Meet Your Teachers
In 2017, 2nd Story co-founders Elaine O’Brien and Kay Ottinger hatched their plan to create a space in Jackson Heights where movers of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels could develop their movement practices in their own neighborhood. Since then, 2nd Story has blossomed into a thriving community of dedicated teachers and practitioners, most of whom live in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights and surrounding neighborhoods of western Queens.
It is the mission of 2nd Story to provide a variety of movement classes to our neighbors in a friendly and accessible environment. Our broad range of classes and events are intended to inspire connections within the community and within the individual practitioner. We hope that each participant can experience new levels of well-being while strengthening relationships with their neighbors.
Elaine O’Brien, co-founder and studio director of 2nd Story
A lifelong performer, dancer, and lover of movement, Elaine’s vinyasa yoga classes are intricate but not stuffy. They are sturdy without being taxing, and Elaine loves sharing her practice with students of all experience levels and backgrounds.
Elaine began her teaching career in 2008 upon completing her 200 hour yoga certification at Laughing Lotus Yoga Center. Elaine has continued her studies with her yoga teachers Nikki Vilella, Lindsay Ashmun and Amanda Harding.
In addition to her yoga training, Elaine completed her mentorship with exercise physiologist Bill Boland, and in 2013 became a certified Bodyfix Method practitioner at his Manhattan clinic.
Elaine studied dance with her beloved friend and choreographer, the late Stanley Love, from 2015 until his passing in 2019. Stanley’s influence is ongoing and Elaine hopes to share the spirit of Stanley’s joyful and rigorous approach to movement with her community at 2nd Story.
Photo: Chris Gampat
Jennifer Alarcon
A native New Yorker, Jenn grew up in a culturally diverse family. Having roots throughout Latin America, she feels familiar and comfortable teaching yoga in Spanish. All are welcome! Fifteen years ago she made the transition from dedicated student to Yoga teacher. Focusing on a safe and mindful practice, Jennifer aims to share her knowledge and enthusiasm of yoga, pranayama and mindfulness with her students. Teaching tools that can help them achieve their goals and better cope with everyday stress.
Jennifer nació y fue criada en Nueva York. Sus raíces en Sur y Centro América y también en el Caribe le ofrece una conexión y conocimiento especial con Latinos de todas partes. La clase es de nivel abierto. No tienes que haber tenido experiencia con yoga. Vengan a ver! Todos estan invitados.
Yoga Works 200 Teacher Training March-June 2009 NY
200 hour, 12 week, Vinyasa Teacher Training lead by Tzahi Moskovitz.
Prenatal Yoga Training October 2012 with Juliana Mitchell at The Yoga Room
Rope Wall Workshop June 2010 with Robert Cory Yoga Works NY
Core Power Fusion April-Aug 2008 NY
Received 100 Hours of training in the Hot Power Yoga
Josephine Chung
A competitive runner and cyclist since her teenage years, Josephine went in search of cross-
training methods that would sharpen her performance and speed injury recovery. She found that
Pilates was ideal for this and other health goals. While living in Hong Kong, Jo became a
certified Polestar® Pilates teacher and taught in Asia for 10 years before returning to New York
in 2020. She is also a yoga instructor who emphasizes alignment-based teaching. Jo thrives on
connecting with clients and motivating them in Pilates practice by focusing on alignment
technique and benefits.
Julia Cohen
Julia Cohen is happy and grateful to guide students through the practice of Restorative yoga. She is a student of, and was certified to teach by Judith Hanson Lasater in Relax and Renew® Restorative yoga in 2020. Julia comes to this practice and to 2nd Story Pilates + Yoga after a career as a trumpet player, followed by years as an attorney. It was in hindsight that she came to understand how great it would have been to have had a Restorative yoga practice during those often high-stress and demanding other ‘practices’ of law and music. In practicing Restorative yoga, Julia found opportunities for deep rest, relaxation and respite from normally operating on a super-charged sympathetic nervous system. Deepening her practice led her to teaching. She looks forward to sharing this beautiful practice, as a student, and as a teacher.
Priyanka Das
Priyanka started her journey as a yoga teacher in traditional Hatha Yoga, from Sivananda Yoga tradition. Before long, her practice led her to the Vinyasa method and she hasn’t looked back ever since. With over 8 years of teaching experience, she has a unique way of combining modern movement mechanics with ancient yogic principles, simplifying tangled concepts to make it more approachable to students of all temperaments. She has assisted and taught several Teacher's trainings in India and is currently studying Scriptures and Indian Philosophy under her Teacher of Advaita Vedanta lineage. Priyanka also actively practices and teaches Vedic Mantra chanting and meditation.
Laura Dalesme
Laura is French and American, and a certified vinyasa yoga teacher. More than ten years ago, she discovered yoga as an undergraduate student. At first yoga didn’t really speak to her: breath work was completely new and uncomfortable, not to mention that meditation was still very abstract for her. But several years later, in 2017, as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay, Laura felt the need to learn to love a body from which she felt very disconnected. She began to follow yoga classes on YouTube with Adrienne Louise and Brionhy Smith. Curious Paraguayan neighbors quickly started joining her outdoor yoga sessions. She would translate the instructions and without realizing it ended up guiding each session in Spanish.
Laura’s backyard quickly became too crowded to accommodate a growing group of women. So they went to the mayor of the village and asked for a community space for their weekly yoga classes. For nearly 2 years she was given the incredible opportunity to guide their yoga practices and provide them with a safe space to explore movement and reconnect to themselves. Thanks to their trust, curiosity and deep desire for human connexion, she discovered her passion for teaching yoga. When Laura returned to France in 2019, she completed a 200-hour teacher training at Samasthiti House of Yoga and became a certified vinyasa yoga teacher. She launched an online yoga program during the first lockdown and since then she has never stopped teaching.
Laura is fascinated by the extraordinary abilities of the human body and she cannot wait to lead your practice so you can experience them for yourself.
Kate Dessommes
Kate has been teaching yoga since 2004. A southeast Texas native, Kate began to travel the US in 1996 and landed in Portland, Oregon in 1999. After her training, Kate developed yoga programs in the Portland metro area for military veterans and people who had experienced an amputation. Kate specializes in post trauma, and has worked with people who had experienced organ transplants, debilitating illnesses and incarceration. While living in India in 2016, Kate attended Christ University in Bangalore and studied Hindu, Muslim and Christian theology as well as yoga. There she taught yoga in the slums of Koramangala, Bangalore to children attending elementary school. Kate graduated magna cum laude with a dual degree in social science and arts and letters in 2016 from Portland State University. In 2019 Kate accepted a position at Rikers working for the Department of Corrections and now resides in Queens, New York. Kate is currently developing a yoga and mindfulness program for residents and staff at AMKC jail. Kate specializes in trauma informed yoga and mindfulness training practices to work with anger.
Joshua Gonzalez
Joshua is a native New Yorker who grew up in a family bursting with social justice pride. At a very young age, he has taken part in multiple trainings and community engagement workshops with Make the Road NY regarding immigration reform, DACA, the Dream Act, police reform and LGBTQIA+ topics-which also included participating in many critical protests. This path led him to fuse his activism along with his artistic choreographic abilities to create bold and educational statements. Joshua holds a BFA degree in dance from Rutgers State University-Mason Gross School of the Arts; class of 2021. In dance, he believes that it is important to not only perform, but to advocate for world-wide social injustices. Identifying as a gay Puerto Rican cisgender man, he has dedicated his artistic work to educating and spreading awareness to his audience regarding the oppression, discrimination and relentless violence that happens daily in his community.
Joshua has completed his virtual 200hr yoga teacher training certification with Lila Flow Yoga (Yoga Alliance Certified) during the pandemic in the summer of 2020 and immediately began teaching on their online platform. He implements his classes centered around acceptance, uniqueness and inclusivity as this is what he believes is essential in yoga, in dance and in life. In April of 2021 he obtained his Pilates certification with Lila Flow under the direction of Patricia Pinto. Joshua was recently appointed Artistic Program Director for the New York City Government and will be implementing a curriculum centering around creative artistic expression in the forms of dance, fitness, mindful practices and community engagement. His personal goal within this responsibility is to establish an outreach program for movers and creators to have access to resources in order to build their craft and paint their path where their creative voice guides them. Joshua is excited to teach at 2nd Story and intends on continuing his approach on maintaining a judgement-free atmosphere in all of his classes while promoting creative expression, individuality and inclusivity to all students.
BEVELRY GOODMAN
Beverly is a compassionate, knowledgeable yoga teacher with a particular interest in working with people for whom yoga is not easily accessible—be it due to physical, emotional, or economic limitations. She infuses every class with a theme that encourages self-inquiry, humor, and encouragement, with the goal of physical, mental, and emotional alignment. Her career as a financial journalist requires her to be a good listener, curious question-asker, keen observer, and efficient synthesizer of information—all in the service of breaking down complex topics to educate and entertain. She draws on all these skills in her work as a yoga teacher. I am honored to have found a teaching (and actual) home in Jackson Heights, Queens. She has studied extensively with Rudrani Farbman and Jackie Prete through the World Yoga Center, the oldest ongoing yoga studio in Manhattan, with roots in the Siddha Yoga lineage. Through WYC, she became a Certified Anusara Elements teacher and registered with the Yoga Alliance (RYT-200). She also has specialty training certifications in Restorative Yoga (Levels 1 and 2 with Judith Hanson Lasater), Yoga for Osteoporosis (techniques for treatment and prevention, from Dr. Loren Fishman), and Prenatal Yoga (with Jennifer Pettit at Vira Yoga). She has spent years studying anatomy and biomechanics with nationally recognized teachers, doctors, physical therapists, and authors such as Dr. Ray Long, Dr. Loren Fishman, Ellen Saltonstall, Judith Hanson Lasater, and Leslie Kaminoff
Kay Grigar
Kay Grigar is a compassionate teacher with a comprehensive understanding of anatomy and kinesiology. As a former professional dancer and choreographer, she has taught at the Duncan Center Conservatory in the Czech Republic and Grant MacEwan University in Canada. Kay received her 200 Hour Yoga Certification (2009), as well as a Backcare and Scoliosis Certification (2014) from Dr. Alison West of Yoga Union. Yoga is a tremendous tool to quiet the mind and bring energy to the body. Kay is delighted to share her practice with the Jackson Heights community where she has lived with her son and husband for over a decade. All proceeds from her community class will be donated to the Queens Climate Project.
SANDHYA KAURWAR
Sandhya is a certified yoga teacher and has been teaching traditional Yoga in the NYC area for the past fifteen years. She was trained in the well known gurukul university ‘Yoga Vidya Dham’ in Nasik, India. Through her yoga classes, she focuses on relaxation, pain and stress management . In addition, she specializes in teaching Yoga Nidra, an unique guided meditation and mindfulness. Her students range from people of all ages and diverse communities. In her training she has exhibited equal competence, empathy and compassion to Pre K and elementary school kids at one end and the senior / elderly diverse communities on the other. One of her specialized training is Chair Yoga , that she teaches in senior community centers in NYC. While she imparts training in groups, every student still gets personal attention and customized training through her kind and insightful interaction.
Noel MacDuffie
Noel MacDuffie has been working with a wide range of clients for 20 years. From helping rehab double knee replacements to easing chronic pain to reestablishing essential fitness he has helped many folks reconnect to their bodies and celebrate their potential. He believes every day is a chance to discover and that moving with ease and confidence is attractive to everyone.
Noel has trained extensively in neuromuscular retraining with anatomist Irene Dowd for the last 16 years. Noel was a professional dancer and choreographer and incorporates that physical knowledge into his work with his clients.
Molly McGaughran
As a young teen, Pilates was brought into Molly's life by her ballet teacher, who suggested her students crosstrain with Pilates to further support their bodies in dance. Although Molly took Pilates classes off and on for the next 13 years, it wasn’t a big part of her life until an injury forced her to take a break from dance. It was then that Pilates became her only source of exercise, as she found a physical therapist who used Pilates to help Molly heal. Although she didn’t return to dance, Molly has found herself returning to Pilates again and again over the past decade, its many benefits drawing her in: healing, mind/body connection, weight-loss, bone and muscle strengthening, posture correction and much more. Molly received her BA in Dance from Goucher College and received her certification for Pilates from Lila Core. With 20+ years' experience as a pilates student and her continuing education as a teacher, Molly is excited to start this journey as a Pilates teacher with a solid base of knowledge to build upon.
Kaitlin Murray
Originally from Minneapolis, MN and currently based in Queens. I grew up as a dancer training in styles including modern, contemporary, jazz, commercial heels, and ballet. Graduated college in spring of 2021 with a Dance B.S. degree and minor in Health Science. In the fall of 2021, I came to NYC to attend training programs at the José Límon Dance Foundation. I continue to take classes from different studios and like to try new things. As of fall 2022, I got certified in Mat Pilates from Core Pilates NYC and continue to further my education by taking workshops. Outside pilates, I enjoy hiking to get lost in nature and painting which can be seen on the platform Baifarin. I hope to incorporate my training from different movement experiences to provide different tools and ways of strengthening, mobilizing, and aligning the body.
JEN SANMIGUEL
Jen SanMiguel began her yogic journey the way many people do- not as a former dancer or gymnast- but as a stressed out New Yorker looking to find some peace in the chaos of her daily life. She discovered that peace on the mat but also uncovered a life path she didn’t know she was seeking- the path to her truest and highest self, through spiritual practice and service. Jen teaches vinyasa flow classes- from beginner to advanced- with fun sequencing and an emphasis on alignment. She strives to create a welcoming atmosphere for all ages, body types, and abilities. When you come to Jen’s class, she wants you to breathe, have fun and feel better when you leave than when you walked in. Jen completed her 200 and 300 hour teaching certifications at Laughing Lotus Yoga Center, NYC, and has additional certifications and training in trauma-informed yoga, Yin yoga, Bhakti, Ayurveda, Restorative and Katonah yoga. Jen recently completed Level I Reiki training. Visit Jen at www.trueselfyoganyc.com
ANNAMARIA SANTAMARIA
Annamaria is a Queens native committed to a dynamic life of service, devotion, and love, as well as a lifelong student of Yoga. She discovered the mat over a decade ago and the practice of Yoga quickly evolved into a way of life. Initially, Annamaria was drawn to the physical benefits of the practice as it complemented her dance training, but it was Yoga’s much deeper truths that kept her coming back for more. A burning desire to deepen her spiritual connection and take her practice to the next level led Annamaria to the 200 hour yoga teacher training through Stanton Street Yoga and The Bhakti Center.
For Annamaria, the mat has always been there to support her through all of life’s ups and downs - a place of presence, connection, refuge, acceptance, fortitude, peace, and love. Annamaria is committed to serving the needs of every student by creating a safe and supportive space where everyone can show up just as they are and explore, as well as challenge, their own Truth with an open heart. Her invigorating classes focus on uniting breath with movement, thereby building strength and cultivating a taste for higher qualities. She aims to provide students with an opportunity to access their personal power so that they may each firmly stand in their beauty, wisdom, grace, and love - essential components that make up our personal Truths.
Dolma Sherpa
Dolma began practicing yoga in 2020 here at 2nd Story and soon fell in love with it. After consistently practicing for more than a year, she wanted to explore the "why" behind yoga and deepen her understanding, which led her to complete 200-hour and 300-hour training at Atmanada Yoga Studio.
Dolma’s teaching is rooted in Vinyasa - alignment, symmetry, and breath awareness, but also draws inspiration from gentle practices like yin and restorative yoga. Dolma is excited, humbled, and honored to share her love of yoga and is grateful for all the amazing teachers at 2nd Story who inspired her.
Sandy Tillett
Sandy has maintained a private fitness and movement practice in New York City for the past 20 years. Originally from North Carolina, Sandy moved to NYC to pursue a professional career as a dancer. She expanded that love of movement into a love of teaching movement. Sandy currently holds certifications from the following: National Academy of Sports Medicine- NASM (personal trainer), Kane School of Core Integration (Pilates), and Pilates for neurological conditions. She is currently working towards her certification as a Feldenkrais Method® practitioner and is an Awareness Through Movement® teacher trainee. Sandy has experience working with a wide variety of physical conditions including osteoporosis, arthritis, joint replacement, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis among others.
Melissa Wong
Melissa loves Pilates because it’s a full body and mind workout that is fun, challenging, supporting functional everyday movement.
She enjoys focusing on specific alignment and body awareness to build a strong core foundation and develop lifelong stability, mobility, strength, and flexibility.
She would love to help people reach their personal goals and simply, feel amazing everyday!
Melissa has her Mat and Comprehensive Pilates Certification from Core Pilates in NYC. She is also a Buff Bones certified instructor. She is an avid lover of continual education, running, hiking, biking, and playing time in the mountains.