Heal Haus
“The concept for HealHaus came about because of a void,” says Elisa Shankle, the 32-year-old co-founder of the Bed-Stuy/Clinton Hill wellness center and café offering classes and private sessions for yoga, meditation, acupuncture, massage and therapy, among many other self-care practices.
“I’ve been into community healing for a long time and used to have all these experiences where I didn’t see myself reflected,” she continues. “I didn’t really see Black or brown people among the practitioners and the community. Even the physical spaces would be literally white.”
For co-founder Darian Hall, 37, his interest in healing was sparked by meeting his father a couple of years ago for the first time. After posting about it on social media, conversations bubbled up with longtime friends about situations they too were wrestling with, from fatherhood to marriage. “I’d known these guys practically all my life, but we had never talked about these things,” he says.
The dialogue got Darian thinking about the need for therapeutic spaces that are inviting for all genders. He pitched the idea to his good friend Elisa, and the ball starting rolling for HealHaus, which they opened last May.
“ I’ve been into community healing for a long time and used to have all these experiences where I didn’t see myself reflected. Even the physical spaces would be literally white.”
With a wide range of holistic practices under one roof, HealHaus is sort of a one-stop shop for the mind, body and spirit. “We’re not telling people what they need to do,” Elisa says of the à la carte approach. “It’s like, ‘Yo, this is your healing journey.’ It’s supposed to be messy. It’s not very linear. You explore your own healing process by discovering what works for you in a community where you can feel supported.”
The journey may lead you to Vinyasa yoga, Zen Shiatsu bodywork, cupping, mindful breath meditation, couples therapy, reiki or Adinkra ancestral readings — all offered at HealHaus in a serene setting mapped out by Elisa, an interior designer.
“When people come in, we want them to feel warm and welcome,” she says, adding that the space’s terracotta color scheme was inspired by red clay from her native North Carolina, with furniture by Black designers. “We want you to feel like it’s home.”
The first thing you see upon entering HealHaus is its wellness café, playing R&B and hip-hop, and serving up seasonal smoothies, elixirs made from coffee alternatives and medicinal teas. (We recommend The Cobbler smoothie, a delicious concoction with peaches, oats, almond butter, cinnamon and chia, and the surprisingly hot cocoa-like mushroom mocha.) The familiar setting is intentional.
“So much of this is new for many of us,” says Darian, who himself had never practiced holistic health before co-founding HealHaus. “It was important to us for people to come in and see familiar faces without feeling intimidated.”
Community is also nurtured at HealHaus through the center’s sanctuary-like back porch, especially poppin’ in the summer; daily workshops like “Stress Reductions for Creatives,” “Sexual Health and Mother Earth,” and “Mindfulness for Men;” donation-based community programming on weekends; a monthly conversation series (next up: conscious relationships); and monthly zodiac parties (don’t miss the Aquarius Social on Feb. 9.)
“We’re trying to build a new notion of socializing, through experiences that aren’t necessarily based around alcohol,” says Elisa. “It’s been incredible to see how we can shift stigma and get people talking in an active way.”
1082 Fulton Street, 347-413-7774, healhaus.com
