I Am Teaming Up With Audre Lorde Project’s 3rd Space Healing!

First off, thanks to those who came out to the Sunday’s BMW Guggenheim Lab’s “Free Community Health Care Day” on Sunday.  It was incredible!  

It was held in an airy space at the corner of Houston and 2nd, where East Village meets Lower East Side.  Complete with wide and open brick alley feel, long flowing curtains, metal scaffolding, multimedia and gigantic monitor setup creating public discourse, and the “health care area”, where I needled, along with a fellow acupuncturist.  Third Root Acupuncture organized this health care area.  Everyone who signed up for acupuncture received either one of two protocols (each 3 needles):  one for stress relief, the other one to re-energize and ground.  I really enjoyed connecting with folks who came in, especially because many of them had never received acupuncture, yet were looking forward to experiencing it.  Sometimes I gave them a simple meditation to focus on during the treatment, sometimes they preferred to hear the ambient sounds of the streets of New York City (which at one point, after the acupuncture segment, became a cacophony of police and ambulance sirens that were apparently stuck in traffic.)  Ah, Nueva York!  After open hours of community acupuncture, where people opened their eyes post-treatment, refreshed, and more calm than when they came in, came an hour of yoga, then a show by Third Root practitioners and clients on holistic health care.  Extremely validating to those of us practicing!

Last night, I attended Audre Lorde Project’s 3rd Space Healing Launch.  It was created by a collective of professional healers who provide health care for people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans, Gender Non Conforming people of color, HIV+, low income (im)migrant and/or people living with a disability.  This serves the members of the Audre Lorde Project, whose mission statement is, “The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area. Through mobilization, education and capacity-building, we work for community wellness and progressive social and economic justice.”  This event was open to anyone who wanted to attend (as is the case with all future wellness days.)

The presenting participants included:  acupuncturists, reiki practitioners, energy healers, nurses, somatic body workers, and even a tarot card reader (who had an interesting spin on how reading tarot cards created a path to healing.)  Every person had a specific focus, inspiration to practice, succinct explanation of what they do, and answered q&a with aplomb.  After explaining the healing collective, and introducing their modalities, there was a community acupuncture and reiki session.  It was icing on the cake for me that most of the practitioners were new and old friends of mine!  The healing that took place was wonderful and powerful.

I already knew, before attending the launch, that I wanted to get involved as an acupuncturist and reiki practitioner.  After experiencing the event, I was absolutely positive that I wanted to give back to a community I have been a part of for so long.  As of now, I am slated to be an acupuncturist (and/or reiki practitioner) at the three following Wellness Days:

The dates and times slated for ALP’s 3rd Space Healing Wellness Days are:

   – Thursday, October 13th.  6:30pm-8:30pm, ALP Manhattan location.

   – Saturday, November 12th. 1:00pm-4:00pm, ALP Brooklyn location.

   – Wednesday, December 14th. 6:30pm-8:30pm, ALP Manhattan location

Details on the Wellness Days:

 *Wellness Days are a place where community members will be able to access a provider for a one-on-one holistic healthcare session or a community session.

*You can schedule an appointment at a Wellness Day or walk in!  212-463-0342 ext. 16

*The Wellness Days will be operating on a sliding scale basis and no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

I hope to see you at one of the Wellness Days!

 

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