RIP Body Actualized Center, a Refuge of New Age Techno Futurism

On Monday, December 1, Body Actualized Center shut its doors for the last time. In a nutshell, "Body," as we liked to call it, was a New Age yoga studio that turned into analog techno haven by night. It was one of those strange and wonderful places that never seem to last very long in a city like New York—but burn brilliantly before they flame out. (It was also one of those places where the bar menu sometimes included hash-tinted alcohol.)

A few nights before the shuttering, I attended Out of Body, their fittingly-titled final party. The space was packed with strangers in peacoats. "Who are all these people?" I asked myself. "And do they even understand the vibe of this place?" I wandered around feeling confused until Jan Woo—a Brooklyn DJ and Body Actualized resident—took control of the decks. Suddenly I remembered what this place was all about: dancing without judgment, without fear, without pain. I felt propelled to take the mic. "You people know about Paradise Garage right? Well, this place was a lot like that. A sacred space for vibers. I love you all! We did it!"

I've always been a freak. As a kid trapped in my tiny upstate New York town, I camouflaged it in mall-brand clothes and a bad attitude. But when American Eagle stopped working, and my mom finally got a computer, I dove into chat rooms, message boards, and music downloading marathons for solace. One day I'd be deep in the Mutant Sounds archives or downloading everything I could from Altered Zones, and the next I'd binge on Sasha, Digweed, and UK jungle. Discovering this community forged around color- and gender-blind communication—which existed completely outside of regular society—fueled my need to find this way of life manifested IRL.

Eventually, I moved to New York. Upon my arrival, I did my best to connect with the movers-and-shakers in Brooklyn's electronic music scene, who I'd been ogling from afar. One of those people was Brian Sweeny, who was heading up a project called Vibes International. I helped him with a party at longtime DIY space Secret Project Robot, and afterwards, he invited everyone to check out a "very raw, under construction space up the street" that would eventually become Body Actualized.

Body Actualized's emphasis on new age techno futurism was a reaction to the DIY community surrounding the Market Hotel. Founding members like Brian Sweeny, Angelina Dreem, and Amy Jenkins were no longer interested in harming their bodies—but still wanted to party and listen to incredible dance music, so they placed healthy hedonism at the heart of their mission. In a 2012 interview with the New York Times, Sweeny went so far as to describe the space as "a hipster improvement center."

Body Actualized was the kind of place where you'd be just as likely to hear synths and drum machines as you would pan flutes and singing bowls. On certain afternoons, the crystal-lined room played host to lectures on apocalypse and house music-infused qi gong. On other nights, 70s cosmic rocker Franco Falsini, acid house pioneer Charanjit Singh, and new age godfather IASOS played to packed houses. During cosmic yoga sessions, instructors led us through poses while local musicians jammed out to ambient electronic music. I remember braving 40 mph winds when Hurricane Sandy hit New York, so I could spend three days eating curry and doing tantric healing exercises in that sacred oasis. Yet none of this can fully capture the essence of Body Actualized, so maybe I'll just say this: that place was so great, it even had its own resident boyband called Splash.

But nothing gold can stay. Body Actualized has always been founded on the principle of giving every member a voice. Unfortunately, as the number of voices in the discussion of its operations and ethical commitments increased, so did their rent. This combination ultimately led to many of the original founders leaving to spearhead their own projects. Then, the building next to the venue was turned into a luxury condo full of young professionals with little tolerance for this "new age sex cult"—or pounding basslines. And so, rising rents, noise complaints, and police crackdowns spelled the end of this space—in the same way many other cherished locations in New York City have folded.

But in the ashes of our beloved Body Actualized, a myriad of new projects and ideas have arisen. Brian Sweeny is looking into farmhouses upstate, while Jan Woo, Etienne Duguay and Mantra Mundana are starting a cafe and recording studio in Thailand. Angelina Dreem started POWRPLNT—a free digital arts learning school in underprivileged neighborhoods. Amy Jenkins opened a brick-and-mortar tantric healing business in Austin. Some regulars even want to turn the memory of Body Actualized into a brand—where any of its original members can evoke its name to host events and parties. Viva la future!

Watch THUMP's SUB.Culture documentary on Body Actualized Center and Mutual Dreaming: