Michael is an Educator

Working in a number of schools and settings, from PreK to Middle Schoool and High School ages, Michael values the process of learning. He takes the original meaning of educator (“e- + ducate” means “to draw out”) to heart; nothing is more valuable than creating the conditions for learners of all ages to flourish, to become curious, to develop social-emotional skills, and to discover their power to change the world. Michael is a self-taught practitioner of Conscious Discipline, an adult-first, trauma informed, neuroscience research-backed Social Emotional Learning framework for all ages developed by Dr. Becky Bailey.

For early childhood education, Michael is familiar with Reggio-Emilia and Montessori styles of child-centered learning. He believes in approaching young children from their point of view: low to the ground, in a friendly manner, narrating their experiences along the way. He is a senior teacher with Tree School BK during summers and DOE holidays.

Currently Michael is a Middle and High School substitute teacher with NYC Public Schools.

Michael is a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist

His massage style combines a number of modalities and underlying philosophies, including Shiatsu five-elements theory, and advanced Western myofascial release, based on Ida Rolf and Tom Myer’s philosophies on structural integration and myofascial meridians (“anatomy trains”). He is also influenced by somatic experiencing, a kind of therapy designed to recalibrate one’s nervous system to a state of safety and rest. A typical session with Michael begins with physical and energetic assessment, and then hands-on work that is slow, restorative and tailored to each person’s need. For more information, or to book a session, click here.

Michael is a Dharma Teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen

Michael teaches Zen meditation to beginners, by appointment and for free or by donation. He is passionate about helping people bring awareness to their lives and to help them begin asking themselves who they are and what kind of life they want. He is not a yoga teacher (yet), but does teach basic yoga and qi gong to help with preparing the body and the mind to be settled enough to become still, in order to watch the mind. For more information, click here.

Michael Bruffee is a writer, a poet, an improvisational actor, a philosopher, spiritual consultant, and a multiprocessor.

Books are stacked twelve-high in multiple piles around his desk at home, on subjects ranging from sociology and history, to race theory, economics, philosophy, evolutionary psychology, and more. Michael believes in leading a well-rounded life full of zest and interesting things. He takes improv classes at the Magnet Theater, plays piano, swing dances, sings in the shower, and engages in guerilla gardening and mutual aid around his current neighborhood of Flatbush, Brooklyn.