exhales through the nose. It is called ocean breath because the sound emitted from constricted throat sounds like the waves of an ocean.  We ended the session with shavasana, and we laid down flat on our backs for about seven minutes, relaxing and letting go (“Corpse Pose”).

            After class, the teacher had me talk to the students and ask them questions about their experiences with yoga. The first question I asked was, what is your personal interpretation of yoga? The students answered with, to ground yourself, let yourself go, become more aware of your body, let stress go and focus on breathing. I then asked what the class did for the students and they replied with, “it gives us focus throughout the rest of the day (“Tranquil Souls Interview 1”).” When asked how yoga helps them outside of class, the students replied that it helps relax them wherever they are and it gives them something to look forward to during the week. They all seemed to have a lot of fun and enjoy the class.

            The next class I attended was another Teen Yoga class. The students in the class consisted of two of the same girls from last time, my sister, and myself. At the start of the class, the instructor, Heather had us lay down with our palms up. We proceeded to focus on our breath and become aware that we were in the present moment. Then we practiced the three part breathe, where one inhales air into their abdomen, pauses, breathes into their heart, pauses, inhales to their clavicle bones, and then exhales. This breath helps open up space into the body. “Studies have shown that you can take in and give out seven times as much air—that means seven times as much oxygen, seven times as much prana—in a three-part deep breath than in a shallow breath” (“Prescriptions for Pranayama”). We then sat up and put our palms to our chest and set an intention for this practice. My intention was to push myself hard in this session. The teacher started the music up and we began practicing. Some poses we did during this session were plank, side plank, happy baby, child’s pose, warrior one, warrior two, exalted warrior, chair, triangle, baby cobra, upwards dog, bridge, downwards dog, and cat and cow stretches. This class I really pushed myself go deeper into the poses with help from my breath. One of my favorite poses was when we stood against the wall with a block then lifted our legs in the air against the wall and held the opposite arm in the air. This really opened my body up. While our teacher, Heather, was helping us into this pose, she noticed some of our hamstrings were very tight, so then we went on to do a few poses with straps that helped stretched out our hamstrings. She also gave advice on how to release the tension in them at home. Once again, Heather helped us into the more difficult poses that we did and always reminded us to focus on our breath. At the end of the session, Heather had us put our hands to our head to see the truth, to our lips, to speak the truth, and our heart, to feel the truth. She then proceeded to say, “Namaste,” which means salutations to you, and “Oṃ śānti śānti śānti,” which means peace. Before we left, everyone went around and talked about how their bodies felt after the practice (“Wildmind Buddhist Meditation”).

            Based on the two classes that I attended, I would deem Tranquil Souls as a place of the same culture as me. It practices a modern and westernized form of yoga. Western tradition could be recognized at Tranquil Souls from the type of clothes people wore to the class to the popular western culture music being played during the practice. The music was popular American artists and songs that are played on the radio. The clothes were the stereotypical “sexy” yoga clothes that can be found at fashionable western workout clothing stores. This consists of short shorts, yoga pants, sports bras, and shirts from Victoria Secret.

            After attending classes and interviewing the founder, I found that most people that attend Tranquil Souls are mostly white women. Their ages range from little children under ten, to older adults in their sixties, depending on what class one looks at. Tranquil Souls offers a range of classes for all ages. For children, there is Pretzel Kid’s Yoga and Pretzel Kids’ Pajama Party, which consists of young children with a lot of energy, and is mostly girls. For teenagers, there is Teen Yoga, and only girls in this class. For adults there is Heated Fusion Flow Yoga, Beginner Yoga, Yin Yoga, Warm Flow Yoga, Rise and Shine Yoga, Heated Power Core Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Fireside Yoga, and Yoga for Athletes. In these classes, the majority is women. Women find this yoga studio more appealing because in western culture males see yoga as “girly.”

            Although a westernized facility, Tranquil Souls does not forgot the important theories behind the practice of yoga. The instructors make sure the students know yoga is much more than getting a “nice butt.” They teach different types of breathe, and show that breathing is crucial to yoga. They let the students know that breathing helps focus the mind and calm down racing thoughts, so one can focus on the positions they are doing. They also teach breathing can be used in everyday life to calm down one’s nerves and refresh one’s energy. The teenagers I interviewed saw yoga as a tool to relax in their everyday lives and let go all of the negative energy that is surrounding them. They saw the postures as a way to help them focus so they could achieve their goal of letting go of stress to live in the present moment. They believed yoga was much more than just a type of exercise (Tranquil Souls Interview 1).

             The basis of the practice is on the Eight Limbs of Yoga and the Yoga sutras. The Eight Limbs of Yoga are about connecting the mind, body, and spirit. Yama means universal mortality, niyama means personal observations, asananas means posture and pranayama means breath. Pratyahara means control of senses, dharana means concentration and inner awareness, dhyana means devotion, and shamdhi means union with the divine. The Yoga sutras are like the bible of yoga. Tranquil Souls incorporates the sutras into every class in a different manner. In Teen Yoga, the students’ work on a Vision Board, a board about yoga, while adult yoga incorporate the sutras through meditation (Martin).

            The theories, culture, and practice of yoga at Tranquil Souls all tie together. It is about combining the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of oneself to help them grow. The physical aspect of yoga involves the practice of a few different forms of yoga. The mental aspect of yoga at Tranquil Souls is about concentration and restraint of the mind so one can live in the present moment. The spiritual aspect is about the connection with a divine guide.

Works Cited

"Corpse Pose." Yoga Journal. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

"Easing Ujjayi Breathing." Yoga Journal. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

Martin, Heather. "Tranquil Souls Interview 2." Personal interview. 22 Feb. 2013.

"Prescriptions for Pranayama." Pranayama. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

"Tranquil Souls Interview 1." Personal interview. 12 Feb. 2013.

"Tranquil Souls Yoga & Pilates: Nurturing the Mind, Body & Spirit." Tranquil Souls Yoga. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

"Wildmind Buddhist Meditation - Learn Meditation Online." Wildmind Buddhist Meditation. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.