about us

our mission is to provide a space where some of the city's best licensed massage therapists can practice their craft, focusing on the client and the quality of work, not the clock. we take referrals from doctors and chiropractors with the intention of resolving specific issues, ranging from acute injury, chronic pain, stress reduction and performance enhancement. several of our therapists are also certified personal trainers, and provide exercise training and program design either in our studio or at your home. we ensure that our therapists' skills are cutting edge and fresh by providing space for practitioners and teachers to participate in our ongoing master class series and workshops in massage and related modalities.

 

michael alicia, lmt is the founder of massagespacenyc. he is a licensed massage therapist since 1992 and a personal trainer with a thriving practice in manhattan. michael has been a teacher of swedish massage and shiatsu at the venerable  swedish  institute college of massage therapy & allied health sciences since 1994.  he is also a  visiting faculty member at the therapeutic massage training institute in charlotte, north carolina.  he is the author of the stretching process video and workshop and the soon to be released book massage therapist's handbook: a practical guide for success.

 

visiting instructors:

susanrachel condon, lmt, cce, lnp, cnm graduated from the state university of new york health science center at brooklyn midwifery program in 1998. she is a ny state licensed midwife and ob-gyn nurse practitioner. she was certified to teach childbirth preparation, newborn care and breastfeeding classes in 1996 by the childbirth education association of metropolitan ny. she served two terms as president of the ceamny board of directors. susanrachel has been a ny state licensed massage therapist since 1991. she has served on the faculty of the swedish institute college of massage therapy & allied health sciences for over fifteen years, currently participating extensively in the continuing education program. since 1994, she has taught bodywork for the childbearing cycle, a certification course she developed for massage and bodywork professionals with shelley mcgrew, lmt, cce, rn. 



aviva geismar, lmt is also a certified gyrokinesis instructor, a movement educator and a professional dancer and choreographer. since 1995 she has been on the faculty of the swedish institute college of health sciences, teaching massage technique, tools of assessment, sports massage and anatomy and physiology. she integrates a range of treatment approaches into her practice including deep tissue massage, therapeutic movement, trigger point work, swedish massage, postural analysis and orthopedic assessment techniques. she has been influenced by her extensive bodywork training with dr. george russell with whom she has taught. aviva has also taught dance and movement at numerous colleges and universities including rutgers university, the university of maryland, james madison university and ursinus college. a graduate of the swedish institute, aviva also holds an mfa from the university of wisconsin-milwaukee and an mbfa from nyu.

 

jae gruenke, gcfp has focused on applying the neuromuscular re-education techniques of the feldenkrais method® to the needs of runners since 2002. a guild certified feldenkrais practitionercm, jae works one-on-one with runners ranging from novice to competitive, with concerns including reducing aches and pains, recovering from serious injury, learning basic running mechanics, preventing injury, and improving efficiency and speed.  she is the owner of the balanced runner™ (www.balancedrunner.com).  she also offers her own series of public workshops for runners, and has taught private workshops sponsored by the nike central park track club, the new york flyers, new york road runners foundation’s team for kids, the joe running team, equinox health club, columbia university medical center’s student wellness center, and williams college.


liz jacobs, lmt has been in private practice and taught at the swedish institute for 17 years.  she has worked with several chiropractors and has taught medical massage and trigger point workshops in new york and new jersey.  she has studied sports massage and myofascial techniques with jim hackett; upledger's craniosacral therapy i and ii; somatoemotional release, mechanical link, and st. john's neuromuscular therapy 1, 2, 3, with ben benjamin and elaine calenda.


jim patrick is a new york state licensed massage therapist and acupuncturist.  he has been a massage therapist since 1996, and an instructor with the swedish institute for 10 years.  jim has practiced in chiropractic offices, spas and gyms, as well as working in his own growing private practice.  he is currently a treatments trainer at the mandarin oriental hotel spa in new york city and has traveled to hong kong, bermuda, las vegas, miami, and washington to train in spa therapies that are grounded in the theories of chinese medicine.  in his private practice, jim uses swedish, deep tissue, tui na, shiatsu, essential oils and chinese dietary therapy, as well as acupuncture, to treat pain, digestive disorders and fertility issues.


bonnie stetson is a licensed massage therapist with 23 years experience.  she holds a bachelor of science from the university of vermont and a diploma from the swedish institute of massage and allied health sciences.   upon graduation, bonnie founded centaured massage, developing and practicing an equine massage protocol based on the work of sports massage pioneer jack meagher, in addition to providing tailored therapeutic massage treatments for clients in new york.  following 18 years of private practice bonnie spent several years in the spa industry as a therapist and as treatment manager at the spa at mandarin oriental new york.  her current practice includes the creation of centaured connection, an innovative program of body work and theory for the horse rider team to improve communication and performance as well as creation and practice of natural rest, therapeutic aromatherapy massage for restorative rest to reduce stress.  bonnie has experience formulating essential oil blends and infused massage oils which she uses extensively in her practice.   she lives with her husband ron, daughter sorrel and labrador retriever molly.  monnie is very pleased to be a participant in the friday night bforums at massagespacenyc.   



 

 


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