THE ART OF WELLNESS

Saturday, September 23, 2023
11am – 1 pm
An “Art to Dine For” benefit for the Creative Alliance of Baltimore

Participants ushered in the Autumnal Equinox by soaking in a late morning Qi Gong session led by Diana Keener.

Next they learned about the surprising benefits of everyday items in your spice cabinet, the medicine in your food, and how to up your diet’s nutrition factor with Dr. Shari M. Youngblood DCN, CNS, LDN, Professor of Integrative and Functional Nutrition at Saybrook University.

Supporters enjoyed delicious, healthy, organic, fall vegetarian lunch by Quieona Lewis of Sweet Tasting BITES. Continue reading “THE ART OF WELLNESS”

Be The Needle: A Practitioner’s Journey

by Diana Keener, LAc

When I was in acupuncture school more than twenty years ago, we were told that this brilliant form of energetic medicine can have profound effects beyond the mere elimination of unpleasant physical symptoms. It is medicine that has benefit for the body, mind and spirit. Being a person who does not take anything on faith, I began to question what that actually meant. What is this “body-mind-spirit” that gets repeated so often that it starts to sound like one meaningless word? And if it really does mean something, how can we access it palpably? When the needle makes contact with the acupuncture points on the meridians that we learned about in theory class I wanted to actually feel, not intuitively, but tangibly, the flow of energy that the needle is supposed to be manipulating.

Continue reading “Be The Needle: A Practitioner’s Journey”

Ruscombe Speaker Series — The Art and Magic of the Tarot with Michael M. Hughes

We at Ruscombe are very excited to launch a new Speaker Series with our first event in March:

The Art and Magic of the Tarot with Michael M. Hughes:

March 15, 2023
7:00-8:30pm
Ruscombe Mansion

Join us for a highly visual introduction to this centuries-old divination system, with a look at their fascinating history as well as their modern use as a practical method of self-knowledge and spiritual insight. We’ll delve into the origin of the cards in the courts of 15th century Italy, watch their transformation into a tool of esoteric wisdom by Freemasons and occultists in the 18th century, and explore their explosion in popularity in the 21st Century. Why has this deck of 78 symbol-laden cards fascinated so many people from all walks of life for hundreds of years? How has it been used for practical divination and as a tool for personal growth? How can you begin to work with the tarot, to benefit yourself and others?

Featured Speaker: Michael M. Hughes is an author, speaker, magical thinker, and highly sought-after tarot historian, whose popular in-person tarot classes have sold out the largest lecture halls at Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood Campus. Michael is also the author of four books, including his most recent, Magic for the Resistance: Rituals and Spells for Change. He speaks regularly on tarot, magic, the divinatory arts, psychedelics, and other esoteric and anomalous subjects. You can find out more about him here:  www.theArtofMagicallLving.com.

This event is free of charge, though donations are appreciated.
Seating is limited. Please reserve a spot at
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-art-and-magic-of-the-tarot-with-michael-m-hughes-tickets-551582477037

Questions: CKirikos@we-align.org

Seating is limited. Please RSVP to Carin Kirikos to reserve your spot: CKirikos@we-align.org

We’re Starting a Garden Club!

The seed catalogs are arriving, the days are (slowly) becoming longer, and we are starting to dream about all the wonderful things that come with the beginning of gardening season! Ruscombe is forming our first ever Garden Club, and we want you to join us. On February 18th, meet us in the Mansion at 1:00pm for a casual get-together to brainstorm plans for landscaping, herb gardens, flowers, native plants, vegetables, greenhouses, seed start-ups and houseplant fun. The goal is to come together, plan together, work together and grow together while sharing our love of planty everything!

Please RSVP with names of anyone planning to attend by emailing summer.ruscombe@gmail.com

Welcome to the Ruscombe Community Maria Talton, Ph.d

From the minute you meet Dr. Maria, you get the feeling you’re in the company of a longtime friend. Her warmth and ease of nature are immediately welcoming, and her down-to-earth attitude, along with an unexpectedly big laugh, belie her impressive background and accreditations.

Ruscombe welcomes Dr. Maria Talton, our newest practitioner to join the community. She brings with her 30+ years of experience in clinical mind/body therapies and holds a Doctorate in Ayurvedic Health as well as a Masters in Clinical Aromatherapy. Her studies in Kathmandu led her to become a Master Reiki Practitioner. Additionally, Maria is a Certified Surgical Technologist, Labor Doula and a Master Herbalist, and did we mention she’s a licensed esthetician?

Dr. Talton believes not only in helping to alleviate her patients’ physical concerns, but their emotional and psychosomatic pain as well, promoting relaxation and healing though gentle touch, with each treatment carefully tailored to the dynamic needs of the individual.

She also makes custom teas, tinctures, oils, soaps, and skin treatments, now available at Ruscombe, and we caught up with her one evening while she was about to prepare some of her herbal products to ask her a few questions.

RM: You’ve worked in both western and eastern or holistic/traditional healthcare spaces. Why did you choose to center your practice at Ruscombe?

MT: We have been educating the masses about holistic and natural wellness for a while. We actually found out about Ruscombe through a client, and when I met the staff and came to visit, I felt immense energy and overwhelming peace. It was then that I knew that I longed for a holistic community with a sense of family.

I enjoy being around different practitioners of like minds and modalities. It gives me a yearning to continue learning, and the peace I feel here is unmatched… Ruscombe has decades of HEALING energy soaked into the walls themselves, it’s a kind of energy you don’t find just anywhere. It’s also absolutely gorgeous! The energy here starts at the driveway with the beautiful grounds and it’s in every brick. It just radiates peace here, there’s no place I’d rather be.

RM: What led you to your path of holistic wellness, particularly Ayurveda?

MT: My path of holistic wellness is one of family heritage. My parents were both of Native American descent, they lived holistically. I however wasn’t really sold on herbs and holistic wellness until I trained in Kathmandu many years later. It was then that I really took the dive into traditional Chinese and Indian Medicine. Now, I incorporate western and Ayurvedic medicine into my practice for what I see as a truly “whole-istic” approach to health for myself and my clients.

RM: You are a very busy woman! When you do have time to yourself, what brings you joy, what do you do for fun?

MT: I love to make jewelry. I love designs and color, and making jewelry is calming and peaceful to me.

RM: OK, last one, what are you currently listening to?

MT: I love to listen to Sadhguru on YouTube!

Dr. Talton will be offering a $10 Working with Herbs Make and Take class at Ruscombe on February 4th from 1:00-3:30pm, more details on her website sonjasecrets.com. She is currently accepting new clients, and you can learn more about her practice, services and natural product line by visiting sonjasecrets.com, or reach her directly at sonjagotsecrets@gmail.com or 240-285-9597.

Working with Herbs – Make & Take Workshop

Learn how to use ingredients from your home kitchen or garden to make your own winter cold and flu remedy, pain relief cream, or tinctures to support restful sleep. All ingredients as well as a workbook are included. $10 per person. Class will be led by Maria Talton on Saturday, February 4th from 1:00 – 3:30 pm.

Workshop will meet in the Conference Room located on the first floor of the Hill House at Ruscombe Mansion Community Health Center.

Enroll by visiting www.sonjasecrets.com or call 240-285-9597.

Sunday Yoga Class!

Winter doldrums? Feeling a need to grow your community? Looking for a way to move your body and quiet your mind? Just want something fun and meaningful to do with your Sunday mornings?

Come join Elisabeth Gambino for weekly Hatha Yoga in the Ruscombe Community Hall, each Sunday from 9:30-10:45 am. You can drop in for $20 or purchase a 6 class subscription for $100. From the lower level of the Hill House located on our peaceful campus, Elisabeth leads each 75-minute class with a specific physical or energetic focus. Suitable for all levels, you will learn to build a safe, alignment-focused yoga practice and adapt it to your body; build strength, flexibility, mindfulness, and increased physical wellbeing. Freeing your body from movement patterns and opening your anatomy for a deeper embodied mindfulness, these structured classes will help you to build a therapeutic home practice, tailored to your needs! Student suggestions are welcome at each session.

Elisabeth brings 16 years of experience to her classes and can adapt movements to suit any need or level. Her personal journey to health deeply informs her practice and teaching methods physically, mentally and spiritually.

“I love being in community and helping others,” says Elisabeth. “The yoga studio is a beautiful place to remind myself of the reasons I continue the practice. Teaching inspires me to keep learning and keep my practice fresh. I enroll in master classes and teacher trainings a few times a year, as well as going on retreat at an ashram or yoga center at least once yearly, to connect to the deeper aspects of the practice. The yoga practice is beautiful as a way to connect to the self, to connect the mind and body, and to connect to a larger community of people on the same path. I continue to strive to quiet the mind and find the path of right words, right thoughts, and right actions. Om Namah Shivaya – it is all for the greater good, and it’s a blessing to be a vessel for the teachings.”

Check it out. Drop in for a class on Sundays 9:30-10:45 am in the Community Hall, located in the lower level of the Hill House at Ruscombe (enter through the door at the parking lot), or contact elisabeth.gambino@gmail.com. Her website is www.thepracticewell.com and you can follow her on Instagram @thepracticewell or on Facebook

Namaste!

New practitioner: Maria Talton, PhD

Driven by her passion to elevate the physical and mental well being of her clients, Dr. Maria Talton is an expert holistic health practitioner with well over 30 years of experience in clinical mind and body therapy. Due to her vast extensive experience, Maria understands that the needs of each individual are varied and believes in tailoring her treatment to suit the needs those needs. Check her full bio here

Pam McFarland, a certified therapeutic writing facilitator

Pam McFarland, a certified therapeutic writing facilitator, will be leading two workshops at Ruscombe this autumn. The first, Cultivating Compassion and Equanimity with Mindfulness and Journaling (Saturday, September 17 from 10 am – noon; $35; https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cultivating-equanimity-and-compassion-with-meditation-and-journaling-tickets-352341110747 ) – bring your favorite journal/laptop/notepad and something to write with. The second, Accessing Joy through Creative Expression (October 15 from 10 am – noon; $35 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/accessing-joy-through-creative-expression-tickets-352388261777 ) is going to be pure fun – and if you’re a creative who sometimes encounters a blockage, you won’t want to miss this one.

 

Sign up at Eventbrite, using the links above, or by visiting www.pammcfarland.com.