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meditation

Good & Well: A Local Investigation of Wellness

November 21, 2018 By Erika Veurink Filed Under: Reader Wellness Tagged With: CBD, Chinese Medicine, craniosacral therapy, facials, massage, meditation, sauna, spa, steam, wellness, yoga

It’s nearly impossible to walk a block in Park Slope without spotting wellness in one of its many embodiments. Alternative medical offices and juice shops abound. Conversations often slip into the familiar cadence of words once foreign-words like chakra, ketogenic, or ashwagandha. Gone are the days of living intentionally being reserved for the hyper-health conscious. Wellness has made its way to the masses.     

 

What was once a niche market is now a near 4 trillion dollar movement towards living “well.” And what does that mean exactly? I took to the streets of Park Slope, a historically progressive and health centered neighborhood, to find out. 

My journey began at D’mai urban spa where the scents of serenity that slipped out the sleek exterior created an impromptu oasis on 5th Avenue. I was transported from the muggy street to the back corner of the spa, plush robe knotted, to a sweltering sauna. Wellness, I thought prematurely and perhaps influenced by the cucumber water I was sipping, was actually pretty simple. As my body unwound and the temperature rose, I considered the last time I intentionally did something for my physical self. Did my recent acquisition of a swingy workout skort count? My thoughts were interrupted as I was shuffled to my massage table. When Daniella Stromberg, the owner of D’Ami, proposed a CBD Pain Relief Massage as a experiment in wellness, I was intrigued. 

CBD oil, primarily made from canabitdoid, has been popular in the world of wellness for years. Known to relieve stress, relax tension in the body, and perhaps even lighten the weight of anxiety, this hemp derived miracle worker is shifting into the mainstream. 

As the massage therapist pulled the tension from my wrist she whispered, “There, different story,” and I nearly jumped off the table in light of this revelation. She was right. Wellness is altering, for good, the parts of our stories we can change. Narrative traces through every point in our lives-why should our health be any different? In moving towards what is good, we move inadvertently towards what is true. As Danielle put simply, “Wellness is the state of being your authentic self.” 

 

And these aren’t new stories we’re uncovering. Many ancient practices of wellness have been reinterpreted for life in the 21st century. Take bath houses for example. In 2500 BC, the “Great Bath” functioned as both a community gathering place and a temple. In 2018, between the low-lying warehouses of Gowanus, cityWell brooklyn re-imagines the art of “taking the waters” for modern city dwellers. The space is unassuming from the outside, but after slipping off your shoes and venturing past the entrance, a sanctum awaits. Liz Tortolani, owner and visionary of the space, has crafted an island in a desert. That island being a collection of small shifts that speak to her passion for beauty, restoration, and the timeless pursuit of better living. 

For Liz, empowering wellness seekers to take an active role in the honoring of their bodies is the ultimate form of giving back. And her hope is that this becomes a lifestyle shift, not a once-a-year birthday treat. Wellness being a constant priority makes it preemptive, I learned. Stepping into cityWell feels like a collective exhale. Candles quietly wave, the sound of the warm baths blur out the traffic nearby, and the no shoe rule works to ground attendees in the moment at hand. And that moment is tranquil, safe, and shared. 

The five elements of Chinese medicine (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) are all deftly woven into the space. Upon my second visit, Liz visited me in the sauna clutching a binder overflowing with magazine clippings, color palettes, and early business proposals. The evolution of cityWell took shape before my eyes as she explained how each piece manifested-the cork floors that cover the space, the candles from a local apothecary, the vines climbing above the whirlpool, the personal lockers for New Yorkers on the go, and the rain showers above head. The shared feeling of presentness that humid Tuesday morning, a collection of woman with all sorts of stories gathered in one place, was proof of her success. 

 

Community wove its way into every wellness related practice I visited. At Slope Wellness, a few avenues closer to the park, so did the no shoe rule. White noise machines and a clean, organized office space help instantly create an air of calm upon descent. A host of services, such as Jade Gua Sha Facials and yoga practices fill the multipurpose rooms every day. Here, acupuncture is offered in a group setting, as a nod to its ancient origins, but also as an attempt to provide a more affordable alternative. The practice was founded over five years ago in response to a space in the market for a wellness experience that extended beyond the occasional massage. CSA drops off produce here, rooms can be rented by the community, and health related products are curated for sale. Dawn Phillips, a devoted staff member, spoke again of the importance of empowering patients beyond the appointment, to pursue health at home. In our conversation, she explained how she defined wellness as “the mind, body, and spirit connection.” She spoke to the ancient understanding that these compenents can’t be divorced; that they are most powerful in tandem. When the client understand this, the work done at Slope Wellness has the potential to extend into empowered self care; the ability to pursue wellness at home. 

Her speciality, craniosacral therapy, is the work of talk and touch in releasing tension in the body, in some cases working to dislodge trauma. It seems the more aptly we embrace wellness, the more we open ourselves to conversations of the stories our bodies tell. Dawn noted that talking about trauma has become notably less taboo than it was historically. “We can start to change our reality,” she explained. That change, that shift in narrative, is at the root of all wellness. 

At the end of the day, wellness is as much a robust spa treatment as it is taking the long way through Prospect Park home from work. It’s about modifying, even in the slightest sense, our relationship towards our bodies. And it turns out wellness is often a practice best served in the company of others. It’s a state of mind, an intention. And the occasional green juice.

Filed Under: Reader Wellness Tagged With: CBD, Chinese Medicine, craniosacral therapy, facials, massage, meditation, sauna, spa, steam, wellness, yoga

A Daily Practice

February 15, 2016 By Ambika Samarthya-Howard Filed Under: Mindfulness Tagged With: Brooklyn, buddhism, Buddhist, enlightenment, meditation, mindfulness, Pema Chodron, sitting, Zen

When Pema Chodron, the well-known Western Buddhist writer and ordained nun, went to the dentist and he asked her what she did, she responded that she taught meditation. He told her that one day he would begin meditation when he was less busy. She said you probably won’t need it as much then.

A daily meditation practice is like getting to the gym: The longer you stay away, the harder it is to return to, and the more you do it every day, the more your body eases into the habit. When I first started my daily practice several years ago, I fought the usual demons: Restlessness while sitting, lethargy, laziness in getting to the cushion. It was only through repeated group practice at the non-lineage Interdependence Project in lower Manhattan that I began to integrate a daily practice into my life and start feeling the benefits.

[pullquote]Ultimately meditation and daily practice—however it transpires in our lives—can be our treat to ourselves and those around us throughout our lives (and especially the winter).[/pullquote]

In Brooklyn itself there are many centers that provide courses and spaces for mindfulness and meditation, including the Vajradhara Meditation Center in Boerum Hill, the Brooklyn Zen Center, and Third Root Community Center. Paul Sireci, dharma teacher at Third Root, started practicing when he was fourteen or fifteen. A former monk, he’s had a daily practice since he was twenty. “I think it’s given me a better perspective on my emotions. My lows are less low and my highs are not necessarily less high but they don’t seduce me in the ways they did before. I’m more content and when you are more content you don’t need to be wildly happy.”

A daily practice of even fifteen to twenty minutes can be surprisingly difficult in the beginning. Often sitting alone with our thoughts provokes more anxiety in us than peace, even though (or maybe exactly because) the primary purposes of meditation is to become friends with our own minds. People may not find slowing down easy or pleasurable. My husband enjoys his sitting practice except ironically when he feels particularly stressed or anxious, which is when meditation can really help ground us. Sitting with your own thoughts and feelings can be daunting, and it’s not until one begins to trust how they arise and pass, and approach themselves and others with gentleness and kindness that meditation becomes an essential part of one’s day.

Another hurdle to daily practice is prioritization— it sometimes feel overwhelming to bring in a new daily task amongst all the other responsibilities one has. The crucial turning point often comes when you can begin to see the benefits and changes your practice has for yourself and others around you. There’s a leap of faith and often some amount of discipline to go from the intention of having a daily practice to embracing one. At some point, not meditating feels like not taking a shower—like something is amiss.

Practice doesn’t always have to mean sitting. In fact, sometimes the rigidity of having a sitting practice itself intimidates many and can be an obstacle to meditation. Peggy Horwitz, a Brooklyn-based psychotherapist emphasizes mindfulness and kindness to oneself. “I’ve been meditating for over twenty years but for me practice means paying attention and going inward with kindness. For clients who already judge themselves for not sitting long enough or daily, practicing mindfulness throughout the day and in other ways can be equally powerful.”

While having a specific place and time for practice can help structure the daily routine, I often find that being mindful on my commute or while I am in line can be powerful elements of practice. They involve being kind to myself and others, of relating to those around me, and of paying attention at those key moments when we often forget ourselves and our surroundings the most.

Besides habit, there’s also faith. A teacher at the Interdependence Project, and long-time Brooklyn resident, Kate Johnson is a student at Brooklyn Zen and New York Insight. She remembers how it took her nearly three years to make daily practice a reality. “I had this unconscious belief that I was the one person in the world for whom meditation just wouldn’t work.  Of course, I was wrong.

“I think I was inspired to practice daily when I noticed how much kinder I was to myself and others on days that I practiced, and how much more I was able to let go of striving for perfection and just appreciate being alive. I practice meditation because I care about myself, and want to give myself an opportunity to feel grounded, expansive, and connected.  I spent so much of my life not treating myself very well at all.  Meditation is a way for me to tend to my own heart, so that I can tend to the world with love.”

Ultimately meditation and daily practice—however it transpires in our lives—can be our treat to ourselves and those around us throughout our lives (and especially the winter). And maybe if we’re finding ourselves too busy to consider it, we should feel even more compelled to sit. That challenge could be our biggest gift.

Buddhism and Meditation

Third Root Community Health Center

380 Marlborough Road

(718) 940-9343

Vajradhara Meditation Center

444 Atlantic Ave

(917) 403-5227

Brooklyn Zen Center

505 Carroll St. #2

(718) 701-1083

Rock blossom Sangha at Brooklyn community of Mindfulness: meet Sundays from 6:30-8:30 at Church of Gethsemane in Park Slope

Filed Under: Mindfulness Tagged With: Brooklyn, buddhism, Buddhist, enlightenment, meditation, mindfulness, Pema Chodron, sitting, Zen

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