Maha Rose Gets Magic Makeover
Rosy Celebration This Saturday
Stroll through the more industrial section of Greenpoint, and you may notice a garden, a sign of life creeping its way toward the sun along the side of an unassuming brick building at 97 Green Street.
A colorfully detailed sandwich board alerts passersby to the goings on inside at Maha Rose, an alternative healing center in Brooklyn: weekly meditation, laughter yoga, kundalini classes; voice lessons; arts and crafts; daily yoga; breathwork classes; Reiki trainings; acupuncture; flower essence therapy.
You may ask yourself, Is this place for real? The answer: Yes, yes it is.
Maha Rose gradually breathed its way into existence about 7 years ago, when founder,
artist and jewelry designer Lisa Levine, opened the doors to her hideaway home as a place to practice meditation and study spirituality and healing practices. "It was always such a creative space that the healing was an extension of that creativity—the desire to explore more, our hidden worlds—a different sort of adventure within," says Levine.
At the time, there weren't many meditation classes in Brooklyn, so Levine and friends who shared her interest in diving into the subconscious invited teachers to the space, leading circles in her living room, the same area that now serves as Maha Rose's temple, yoga studio, and workshop
Today, Maha is home to the Kings County outpost of Josh Korda's Dharma Punx, a weekly class known for its guided meditations and discussions on how Buddhist principles are applicable to daily life.
While hosting classes in her home may seem like a great way for an artist to make supplemental income, Levine insists that was not the intention. "It wasn't so much a way to make money as a way to bring into our lives, and really close into our lives—in our home—new things and activities for us to do as our tastes and interests evolved away from bars and nightlife," she says.
It wasn't long before word got out that there was a space in Brooklyn that offered a setting in which to learn more about the dharma and healing practices as an alternative to the Brooklyn bar scene. "My best friend and Reiki teacher, Padma Gonzalez, would come up from Mexico every summer and work with me, then friends of mine, then friends of friends."
Slowly but surely, Levine saw more strangers (new friends, really) in the form of both students and teachers, engaging in the practices that she cared so deeply about, delighted to see the community grow. Still living there, a private treatment room in the back of the loft offered her and other healers a space to have private sessions—Levine eventually received certificates in both Reiki and breathwork, and allowed local healers with a magic power to use the room as well.
Having finished up her acupuncture studies last spring, Levine decided it was time to do something more with the space, renovating it to accommodate a second treatment room. "It felt like the time to take Maha Rose from a backyard project to a fuller offering to the community," says Levine. "We redid the website in the fall and are ready to launch Maha Rose for real! It's been such an organic endeavor that it finally feels like
the right time to celebrate the doors being fully open. We are ready for the revolution!"
With so many people showing interest in different avenues of thought and ways in which to take care of the spirit, a revolution seems likely. In anticipation of such, Levine moved out to make more room for healing as the roster of healers working through Maha Rose has grown. "We are increasing the number of classes and workshops offered, and there are more practitioners working out of the treatment rooms."
On Saturday, February 15, Maha Rose will have its Grand Opening Celebration. The free daylong event will serve as an opportunity to help familiarize people who may have heard of some of the practices on offer, but aren't entirely sure what they are or how they work, as well as to meet the facilitators who bring their magic to each modality.
Stop by for free sample sessions (about 20 to 30 minutes long) of Reiki, acupuncture, bodywork, breathwork, sound healing, astrology, energy healing, Tarot readings, between noon and 6pm. Or come for the free group presentations, starting at 6:30pm.
Asked what her intention is for the new and improved Maha Rose, Levine says, "To hold a space of light, love, and healing in New York City, and to do that with lightness of heart, creativity, and joy. Healing is an incredible adventure for those who are willing and brave. The treasures are within-—peace and wholeness. The journey home."
Stop by your new home this Saturday. For more info on the presentations, healers, or to learn more about Maha Rose, visit maharose.com.
