Our Women’s Wellness theme this month inspired lots of great articles, including one on natural childbirth choices. Reading them has brought back lots of memories for me. Both my kids are in their twenties now, and they were both born in a hospital, but I did choose natural childbirth with no drugs. I had wanted to work with a midwife then, but didn’t really know of any. Looking back I don’t think that I had the confidence in my own choices to insist on it. I let myself get caught up in what everyone else thought that I should do. It was probably mostly to keep peace in the family.  It’s exciting to see all the choices that are available now, and we’re happy to help provide access to some resources that new parents might not be aware of.

Speaking of resources, we want to thank all the vendors and all the readers that joined us for the first annual Healthy Living Detroit Downriver Expo last month. It was a really exciting opportunity to bring an event like this to the downriver community, and we’re making plans for another one in the fall. So, for those that couldn’t attend, there will be another opportunity coming up soon. It was inspiring to witness all the vendors interacting with one another, and I’ve heard about a lot of great connections that were made, which is wonderful news.

May marks the start of many local farmers markets in and around the Wayne County area, and we have listed as many as we could track down for you. Be sure to check the listings and find one near you. It’s a bit like a family reunion at the beginning of market season. All the farmers and vendors are getting back together after not seeing one another for many months, and that’s always a lot of fun. Of course, it’s also a great time to pick up some plants and flowers for your garden, but don’t miss out on the other great local products. Some of the supporting vendors that you might have missed include sellers of local honey, fresh baked breads, cheese, coffee, tea, soaps. We also expect the farmers to have a plentiful supply of some early greens, sprouts, radishes and such. The Michigan Cottage Food bill has paved the way for a plethora of new vendors at the farmers markets with food items that can be made at home and sold at farmers markets with the proper labeling.

Many farmers markets also welcome local crafters, and we encourage everyone to support these small businesses and help to stimulate our local economy. Vote with your dollars for local goods and find be the first to discover some interesting new products and meet the people who create them.

Sad news from Taylor that the Taylor Recreation Center building will be closing, but local yoga teacher Connie Fedel has turned it into a positive by opening a new location for Taylor Yoga on Telegraph Road. She has been teaching yoga classes at the community center for quite a while, and now she will have a wonderful new space to offer classes.

Also be sure to check out the amazing new offerings at the Image Salon is Dearborn. Owner Devin has recently started selling a local brand of soaps, moisturizers, body mists, scrubs, body butters and even shampoo and conditioners that are blended by Helga Soave, chemist and owner of the ‘Choices’ products. You can create unique selections with a custom blend of essential oils to create your own private label products. I first met Helga at a farmers market and she got me and my skin started on the road to recovery from sun damage and drying from harsh chemicals that were in some of the products that I had been using. There was no turning back after that. It’s so nice to have the products available year-round at Image.

Making connections and helping local healthy living and green businesses to grow is one of my favorite parts of publishing Natural Awakenings magazine. If you have a connection that you are looking to make, be sure to let me know. You can reach me by email, phone and Facebook. I’d love to hear from you and I’ll be happy to help in any way that I can. You’d be amazed at how powerful it is to reach out to others and it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say it typically comes back to you tenfold.

All the best~

Mary Anne