By Jim Servin
Serene yet stimulating, a soft-focus, sparkling room with a view of the Hudson is charged with the energy of nine large crystals on wood pedestals holding space for a transformational experience. Mayra Hernández, the founder and CEO of the energetic lifestyle platform IXIM (“I exist, I am”) has created an environment that is a portal of discovery, a sanctuary for a modern, refined take on crystal connection.
Intuition is heightened here; senses are opened to meeting a quality crystal companion for healing and illumination. Hernández likes the metaphor of urban transportation to explain the role of crystals in accelerating enlightenment: “In the city, you can walk, take the subway or a cab. It’s your choice,” she says. “A crystal will help you get where you want to go faster.”
Welcome to crystal matchmaking. IXIM’s signature sessions begin prior to the appointment with a detailed questionnaire, which guides Hernández in preselecting from three to five mineral specimens for the client, or “seeker” as they are known here. The $500 session fee gets applied to the cost of the crystal.
After leading me to a side table, Hernández begins a meditation and then places, one by one, a series of crystals in my hands, inviting me to share impressions: ”What’s the weight like, the texture? Where do you feel the energy? The crystals will take you where you want to go. It just depends on the kind of journey you want.”
A smooth smoky quartz geode with golden hairlike threads ($1,300) feels the most calming. “Sometimes it’s love at first sight. Sometimes it requires more thought,” Hernández says. “Crystals choose you, the same way our pets choose us.” For grounding, black tourmaline is recommended: “It’s an energy vacuum cleaner,” Hernández says. Rose quartz opens the heart chakra, promoting love and compassion. Citrine enhances mental clarity and focus. After spending a few days with your chosen crystal to make sure it’s a good match, IXIM sends an electronic document known as a crystal passport, “a history of you and the crystal,” says Hernández. “Where does it come from? What are its properties? The name, its meaning, lore surrounding it, and affirmations to help you on your journey are all included.”
Born in Mexico, Hernández’s first passion was graphic design, “working with symbology and sacred geometry, communicating messages through art.” She next pursued finance, creating a sustainability program for the second largest financial group in Mexico. By the mid-2000s, now living in New York City, she first encountered crystals during a session with an acupuncturist while training for the New York City marathon: “The acupuncturist integrated crystals into her practice. That was an aha moment ” A red garnet sparked Hernández’s interest, and mission: “I held the crystal, felt its light and energy, and got goose bumps.”
Connecting people with crystals began with small philanthropic projects—“that’s my passion, to nourish consciousness by giving crystals to people or organizations that are doing great things in the world”—until Hernández was guided in meditation to widen the scope of her outreach, and so IXIM was born. She recently gifted the Wellbeing Project, dedicated to providing a culture of inner well-being to global change-makers, with 1,000 egg crystals. “When people ask me what I do, I say I am in the business of accelerating conscious living,” Hernández says. “The universe really wants us to wake up, to go a step further in connecting body, mind and spirit.”
ixim.co