A yogi, Michael Hayes offers licensed massage therapy in New York City

Flatiron Massage | Massage Therapist NYC

Michael Hayes, a licensed massage therapist in New York City, offers targeted massage treatment for specific problems that clients present.  A thorough evaluation by a medical massage therapist can identify a treatment plan that can help alleviate current pain and also discover underlying issues that may aggravate pre-existing conditions.

Hayes has studied a variety of different outcome- and evidence-based massage techniques in 20 years of practicing.

Medical Issues 

Hayes' approach matches the appropriate massage therapy technique to the client's problem.  He work with clients with back issues, pain in the hips/legs/feet, abdominal work to support digestion, neck tightness, Sciatic, Brachialgia, TMJ, fatigue, depression and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

READ MORE :  These Plus-Sized Yogis Made Yoga Their Own | Radical Beauty [The Cut]

Hayes offers Swedish massage, Shiatsu, sports massage, Thai foot reflexology, Chi Nei Tsang, and pre- and post-natal massage services out of his studio in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan.

Michael Hayes, LMT
1123 Broadway #910
New York, NY 10010
E-mail : flatironmassage910 [at] gmail [dot] com
Telephone : (917) 553-7710

Building Collapse In East Village Near Second Avenue and St. Marks Place

Another photo from NYC —> RT @nypmetro: From the scene of the 2nd Ave building collapse http://t.co/uSENEsxT6r pic.twitter.com/vZ5mPRHOq8

— Michael Rusch (@weeddude) March 26, 2015

Over 100 FDNY have responded to an apparent explosion of a building in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. Fire rescue are trying to remove people, who may be in the buildings damaged by a possible explosion or collapse.

The building, which was has received the principal amount of damage, is located at 125 Second Avenue, according to a NY1 News report.

NYC —> RT @ScottWesterfeld: Whole building is in flames now. pic.twitter.com/ze2TpZF76Z

— Michael Rusch (@weeddude) March 26, 2015

Explosion reported in New York's East Village; injuries unknown - @ScottWesterfeld; for more: http://t.co/dXEn6gh2iw pic.twitter.com/qg6f6nR9a9

— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) March 26, 2015

Two buildings are currently on fire, according to a live news report made by NY1 News journalist Dean Meminger.

So this doesn't look so good. Apparent gas explosion at 2nd Ave and 7th St, New York pic.twitter.com/sWFNgRHKt9

— Niall Stanage (@NiallStanage) March 26, 2015

possible #gasleak on Second Ave & 7th Street #LowerEastSide - scary pic.twitter.com/zoHNprzTbP

— CBGB (@cbgbandomfug) March 26, 2015

Possible gas leak on 2nd Avenue & 7th street causes explosion #EastVillage pic.twitter.com/gmBCpDmScB

— East Village Eats (@EastVillageEats) March 26, 2015

BREAKING NEWS: MAJOR BUILDING COLLAPSE WITH INJURIES IN MANHATTAN. (@jmeyers44) pic.twitter.com/zmbwaEgU0w

— Breaking News Feed (@PzFeed) March 26, 2015

Green Party candidate slate banner at West Indian Day Parade

.@NYGovCuomo. Labor Day $15 hr min wage, full employment through 100% clean energy by 2030. http://t.co/6is8CeZMCN pic.twitter.com/qUi2BJdlVx

— Howie Hawkins (@HowieHawkins) September 1, 2014

Sal Albanese Begins Examination Of Last Year's NYC Mayoral Race

Sal Albanese : "My opponents represented the who's who of political hacks, ineffective city officials, and faux progressives."

RELATED Sal Albanese : "Can a campaign of substance prevail ?" (Sal Albanese : "Swinging for the Fences : How and Why I Decided to Run for Mayor" * The Huffington Post)

In a suspensful introductory examination of last year's mayoral race in New York City, former Councilmember Sal Albanese hurtles a proverbial cannon shot across the political bows of the permanent government insiders. "... Can a campaign of substance prevail ? In posts to follow, I'll discuss why that question went unanswered and why the issues debated and the people debating them are so relevant to the future of the five boroughs." Read the whole thing for a promising overview of the need to overhaul the broken political system in New York City.

IBS Support Group in New York City

PUBLISHED : FRI, 16 MAY 2014, 07:30 PM
UPDATED : MON, 28 JUL 2014, 11:09 PM

If anybody is interested in meeting to talk about IBS treatment in New York City, please contact me. You can e-mail me at : lflores22 (at) gmail (dot) com -- thanks.

Over the course of many years, I've had no luck with a long string of gastroenterologists. Some gastroenterologists are useless. I've seen 5 or 6 gastroenterologists in the last many years. My last gastroenterologist was the most caring of them all. We have to change the mindset of doctors : we won't accept and don't deserve to be jilted by the medical community like this.

• PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES : Please request that they co-sponsor Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders Research Enhancement Act of 2013 (HR 842)
• PLEASE WRITE TO YOU NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMEMBERS : Please request that they support the Crohn's and Colitis Fairness Act, also known as the restroom access bill
• RELATED : Resources (IBSImpact.com)

One idea that people should support is writing to your Congressional representative, asking them to co-sponsor the Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders Research Enhancement Act of 2013 (HR 842). HR 842 is supported by members of both political parties and is a revenue-neutral bill. Through this legislation, Congress can direct the National Institutes of Health to allocate existing discretionary resources specifically to IBS and other functional gastrointestinal and motility disorders, which collectively affect about 25% of Americans. Military service members and veterans are at disproportionately high risk for functional gastrointestinal disorders like IBS. Another idea would be to help garner support to enact a state-wide restroom access law in New York.

This video helps to advocate for support for restroom access for people with GI disorders and diseases. Please contact your New York State Assemblymembers to support the Crohn's and Colitis Fairness Act, also known as the restroom access bill.

Why a support going doing medical advocacy makes sense

From an online community group, I got the sense that it seems like some doctors hesitate to offer treatments that actually make improvements to the lives of people with IBS. There are many reasons for this. Some of the reasons are complex and require organized advocacy, other reasons are simple enough that could probably be solved by just a handful of people. Here are some observations/ideas that I've collected from doing research and conducting interviews with some doctors and with some other people living with IBS :

• All general practitioners and some GI doctors don't have viable solutions for people with IBS. So much research is coming out on gut bacteria, and I have inquired with doctors about how can people with IBS receive treatments that are informed by this new information about gut bacteria. Specifically, I said that there are some procedures that are approved for people with FGID more severe than IBS, for which people with IBS may benefit from having received, but which are not yet approved. How can people with IBS get approved for these and other experimental procedures ? I was told that experimental procedures can be given to patients in a process to get them approved, but that process is through clinical trials. I asked one doctor how do we start clinical trials for people with IBS ? My doctor told me that we need funding for clinical trials. When I asked how much, my doctor would not say, except that the doctor alluded to major amounts of money. Therefore, any support group for people with IBS has to take the long-view that we need to advocate for funding for clinical trials as a way to speed up the deliver of new treatments for people with IBS, along with the process that could get these new and possibly other treatments approved for more people. The doctor heard what I was saying, but she said that clinical trials would take a long time, and that for right now, there are no immediate solutions, excepting for the use of a few known medications that have already made the rounds amongst the people living with IBS.
• From one online community that I had briefly belonged to, it seemed like everybody went online to complain about symptoms for which there are no known treatments. As a support group, we can offer each other support, but we should not find it acceptable to hear that there's nothing that can be done, and we should strive to be more than just a place where people complain. One doctor told me that there are some treatments for other known diseases that are still not where we want to be. Therefore, people with IBS are not different than people with other incurable diseases. The challenge for a new support group based in New York City would be to offer the community the right amount of care and support, along with focusing our energy toward finding better treatment solutions.
• One doctor recommended yoga and relation exercises, but when I asked how do yoga and relaxation help to rebalance our gut bacteria, one of my doctors could not answer my question. As we seek alternative therapies, I think there have to be doctors or advocates to make space for non-traditional therapies, but still hold a space for advancements in rebalancing our gut bacteria. If we can get this support group off the ground, we need to find a doctor or other medical professional, who can help give our support group a grounded medical source of information that has a sensibility for the larger vision about what successful treatment looks like.
• Another idea that can be examined is if a database of "better" gastroenterologists would be in order.
• If nothing else, we could create a face-to-face support group for each other, which in and of itself would be great. Some FGID groups, like the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, seem to exclude people with IBS. So, a support group that just meets for people with IBS would be a breakthrough.

If anybody in the New York City area wants to gather and discuss how we can press the medical establishment to offer alternative IBS treatments and to support greater medical research, please let me know. You can e-mail me at : lflores22 (at) gmail (dot) com -- thanks.

VIDEO : Fire in Jackson Heights, Queens on 37th Avenue

PUBLISHED : MON, 21 APR 2014, 10:05 PM
UPDATED : TUES, 22 APR 2014, 10:33 AM

VIDEO : A five-alarm fire broke out late Monday afternoon in a large office building at 74-09 37th Avenue, between 74th and 75th Streets in Jackson Heights, Queens. The fire began at about 5:30 p.m., said one witness, who works at the pizza shop across the street from the burning building. There were three minor injuries, NY1 reported.

• RELATED : Firefighters Battle Large Fire in Jackson Heights Building (NBC4 New York)

Jackson Heights residents coming home from work were blocked as they walked up several streets from the major transit hub at Roosevelt Avenue, about one block away from the fire.

At one point and out of caution, firefighters burst through the fourth floor windows of the building next door using the high-pressurized hose water to stop the blaze from spreading.

It took about six hours for firefighters to put out the fire. Witnesses saw three ladder companies hosing down the fire. A fourth ladder company was on the scene, but it was not actively engaged in fighting the fire. It's not known if that fourth ladder company, had it been hosing down the fire, could have extinguished the blaze sooner. Several firefighter engines were on the scene in the blocks around the burning building. The top two floors of the building could be seen as having been destroyed the the fire.

The billowing smoke from the burning building covered several apartment buildings downwind from the fire, blanketing an entire area from 74th Street and 37th Avenue to 76th Street and Northern Blvd., and perhaps beyond.

Medical offices are located in the first floor of the burning building, along with an Italian restaurant. In the upper floors, a small college, Plaza Business Institute, shares space with several businesses, NBC4 New York reported. It is estimated that the whole building is now considered destroyed, effectively putting an end to hundreds of jobs that people had with the businesses, the business college, and law and medical offices in the building.

Caught in a Vicious Circle, NYC Homeless Man Describes "Broken System" in YouTube Video

One homeless man, who is gay, middle-aged, single, and overcoming the past affects of being a victim of domestic violence, describes the "vicious circle" of being homeless in the midst of the brutal 2014 winter season in New York City.

Watch as a harrowing tale of being cycled through single-male shelters, including one on Wards Island, where he was beaten ; through Metropolitan Hospital with its jaded social workers ; through a series of non-profit organizations, such as Safe Horizon, including LGBT groups, like the Anti-Violence Project and Callen-Lorde, which denied social workers based on the man's sero status ; and finally through the cold city agencies, like 311, the mayor's office, and the Department of Mental Health, which, at times, left this man waiting for appointments, sent e-mails from one commissioner no longer in office, and, incredibly, required the homeless man to have a physical address.

• RELATED : Domestic Violence Victims Wait Up to a Decade for Emergency NYCHA Housing (DNAinfo)
• RELATED : Homeless Youths File Federal Lawsuit Against New York City
  (NYC : News & Analysis)

According to statistics made available by the Coalition for the Homeless, there are more people, who are homeless, than there is space in the shelter system. “[M]ore than 5,000 homeless adults and children sleep each night in other public and private shelters, and thousands more sleep rough on the streets or in other public spaces.” On top of this, nobody reviews how “the system” treats homeless people.

Video was filmed in its entirety on 01 March 2014, edited, and uploaded on 05 March 2014.

Produced by : @ProgressQueens on Twitter

To protect the man's identity, his real name is being used in the video, but it is not being used in the text about this video. To contact the homeless man, please reach out on Twitter to @ProgressQueens.

Bill de Blasio late in making top city appointments

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, who has a problem showing up on time, is now late in making all the top city appointments of his new administration.

India Section 377 Protest NYC #NoGoingBack #377DayOfRage

Protest in Union Square NYC Against Section 377 Indian Supreme Court Ruling

On December 11, 2013, the Supreme Court of India reinstated the British Raj era law known as Section 377, which criminalises homosexuality. This Judgment has inspired anger across different sections of society around the world. While the legal battle continues, it is important that we make our voices heard.

Activists organized protests in approximately 40 cities around the world on Sunday, December 15, 2013. This video depicts some of the activists, who gathered in Union Square in New York City, to denounce the Indian Supreme Court ruling as unfair, unjust, and discriminatory.

VIRAL VINE COMPILATION : Logan Paul Episode 1

I Can't Stop Watching This College Kid's Hilarious Vines (GAWKER)

A Gay Man Shuts Down Hateful Urban Preacher on NYC Subway

A man, who identified himself as gay, spoke up for himself and on behalf of all LGBT people, after an urban preacher began to shows hateful religious messages. At one point, the gay man calls the urban preacher a "false prophet." After some back and forth, the other straphangers applauded several times in a show of support to the gay man.

The video was posted on YouTube on Saturday, February 16, and it has begun to go viral.

Nancy LaMott performs "I Love A Piano" Live at Don't Tell Mama, New York 1988

Hurricane Sandy Bloomberg Nursing Home Evacuation Scandal

Rockaway Beach Nursing Homes Told Not To Evacuate Ahead Of Hurricane Sandy, Officials Say

Five nursing homes in floods zones in New York City were told by officials not to evacuate before Hurricane Sandy made landfall, The Huffington Post reported.

Residents of the nursing homes, which were located just blocks off the New York City coastline with the Atlantic Ocean, experienced the horror of Hurricane Sandy's destructive winds, rains, and storm surge.

"It was like Niagara Falls," said an employee, who asked to remain anonymous, about the four foot flooding on the first floor of Rockaway Care Center.

"The New York Office of Emergency Management did not return multiple calls or emails about the condition of the nursing homes, the status of the residents, or the decision not to evacuate prior to the storm," reported The Huffington Post.

While politicians, such as Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall tour some of the areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy, politicians are using the emergency with the subway system and the power outages to cover up for the hospital evacuation crisis, this nursing home crisis, and the upcoming Election Day voting crisis.

Gary Tilzer, the political journalist, posted a blog post in which he asked, "Why Is the Media Silent On the Board of Elections Lack of A Plan to Allow People to Vote in the Black Out Areas ?"

Salt Water Corrosive Damage NYC Hurricane Sandy

Salt water damage is expected to damage the fragile, ancient electrical and switching systems of the New York City subway system. The Wall Street Journal published examples of some ways that salt water can damage the subway system :

Salt can eat at motors, metal fasteners and the electronic parts, some many decades old, that keep the system running. Salt water, and the deposits it leaves behind, degrades the relays that run the signal system, preventing train collisions.

Salt water also conducts electricity, which can exacerbate damage to signals if the system isn't powered down before a flood.

But the engineering risks don't just exist for the New York City subway system, but also to the construction materials of buildings, which were exposed to storm surge flooding.

Construction materials made of iron or steel that are exposed to water will rust and alter its shape and size. Building interiors, especially basements, when exposed to water, must be dried, otherwise constructions materials, such as metal fasteners or iron or steel beams, may continue to corrode long after the storm surge flooding subsides. If long-term moisture continues untreated, or if the ground becomes over-saturated by salt water, creating , the oxidation and rusting may cause construction materials made of iron and steel to fail.

Just like consumer affairs agencies advise drivers to avoid buying flood-damaged cars, what is the New York City Department of Buildings doing to secure the integrity of buildings and construction sites, which were exposed to the corrosive salt water storm surge flooding from Hurricane Sandy ?

JetBlue La Guardia Hurricane Sandy Update

Photographs showing the state of flooding on the runways and taxi areas at La Guardia Airport were posted by JetBlue on its blog today. One alarming photograph shows that the taxi areas around La Guardia Airport are underwater.

Glad I made it out of NYC Sunday at 11 pm on last AA flight out! Picture from LGA today by JetBlue #sandy twitter.com/vincentlaforet…

— Vincent Laforet (@vincentlaforet) October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy TIMELAPSE - 1 DAY - NEW YORK CITY

911 ECTP Tech System Overwhelmed During Hurricane Sandy

WNBC reports that the 911 tech system is overwhelmed, that people are being discouraged from calling 911 unless it is truly a real emergency. This hurricane is doing a lot of damage. Would not all the damage taking place during a massive natural disaster be considered a real emergency (911 Call System Overloaded As City Urges People to Stay Off the Roads * DNAinfo New York)

Trees are falling, the façade of one building has collapsed, one fatality has been reported, and blackouts and massive floods have been widely reported. What isn't an emergency ?

Chelsea Building Collapse Hurricane Sandy

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Related : Related : Hurricane Sandy - Political Accountability For Hospital Evacuations

Across the street from 92 8th Avenue where building facade collapse just happened. (ok to use, plz credit me) twitter.com/MegRobertson/s…

— Meg Robertson (@MegRobertson) October 29, 2012

Fire and rescue personnel respond to a partial building collapse in Chelsea on Eighth Avenue, between 14th and 15th Streets. On local news reports, the building was shown to be missing the front façade of the building.

MAN 2-ALARM 92 8TH AVE, MULTIPLE DWELLING BUILDING COLLAPSE,

— FDNY (@FDNY) October 29, 2012

The building collapse took place less than five blocks from the former St. Vincent's Hospital. If people were hurt, they no longer have a Level I Trauma Center or full-service hospital at St. Vincent's since New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn approved the luxury condo conversion plan by the Rudin Family.

I see 8 fire trucks and many police cars and vans #sandy 14/8 twitter.com/gilgul/status/…

— Gilad Lotan (@gilgul) October 29, 2012

Crane Collapse One57th Lux Condo At 57th Street NYC Hurricane Sandy

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Related : Related : Hurricane Sandy - Political Accountability For Hospital Evacuations

Wind gusts from Hurricane Sandy bent and folded over a construction crane attached to the tall luxury condominium building going up on West 57th Street. The construction crane is folded over and is now dangling in the sky.

Damaged, dangling crane atop (for now) 1 57th Street NYC. twitter.com/jonathanwald/s…

— Jonathan Wald (@jonathanwald) October 29, 2012

A large presence of FDNY, ambulances, and police have closed the streets around the high-rise. Hurricane Sandy has not yet made landfall, so weather conditions will continue to worsen. Wind speeds and gusts will make it impossible for rescue workers to stabilise or secure the dangling construction crane until after Hurricane Sandy has past and weather conditions have subsided.

Officials with NYC Office of Emergency Management issued a text alert, advising people who live in nearby buildings to relocate to lower floors.

Mona Eltahawy arrested after defacing controversial MTA ad in Times Square

A camerawoman stands between a provocative "Pro-Israeli" ad and Egyptian-American activist Mona Eltahawy who defaces it in the name of protesting racism.

After having spent about 22 hours in police custody, Ms. Eltahawy was interevewed by Hala Gorani on CNN International.

In an attempt to deal with future hatemongering advertisements like the ones currently appearing in subway stations, the MTA yesterday amended the standards that govern what advertising it will accept. (Gothamist)