A Bit of Zen in the Heart of the City

How do you sum up an organization that focuses on the well-being of hospital patients and children, helps preserve indigenous cultures around the world and has created a Manhattan space that's become a magnet for thought leaders, health care practitioners and even celebrities? Two words: Urban Zen.

Since it was founded by Donna Karan in 2006, Urban Zen has been working in all those areas and more. The organization has launched a variety of initiatives that are, quite simply, changing and improving people's lives. For example, it recently introduced a groundbreaking program that teaches Eastern healing techniques like yoga and reiki to doctors, nurses and other health care professionals.

"We bring in the most respected practitioners to train them to become truly effective patient advocates and healers," explained Joanne Heyman, Urban Zen Foundation's executive director. "These healing modalities address mind, body and spirit. They reduce stress. They don't substitute for Western medicine — they complement it and enhance healing."

Urban Zen is fervently committed to the curative power of these holistic therapies. The group recently partnered with New York's prestigious Beth Israel Medical Center, donating money to provide alternative therapists to patients in their oncology ward, offering yoga alongside Western cancer treatments.

You can support Urban Zen through Tonic by buying a limited-edition T-shirt from Urban Zen designed by Donna Karan. Through Tonic and Urban Zen's exclusive collaboration, 10 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the shirts go directly to Urban Zen programs, while an additional 10 percent go to the Tonic Foundation.

Urban Zen's base is a cavernous but inviting building on a cozy tree-lined street in New York's West Village. It had been the studio of Karan's late husband, the artist Stephan Weiss.

"The space feels sacred and special," Heyman said. "When you come in, you're enveloped, whether you're downstairs or upstairs in the loft."

On the ground floor of the space, there is a retail area where clothing is sold along with artifacts and jewelry from around the world, raising money and helping artisans earn their livelihood. (There are also similar self-standing Urban Zen boutiques in Sun Valley, Utah, and Sag Harbor, N.Y.) Upstairs, there is a massive and versatile space that is used for events and fundraisers that benefit organizations Urban Zen believes in, like Bent on Learning and Spirituality for Kids. The criteria of which events to host is clear.

"I look for things that are transportative and transformative," Heyman said. "I believe that the events that we do in partnership with other organizations frequently achieve that."

Although Urban Zen was launched with a 2006 event honoring the Dalai Lama, it has only had official foundation status since August of last year. Nonetheless, the group has been active in many initiatives since it started, like holding a 10-day symposium in 2007 on well-being, attended by doctors and patients alongside participants including Michael J. Fox, Christy Turlington, Deepak Chopra and Dr. Mehmet Oz. It has also exhibited Aboriginal art, sent yoga instructors and massage therapists to work with Hurricane Katrina victims and Special Olympians, and raised money for a group bringing yoga to women and children in Kenya. Now that it's a foundation, even more is planned.

Although its scope is global, Urban Zen has become a vital part of its own community too. And even though it's in one of the world's most bustling cities, walking inside its headquarters gives you an instant sense of peaceful calm. Or, more accurately, the blissful feeling of, well, Urban Zen.