Community Service Options for Holistic Families -- June meeting

Thank you to representatives from Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE), Volunteer Arlington, and Fairfax Family Services Department for providing us with a number of wonderful ways to get involved in our community! From volunteer opportunities we can do with families to information about ways to get involved with local environmental efforts, we all left with a wealth of information and a bunch of great ideas for giving back to our community. Thanks for an inspiring June meeting!

Inspiring Mother Blessing

Thank you to the organizers of our group mother blessing! Three of our members who are due mid-July to early August were honored at a lovely ceremony hosted by Sharon Stevenson of Yoga, Birth and Beyond. The evening included a centering exercise by Jennifer Moore of Moore than Yoga and the blessing of beads for a birth bracelet. A traditional activity at birth blessing is to wind yarn around the wrists of each participant around a circle to symbolize community; participants wear the bracelets until the baby is born. With three babies coming, we decided three bracelets would be a little much (especially through summer months!), so we decorated mama dolls who are now wearing three different bracelets until we get the word that each baby has come, when that string will be cut. Until then, we can all look at our doll and remember our bond as mothers and our support of one another, especially of the three VBAC-hopeful mamas.

The evening concluded with pampering (massage and hair decoration) and feasting on berries and muffins.

All three mamas -- and, it seemed, the participants -- left feeling inspired and supported!

Finding our Center: Yoga Meeting in May

Our May meeting was a wonderful night of discussion about finding our center in our yoga practices -- and in our parenting -- followed by practice in two separate demonstration sessions.

Autumn Wilson of Yoga Chai and Pleasance Lowengard Silicki of Lil Omm began the evening with an overview of different yoga styles and the many of the benefits of practicing yoga with a special emphasis on yoga's connection to parenting.

After the discussion, Autumn led a class for parents with babies and tots while Stair Calhoun of Little River Yoga led a group of moms in a lovely gentle practice.

Thanks to our speakers for their time (and donations of free classes and some great gear!) and thanks to everyone who came out to "turn inward."

Yoga Night in May

Are you feeling stressed out? Need a way to unwind and clear your head?
Are you searching for a way to stay healthy and active that fits with your busy schedule as a mom?
Do you want to learn more about the different types of yoga and to figure out which one is best for you?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then this meeting is for you! Come join us on Thursday, May 20, 7-9 p.m. at 716 S. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22204 (in AUMC church. Donations for the church's food pantry are always welcome at HMN meetings. HMN is not affiliated with any church and appreciates the use of AUMC's space).

Autumn Wilson of Yoga Chai and Pleasance Lowengard Silicki of Lil Omm will begin the evening with a presentation and discussion of different yoga styles, yoga's connection to parenting, and many of the benefits of practicing yoga.

After the discussion we will have two separate opportunities to practice yoga: A Moms/Dads & Tots Practice led by Autumn Wilson and a Gentle Adults-Only Practice lead by Stair Calhoun of Little River Yoga.

Bring a mat or towel to this meeting.

HMN meetings are open to members and first-time visitors. Children are always welcome. Come see what we're about!

Creating a Children's Garden - Moms Night Out

We enjoyed a lovely evening at Nature by Design, a family-owned nursery in Alexandria, with a discussion led by Lisa Caprioglio of Aldertree Garden. A former Montessori teacher, Lisa gave us some wonderful ideas about how to create a magical space for our children. One idea was to create a circle of plants that will grow tall to create an enclosed space proportional to the child's size. We also discussed edibles and a number of other ideas for taking advantage of children's natural sense of wonder using native plants.

Thanks to Natalie for organizing, to Lisa for coming all the way from Takoma Park, and to Nature by Design for hosting us on a beautiful evening! We all walked away with lots of ideas, some of us with a few plants, and everyone having enjoyed the transition through twilight to darkness under a lovely crescent moon. How inspiring!

"Local Food" presentation inspires!

We had an amazing turnout for our April meeting on "Local Food: Farms and Markets." Thank you to all of our speakers who traveled so far to be part of our meeting! Christy Przystawik and Chef Tom Przystawik, Food Matters Restaurant; Becky and Lawrence Latane, Blenheim Organic Farm/Gardens; Laurie Smith and Mark Reinhardt, Local Flavor Farm Buyer's Club; and Nancy Pritchard, Smith Meadows

Thank you also to all the businesses that sent materials for our information table, to AUMC for hosting us, as always (even though we spilled out of the meeting room with such a large crowd!), and to all of the wonderful businesses that donated refreshments and prizes for our event. The food was enjoyed by all, and at the end of the night, we gave away plants, restaurant gift certificates, and plenty of other goodies!

Notes will be available to members soon, and resources can be emailed upon request to holisticmomsarlalex (at) gmail (dot) com. We have links to local resources as well as a lists of farmers markets, CSA opportunities, and sources of pasture-raised meat/milk.

Thanks to the following businesses that donated to this event:
Blenheim Organic Gardens, Elevation Burger, Equinox, Food Matters, Grounded Coffee, MOMs Organic Market, Nood Food Café, Nourish Market (Kennedy’s Natural Foods), The Organic Butcher of McLean, Polyface Farms, Potomac Massage Training Institute, Pork Barrel BBQ, Restaurant Eve, Smith Meadows Farm, St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub

HMN at Joint American Homeopathic Conference

Our chapter helped staff the HMN booth at the recent Joint American Homeopathic Conference, sponsored in part by one of the HMN's National sponsors, the National Center for Homeopathy. Two of our members got to attend part of the conference, and boy, was there a lot to learn! And so many wonderful people to meet! What a great event!