Congratulations to the following:

Nest empowers female artisans around the world by offering interest-free microfinance loans, mentoring from designers, and a market in which to sell their crafts.

N Street Village offers a safe, empowering community for nearly 900 women facing homelessness, poverty, and related challenges by providing comprehensive health services and life skills training.

Community Bridges provides multicultural empowerment and leadership programs for young girls in Silver Spring, Maryland, empowering them to become exceptional students, positive leaders, and healthy young women.

Young Women’s Drumming Empowerment Project gives rise to young women’s self-esteem, positive development, and creative self expression through drumming, poetry, movement, song, and performance.

Help TSF continue to help others by making a tax deductible donation and know that your generosity will support the blossoming of girls and women in DC and around the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcIsDgj-hG4

Tranquil Space Foundation online auction

Can’t make the celebration, but would like to support TSF? Buy an “attending in spirit” ticket for $10 or bid on one of our fabulous online auction items!

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Your body is the only place in the world you have to live. Take good care of it.

RESPECT: re⋅spect rɪˈspɛkt [ri-spekt]

• • Value, Admire, Think Highly Of

• • Appreciate, Regard, Show Consideration For

• • Recognize, Follow, Obey, Accept

• • Abide by, Comply with, Take Responsibility For

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Every morning I wake up- expecting that my body will wake up with me. And do you know what? EVERY MORNING IT HAS! Furthermore, I expect that once it’s awake it will continue to function flawlessly throughout the day. And you know what? MOST OF THE TIME IT DOES! This is an incredible miracle.

Even if I get one hour of sleep I wake up – and I expect my body to come with me for the rest of the day. It does. Even if I forget to eat every single meal—I keep moving and expect my body to keep moving with me. It does.

My body is the vehicle that allows me to move and exist in the world. I would never put one gallon of gas in my car and expect it to run all day long. Or fill its tank with water instead of gasoline and expect it to go. And even when I treat my car well – sometimes it refuses to start. My body never does this to me. Yet I can remember plenty of times I’ve filled my body with junk food instead of real food, given it one hour of sleep instead of eight, and always expected it to move me through the whole day.

(My body. My beautiful body, who has run marathons for me, given and received kisses for me, fought diseases for me, stayed up all night with me, and accepted countless hugs on my behalf. This is the body I have cut-down with words like disgusting, ugly, imperfect, slow. This is the body has done everything for me.)

When I think of all my body has done for me, even during times when I have shown no appreciation, I feel so sorry and ungrateful.

But, I am still alive. My body has not given up on me yet. I have the chance to show my body the respect it deserves.

I can listen to it more carefully.

Speak to it more gently.

And treat it more lovingly.

Everything about my face, arms, legs, hands, and hair is exactly how it was meant to be. The part that’s up to me is what I choose to do with this face, these arms, these legs, these hands, and this hair. And whether these things Respect (VALUE, LOVE, and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR) the parts I have been given.

I can exercise respect in:

• • What I speak about my body.

• • What I put into my body.

• • How I present my body.

• • How I strengthen my body.

• • The activities I ask my body to perform.

• • The places I ask my body to inhabit.

• • The rest I allow my body to take.

• • The people with whom I choose to share my body.

When I am truly respecting my body all of the above tell my body “I LOVE YOU. YOU ARE MY MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION.”

We can choose to see our bodies as a burden; something that doesn’t always, look, act, move, behave, the way we might like it to.

Or, in any moment, we can choose to see our bodies as an extraordinary reminder that WE ARE ALIVE.”

YOU ARE ALIVE.

What do YOU want to do with this aliveness?

Activities:

1. Write down three people you respect or enjoy spending time with.

Now, write down 3 reasons you respect or enjoy spending time with these people. (We’ll come back to this)

1. Take a moment to write down your two favorite body parts based on their function and not on their appearance. Explain why they are your favorite and what they do for you. What have they already done for you today?

Take some breaths and really and truly tell your body THANK YOU.

Now look at what you wrote about the 3 people you respect and enjoy spending time with.

Would any of these things change is the person dyed their hair? Lost their hair? Gained ten pounds? Had a big zit?

Probably not!! We are not our bodies – we just live in them.

Your body is the only place in the world you have to live. Take good care of it.

By TSF Volunteer Tanya Bennett

With the arrival of December and the wintry holiday season do you wonder when you’ll find the time to nurture yourself? On your list of things to do and things to buy, what can you give yourself this month that will enable you to open your heart to love, acceptance and appreciation for who you are? Yoga is a great place to start.

On the heels of Thanksgiving, I dig my heels into the yoga mat and offer a tremendous amount of gratitude for the gift of yoga.  Through this practice I have been able to more boldly express my creativity through dance, poetry and art.  Flowing through asanas help me, on and off the yoga mat, by helping me break out of my comfort zone when my weary mind is reluctant to try something new. In addition, yoga has allowed me to deepen trust in myself and others and as a result I feel I am living more abundantly and more authentically. I truly feel I can give more to those around me when I have first taken time to slow down, push through, find strength in an upward facing dog and steady my balance in a Warrior pose.

Therefore, through all of the holiday-related hustle and bustle, I encourage you to carve out a little time for yourself this month to breathe deeply and count at least ten blessings a day.  In addition, I gladly challenge you to give yourself some time every day this December to write in a journal, enjoy the fluidity of vinyasa and embrace the beauty that is you by simply stating aloud,  ‘I am a gift’.  It’s true.  You are!

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