Friday, May 29, 2009

Open your Mind, Not your Wallet


I wanted to announce another center in town that offers great free classes: The Open Center. I just attended their free introductory seminar of "Healing with Whole Foods and Chinese Herbs" last night. Though I might be a bit skeptical of some aspects, I enjoyed learning the basics of Chinese medicinal theory.

To sum up The Open Center, as described in their welcome statement, they are " dedicated to offering educational programs and cultural events that expand the mind, nurture the body and awaken the spirit. We offer workshops, classes, lectures, conferences and professional trainings, led by teachers of wisdom, passion and skill. Thousands have come through our doors finding fresh intellectual perspectives, paths of healing, deepening of their spiritual lives and new careers that allow them to be of service and express their true calling."

I myself admit that I am dubious of the more far-fetched practices involving "chakras," "life force" or most things with "spirituality" in the title. Still I enjoy learning about everything, and am open to trying new things. They offer a variety of multi-week long classes (that you pay for), but many of these classes start off with a free introductory seminar open to anyone. I should note that many of the multi-week long paid-for classes are in fact not that expensive themselves.

Topics range from Belly Dancing, Aromatherapy, Learning to play the Native American Flute, Prana Yoga Teacher Training, How to Communicate with Difficult People, Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy and hundreds more. From massage to spirituality to eastern medicine to psychology they cover a wide breadth of topics loosely under the holistic health and wellness category. They also have a shop that carries an eclectic selection of books, world music, cards and aromatherapy products.

The Open Center is located in Soho at 83 Spring Street (but next month they are moving uptown to 22 East 30th street). To attended a free introductory seminar pre-register by calling 212.219.2527 x 2.

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