Wellness has been a topic in the African American community that has often been swept under the rug. Darian Hall and Elisa Shankle, co-founders of HealHaus, an 1100 square foot holistic health and healing space in Brooklyn, have decided to address the subject head-on by creating a cafe that includes indoor/outdoor group programming areas, in addition to two private practitioner rooms. HealHaus recently announced the opening of its first location at 1082 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11238.
“A lot of wellness spaces that exist in the mainstream circuit have a certain appearance of what healing and transformation is, but is not necessarily the reality for everyone,” Shankle told Black Enterprise. “Our community tends to not have equal access because of the lack of accessibility and education on holistic health. Yes, healthcare is expensive, but there are things we can learn that don’t cost a dime to heal our body, mind, and soul and it starts with just someone interested in providing space and unlearning what we are fed.”
Co-Founders of Wellness Space and Cafe, Elisa Shankle and Darian Hall (Image: Healhaus)
According to a recent release, the healing space in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood features a wellness bar and cafe seating at its storefront that serves personalized, curated teas, smoothies, elixirs, and coffee alternatives. Additionally, they offer four to five healthy baked goods (muffins, cookies, etc.) for sale daily, with plans to grow their food section and holistic product line. They also plan to package and sell their HealHaus teas through retail and online outlets later in the year. To get the mind centered, HealHaus will offer up to four daily group yoga and meditation classes led by some of New York’s best and experienced instructors.
Additionally, the space includes two private practitioner rooms, where diverse practitioners will provide services such as acupuncture, reiki, and various forms of healing modalities. HealHaus will also provide workshops and panel discussions during the evenings that will bring together not only existing wellness lovers but newcomers. The panel discussions will address such topics as nutrition, anxiety, depression, mental health, and more. At HealHaus, their goal is to make wellness more accessible, so they plan to partner with top brands and companies that are committed to making this a reality.
“At HealHaus, we are on a mission to shift the culture in wellness and show that healing is not just a trend, but a lifestyle,” said Hall. “We want our community to be inclusive and represent our faces as well so that it inspires someone else to do the work. Part of our efforts to make our programming financially accessible is to provide weekend community programming that is donation based.”
HealHaus will be open seven days a week with varying hours and pricing for classes range from $18-$20. Packages and memberships are additionally offered at a discounted rate. Costs for private services will range depending on the services rendered by each practitioner. Additionally, there will also be donation-based community classes on the weekend to give everyone access to the programming in the space.
HealHaus is committed to building a community and movement to help change the stigma attached to holistic health and healing. Brooklyn will be the first location, but the plan is to open multiple locations nationwide, as well as grow the HealHaus collective by hosting retreats around the world. The overall mission of the brand is to shift the culture and disrupt the wellness industry as it exists.
“We decided to create this space because there was a lack of wellness spaces that catered to women and men. Men also need spaces to heal and take care of themselves. We hope to show that taking care of oneself is dope,” said Hall.