Any day of the week it’s possible to step into Moab’s only natural food store and access products and information curated to maximize wellness opportunities for the local community and visitors.
Moonflower Community Cooperative also prides itself on extending its reach beyond the checkout counter into every-day life. Several times a month the market offers classes and workshops with local wellness-oriented practitioners, and craftspeople on subjects from meditation to utilizing lavender in homemade products. This month, visitors and the community are invited to attend a workshop at Moonflower with local herbalist, Emily Stock, on Wednesday, July 20, from 6:30 to 8 PM.
Titled “Holistic Approaches to Menstrual Difficulties,” the workshop will address common physiologic and hormonal imbalances that can cause difficulties in the menstrual cycle.
Stock teaches six to eight classes every year at Moonflower, paid engagements funded through the nonprofit cooperative’s education fund, and is glad for the opportunity for one-on-one time with people familiar with her work and products.
“I’m really grateful that they have the education program that they do,” she said. “I think it’s really unique and it’s important for all of us, the community and the teachers.”
Born and raised in Moab, Stock became a student of the healing arts at a young age and has pursued excellence in herbalism by studying under advanced practitioners in the West and in other parts of the country.
“There’s a high emphasis on nutrition and lifestyle patterns, as well as herbal therapies,” she said.
Moonflower Cooperative has hosted workshops taught by local practitioners for years, and this year, the market has been successful at publicizing local practitioners through the market’s widely-distributed Practitioner Guide, Moonflower Community Events Coordinator Cactus Moloney
New to her role since last fall, Moloney said that even hosting two classes every month, she feels she’s just beginning to learn about the scope of practice covered by Moab’s skilled naturalists.
“We have such a talented community,” she said. “The Practitioner Guide gave me a good idea on how many directions natural practitioners are taking here. We have an abundant number of people here with such a variety of skills, I haven’t even tapped into all the resources.”
Next month, Moonflower will host a workshop covering recycling do’s and don’ts and how recycling works in Moab, taught by Green Solutions owner and manager, Brad Woodford, and Utah State University’s Sustainable Communities Department Director, Dr. Roslynn Brain. Questions from patrons inspired Maloney to organize the workshop, she said. Many workshops are inspired by customer curiosity and conversations, she said.
“One class that was a hit was the Bee Inspired Garden bike tour, we toured around town and saw the different ways people have incorporated water-wise pollinator species into their landscaping,” Maloney said. “People really love to be hands-on and see what’s going on in the community.”
Moonflower Cooperative General Manager Derek Whitworth said that by keeping an eye on attendance, the market has been able to tailor its workshop offerings to the community’s needs and interests.
Whitworth said that Moonflower is planning to increase programming for youth and expand the list of practitioners included in the Practitioners Guide, and that If people miss classes, they can find comprehensive information from each workshop in the market’s monthly newsletter.
“I think that we have a special group of people in Moab that have a lot to offer the community and visitors,” Whitworth said. “We are lucky to be able to facilitate that connection.”
Moonflower Cooperative wellness workshops feature local practitioners
“I’m really grateful that they have the education program that they do. I think it’s really unique and it’s important for all of us, the community and the teachers.”
Where: Moonflower Community Cooperative, 39 E 100 N
Schedule and details: www.moonflower.coop/events
Moonflower’s events schedule and more information about upcoming workshops are available on their Web site at www.moonflower.coop/events.
