Pure Strength NYC

I’m 78 years old. I started working with Jonathan because I wanted to rebuild my energy, stamina, and physical vitality as I get older. I wanted to update and establish a better rhythm and frequency for my movement discipline - integrating mind and body as both evolve and move toward completion stages.

Jonathan has helped me become much more intimate with my physical situation, both the possibilities and the real challenges. My body is responding! My plantar fasciitis has improved significantly, I’m walking more, doing stairs, cycling, swimming, and building a consistent movement routine that actually fits my very busy life.

What makes Jonathan unusual is that he is both precise and gentle. He brings a deep variety of methods, including strength training, mobility, breathwork, primal movement, nervous system work, and practical habit-building - but he knows how to make it simple and manageable. It feels schooled, thoughtful, and very customized to my unique situation.

I also appreciate that he understands aging, energy, posture, and vitality as inter-dependent. We’re not just “working out.” We’re building rhythm, awareness, strength, and a more sustainable relationship with the body.

Jonathan is truly wonderful at what he does, and I would recommend him in a heartbeat!

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Working with Jonathan has been one of the most meaningful investments I’ve made in myself.

I started working with Jonathan during a season when I was deeply exhausted, disconnected from my body, and carrying more than I perhaps realized. I run a school, I’m a mother of two young boys, and I’m also training in psychoanalysis, so I understood a great deal intellectually about stress, grief, and caregiving. Even with that awareness, I felt like I was heading towards a breakdown, perhaps because I did not have a lived, embodied way of working with this level of stress.

That is what has been most unique about this work. Jonathan’s approach is thoughtful, highly customized, and grounded in the understanding that the body is not separate from the rest of your life. We worked on strength, sleep, nervous system regulation, body awareness, and consistency, but in a way that never felt punishing or performative. I was not pushed to override myself. I was taught how to listen, how to build trust with my body, and how to develop strength from that place.

One of the biggest changes for me is that my body is now part of the conversation every day. Before this work, I could disappear from myself very easily. I could erase my own needs, stay hyper-attuned to everyone else, and keep going. Now I notice more. I ask for what I need more clearly. I recover better. I am more playful with my children, more consistent with exercise than I have ever been, and much more connected to what is happening in my body in real time.

But the most impactful result may have been on my sleep. After almost a decade of horrible sleep, including frequent nightmares due to a tragic loss, I started sleeping much deeper and waking more rested just a few months into this work. I also appreciate that Jonathan is able to meet complexity. This work has helped me not only become stronger physically, but also more present, more boundaried, and more honest with myself.

There is compassion in his approach, but also accountability. That combination is rare. I think the women who benefit most from this work are not necessarily looking for someone to count reps and tell them to push harder. They are often thoughtful, capable, overextended women who know they need a different relationship with their body, but may not know how to get there. This work asks for receptivity as much as discipline. Not everyone is ready for that, but if you are, it can be profoundly supportive.

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Working with Jonathan over the past two and a half years has genuinely changed the trajectory of my life.

When I started, I thought I just needed help with exercise and staying on track. What I actually gained was strength, confidence, accountability, and the courage to make much bigger life decisions.

We have worked entirely virtually while I’ve been living between New York and London, traveling often and helping care for my niece’s young children. Jonathan helped me build a structure that works even when life is not structured. Instead of chasing intensity, we focused on consistency. Short strength sessions. Journaling feedback. Voice notes for accountability. Practical adjustments for real life challenges like small spaces, time zones, and travel fatigue.

Along the way, quit smoking, retired from a job that was draining me, greatly reduced my knee pain, became physically strong enough to carry a 20-pound baby up stairs with confidence, learned how to eat in a way that supports my body, even while traveling, and became far less dependent on external validation.

Perhaps most importantly, I have become more in tune with my body and less likely to hide behind my “very valid excuses.” Jonathan has a way of holding you accountable without shame. He meets you where you are, but he does not let you stay stuck there.

This is not a generic fitness program. It is thoughtful, adaptive, and deeply personal. Even through Zoom, he pays attention to detail, from how an exercise feels in your knee to how travel stress shows up in your mood.

I am stronger physically, and also mentally and emotionally more resilient. Retirement feels exciting instead of frightening. Travel feels manageable. I feel more like myself.

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I never used to put myself first—until now.

As a mom of three with a packed schedule and a long history of putting everyone else’s needs before my own, I never imagined I’d stick with a virtual coaching program. But working with Jonathan has completely changed the way I relate to my body, my energy, and my self-worth.

I didn’t join because I wanted to lose weight or look a certain way—I joined because I needed to get off autopilot. I was stuck in patterns of bottling up emotions, over-functioning, and second-guessing myself. This work gave me a way to come back home to my body with structure and softness, discipline and pleasure.

Today, I’m so much stronger—not just emotionally, but physically. When I started, I struggled to squat with 10 pounds. Now I can goblet squat 30 with confidence. I look forward to my weekly strength workouts—the one time in my week that’s just for me.

I’m more in tune with my body, I’m speaking up more, and I’m learning to make decisions from a place of clarity instead of overwhelm. I’m even jogging now—something I never thought I’d enjoy!

If you’re a mom who’s ready to stop pushing through and start tuning in, this program is life-changing. It’s not about doing more—it’s about doing what truly nourishes you.

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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 feel instead.

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