Pure Strength NYC — Local services in New York

In my 20s I did strength training and yoga and ate a healthy diet, not always consistently, but enough to mostly maintain a sense of good health and well-being. Now, so many years later, as I approached and moved through menopause, things felt completely different. I’ve been struggling with autoimmune and menopause symptoms, with excess weight, and often feeling stuck. A friend was working with Jonathan in his Breathe Move Nourish (BMN) program. It sounded like what I needed. I truly had no idea, what I was signing up for, and I’m so grateful I took the leap.

Jonathan’s work is a fusion of strength training, breathwork, energy medicine, and deep spiritual guidance. It’s not about pushing harder—it’s about learning how to actually listen to your body.

Working with Jonathan and BMN, I’m unlearning years of perfectionism that I didn’t realize still had such a strong hold on me. In the past I would often push myself to exhaustion or injury, and then quit my movement program for months or years, until I would try again, and repeat the whole process of pushing, injury, and quitting.

Coming back to a movement practice with BMN, I didn’t realize I carried such a preconception of what movement was supposed to be. I didn’t even realize how much I had taken that push mentality, that “no pain, no gain”, into my former yoga practice, even after decades of meditation, spiritual practice, and restorative yoga.

BMN has allowed me to progress not only in movement—both moving again and how I relate to my body in motion—but also has positively impacted other areas of my life. My immune system is stronger, I feel more resilient, and many of those stories of “too old” are slipping away. This program helped me realize that I don’t want to be a spectator in my own life. I want to travel, hike, dance, and live fully, like I used to—and now I have the strength and confidence to do that again. In recent travels, I’ve moved—hiked and walked and in general had stamina - in ways I haven’t in nearly a decade.

And through 9 months of this program, I have had massive stress and setbacks, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, the types of things that in the past would have led me to flee, to quit whatever movement program I was in. I’m sure some part of me was trying to repeat that old pattern, but Jonathan wouldn’t let that happen. He stayed by my side, with gentle encouragement when that was what I needed, and adjusted my personal program each step of the way.

If you’ve been looking for something different, a movement specialist who can both meet you where you are and take you further towards what you’ve truly been longing for, even if you were afraid you'd never get there or had trouble naming it for yourself, I highly recommend joining Breathe Move Nourish and letting Jonathan...

Jonathan is a kind, inspiring, and deeply intuitive teacher. He brings a grounded wisdom and realness that makes you feel seen and uplifted.

I originally joined his program thinking it was just access to some Qigong classes. What I found was so much more.

Over the last 27 months, I’ve learned how to move with greater awareness and intention—without pushing through pain or injuring myself. As someone who has always been highly motivated to move, what I actually needed was to move less, but smarter and in new ways.

With Jonathan’s guidance, I’ve developed a new relationship with my body. My chronic knee and shoulder pain have improved significantly, and I’ve gained the confidence to keep moving safely as I age.

One of the biggest shifts has been in my sleep. I used to get 5–6 hours a night, often waking up and spiraling with anxious thoughts. Now, I regularly sleep 7–8 hours, and I use the tools I learned—like internal Qigong, “cooling breaths,” and energy meditation—to go back to sleep. As a side effect… my anger issues have largely resolved themselves. It’s amazing what sleep can do for our overall health and mood.

His approach also helped me develop a more accepting relationship with my body. I may not love how it looks every day, but I respect its strength and mobility. Living in a place like Boulder where extreme fitness is the norm, that mindset shift was huge for me.

The group experience was surprisingly powerful too. I’m more of a private person, but I found deep connection through the community and group calls.

Jonathan's virtual program gave me a toolkit I’ll use for the rest of my life: breathwork, movement, boundaries, affirmations, strength training, and self-regulation practices that actually work.

I highly recommend this program for anyone who wants to feel stronger, calmer, and more in tune with their body—especially if you’re tired of pushing and ready to...

Mothers need love and care too but unfortunately are often the last in line. It's so clear that Jonathan loves and values mothers, what a relief! His presence always has a calming, comforting effect on me, not exactly a common quality for personal trainers.

I'm someone who loves working hard (I'm a 2x Golden Gloves silver medalist) but rather than push me into over training, Jonathan was very holistic and systematic in his approach.

First, he really helped me heal from the trauma of pregnancy/IVF and set up the foundation for me to be healthier and stronger than ever. We focused on primal movement, energy medicine (Qigong), and healing touch to help me reconnect to my body and increase my energy.

I enjoy being touched but after multiple rounds of IVF and giving birth to twins I was definitely exhausted and under nourished sensually. The healing touch Jonathan does is just the right kind; it helped me relax deeply for the first time since becoming a mother, better appreciate my body and feel more comfortable in it, breathe better, and even improved my intuition.

Jonathan's approach is high touch and intimate. He always gets consent first and meets me where I'm at each day, even though where I'm at shifts dramatically throughout my menstrual cycle.

Many of the techniques Jonathan taught me not only helped me personally but are tools that I use with my own children. For instance, the acupressure points for decreasing nausea helped me feel much better, and I also use them with my children when they need it.

He has such a playful spirit and this helped wake up my own inner child and made me a more joyful, playful mother.

This pleasure based approach gave me the abundance of energy I need to start working hard again and get back into...