When you go to Body Actualized Control, the new weekly Cosmic Yoga party at Market Hotel, you start by finding the secret side entrance in an odd, triangular building on the corner Broadway and Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn, right above Mr. Kiwi…
and literally three feet away from the JMZ.
You walk past a pile of junk–old bicycles, smashed TVs, wet newspapers–and up a flight of wooden stairs…
To the roof, when it’s warm out…
Or into the Market Hotel ballroom, when it’s cold. Here you will find a circle of yoga mats, miscellaneous candles, a giant pungent block of burning sage, bottles of patchouli oil, some Nag Champa, and some ambient long-tone musics. Organizers Jan Rew Midelfort, Etienne Duguay, and Aurora Halal call them “hypnaogogic hits,” but anything from Steve Reich and La Monte Young to easy listening and Emeralds is fair game.
“People show up (ideally) around an hour or less before sundown, chillax, collect their respective vibes, tune in, breathe, and prepare to yogafy in the Nu Age style” (Interview with the organizers).
Trained instructors, along with the more experienced yoga practitioners in the room, prepare to lead or co-lead the class…
which always begins with the simplicity of the child’s pose…
And, like our transition into adulthood, gets increasingly challenging over time.
“As a friend of ours once said, “It’s not how far you go — it’s how you go far.” Knowing your limits while pushing them with a soft intensity is key in life” (the organizers).
The fatigue eventually sets in, of course…
and culminates in a certain death (the corpse pose)…
but all in preparation for the celebration to follow.
Photos: Annie Escobar
Words: Emilie Friedlander
Body Actualized Control usually takes place on Tuesdays at 7pm, but actual party times may vary. To join the mailing list, email Jan at whipsteur [at] gmail [dot] com. Nu Age Musical Performances usually follow the Yoga.