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According to many Hindu, tantric, Chinese and Western alternative-medicine models, chakras are energy focal points located along the spine and intersecting with the central nervous system. New Age enthusiasts believe that keeping one’s chakras balanced contributes to overall physical and spiritual health. For this jaunt, you’ll start at the bottom and work your way north—both corporeally and geographically.
1. Warm up your root chakra and its connection with the earth by wandering the grounds of Fort Tryon’s Heather Garden, named for the pinkish flower more commonly found in Great Britain. The terraced garden leads to the Promenade, which offers gorgeous vistas of the Hudson River, the Palisades and the George Washington Bridge.
2. Continue north along the pathway to The Cloisters (99 Margaret Corbin Dr in Fort Tryon Park, 212-923-3700; suggested donation $20), a medieval-European art museum. Your sacral chakra, devoted to creativity and emotion, will get a workout as you peruse pieces from the Romanesque to the Gothic periods.
3. Save your appetite for New Leaf Café (1 Margaret Corbin Dr at Fort Tryon Park, 212-568-5323), built in the 1930s and serving imaginative New American fare. Sit outside and activate your solar plexus chakra, the center of your life-force energy, by basking in the fall sunlight. Exit the park at Broadway and pick up litter; this engages your heart chakra, the center of compassion.
4. Walk north on Broadway and you’ll pass Dyckman Farmhouse (4881 Broadway at 204th St, 212-304-9422), the oldest remaining farmhouse in Manhattan, dating back to 1784. Adult admission is $1 and includes access to the back gardens and a tour of the lovingly restored interior.
5. Entertain your throat chakra at The Piper’s Kilt (4944 Broadway between Isham and 207th Sts, 212-569-7071). A simple brick facade gives way to a dark interior appointed with natural wood and Yankees memorabilia. Tap beers start at $4, but the throat chakra is more about communication; chat it up with regulars like Andy Macagnone, an Inwooder since 1961. “I was born on 190th Street, and christened and married in the same church on Broadway!”
6. The third-eye chakra is all about higher intuition; visit the outdoor Inwood Farmers’ Market (Isham St between Cooper and Seaman Sts, 212-788-7476) and let your psychic powers decide what to buy: just-baked apple turnovers, local honey or free-range turkey sausage.
7. Continuing west, you’ll stumble upon the 196-acre marvel that is Inwood Hill Park (184 Seaman Ave, 212-304-2365), Manhattan’s last primeval forest and its only saltwater marsh. While you’re there, snap a photo of the city’s most famous real-estate purchase: The Shorakapok Rock is across the soccer field near the salt marsh, and is believed to be where Peter Minuit bought Manhattan from the Lenape for $24 in trinkets.
8. Lastly, treat your crown chakra, responsible for spiritual consciousness, by enjoying the stained-glass sunshine at Church of the Good Shepherd (4967 Broadway at Isham St, 212-567-1300), a Roman Catholic wonder built in granite and limestone, with terra-cotta roofing and recessed buttresses. The hush that greets visitors provokes silent reverence, and it’s a fine way to revel in your alignment—even if it’ll take the MTA only 15 minutes to tie you back into knots.
Inwood Mom
Fri, Oct 17, at 07:59am
Thanks for highlighting our neighborhood! Just a few things to note: The Inwood Farmers' Market is Saturdays till 1pm only; Dyckman Farmhouse has limited hours (I think afternoons only); and Piper's Kilt also has excellent burgers. For something different, deCafe farther south on Broadway seriously has the best Cubano in the city--great value, too.
R. Campbell
Fri, Oct 17, at 07:24am
Great article! Would like to take the walk!
Alec Baldwin
Thu, Oct 16, at 08:40pm
You are my savior! This is the perfect guide for me and my date. I'm not a great planner and so I was worried about coming up with something interesting to do that would impress him. He is an art history major and loves the medieval period. We are definitly going to the Cloisters!
Many Thanks,
AB
Zoë François
Thu, Oct 16, at 07:08am
How I wish I were in NYC right now to sooth my soul on this walking tour. Not something I thought I'd ever say about visiting NYC. Thanks for the great idea, will do when I come next!
Douglas
Wed, Oct 15, at 09:06pm
Nice story, it's nice to see someone out there remember that Inwood is part of New York City. I've live up there for a few years and I didn't know about half this stuff. I know what I'm doing this weekend.
Mike
Wed, Oct 15, at 07:29pm
Very informative... thanks!
Stephen Kelsey
Wed, Oct 15, at 04:43pm
Although I spent many years in New York City when I was much younger I now live far away in South Carolina, but I am planning a visit to New York City latter this autumn. Based on this intriguing little article I may just visit a part of New York that I knew so little about. I notice that I have not seen this author's name before will she be alerting visitors like me on any other lesser known place to see that I should know about?
--SK