Root Mamma in the Park

Upon meeting, one is immediately bathed in the effervescent, playful and radiant glow of Dani Katz. Through a bizarre sequence of synchronistic events that involved a Mini Cooper and getting lost in Washington Heights, NY, I met Dani. Soon afterwards, I had the pleasure of working with her when she led our sunset yoga classes my first year running programming for The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy.

The first class was small and intimate. (We currently host over 5o guests at each session). The weather was perfect and the setting sun in its warming reds and oranges were so healing for me that day. A participant asked if Dani was my daughter. I thought, do I also emit such a charm and ease that one might think we could possibly be in the same gene pool? I don't think I was so put together at her age.

Her journey through yoga began at 12. Originally, a music major and trombone player, Dani eventually found her calling as a yoga instructor and left music school. She moved to Manhattan and completed a degree in nutrition and food science at Hunter College while teaching yoga at various studios around the city.

After meeting many pregnant clients, Dani began her deep exploration of prenatal yoga. She discovered that yoga and birth have a lot of common ground-–they both are intense mind-body experiences.

Recently, DANI announced her new project, Root Mamma, which she has co-founded in Brooklyn with COLE HOOLEY, SARAH RAYNE and KAELA MAY.

Rootmamma is a female-owned healing arts collective in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. This has been a labor of love that comes from a strong desire to serve and nourish our community. Living in NYC can be so masculine, with all of the hustle and pressure to get things done. Rootmamma serves as a sanctuary, womb-like haven to rest, nourish, and heal.

Root Mamma is a women's healing arts collective, made up of spiritually-centered practitioners, each offering their own gifts and services. Bringing to light the value of feminine wisdom, energetic nourishment and soulful natural healing, the collective cultivates and celebrates that which has historically been considered feminine, and also welcomes male and non-binary collaborators and practitioners. With the hope to build an inclusive space, Root Mamma is a safe space for the LGBTQ community, women, people of color, the differently abled, and folks of all gender identities, religions, and nationalities. Check out their current event schedule.

Future events in the park will combine the wisdom of herbal medicine as we tour our waterfront and create and commune with natural remedies. Watch the Conservancy Facebook page for more information.

In the meantime, check out the Root Mamma Launch Party this weekend, September 9 & 10. Post Full-Moon and on the way to Autumn Equinox, this is a great way to reset!

Dani Katz, 200 Hour LifePower Yoga, 200 Hour Naam Yoga Therapies, 85-Hour Prenatal Yoga, DONA certified Birth Doula, Certified Aromatherapist, Certified Breastfeeding Counselor. Dani currently divides her time teaching both regular classes and prenatal yoga classes, and attending births all around NYC. She is humbled to be doing this work in NYC- holding space for others’ growth. In her free time she studies plant medicine and herbalism, cooks, spends time with her cat and turtle, hikes in the woods, and travels the Earth.

Ann O'Connor is a "Cultural Collaborator," Board Member of the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy and owner of Zoescope Studio. The studio brings humans together and combines elements of the arts, culture, education, healing and environmental awareness to build and activate communities through socially- conscious, inclusive content and engagement.I hope we meet in the space of Real "Social" Media - LIVE and in-person.

Zoescope is derived from the Greek "Zoe" meaning "Life": See Life Differently. And there is also a very cute dog with that name. Here she is. "Zoey":