Do cities make us sick? There are some pretty convincing studies out there that the answer is yes. How about normal hospital practices? So what can we do about it? The Urban Zen Foundation has one answer for cancer sufferers: raise awareness and inspire people, children and whole cultures to help preserve well-being. Their goal is to include alternative types of medicine: nutrition, yoga and Eastern healing practices with existing Western medicine. The foundation also wants to empower patients to have more control in their own healing process. The foundation is conducting intensive scientific studies to ensure that all of the methods they promote are effective.
Urban Zen is more than just talk. In 2009, they partnered with one of the best hospitals in the world, New York's Beth Israel Medical Center. They donated $950,000 to make available alternative therapists to patients in the oncology ward. Now these patients can practice yoga alongside Western cancer treatments. The beautiful, peaceful physical space itself has also become a boon to Manhattan, attracting all kinds of experts and thinkers, in addition to celebrities. The West Village location had formerly been the studio of Karan's artist husband, the late Stephen Weiss.
Formed by clothing designer Donna Karan in 2005, the foundation addresses people's deepest needs: to feel healthy, happy and well. When Karan's husband, Stephen, fell sick with cancer, both were devastated. Karan relays that chemotherapy and the stress of traditional hospital settings did not help. "I have spent decades dressing people. Now I want to address them," says founder Donna Karan on their website. She raised money and gave a lot of her own to make sure that others would not go through the same thing. The result is supported by doctors, therapists and artists like. "My husband’s lung cancer made breathing a challenge," Karan writes. "Yoga and breath work gave Stephan physical relief as well as spiritual comfort, calmed his anxiety, centered his mind and eased his pain." She is trying to make these benefits available to everyone.
highlights
- In 2005, clothing designer Donna Karan formed the foundation in response to her husband's ordeal with lung cancer.
- The center partnered with Beth Israel Medical Center to provide alternative therapists to patients in their cancer ward.
- In 2009, the center introduced a groundbreaking program to teach Eastern healing techniques including yoga and Reiki to doctors and nurses.
- On the ground floor of the West Village center, the foundation sells jewelry from around the world, helping the artists make a living and raising money for the foundation. They have other boutiques in SunValley, Utah and Sag Harbor, NY)
Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons
