Jae Gruenke, Founder & CEO
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.
Hellgate Road Runners track workout.
Photo courtesy Jared Mestre.
She also runs 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.
A runner herself, Jae currently holds a position as Assistant Clinical Professor in the Physical Therapy Program at SUNY Downstate Medical center, where she is involved in research on running economy. She has been a member of the Feldenkrais Guild since 1999 and an ACE-Certified personal trainer since 1998. In addition to her work with runners, she offers in-home fitness and movement training for seniors and those with special needs through her company, Intelligent Exercise LLC. She was fitness columnist for New York Spirit Magazine from 1999-2002 and her writing on movement and physicality has also appeared in the Village Voice, American Dance, The Park Slope Reader, and on the Motion Channel of IndiePlanet.com.
Jae graduated magna cum laude from Williams College in 1992 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Working as a professional dancer from 1992-2003, she performed with a number of New York City-based companies. At the time of her retirement from dance in 2003, she was a senior company member of Sarah Skaggs Dance.
Julia Pak, NYC Director
Julia Pak, MBA, GCFP, is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitionercm specializing in helping athletes perform at high levels and helping those with chronic pain, injury, and other neuromuscular difficulties return to functioning. Born and raised in Russia, Julia came to the Feldenkrais Method with a background in track, mountaineering, skiing, and rock climbing. As a runner, her current focus is marathons.
Julia currently holds a position as Assistant Clinical Professor in the Physical Therapy Program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where she is involved in research on running economy. In addition to her work with adult athletes, Julia has a special interest in working with children. She is pursuing advanced study and practicing Feldenkrais® method for children with special needs at the Field Center for Children’s Integrated Development. She also teaches weekly classes at the Feldenkrais Learning Center.
Prior to becoming a Feldenkrais Practitioner, Julia worked as a financial systems analyst for Fortune 500 companies. Studying and teaching the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education appealed to her love of movement, her analytical background, and her intuitive sense that one must work with the whole rather than only individual parts.
Oliver Henzler, NYC Staff
Oliver Henzler, GCFP, graduated with honors from Wesleyan University and earned his MFA from Columbia University's School of the Arts. As an actor, he has performed at the American Repertory Theater in Boston and the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center, and is a member of SAG and Actors Equity. He is also a co-founder of McoreM, a corporate training company that uses Synapsing, an arts-based training system, to improve soft skills in organizations.
Born and raised in Germany, Oliver is an avid athlete who competed in slalom and giant slalom skiing and played four years of varsity soccer in college, receiving All NESCAC honors as a soccer player. He also trained at the Hofsäss Tennis Center in Marbella, Spain. His current passions include ski touring/heli-skiing and running full and half marathons.
Cynthia Kopyar, NYC Staff
Cynthia Kopyar, PT, GCFP, is a licensed Physical Therapist and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitionercm with over 25 years of clinical experience in outpatient practices. Her diverse orthopedic experience includes working at the 1984 Olympic Trials in California, assisting the athletic trainer for the Canadian Olympic Track Team in Saskatchewan, volunteering with the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League in Australia, and working on the staff of the Charlotte Spine Center in North Carolina. She is a graduate of the Ohio State University College of Medicine, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a certificate in Allied Medicine in Physical Therapy. She is also certified by the Therapeutic Massage Training Institute and the Bones For Life® Teacher training program.
Cynthia has enjoyed competing in basketball, cycling and triathalons. Her lifelong passion for dance includes training in classical ballet, jazz, West African dance, and competitive ballroom dancing. She has studied and performed Argentine tango both nationally and internationally.
Cynthia has taught Feldenkrais workshops sponsored by Davidson College, Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte Orthopedic Specialists Spine Center, various tango festivals nationally and the Charlotte Runners and Rowers Club. She currently teaches Bones for Life instructor trainings.