5 Elements: Healing for the mind, body

TALKING THINGS OVER — Linda Rowe, right, director of the 5 Elements Healing Art Center and the Mindful Way yoga instructor and Jerry Levine, a Tai-Chi guide, share a smile as they talk during last Saturday’s “Harvest Your Health” Day.
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    With life changing in New York, Linda Rowe was debating a move to southern Maine where she originally hails from or northern Maine where her brother and sister-in-law Glen and Bev Rowe lived.
    “I followed my heart to Houlton,” she said with a smile.
    Rowe, who is the director of the 5 Elements Healing Art Center and the Mindful Way yoga instructor, is celebrating 10 years of a presence in the community.
    In the fall of 1999, Rowe led a segment of yoga at a women’s health conference sponsored by Houlton Regional Hospital. Several people in the area said they would continue yoga, confirming her move to the Shiretown.
    Rowe also gave her heart away, as well. She met and married David Hutchinson. The couple settled in Monticello.
Introductions
    Rowe’s sister-in-law introduced her to Dorothy Fitzpatrick (now a good friend and mentor), along with helping her make connections at Houlton Regional Hospital and the Houlton Rec Center.
    “I did an eight-week yoga session at the rec,” Rowe said. “But, the kids summer program was starting and I realized I needed to find a more permanent place, which I hadn’t anticipated. I thought I’d go from rec center to rec center or community place to community place.”
    Rowe’s first studio was the former Fish and Friends in the Emporium Building.
    “Joyce Transue gave me a space to rent, my first chance to create something,” said Rowe. “I was there for about a year and I was growing out of that space so I needed to find something bigger.”
    So, Rowe moved to 106 Main St. to Neil Cowperthwaite’s Radio Shack basement. As Rowe talked with Jane Oliver Moody, who ran a massage therapy business, the two discussed creating a larger space. At the same time, Rowe met Jerry Levine, a Tai-Chi guide. The three moved to a larger area upstairs over Radio Shack for the next three years.
    As numbers grew, more room was needed to adequately handle the clientele.
    “We were growing again and felt we needed more visibility,” said Rowe.
    That’s when Rowe and company happened upon an open office space above SAGE Financial.
    “Richard Hammond and the SAGE staff have been very supportive and receptive,” she added.
    The 5 Elements Art Healing Center has been under continuous transformation since the beginning.
    “It’s been a great journey,” said Rowe. “One idea gets accomplished, so we ask where can we take it next? It’s been this slow unfolding process.”
Take a peek inside the Mindful Way and 5 Elements  Healing Art  Center
    After walking up a set of stairs, opening the door to the 5 Elements Healing Art Center, a long hallway presents itself. There are chairs for waiting. Turning left is the studio and then right, individual specialty rooms open up to a waiting area. Off of the waiting area is a space for a classroom.
    “My brother built the walls for us,” Rowe said, “and friends had knowledge of electricity and carpentry,” which meant very little start-up money.
    “The work we do is not a big money business, unless you are a nationally known instructor,” she explained. “Our approach to business is one of working with a conscious awareness with each other. There is more than just money that can be exchanged. Bartering and volunteering were big pieces for us in creating this space.”
    The main component the instructors want to generate is a spirit of support.
    “We want to create a space, making it come to life,” Rowe said. “The vision I have is that the space is comfortable, relaxing and safe and that people feel that when they come here. I would like a constant flow of people and movement here. It’s been a little slow to make happen, but each of our entities has continued to grow.”
    The instructors of the 5 Elements Healing Art Center are not opposed to Western medicine.
    “What we practice here compliments and helps with healing — physically or emotionally,” explained Rowe. “Seventy-five percent of all illness has a stress starting point. We want to help people do something for themselves to decrease that level of stress.”
    Rowe noted that stress affects the immune system, making the body feel like it is intense and on alert. But relaxation brings about a strengthening of the immune system so it will work when needed, while also building the respiratory system.
    “All of the elements work on different levels,” said Rowe. “It is a matter of what people are interested in. It is not a pill approach to healing. It may take multiple sessions to reduce the stressor, as everyone’s body responds differently. The practices are geared exactly to what your body needs when you need it.”
    The 5 Elements Healing Art Center offers yoga with Rowe, Tai-Chi & Qi Kung, taught by Levine; massage therapy by Shirley Armitage; Reiki, a form of universal energy used in healing with Mike and Angie Hutchinson and hula-hoop classes with Addie Boyett.
    “These are nice compliments for people who are choosing to take care of themselves and maybe have some fun, too,” Rowe added. “We all support building awareness of oneself, even in hula hooping. Healing starts with increasing awareness of the body, the breath, the emotions, and the thoughts— we are a whole package.”
Luxury or not?
A BLAST — Addie Boyett demonstrates how to use a hula-hoop during last Saturday’s class at the 5 Elements Healing Art Center during “Harvest Your Health” Day.
    Many people find they can’t bring themselves to spend money on themselves when times are tough and money is tight. But, when looking at the benefits, is it a luxury or is it preventative medicine?
    “When you get right down to it, you are responsible for your body and taking care of it in simple ways will go a long way,” Rowe said.
    The instructors of the 5 Elements Healing Art Center are offering their knowledge to those who come to their classes.
    “We have a wonderful community of musicians, artists and healers,” Rowe said. “I will use the term healers because we have lost the way in how to interpret our body, listen to it and translate what it needs.  Technically, we all have healing capabilities.”
    Myths surround the ancient study of healing, but Rowe and friends want to snap those stories.
    “Our bodies are designed to self heal, but those mechanisms won’t work if we are under chronic stress,” she said. “It is balancing a fast and slow pace. It’s good to have both in your life. You’d be nicer to your body and yourself if you’d take time to slow down and create space in your mind.”
    Rowe said each practice is based on where people are, not what they aren’t.
    “Just be yourself,” she said. “People always have face armor on. Be who you are. Recognize the fact no one will make fun of you and honor your body. We can be a jumpstart for people to get back with that connection with their body.”
Yoga
    While living and studying in a more yoga-centered environment, Rowe was exposed to a lot of teaching to understanding of the body from the yoga perspective.
    “I studied with a Swami and master yoga instructors,” she said. “I got to be in their presence and hear their teachings. It is a basic approach to life. Being healthy in body and mind makes you happy and you give your happiness to others. They see it and they want the peace, contentedness and joy, too.”
    Some people walk in nature, take hikes or go to the gym for a good workout. But, if those aren’t appealing to someone, Rowe says try a different method.
    “I say in my classes that we practice “Goldilocks Yoga — Just Right Yoga.”
    A yoga class is 90 minutes long, starting with warmups, a series of stretches, paying attention to particular body movements, cool down and relaxation where the mind is at rest, with the body comfortable and the breathing steady and even.
    “Sometimes, people do fall asleep,” Rowe grinned. “For others, they are deeply rested. Our minds put out a lot of energy in our day, which is depleting to us. We can recoup some of that in a relaxation time when our mind isn’t like the gerbil wheel. Our mind can be more quiet and when that happens, stuff that was bothering us doesn’t seem to be such a big deal.”
    Rowe noted when the body is at rest, all the internal healing mechanisms kick in.
    “It’s amazing what about seven minutes will do,” she said. “We can become more relaxed, alert and don’t need as much sleep because we aren’t as tired. That’s a great gift yoga has for people.”
    Yoga costs $8 for more than one class/week or $9 for a class.
    “It is a packed 90 minutes,” said Rowe. “A person starts to learn the unconscious body and breathing patterns that have contributed to their tensions. The hard thing to get people to wrap their minds around is the fact you are doing this for yourself. You are giving that to you. You are investing in you and you will reap the benefits immediately, as will the people around you.”
    Rowe offers morning, evening and private classes.
    “My understanding of health and wellness comes directly from my experiences and those of others I have worked with over the years,” said Rowe. “I am always developing and changing and shifting classes based upon what the needs are and what I can accommodate. I want to keep my quality of life as best I can, but I also want to meet the needs of as many people as I can.”
    “If someone comes at least once a week, he/she will gain benefits,” Rowe added. “The more you do yoga, the more familiar with it you become. You may do 15 minutes on your own at home, multiplying the benefits of the experience. If your body is relaxed, you’ve done yourself a lot of good.”
Community impact
    Rowe’s yoga class attendance is steady, though she finds herself holding more private sessions.
    “I haven’t seen a drop because of the economy, but I have seen a shift in that people are working more and they can’t get to class in the schedule I have,” she said.
    Rowe is seeing people looking for a one-on-one component for health and well-being and noticing new people are starting to come in.
    “They are doing this because they want to take care of their body,” she explained. “It is more cost effective.”
    Rowe instructs a class in Mars Hill to 70- and 80-year-olds and twice a week at the Nordic Heritage Center in P.I. to a small population.
    In the near future, Rowe wants to be able to utilize technology to introduce people to relaxation methods in their home through the Internet.
    “I want to stream digitally recorded classes,” she said. “I will try to keep the classes viable and true to the practice of a student/teacher relationship. What I would like to see is a person who streams the class come at least once a month to this space and have hands-on class interaction with other students.  Doing yoga on your own is very different from working with a teacher.”
Always an opportunity
    Rowe wants the community to understand they are not the be-all end-all.
    “We aren’t so serious that we believe this (the Center) is all that is available,” she said. “We know there are lots of other professionals around here and we have a cooperative approach with them, as well. If  we don’t have a service someone is looking for, we might know of someone else in the area who can help. We are open to being a connecting  resource to link other practitioners with possible clients looking for their services.”
    “I wanted the 5 Elements Healing Art Center to be a group effort, and now consider it a loose cooperative,” said Rowe. “We share rent, support and expenses to improve on the space.”
    Though the cooperative has worked out nicely for those involved, they know components may change in the future.
    “Nothing really is secure,” said Rowe. “Our jobs aren’t secure. I recognize life could change gears at any moment. I have no net underneath me. If this collapsed, something else would come along. It would transform into something else.”