Experience the Spiral: Yoga & Journaling on the Labyrinth

Saturday, May 31, 2008 10 AM-2 PM:

Need to refresh your body and spirit before taking on the glories of summer? Don't have time for a full weekend retreat?

Join writer Jill Althouse-Wood and Kundalini Yoga instructor Padmani Kaur (Christine Cappabianca) for an outdoor experience with breathing, movement, and creative journaling as we take in the herb gardens and labyrinth of Sarah Campbell, owner of Herbs from the Labyrinth & co-owner of Radiance.

A spiral experience in a beautiful setting: we will start the day with gentle movement, meditation, and breathing. From there, we will glean insights from our bodywork and meditation with guided writing and a chance to share. The centerpiece of the day will be a silent walking meditation through the herb labyrinth. Continued silence through lunch will allow time for further reflection. From this silence, we will emerge renewed--spiraling out the way we entered--but with more verve. Afternoon writing and yoga will be filled with playful intent, creative infusion, and interaction in the garden realm.

This retreat, appropriate for all levels of yoga (and journaling) experience, is a lovely investment in redefining our mind/body practices, stimulating our imaginations, and reconnecting with the natural world.

Cost is $60 including lunch. Please bring a blanket or yoga mat and a journal. Contact Radiance for more information or call 717-290-1517 to reserve your spot. Rain date is June 7th.

Fair Trade Day 2008

This Saturday, May 10, is International Fair Trade Day. It's a great day to raise public awareness of the importance of Fair Trade in the world economies. Fair Trade means that a fair, living wage is paid directly to artisans, collectives or small farmers around the world. It's a way that we can support and participate in local economies worldwide.

Most people are familiar with Fair Trade Coffee and Tea, but did you know that there are certified Fair Trade Chocolates? And lots of hand-crafted items, too.

In our shop, we always carry hand-woven traditional market baskets from a women's collective in Ghana. This 20-year-old collective has completely changed the economy of the villages where they are made. All of the children now attend public school, there are clean public wells for water, and health clinics. All because the women of the village can make fair pay for making traditional crafts from their own homes.

From Nepal, we have bags woven from hemp & purses made of recycled silk saris. We have beautiful sterling silver and stone earrings from Nepal, India and Chile. From Bali we have capiz shell wind chimes and beautiful parasols. And from Indonesia, we have hand-batiked clothing!

Come see us on Saturday, either at our shop, Radiance, right across the cobblestones from Central market in downtown Lancaster, or at the Landis Valley Herb Fair just north of Lancaster! Purchase any Fair Trade item and receive a free postcard about Fair Trade and a sticker to let others know that you participated in Fair Trade Day!

Garden Day Today!

Today is a garden day for me. The shop isn't open on Mondays, so a sunny Monday is just what I hope for. Today, the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing gently, and the temp will begin rising from 45 to about 70 by late afternoon. A perfect day!

This photo is from last summer - the white flowering plant near the bird bath is Valerian. You can see the arc of two of the labyrinth walking paths a little to the left. I have finally decided that the Valerian must all be moved from inside the labyrinth to a bed that is just outside of the labyrinth. Already it's more than 2 feet tall & I know it will be 7 or 8 feet tall by the time it flowers in mid-summer. It's just too big to live inside of a walking labyrinth. So, I'll be transplanting it. I think it will make a exquisite wall around the outer path, so it's actually a bit exciting to me!

In fact, I'm sure that I have more plants than I need, so if any of you are local & want to stop by today for a Valerian or 2, please do - just come on around back. I'll also have some Great Burdock (Actium lappa) that could go home with someone. You have to be a courageous gardener to have Burdock in your garden. It's huge! Small children like to use a leaf for a parasol! I always let a few plants mature, so that I'm sure to have more each year. I'll be digging some roots today for the vegetable bin!

I'm sure I'll also be doing some weeding - some unidentified, rapid-growing, chrysanthymum leaf-looking busy-body came in on a load of mulch a few years ago & I'm STILL pulling it out by the armful every Spring. Grrr.

There is a beautiful clump of volunteer Greater Celandine in flower - my plan is to dig it out & use it for the dye-pot. As pretty as it is, it selected the spot in the garden where the lovely tissue-paper poppies live. My MIL planted them 30 years ago & so I'm very protective of them. The poppies don't really like to share space & they don't like to be moved, so the Celandine must come out of that spot. That might wait until next week, though.

Green blessings,

Sarah