As an accomplished athlete, real-food advocate, and wellness guru, Hoffman seeks to serve the whole person with her unique fitness philosophy.
Growing Trends in Home Gardening
Despite the obvious boost to our health, spending time in a forest, meadow, or by a lakeside can be difficult. For some, access, transportation, and free time may be limited. But you don't need to get away to immerse yourself in the outdoors, as many have discovered since the dawn of the 2020s. Staying home, enjoying time on a porch, patio, or in your own backyard also has benefits, and more and more people are taking advantage.
Book Review: Wild, Willing and Wise: An Interactive Guide for When to Paddle, When to Rest, and When to Jump Naked into the River of Life
HeatherAsh Amara’s Wild, Willing, and Wise: An Interactive Guide for When to Paddle, When to Rest, and When to Jump Naked into the River of Life is a profoundly introspective and empowering book that invites readers, particularly women, to embrace their wild nature, cultivate courage, and grow into wisdom. Known for her teachings in feminine empowerment, Amara has crafted a guidebook that seeks to awaken the primal, creative, and compassionate spirit within. This book blends self-help with spiritual exploration, challenging readers to step into their true power by balancing freedom, bravery, and deep knowing.
Out of My comfort Zone: Finding Light in the Darkness
To jump or not to jump? As I stood in the corner of a six-story parking structure looking down, my thoughts were flooded with pain. Looking up from time to time I would notice the beauty of the colors in the sky as the sun started to set. These were fleeting moments with a heavy darkness and continual thoughts of all the horrors, terror, fear, and pain in the world and my own life.
Nutrient Cycle at Strawbale Studio: An Evolving “Circle of Life”
There are many ways nutrient recycling is implemented at Strawbale Studio that can be used in your home garden. You might even get together with your gardening friends and start an “idea map” of the various natural resources on your site or community garden, and in your region, and how they could be returned to the circle of life!
Kindred Conversations with Hilary Nichols: Singer, Bandleader, and Performer Dani Darling
Last summer, as she has every summer since 2018, Dani Darling performed at the Ann Arbor Summer Fest. This time she took to the main stage with her identical triplet sisters as guests to drop into an electrifying harmony like it was their first language—maybe because it was.
Sustainable Health: Hypnosis For Peace of Mind
Peace is the felt experience of an inner sanctuary—a place of tranquillity and calm detachment that you can always access. Equanimity is composure under stress. It is a deep internal knowing that no matter what happens you will handle it and be okay.
What’s on Your Horizon? The Importance of Your Rising Sign in Astrology
What’s your zodiac sign? If someone’s asked you this, you’ve probably answered with your sun sign–the zodiac sign the sun was in at the time of your birth. According to a recent Harris poll, 95% of Americans know their sun sign and almost two-thirds believe that their sun sign is an “accurate description of themselves.”
Book Suey: Where Books, Art, and Community Collide
To liken Book Suey to an average bookstore would be akin to calling Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein “the boy next door.” It’s missing all the other crucial pieces that make Book Suey a must-stop destination—sure, you can come in for a book, but you can also stop in and read a poem during open-mic night, attend a writing workshop, sell a physical copy of your writing, and more. Think of Book Suey as a bookstore with a side of DIY ethos, a pinch of mischief, and the kind of vibes that make you want to stay a while. Maybe even forever, as co-owners Cat Batsios and Elijah “Eli” Sparkman will explain.
Namaste, Katie: Our Spring 2025 Yoga Column
Whether you're a seasoned yogi or getting ready to roll out your mat for the first time, here you'll find
a variety of useful tips from local yoga instructor, Katie Hoener.
Weekend Getaway: A Visit to the Maryville Retreat Center
As a center established by the Felician Sisters on over 200 acres, I expected a degree of formality, so I was pleasantly surprised that I could casually enter. Moving from the entrance and through the dining area to reach accommodations, the staff member’s warmth and attentiveness complemented the positive vibes from a fellow retreatant, a repeat visitor who told me she/he planned monthly escapes to Maryville.
Fifty Shades of Grey…(Hair) and Gratitude
In a box of Crayola crayons there is only one shade of grey. As for my aging body, there may be fifty shades of grey. As I’ve aged, I’ve learned that there is a skill set needed to age gracefully.
Guilt, Judgment, & Forgiveness
Earlier this year an obituary in The New York Times caught my eye. It was of Clint Hill, who died in February at the age of 93. Hill was the Secret Service agent who, on November 22, 1963, immediately after President Kennedy was shot, jumped on the back of the presidential limousine and shielded the President and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy with his body as the motorcade sped from Dealey Plaza to nearby Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Spirit Seeds: Spring/Summer 2025
I’m feeling stuck in my shadow work, particularly around my past traumas. Are there specific crystals or energy-healing techniques that could help me move forward?
For deeper and more powerful healing, consider using moldavite and black tourmaline. Moldavite is known for its intense, transformative energy often called the “stone of transformation.” It can help accelerate spiritual awakening and deep healing by bringing to light deeply buried traumas. Black tourmaline is a robust, grounding and protective stone that can shield you from negative energies and transmute them into positive ones. In addition to these crystals, energy healing techniques like Reiki and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) can be highly effective. Reiki helps balance your chakras by penetrating and clearing blockages with pure universal energy promoting overall well-being.
What's New in the Community: Spring/Summer 2025
This ongoing column features upcoming events within Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County and surrounding areas’ Body/Mind/Spirit communities, new (during the past year or two) practitioners and holistic businesses, new books written by local/regional authors, new classes, as well as new offerings by established practitioners and holistic businesses.
Pure Levels: Tree City’s Futuristic Space Funk Odyssey
In the world of independent rap, the release of an album is often the culmination of years of work, development, and growth. For the Ann Arbor hip-hop collective Tree City putting out their new album, Pure Levels, has been anything but a conventional journey. With a sound that Tree City dubs “futuristic space funk,” the group has crafted an album that stands as both a personal testament to the 13 years it took to create and a nod to the vibrant music scene of Ann Arbor.
Alex Crofoot: An Inspiring Blend of Knowledge, Practical Skills, and Infectious Positivity
Alex Crofoot, the owner of Bloodroot, an herb shop in Ypsilanti, originally hails from New York, where she learned herbalism from her grandmother. She is passionate about staying connected to her community and supporting reproductive health.
Tea with Peggy: Minty Cool
When I think of mint, winter comes to mind—a nice cup of cocoa in which I steep some peppermint tea leaves. It’s invigorating, refreshing, and cooling. Wait a minute... if mint is invigorating, refreshing, and cooling, why am I drinking it in the cold of winter? I should be drinking in the warmth of summer instead!
Cooking with Lisa: Chickpea Salad Sandwhich and Herbed Polenta
his sandwich is a celebration of simple ingredients coming together in the most satisfying way…a little moment of deliciousness—one that feels both nourishing and delightfully familiar.
Buddhism and the Beats: An American Cultural Saga
Buddhists comprise only around 1% of the U.S. population, yet Buddhism has exercised a disproportionate influence on American culture, especially since the end of World War II. Buddhist images, whether of Shakyamuni or Tibetan mandalas, seem ubiquitous. Buddhist-based mindfulness practices are taught in countless American institutions, from prisons, to schools, to hospitals. And influential cultural figures, including actor Richard Gere, composer Philip Glass, and poet Jane Hirshfield, speak openly of their Buddhist practice.
