Marina (Yevgenyevna) Greyzi ( b. 13 September 1962) — entrepreneur, director of the MATE Club, pharmacist and spiritual teacher.
Clinical psychologist. General director of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Mate" Cultural and Educational Centre, author of the "Mate" project in the Russian Federation (the project was funded by the Department for the Support and Development of Small Business of the Government of Moscow, in accordance with Resolution No. 87 of the Government of Moscow of 23 January 2001.)
Chairman of the board of the "Moscow Entrepreneur" Club.
Political views: conservative.
Religious views: secular humanism.
The essence of the phenomenon
An advocate of a healthy lifestyle and of the time-tested spirituality of the Maya.
M.Ye. Greyzi takes an active civic stance, cooperating with the state in joint nationwide and regional projects, such as:
- The anti-drug campaign "Train to the Future"
- Anti-drug marathon “Say No to Drugs”
- Festival of children’s and youth creativity “World of Childhood” of the Moscow Mayor’s Office
- Support of youth initiatives and training sessions at the Rosmolodezh forum “Seliger”
- Support of cultural projects of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation.
Ranks and titles
Co-founder, Ambassador of the Festival on questions of strategic development in the regions of Russia, the CIS countries and the world.
Social recognition
Diplomas and awards are presented at the link: http://www.club-mate.ru/vm/?aa=1226425160&bb=1247241623.
Yoki.ru An island of serenity in a noisy megalopolis: visiting the “Mate Club” 21 July 2005
— Marina Evgenyevna, please tell us how your meeting with mate came about?
— Travelling around the world, I often came across this drink and noticed how positively it affects people: they become more open, kinder and readier to smile. One day the idea was born to introduce mate to our compatriots. Together with a team of like-minded people we travelled all over South America: from the Institute of Yerba Mate to the offices of the producers of this wonderful product. We carried out research, literally buried ourselves in scientific works, and in the end we decided — mate is vitally necessary in Russia. All the more so since it is in fact known here. For example, mate has been known to Orthodox clergy ever since the times of Nicholas II. The priests drink it during fasts.
Ordinary people, however, for a long time considered it almost a narcotic substance. There is an explanation for this. About 80 percent of the population of modern Russia is in a state of constant stress. People are forced to control themselves all the time, and this tells on their psychological health. Mate relaxes and tones up, a person opens out but does not understand the new sensations. In fact he is simply returning to his natural state, where there is no place for artificially erected barriers.
— And how long has mate existed?
— The root culture of mate is in Latin America. According to one version mate has been cultivated for more than 9 thousand years, and the Guarani Indians, who grow it to this day, were given the plant by representatives of a proto-civilisation. In Russia there were also attempts to grow mate, but they were not crowned with success. In Argentina, on the other hand, mate feels rather good indeed, and there it is the best. The secret is in the unique composition of the soil, for once upon a time the site of Argentina was the ocean floor.
— It is known that your club is unique. Was it not frightening to open an establishment in which one will not find a billiard table or a bar counter with alcoholic drinks?
— People are tired of the mad life of the megalopolis, they need an alternative to the everyday and to dubious pleasures, and we have created it. Although for that we had to do some work: renovate and decorate the premises, create an atmosphere of friendly comfort. The place was not chosen by chance, we are situated between two monasteries and that too carries its own positive charge. Plus the energy of mate — you can feel the effect yourself. In this bustling world we all sometimes need to stop and listen to ourselves. The “Mate Club” gives such an opportunity. We have a separate space — the “Grotto of Reflection”. Here a person can sit alone with mate and simply think. There are no other clubs like this anywhere in the world, despite the fact that the culture of mate is widespread on different continents.
— Tell us, after all, how does mate act?
— First of all, it has to be brewed properly. Usually 20-25 grams of mate are put into a calabash and poured over with hot, but not boiling, water. By the way, the better the quality of the mate, the less of it is needed. Mate can be brewed until it loses its taste. And that may be a litre or even two litres of water. Incidentally, the taste and the useful properties of mate depend to a large degree on the water. We searched for suitable water for a very long time and settled on one enterprise in the Moscow region. Much also depends on who brews the mate.
One should not be afraid of bagged mate. It is of good quality too, there is simply less of it in the bags, about two grams. There is even instant mate, it was produced in 2002 for the Argentine national football team.
As I have already said, mate relaxes wonderfully and relieves stress. Besides, it contains a whole range of vitamins necessary for the organism. Mate allows a person to get enough sleep in 4-5 hours, on condition that it is drunk before 7 o’clock in the evening. Mate helps to cope with such an evil as alcoholism and drug addiction. It is not for nothing that it is used in rehabilitation centres. It solves the problem of communication, for mate is far more pleasant to drink in company. And the roots of alcoholism and drug addiction, as is known, lie in loneliness and inner disharmony.
— Who are they, the visitors of your club and the ordinary consumers of mate?
— Imagine people between the ages of 22 and 50 who have understood what they want from life, sufficiently advanced intellectually, inquisitive and open. In a word, enlightened. It is they who cross the threshold of our club, and one can say with confidence that we have no chance visitors. Mate is very popular among representatives of the creative professions, and also among computer people, that is, those who often sit up over their work at night.
At the moment we are carrying out an interesting project. Representatives of the street racers approached us, these are lads who arrange car races through the night-time city. They have long been looking for a healthy replacement for alcohol, beer and all sorts of energy drinks, and they found it in mate, which greatly delighted us. It means that young people are drawn to a sensible way of life after all.
— The audience of mate drinkers is expanding, and how will you surprise us in the future?
— This year we arranged a small celebration for our friends. We rented an island in the protected area of the Tver Region and organised a camping site there (a photo report can be seen here). There was everything there: a warm-hearted atmosphere, extreme sports and adventures, good food, a hot shower, musicians in the evenings, all sorts of rituals and of course mate drinking. In August the club will repeat this event, so join us, you will not regret it.
We did regret it, though, when the time came to leave the club. Because two people came out into the street who were, if not enlightened, then rested, with a refreshed view of their surroundings. For which we thank the hospitable hostess and a most interesting conversationalist. And there also lives in the club a real owl and an important cat, Inca.
Healthy businessmen for a healthy business
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Marina Evgenyevna has been engaged in medicine for a long time, actively promoting a healthy way of life, and the knowledge she has acquired (by education she is a pharmacist and a clinical psychologist) helps her to solve certain health problems by means of various instruments.
The MATE Club, which recently turned 3 years old, was created specially for those who value their own health and really want to step out of the customary round of customary affairs, plunging into the mysterious culture and traditions of the Maya, Inca and Aztec Indians. In this club people do not smoke and alcoholic drinks are not served, at the entrance shoes are taken off and mobile phones switched off, and all this makes it possible to immerse oneself in a unique atmosphere and to feel protected from the noisy megalopolis in this “island of serenity”. Only a few years ago few people knew of the healing drink of the ancient Indians, mate, but today, thanks to the active work of the club, the question “What will you drink? Coffee? Tea? Or mate?” is becoming almost an everyday one. Little by little people are beginning to take an interest in the problems of healthy nutrition, excluding harmful products from their diet. Thus, for example, the healthiest alternative to coffee or tea is mate. For according to the data of the Paris Scientific Society this drink contains 196 useful substances, among them vitamins (A, E, C, P and the whole B group), minerals (potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, manganese, iron, sulphur, phosphorus, sodium), and also essential amino acids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins and alkaloids. The invigorating effect after drinking mate lasts 8-10 hours, whereas after tea or coffee it is far shorter. That is why closer to midday we are so drawn to drink another little cup of coffee or tea. Alas, the tone has dropped, and there is still a long time to work. Moreover, such side effects as nervous trembling, tachycardia, dryness in the mouth and disturbance of sleep do not arise when quality mate is drunk; on the contrary, the mood improves, the eyesight sharpens, the concentration of attention and the general resistance of the organism increase. Travelling around the world, Marina Evgenyevna often came across this drink and noticed how positively it affects people, they become more open, kinder and readier to smile. One day the idea was born to introduce mate to her compatriots: Greyzi and a team of like-minded people travelled through almost the whole of Argentina: from the special Institute of Yerba Mate to the offices of the producers of this wonderful product. They carried out a whole series of studies and literally “buried themselves” in scientific works. It turned out that in South America this drink is drunk everywhere, in the USA mate has also found its admirers and is even included in their State Pharmacopoeia, to Europe mate was brought as long ago as by the Spanish Jesuits together with tobacco and potatoes and it is likewise included in the herbal pharmacopoeia and in the menus of cafes and restaurants of a number of countries. In the end it was decided: in Russia, just as in the other countries, mate is vitally necessary. Various ancient rituals and ceremonials of preparing the mate drink were reconstructed, unique recipes with mate were found, and, besides that, so that the guests of the club could drink the beverage in surroundings as close as possible to that epoch, the club’s artists worked out a corresponding interior of the club from old folios. The activity of the club does not stand still, every year new projects and methods are worked out, aimed at improving the physical and mental health of its friends, of whom a great many have gathered over the time of the club’s existence. This summer the MATE Camping was organised specially for them. For a whole week in a picturesque place situated in a protected area in the Tver Region the guests not only rested, but were also able to learn much that was new, to tickle their nerves with extreme sports, to take part in various rituals and ceremonials, to play paintball to their heart’s content, to learn to make and to throw boomerangs, to shoot an Indian bow, to meet a real shaman and to take part in his rites, to master the rudiments of Mayan astrology and to draw up their own horoscope. Besides that, the club regularly organises so-called “away celebrations”, at which the staff of the club, guided by a worked-out scenario, conduct entertaining and health-improving events aimed at improving the general psychological situation within collectives, creating an excellent mood for their members. Corporate parties for the employees of large companies are also held at the club, the aim of which is to “tear” eternally busy people out of the customary business setting, “immersing” them in a unique atmosphere and thereby improving the general psychological mood of the collective. For children the club also has its own approach, interesting celebrations that help, through play, to feel and to understand the traditions and culture of the ancient Indians. From the new year, specially for business women, the MATE club is launching its new unique project under the name “MATE Health Laboratory”. This project is based on the healing properties of the mate drink in combination with a dietary system of nutrition, with dances as guides into the magical land of one’s own soul and body, with breathing exercises, an astrologer’s recommendations, lessons of Mayan painting, aromatherapy, and also the revealing of little feminine secrets. A complex of classes, linked to one another by a logical chain, will allow a representative of the weaker sex to become a primordial woman, returning to her origins, to become imbued with the ancient heritage of different peoples of the world, to “revive” her body by means of intuition, to harmonise her relations with the surrounding world and to acquire the ability to “cut through the waves of the aggressive ocean of life”. |
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Telephone
- 8 (831) 430-32-54, Marina Evgenyevna.
In the press
Interesting facts
- According to Mayan astrology, the sign of Marina Greyzi is the 6th Mirror. This is the sign of the birth and passing of Pacal Votan, it belongs to the Wave Module of the Red Skywalker. The sign of Quetzalcoatl. Also: the White Mirror of the Solar Moon. She was born on the Special day 58 KIN.