Exterior of Bruce Markow’s Studio at 238 West 72nd Street
By Claudie Benjamin
For many though not all people, these pandemic months have been mired in high tension and lethargy. There’s a sense of lost time where one day slips into the other. Productivity wanes as anxiety rises and usable energy sinks, along with your posture, or becomes inaccessible. Sometimes you may feel that even going outside for a walk, no less thriving at your best, is futile or impossible.
Of course there are a variety of support services to help people give their body the respect it is due, to reduce their stress and pain level, and to put some bounce in their step for increased energy and effectiveness.
Looking at the challenge as multifaceted, one approach is to find a sensitive service provider you trust who has the useful therapeutic tools to meet your needs. You may be most drawn to a person you sense understands how you feel, supports your short- and, maybe, long-term wellness goals, and is skilled in helping you realize them.
Bruce Markow, LMT, has long experience as a massage therapist and well-being coach in a private practice based at 238 West 72nd Street. In his early days he taught and did clinical work at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the Berkshires and Omega Institute in the Hudson Valley and mentored medical doctors in holistic healing.
To his extensive, eclectic, technical massage and bodywork skillset, Bruce also brings training in yoga, martial arts, mindfulness, coaching, body-centered psychotherapy, performing arts, and consumer relations. Each is now purposed to help serve clients’ needs for healing and well-being from as many angles within his scope as needed.
With this broad palette and perspective, he welcomes people at all stages along the path of health and well-being. To this end, he customizes his approach to meet each individual’s wants, needs, sensibilities, objectives, and goals. One person may view their session as a 60- to 120-minute simple respite from stress or as a chance to resolve tension, pain, fatigue, or injury. Another may welcome coaching input integrated into the bodywork to deepen the reach of the massage’s power to heal. For those open to more of the holistic approach, Bruce may encourage breath, sensory or energy awareness, imagery, trance, gratitude, or other pragmatic pathways toward their renewal. These are offered to help clients experience more ease, well-being and confidence within their own skin; and to both release tension and gain energy in order to accomplish whatever brings fulfillment in life – applying what Bruce refers to as the art of “effortless effort”.
Asked how people increase energy from their work with him, Bruce explains, “It happens in many ways. Tension, both physical and mental, requires a lot of potential and kinetic energy to maintain itself. It binds muscles and generally holds down the fort inside. When massage, directed breath, and the other modalities relax tension’s relentless grip, that bound energy is freed and becomes available for healing, feeling good, sleeping better, and growing fulfilled and delighted by life. So, relaxation and transformation yield energy.” Bruce adds, “From the added dividends of your massages in feeling more present, grounded, confident, rested, and aware – and improving your body’s self-image, more energy and effectiveness in whatever endeavors matter to you naturally flow.”
Through the past months, Bruce has offered VirtualVisits to address his clients’ multi-faceted wellness needs when in-person sessions haven’t been the best option. While the core of his practice has always been hands-on massage, over the years Bruce has incorporated approaches and tools that can make a powerful difference independent of his physical touch. The underlying goal is still to alleviate stress, tension, and pain and to boost well-being, vitality, and resilience. Today, as he gradually resumes more in-person massage and bodywork on West 72nd Street for your hands-on needs, he also continues to provide VirtualVisits because they have clearly proven to be effective and satisfying.
As with in-person sessions, content is custom-designed for each person, and may include remote healing; experiences and guidance to reduce pain and stress and increase ease, vitality, immunity, and resilience; and/or potent coaching in healing modalities, mindfulness, lifestyle and self-care.
Some possible areas of interest, among many more virtual healing experiences Bruce has adapted from his long term physical practice, include:
- Stress reduction
- Self-massage
- Distance energy healing
- Approaches to both relaxing and energizing
- Addressing safety, tension, and re-emergence in pandemic times
- Breath and pranayama for health and well-being
- Acupressure and foot reflexology
- Mindfulness, meditation, and inviting peace of mind
- Empowerment and embodiment tools
- Chakra balancing, chi kung and Taoist “five-element” healing
- Exploring lifestyle choices and POVs for thriving
- Staying healthy with the seasons
Bruce says he has practiced here on the Upper West Side for so long because people recognize that “your well-being is your greatest asset.”
For more information or an appointment call 212-721-8640 or email: bgood2self@gmail.com