Jason Alan Griffin :: The Blog

Medicine Show in DANCING FOOLS by John Gruen Three rambunctious comedies about relationships, sex, love, infidelities, the Almighty, and the joys of dancing. starring (l to r above):  Oliver Conant* Jason Alan Griffin*   Mark J. Dempsey Stellios Manolakakis Cassandra Weston Barbara Vann Vincent D'Alessio Alfred Gingold* John Zurek Madeline Jaye* also (not pictured):  Klemente Espada Simon Halper Karyn Shipley* Catherine Weingarten Stephanie Zimmerman *Member AEA directors: Oliver Conant, Stellios Manolakakis, Barbara Vann choreographers: Theresa Duhon, Yehuda Hyman, Madeline Jaye décor by Knox Martin, costumes by Uta Bekaia Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm, January 7 – 30 549 West 52 nd  Street, New York, NY 10019 $18, $14 Seniors, TDF accepted, Group rates available Information and reservations: 212 262-4216 or charge tickets at SmartTix.com or 212 868-4444

I’m an adventurous spirit, so I often find myself in odd situations.  Like now.  I’m in the Catskills, sitting in  my hotel room at Honor’s Haven Spa and Resort in Ellenville New York. I was invited by my mentor, Shmuel Tatz . Our communications are generally terse and we suffer from a language barrier, so I wasn’t exactly clear on the details of the trip before I agreed to go. What I understood was that there was going to be a gathering of mostly Russian people, in the mountains of New York for a New Years Eve celebration and that I was going to be doing some work and hopefully will have a good time, as well. He also said I might teach some yoga or some Nia. It seemed to me that I was coming along as his assistant, which is often how I function in Tatz Studio.  Although I’m there as an apprentice, having me seen as an assistant eases the minds of the clients and gives me an opportunity to practice. So, due to my adventurous spirit and the nature of learning body tun...

I recommend that you don’t put too much credence into what you read on packaging and product labels. It is advertising and therefore, will often twist or color the truth in order to make the product seem more attractive. So take everything you read on the package with a grain of salt. The exception being that familiar “Nutrition Information” chart on the back, which is regulated and truthful. But on the front, top and sides, it’s all just whatever the heck they want to say.  And it is very-often intentionally misleading.   One great example is the issue of fluoride. All over the toothpaste box and tube it will say that fluoride is added “to aid in the prevention of tooth decay.” And you may be as shocked as I was to learn that there is no evidence to support this claim that fluoride helps prevent tooth decay. In fact, there is quite a bit of evidence to support the surprising fact that swallowing this substance can be harmful.  You’ll notice that on the toothpaste tube it...

People seem to think yoga is the answer to everything. It isn’t.  In fact, it can be responsible for causing and/or exacerbating a myriad of problems. Unless yoga is practiced with the utmost awareness and clean intention, it is an approximate fit at best and dangerously harmful at worst.  The practice is meant to be personal. It should be slightly different for each person.  Yoga has many great benefits. Among them are an increased self-awareness and a practice that encourages many different types of movements and positions, to keep the body and mind agile. But following the lessons of a teacher, no matter how charismatic or seemingly knowledgeable the teacher may be, can be a bad idea if you’re not aware of what your specific needs are.  Contrary to popular belief, yoga is not perfect and is not universal. Yoga is actually an exploration of yourself.  Being in a room full of students all striving to achieve the same pose is ludicrous.  There are thirty di...

The medical industry has a mysterious strangle hold on the unsuspecting public. I see it come up a lot in the clients I see coming in for Body Tuning at Tatz Studio .  Over and over again, I see people who have options for healing and care but think that they have a hopeless situation or that they are doomed to be operated on if they want any results. They have stopped searching for help because “their doctor told them...” People don’t seem to hold their doctors up to the same scrutiny that they’d hold up any other professional. If you were going to buy a car, for example, you’d probably do a lot of research.  You’d ask your friends for their input, you might read some reviews online or look up statistics on gas mileage, safety ratings, repair costs and insurance costs. You’d be armed with all the knowledge you could find.  And when you finally went into the dealer, you’d view him with a healthy skepticism because you’d know that his main focus is to sell you the car that...

You are invited to join me for all or part of a two-month series of classes called The Body Shop. Designed to align your bones, tone your muscles, burn some fat and improve your ability to relax and to recover after hard work, the Body Shop is the culmination of many techniques I have been studying and using for my own ongoing fitness and rehabilitation, as well as some old favorites from classes I’ve taught over the years.  The Body Shop Monday, Wednesday and Friday  6pm - 7pm.  259 W 30th St. Second Floor Monday nights will feature Energy Flow which is dedicated to metabolic conditioning, strength and core stability. We will start by building a great foundation with specific care being given to proper form and knowing how to use proper intensity while building new sophistication into your movement.  This technique will turn you into a master mover. Wednesday is going to be Nia night. Nia uses music and simple movements based on human design and function, which Nia...

Many people complain of pain in their knees. Very often, this is due to a quadriceps muscular imbalance.  The quadriceps is a group of muscles on the front of your thigh.  There are four of them (hence “quad”) that all have a slightly different lines of pull.  If one muscle in this set is proportionally much stronger or weaker than the rest, it will distort the line of pull.  Sometimes, this distortion is enough to cause the kneecap to track off course, creating discomfort or pain. In many cases, the culprit is a weakness in the most medial muscle of the quadriceps, called the vastus medialis.  I believe that this weakness is caused by our tendency to not squat deeply, and since the Vastus Medialis is responsible for those particular degrees of knee flexion, it gets underutilized and becomes underdeveloped.  Of course, this is just my theory; I may be wrong.  However, what I do know, is how to make that muscle stronger.  And this is an exercise th...