MINKA, a wellness center located in Brooklyn, New York, is an eclectic hub of holistic healing offering an array of unique classes and workshops. The world “minka” is Japanese for “home of the people,” and provides a comfortable landing spot for people seeking various methods of healing. Classes are taught by healing professionals who stem from various backgrounds and schools of thought. At MINKA, you can find everything from the more traditional practice of acupuncture to experimental mediumship.
Aki Hirata Baker is the founder of MINKA and began the center with the purpose of fostering community. As a Japanese-American, Baker felt unwelcome in many healing spaces and strove to create a community which included everybody and not just those who were more visible. At its core, MINKA was founded on the pillars of social justice and the idea that healing is inextricably bound with having a safe space. As Baker suggests, “How can we heal anything if we’re not comfortable?”
Harriet’s Apothecary Summer Edition, MINKA Brooklyn, July 2016. Photo: Angela Hill, courtesy Harriet’s Apothecary.
A wellness center like MINKA is especially necessary in today’s hectic day and age of information overload. The diversity of classes offered provides a tailored and intimate healing experience that resonates with people individually. Baker understands that the world we live in doesn’t always make it easy for us to take care of ourselves. At MINKA, no matter who you are, where you come from, or what you need you will be taken care of.
At this year’s BUST Holiday Craftacular, MINKA will be offering five different classes:
Kundalini Meditation Led by Sunder Ashni
Stressed out and feeling tense? Active meditations are a great way to release tension from the body using breath, sound, and movement. OSHO Kundalini meditation is a gentle yet effective way to release all the accumulated tensions of your day in a playful way through shaking and dancing. This technique enhances flexibility and brings a greater sense of vitality and aliveness to the body.
YOU ARE PSYCHIC! Led by Manu Del Prete & Nelly Reznik
You are psychic, even if you don’t know it. We all have innate intuitive gifts that can easily flourish with the right tools and guidance. Join professional psychics Manu Del Prete and Nelly Reznik in this psychic development workshop, where you will learn what energy is and how to read it, how to receive and interpret psychic guidance for yourself and others, and how to put these lessons into practice through a hands-on exercise. No prior experience is required.
THE TWELVE LETTERS OF ASTROLOGY: KNOW THE BASICS. KNOW YOURSELF Led by Ashley Brockington
Astrology basics: knowing yourself is the starting point of understanding the world. Come and learn some basic concepts of astrology with Ashley.
2017 Sacred Temple Cleaning Led by Aki Hirata Baker & Jordan Pagan
Come and clean out your sacred temple, yourself! In this workshop, you will be led to deeply release somatically, emotionally and spiritually through breath work and group reiki.
Re-memberings of Colonized Children Led by Jana Lynne Umipig
A workshop integrating Pilipino ancestral practice, energy work, meditation and movement that explores decolonization of the body and ancestral re-membering. This workshop seeks to find the stories of our ancestry in our bodies and to awaken in us the ability to honor that we carry them with our physical existence. Please be ready to move and open and connect in this workshop.
Images supplied
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