‘Tis the season of the holiday market, which means large crowds, long lines and stressed-out shoppers wielding Christmas lists.
That is, unless you visited the indoor Mindful Market in Portage Park on Small Business Saturday this year.
There was incense in the air and chai in the cups of calm patrons visiting a small number of vendors. The wares included candles for meditation, apothecary kits for rituals, educational zines about healing, and indented “worry stones” to be rubbed in tense moments. Other visitors opted to participate in yoga classes, tarot readings and healing sessions for the body, mind and spirit.
Hosted annually by Wildlight Yoga, the one-day market is designed to support local makers and healers while promoting wellness. The event happened during an especially challenging moment, according to practitioners. They say they are noticing an uptick in clients seeking alternative medicine and methods to cope with the capricious social, political and economic environment, as well as overstimulation online.
“I feel like this year has been really rough,” said Christine Zenino, of Portage Park, a Wildlight Yoga staffer who provides psychic readings. “There were people hoping that, after COVID, it was going to get better. And by 2025, they’re just like, ‘We’re so sick of this.’ I’ve had a lot of people checking in with me lately who haven’t gotten readings in five years.”
Wildlight Yoga founder and director Kelli Wefenstette said more people are expressing an interest in energy healing. The practice claims to manipulate a person’s energetic field to facilitate physical, mental and emotional relief. An example is the Japanese-based method of reiki, in which a specialist moves their hands over one’s body to identify blockages and transfer energy. Another option is sound therapy, which supports well-being through the use of singing bowls, gongs and other instruments.
These services and others are provided by Wildlight Yoga, which is in the process of expanding from a yoga studio into a healing arts center.
“We’re experiencing a time where a lot of people have physical ailments that can’t be explained with a standard diagnosis,” said Wefenstette, 40, of Albany Park. “We just encounter so much more than we did when we were children or in our parents’ or grandparents’ generations. There’s just so many more things that our energetic field is being bombarded with and trying to process. And so by working in energy healing, you are helping the body detox.”
Mindful Market vendor Terrell Boykin said he has also noticed more overwhelmed clients.
“People are looking for moments to be still,” said Boykin, a yogi who also sells candles through his Inspire Natural Goods business. “Whether it’s through a product or through a class, they’re able to find that.”
Boykin, 29, of Woodlawn, said he experienced that relief firsthand back in college.
“I was a big ball of stress,” he recalled. “I turned to candle-making just as a hobby. I turned to yoga for breath control and de-stressing. After a few years of practicing, I fell in love with the benefits and the changes I saw in my life and I wanted to offer that to others.”
Massage therapist and reiki teacher Amber Renee Schwartz said a lot of her clients are feeling “anxious and lost.”
“People are struggling to feel connected to their communities, to each other and to themselves,” said Schwartz, 42, of Humboldt Park, who owns Prismatic Healing and teaches at Wildlight Yoga.
She praised Mindful Market for helping get the word out about her business so she can help others.
“Just being on social media, things come across people’s awareness and disappear really fast,” she said. “The biggest barrier is just the inherent disconnection that seems to be present because we’re all on our screen so much.”
Among the patrons was state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, who purchased bath bombs from a vendor. She said she encourages community members to support local businesses instead of solely going to big box stores.
“If we don’t do that, our small businesses will go away,” she said. “On the far Northwest Side, we have so many small businesses. And the owners are invested in making sure we have a thriving community.”
She also commended Wildlight Yoga for centering the well-being of others during the stressful holiday season.
“To be able to participate in local economic development and also your own or somebody else’s wellness is really important at this moment,” she said.
