It was a long time coming, but the past week’s snowfall seems to indicate that winter is finally upon us! To fully equip you for the season, we spoke with eight local businesses to get their Greenpoint winter survival tips and favorite local haunts for the cold days ahead of us, and this is the first one in our series. I’m feeling better already.
WELLNESS: MAHA ROSE | 97 Green Street
Gabrielle Gray, Studio Manager
Greenpointers: What tweaks should we make to our routines in the winter months?
Gabrielle Gray: One of my favorite things about the winter is that naturally we just go within. The weather is so terrible that you want to hibernate a little bit and we want to quieten down and we want to get cozy. That instinct I think is natural and we can all honor that a little more. New York City is such a go city, but allow yourself to relax a little bit more. That’s what the weather is calling for.
GP: You have a class that you’re offering called Family & Holidays, what advice can you give people who are perhaps feeling stressed about the inevitable political conversations this season?
GG: Yes, this year we have this class which is right on the nose, but I think a lot of the practices, whether explicitly stated or not are going to help you handle these events. A lot of spiritual healing or even physical healing, is about giving you the tools to deal with challenges in your life so that you have emotional and spiritual tools to go and talk to your father who has different political views and you can be in this extended uncomfortable state and still be okay. One of my favorite things for stress relief, because it’s something that everyone can get into, is reiki. I’m a practitioner and it brings you to a very relaxed state that is meditative and dreamy. I like to think of it as human being maintenance. Everyone needs a little TLC every once in a while.
GP: What is something portable that you can do when you’re on your way home for the holidays?
GG: Meditation is portable and you can take it anywhere with you. You don’t need to be in a super quiet, zen place. You can meditate in the cab on the way to the airport. It’s self-sufficient. Also, maybe take some time to do a little yoga at home. If you’re staying with your parents and you know you’re going to have a stressful day, you can stretch a little bit in your room and take some deep breaths and do some yoga poses that will calm you down because we store that stuff in our bodies.
GP: Do you recommend any herbs that can be beneficial in the winter months?
GG: One of my favorite herbs in general is nettles. You can make tea out of nettles and it’s really great tasting. It’s really chockful of vitamins.
GP: Could using crystals be helpful also?
GG: Keeping with that theme of going within and resting, some of our crystals for the third eye would be good because you’re quietening down and you’re in a place where you can listen to your intuition. I think Labradorite would be really sweet for that and maybe you could set some intentions for 2018. You can hold it during meditation and if you’re setting an intention, it’s going to amplify that.
GP: What’s your favorite thing to do in Greenpoint in the winter months?
GG: I love going to Bakeri on Freeman Street [105 Freeman Street]. All of the girls at Maha Rose love it and we go there all the time. I love getting a hot drink or their soup and it’s so cute in there. I have to hold myself back from going every day to eat the baked goods. The folks who work there are really kind to us.
GP: And finally, if you can’t handle leaving the apartment and you’re truly in hibernation mode, what would you suggest people do?
GG: If you’re spending a lot of time in your home and you’re going within and you’re doing work on yourself, clearing your space is going to be important for that to clear any residual energy. You can do that with sage. Light it up, and then blow it out like incense and you’ll have some ember burning. Set intentions that you’re clearing the space and you’re filling it with love and anything negative is leaving. You can open a door or window and allow that energy to go.