Trainers
Joshua Margolis
Founder
Joshua Margolis is a personal trainer with a Bachelors Degree in Sports Psychology. He holds certifications from A.C.E., A.I.F.E., and N.A.S.M, and is also prenatal and postpartum fitness certified. Joshua has been working in the health and fitness arena for over 8 years designing personalized fitness programs which incorporate motivational techniques to enhance performance. Joshua is also the fitness model in “THE DUKE DIET”: World renowned health and fitness book. His fitness philosophy: “Your self image and habits go hand in hand; change one and you will automatically change the other.”
Other venues that Joshua has influenced are within the Corporate Sector and the great Outdoors. In the past Joshua has provided corporate fitness plans to improve the overall health of private companies and their employees. For those clients interested in working in the outdoors Joshua has gone everywhere from nearby parks to surfing the beaches of the Atlantic and Pacific to the Rocky Mountains. Whatever your fitness goals are, he will help you realize your dreams.
Alan Baron
Personal Trainer
Whatever your present state of fitness may be, Alan’s training sessions will provide you with a positive, professional and personally supportive program enabling you to achieve your physical fitness goals. An exercise program will be designed to meet your specific needs and will be accompanied by the philosophy of positive progressive training. In addition to fitness training, Alan specializes in areas that offer unique advantages to those with special needs such as pre-habilitation, injury rehab, postural distortions, training for the sport of motherhood (including preconception through all trimesters and postpartum fitness), the elderly and the physically challenged.
Alan has a long history of working in the Arts coupled with over 19 years of fitness training experience that includes working with several prominent fitness companies in New York. He has seven years experience working with visually impaired people and two years of American Sign Language studies. Alan stands tall with a professional commitment to continuous education for both the trainer and the client, enabling them to successfully improve their health and fitness lifestyles through ongoing positive changes.
Nolan Chace
Personal Trainer / Yoga
Nolan’s strength lies in developing exercises for better outdoors sports performances. His work emphasizes core stability training.
A personal trainer for the past 10 years, Nolan has worked with private clients as well as spending a year as a full-time trainer at Equinox.
Nolan has also taught rock climbing safety and technique at Go Vertical in Connecticut for five years and spent two years snow boarding in Colorado.
Alexander Galvez
Personal Trainer
Alexander specializes in strength training, rehabilitation, pre and post natal, balance/stability core training, and boxing. While embracing traditional fitness components, he also focuses on health and lifestyle modification.
As a trainer, Alexander strives to help his clients by connecting them with appropriate members of his ‘team,’ which includes a massage therapist, yoga teacher, Pilates instructor, Reiki, physical therapist as well as other healing professionals. Alexander’s various colleagues work together to help the client achieve optimal health and fitness.
Barbara Kaminsky
Yoga
Practicing yoga has transformed Barbara’s life, allowing her to pass on the benefits to her various clients. “I love that with every breath in yoga, we get to begin again,” she says. “No matter where we are or where we want to be, doing yoga shows us a way to be present and in the moment.”
Barbara has ten years of yoga practice behind her, and is certified in the Barkan Method. She also enjoys Anusara and Vinyasa.
Hilary McLemore
Personal Trainer
A personal trainer and swim instructor certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), Hilary specializes in weight loss, corrective exercise, and endurance training for triathletes. A swimming, surfing, running, and outdoor enthusiast, she believes that when working out, there should never be a dull moment!
Najla Said
Pilates
Najla has been doing Pilates for over ten years, and was certified as an Authentic Instructor in 2004 through the New York Pilates Studio. An avid runner and lifelong athlete, she discovered Pilates method while recovering from knee surgery and a hip injury. Pilates was the first truly tough and satisfying workout she was able to do (and enjoy) despite her injuries. SInce she began, she has been virtually pain free, and now is thrilled to be able to watch her clients achieve the same relief as they also build a strength, flexibilty and endurance that allows them to succeed in any other athletic endeavor they choose. She wholeheartedly believes that anything is possible; no one should feel that an injury prevents them from getting a safely, effective, challenging, and fun workout.
Jackie Sizemore
Pilates / Personal Trainer
Jackie is a certified personal trainer through NASM as well as a certified yoga instructor and a member of The National Yoga Alliance.
Recreationally, she enjoys racquetball, water skiing, jump roping, and many sports. Jackie is also an actress and dancer with over fifteen years of ballet and jazz dance training.
Barbara Evans
Personal Trainer
Barbara is a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. In addition to her personal training certification through the NSCA, Barbara is pre/postnatal and CPR-AED certified and is a former top-level trainer with Equinox Fitness Clubs. She holds a BS in Dance from George Washington University and has toured with professional dance companies nationally and abroad. This dance background helps Barbara bring a heightened awareness of posture, form and efficiency of movement to her sessions, allowing her clients of any age or fitness level to quickly and safely achieve their goals. Barbara still takes dance class for fun, along with hiking, biking, and recently, surfing!
Massage Therapist
Jeanne Ann Karfo comes to us with over 15 years of Bodywork experience. She is a savvy native New Yorker and West Side resident.
Jeanne Ann is a graduate of the famous Swedish Institute here in NYC and has worked at three major NYC hospitals as a licensed massage therapist. Jeanne Ann practices over 12 bodywork modalities, both Eastern & Western – including Swedish, Shiatsu, Medical & Sports Massage, Pre & Post Natal Massage, CranioSacral Therapy, Oncology Massage, Lymphatic Drainage Therapy, Reflexology, Polarity, Energetic & Vibrational BodyWork Therapies, and she is a REIKI Master.
She was always interested in the mind / body / spirit connection, and decided to make a career out of helping individuals help themselves.
Massage Therapist
Heather Raymond knows the transformative powers of bodywork, exercise and holistic health. Drawing upon17 years experience as a licensed massage therapist and personal trainer with a deep love of her craft, Heather customizes each massage session to your individual needs, preferences, and past/present physical condition.
Selecting from modalities such as Swedish, deep tissue, trigger point, myofascial release, sports massage, pregnancy massage, stretching, and bio-cranial technique, you can relax as Heather works to eliminate your pain, rejuvenate your body, and facilitates health inside and out.
Recently listed as one of the best LMTs, in New York City for the book, “Keen on New York, Platinum Edition”, Heather is described by one of her clients as “an angel with hands from heaven, who never met pain she could not remove.”
Ola Widera
Yoga Instructor
Ola has been studying and teaching yoga for many years in NYC. Her private classes combine the knowledge of yoga, science, and human anatomy to explore the power of the body to heal on all levels. Ola’s expertise in the Anusara alignment principles empower her dedicated students to shift and transform from the inside out, in order to create a foundation for radiant health, creativity and illumination in their life.
With warmth and joy, Ola clearly articulates to her students how to resolve all of their therapeutic issues. Her intention is to provide accessible, practical guidance while teaching clients how to use their awareness of breath combined with precision of muscular alignment to discover their full capabilities. Ola invites you to find the true healing connection with your body and mind to realize the healthy balance of flexibility and strength.
Danyelle Demchock
Personal Trainer
Over the last 7 years, Danyelle has helped clients use a step-by-step approach to achieve weight loss without dieting, increase energy and vitality without sugar and caffeine, reestablish balance to the metabolism, and enhance posture and sports performance through corrective exercises.
With great enthusiasm, Danyelle provides a range of holistic healthy lifestyle services. With her guidance, clients have learned to take responsibility for overcoming their own health obstacles, achieve permanent weight loss without dieting, and take back control of their life and health. She welcomes you to achieve your own inner clarity in your life!
Nan Goldstein
Yoga
Nan combines her enthusiasm and love of yoga with a knowledge of alignment and body mechanics. Nan’s softer, gentler, slower-paced classes are fun and playful, with easy-to-follow instructions encouraging students to practice deeply while honoring and working with their limitations. By catering to each student’s individual needs, Nan is dedicated to making yoga accessible to people of all ages, sizes and fitness levels, so each can benefit from its transformative powers.
Nan began teaching yoga after many years in the corporate world in order to make a positive change in her life and the lives of others. She received her yoga teaching certification from Alison West / Yoga Union. Nan is also a certified chair yoga instructor. Besides yoga, Nan is also passionate about snorkeling and the conservation of coral reefs.
Hillary Helmling
Yoga
Hillary received her certification from Sonic Yoga – Center for Yoga Studies, and is a Yoga Alliance registered teacher. She loves the creativity, flow, and ease of Vinyasa Yoga, and is very passionate that yoga is a daily practice that can help gain perspective, balance, and mindfulness in all aspects of your life. She incorporates many forms of yoga into her classes with a strong emphasis on pranayama, alignment, strength, and finding your flow. Hillary is grateful to have found yoga and hopes to help you find your own journey as well.
Franco Castiglione
Thai Yoga Massage Therapist
Franco is a hands on healer, who graduated from the country’s finest Massage School: The Swedish Institute of Massage therapy and Applied Health Sciences, here in New York City.
He has been working in the field for many years all around the city, and has vast experience with several different modalities of massage, including Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports, Medical, Thai, Reflexology, Shiatsu, Prenatal, Cranial-Sacral, Lomi Lomi, Hot and Cold Stone, and several others.
He is also certified in Nutrition and Personal Training, and sometimes adds a touch of Reiki to his sessions.
Sessions also can include body assessment, alignment, moisturizing, and aromatherapy.
Massage can be an important way to release stress, and free inner channels. It can open the flow of your life force, release blocks, and tune up and align your physical house.
Alana Jackler
Thai Yoga Massage Therapist
Alana has been in the fitness world practically since see could walk. She started out as a competitive ice skater and tennis player and at a young age taught tennis. She worked at Equinox as a personal trainer and on the road to curing her own back problems discovered the wonders of yoga and eventually Thai Yoga Massage. It is through these ancient practices that she has been able to find balance and strength. And that is what she tries to instill in her clients.
Alana likes to call Thai Yoga Massage The Lazy Man’s Yoga because the client gets all the benefits of a yoga class without having to lift a finger. TYM combines passive stretching, accupressure, shiatzu and energy work.
Holly Corey
After a long career in corporate recruiting, Holly decided to pursue her real passion: fitness, health and wellness. She specializes in core strength, balance and flexibility exercises and believes a healthy body is a happy body. Her fitness approach is to keep it fun, challenging, creative and safe. Her goal as a trainer is to help you along the way and provide you with positive support, encouragement, and the proper workouts to help you attain your goals. She holds a certification through the American Council of Exercise (ACE).
Danielle Russo
Pilates
Danielle Russo earned her Pilates certification with the Pilates Academy International. Her practice spans from private equipment instruction to group classes in Pilates mat and apparatus, alike. Pilates bridges her love for movement with her keen interest in muscular anatomy and exercise science; a middle ground between her professional dance career and her understanding of gait and postural patterns persistent in her continuing studies.
Danielle has worked with clientele of all levels and lifestyles. She has experience training expert dancers and athletes, as well as senior citizens, pregnant women, weekend warriors and clients rehabilitating various injuries. She possesses the knowledge to approach Pilates safely for all strengths and body types. A true believer in functional fitness, Danielle customizes workouts that are accommodating to her clientele’s individual health needs and goals. The combination of her educational and professional experiences have equipped Danielle with the essential tools for a well-balanced, effective and enjoyable Pilates workout.
Yoga
Andrea began her yoga journey while studying dance at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied under Tara Marie Peri, founder of “Mind Body Dancer”. After receiving her BFA in dance, she began a regular yoga practice, not only to maintain body condition and flexibility, but also to deepen her spiritual connection to movement. In 2008, she completed her 200 hour yoga teacher certification through the Atmananda Sequence. An avid traveler since then, she has expanded her practice to the yogic methods of Anna Forrest, Ashtanga, Anusara, Bikram, and Hatha. She also has proficient experience with Alexander Technique structural/postural alignment, and Thai massage.
Her class style varies, depending on the needs of the client: from restorative yoga to power yoga, she can adapt her teachings to follow suit. Descriptions are anatomically detailed, and also saturated with playful imagery. “My greatest interest lies in creating a beautiful mind/body experience through word painting, and sensory awareness. All levels are welcome!”
Kelly Scanlon
Yoga
With a background in acting, singing and bartending (aka listening), I found yoga as a means to quiet my mind and find peace and balance in these ever-changing times. Whether you want to slim down, increase strength and flexibility, or simply find stillness in this crazy city, I can guide you through the right series of poses to achieve your goals.
From beginner through intermediate yogis, my classes focus on breathing, building core strength, yummy stretching, and a guided meditation to leave you feeling centered, relaxed and focused on the day ahead. This practiced has changed my life, allowing me to develop a full practice of mind, body and spirit that follows me off the mat and into my daily life. I am happy to share this gift with others and will cater my training sessions to meet the needs of the client.
Nicole Glassman
Nutrition
Nicole Glassman’s passion for helping others stems from her experience overcoming her own health challenges. After completing a Graduate Degree in Food Studies at New York University, Nicole Glassman was one of the first practitioners to achieve certification in Dr. D’Adamo’s Blood Type course. She is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and is certified in Holistic Health Counseling and in Bio-Energetic Assessment. Nicole has presented on holistic health at numerous corporations and institutions throughout New York City, including the Ethical Culture School, Hostos Community College, Colgate Palmolive, Chelsea Movement, Therapy and AMC Theatres. She runs a successful private practice in Manhattan specializing in holistic nutrition and detoxification.
Daria Fain
Chi Gong instructor
Daria Faïn has been certified in the Alexander Technique since 1991. She has studied with Chi Kung Master Mantak Chia and senior teachers of the Universal Healing Tao (Mantak Chia Chi Kung University) since 1996 and has been an instructor of this system since 2001. Faïn has also studied with Chinese acupuncturist/herbalist/Chi Kung/martial Art master, Dr Jian, founder of the Kimetao in Paris from 1988 to 1995. Over the years Faïn’s somatic research has led her to work with psychotics, the developmentally disabled, and blind-deaf individuals, leading to a complex understanding of the body as a endless resource of knowledge.
Daria Faïn is also an acclaimed New York choreographer originally from Antibes, France. Her choreography fuses her European cultural background with two decades of practice in Asian philosophies of the body and American dance training. From this diverse background Fain has developed a unique movement and performance approach. She studied the classical Indian dance form Bharatha Natyam for five years in Paris with Amala Devi and in Madras, India with Swarnamuckie (State dancer of Tamil Nadu, 1982). In India she also studied the co-relationship between this classical form of dance and temple architecture. She was deeply influenced by her work with the Butoh-based artist Min Tanaka. From 1984 to 1986 she studied at the Graham School in NYC.
Karina Lombrozo
Alexander Technique
Meet Karina, a California girl at heart, with a Latin flare whose goal it is to change the paradigm of pain relief and performance enhancement – one vertebra at a time. Her passion for health & wellness, pedagogy, and the performing arts harmoniously merged in her practice and teaching of The Alexander Technique – a body/mind modality aimed at kinesthetic re-education. Lessons in the Alexander Technique are taught through a delicate hands-on guidance, verbal instruction, observation, and sensory-motor learning applicable to daily activities, as well as, specialized skills. It is a practical method for improving quality of movement, balance, and coordination resulting in musculo-skeletal freedom, ease, and relief from chronic pain. Nationally certified by The American Center for The Alexander Technique and The American Society for The Alexander Technique, Karina excels at teaching this unique method in a dynamic, clear, fun, and compassionate way.
In addition, Karina is currently enrolled in Four Winds Academy’s New York City – Healer Training Certification Program and uses several healing modalities in concert with her teaching.
Melanie Maar
Melanie is a certified Yoga instructor through Laughing Lotus since 2002. She will soon be receiving a teacher certificate through Master Mantak Chia’s program/Universal Healing Tao. Melanie has been practicing and teaching Qi Gong for many years within the system of lineage of Daria Fain, Master Mantak Chia and Sifu Mathew Lee. She also incorporates Tai Chi forms and practices into her classes.
Puy Navarro
Personal Training/Yoga/Latin Dance
Born in Spain, Puy has been an actress and a producer of theater about Social Issues and Human Rights in NYC since 2005. Since September 2009 she has been teaching Yoga for Executives at the US/Spain Chamber of Commerce at the Empire State Building and also at The Hispanic Society of America. She currently teaches at ISHTA. She has been to India twice where she has deepened her studies on the Sutras, Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda. She believes that when we are in full command of our physical, mental and emotional capacities we can live fearlessly, and we can open ourselves to new experiences, new challenges, and let our energy flow freely to express our unique talents.
Sadie Gilbertson
Personal Training/Pilates
Sadie has been an explorer of movement for over 25 years. She began her training in dance, performing and teaching professionally throughout the country and abroad. With an ever curious mind, she continues to seek additional pathways of whole body fitness, with a holistic and joyful approach. She has been a certified personal trainer for eight years, with the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM). She is also a certified Pilates instructor (focusing on neutral spine) from the prestigious Erika Bloom Pilates program. Sadie takes the best from all modalities such as: sports training, dance, yoga, and Pilates to best support her clients with their goals.
Marc Masciandaro
Marc has over thirteen years of experience as a personal trainer, including six years at the Reebok Sports Club/NY, and holds certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. A competitive track athlete in his youth, he is a big believer in functional training and integrates flexibility, balance, and core stability into his clients’ routines. Marc, who currently trains at Equinox, has extensive experience with joint injuries, sports related or otherwise, and particularly enjoys working with post-rehab clients.
Janet D’Agnese
Personal Training
Janet has successfully turned her passion for fitness and nutrition into a 12 year career as a personal trainer. She is certified with The World Training School of Virginia Beach. Janet’s highly motivational approach has made her one of the top requested personal trainers at Centrastate Fitness and Wellness Center and Fitness At Your Service. Cardio Circuit training, Ball and Bands training, Balance and Movement and Senior Fitness are her specialties. Janet’s top priorities for each personalized workout are: evaluate immediate needs, vary programs, integrate nutrition and…get results! Her clients range in age, from 14 to 80. Janet’s experience allows her the spontaneity to conduct sessions in home, in a personal gym setting and outdoors. Strength training and core strengthening are the main focus of her Mind Over Matter fitness programs. “Life is not living, unless you’re living in health”.
Myron is a Fitness and Life Fulfillment Engineering Coach for individuals, small groups and organizations. His fitness coaching sessions focuses on plyometrics which include weight conditioning, core conditioning, cardio/active rest exercises and nutritional evaluation. His Life Fulfillment coaching utilizes several models including the Whole Life Model, 5 Levels of Focus Model and SMART Goals Principle. Additionally, Myron has attended classes taught by Rev. Michael Beckwith of Agape International Church, and Rev. August Gold formerly of Sacred Center New York Spiritual Center. He is currently studying Nichiren Buddhism. Declan Julien hails from the twin island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. He is an NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Spin Instructor. He also holds certifications in kettlebell training, TRX Suspension training and TRX Rip training. He combines the elements of laid-back island charm and fun all into one challenging workout–if such an oxymoron exists. Never one to be complacent, Declan is constantly on the lookout for the latest proven and effective trends when it comes to physical fitness, diet and nutrition. This allows him to pass on what he has learned and apply it to his ever-growing list of very satisfied clientele. “My goal is to make training sessions as exciting and as enjoyable as I possibly can while keeping you physically challenged and placing you just slightly outside the realm of your comfort zone.” An Internationally Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the Australian Institute of Fitness, Amy has been involved in the sports and fitness industry for over 10 years. Specializing in Women and Weight Loss, she also has extensive experience working with elderly, athletes, pre and post natal, and injured clients. Amy creates personalized programs to meet a variety of fitness goals, including: weight loss, body fat reduction, increased strength, sport specific improved performance…or even, helping someone feel fabulous on his or her wedding day. Certified in Boxing Instruction and TRX Suspension Training, Amy also specializes in Fat Burning Metabolic Training, Functional Training, Outdoor Boot Camps, Group Instruction, Martial Arts, Weight Lifting, and Sport Specific Improvement. When not training others, Amy enjoys running, Krav Maga self-defense, boxing, TRX training, weight lifting, mud run challenges, and field hockey. When she’s not at the gym, she loves to spend time with her two nephews and playing the piano. Originally an Early Childhood Educator with a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies, Keyra took a look at her fitness and eating habits and decided it was time for a change. After several years of getting her own health and fitness under control while living in the United Kingdom, Keyra decided to become a personal trainer and get certified through REPS, a European certification. After moving to New York over two years ago, Keyra became certified through NCSF and began working at Equinox. Currently still employed at Equinox and training privately, Keyra specializes in weight loss and strength training with great interest in diet and nutrition. Laura first fell in love with yoga at a summer dance festival in 2005, and began teaching in 2008. She completed a Level I Anusara training, a 200-hr training at Abhyasa Yoga Center (charter member, International Association of Yoga Therapists), and a Youth Yoga certification with Asana Alphabet. She has also studied Embodied Anatomy and Yoga through the School for Body Mind Centering. Laura’s yoga practice has been an opportunity for her to focus, listen, and work intelligently in her own body, and she strives to offer her students a chance to do the same. Her teaching focuses on breath and body awareness as the foundation of a balanced yoga practice. Laura is also an active member of the NYC modern dance community and has performed with many different choreoraphers. She brings her lifelong passion for movement – and her dorky dancer love of anatomy – to her yoga teaching. Laura Shapiro is a choreographer with over three decades of experience teaching people of all ages and abilities in group classes and one-to-one sessions. She currently works with men and women, aged 20s to 90s, seeking to enhance fitness and energy levels; pregnant and postpartum women; and adults dealing with the discomfort and wear and tear resulting from postural habits and/or injuries—at venues including the Center for Healing and Awareness, AHRC, two YMCAs, as well as Mind Over Matter. Her credentials include permission from her chi kung/tai chi teacher to teach (this is traditional/authentic certification); certification for IM=X Pilates Basic and Super-Advanced Floor Work and Tai Chi for Arthritis; post-certification training for the pregnant and postpartum woman with Debra Goodman, PT; and decades of professional dance and related studies including Aikido, Body-Mind Centering, Chi Kung and Tai Chi, Meditation, Neuromuscular Re-education, several approaches to Pilates, Sensory Awareness and Voice. Anna Carapetyan has studied Chi Gong with Daria Fain for five years. Her deep understanding of movement and the body is also influenced by Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais Technique, or Awareness Through Movement, and twenty five years of dance training in many forms and styles. She is passionate about health and wellness and is grateful for the opportunity to gain insight into the energetic body through engaging with other practitioners. Michele, a certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher (RYT) and Movement Specialist, trained at the prestigious Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London and has over a decade of experience teaching dance and yoga. She is inspired by many disciplines: Modern Dance–Doris Humphrey, Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement, Bodywork–Healing Touch, and Kripalu and Sivananda Yoga. Whether an individual or group session, Michele designs a framework that keeps the student focused and grounded, and within it creates a dynamic experience that is spontaneous and creative. ‘I want you to feel inspired to take care of your body and mind–yoga, or any wellness/fitness program is not a quick fix, but an opportunity to reach your fullest potential, whatever your goal!’ Courtney is a Certified Health Coach, graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC and certified by the American Association for Drugless Practitioners. She helps clients focus on their nutrition, curb cravings and reduce stress. Losing weight is just the icing on the cake! Courtney is also a Vinyasa yoga teacher who received her 200-hour training at Three Sisters Yoga in NYC and has taken advanced workshops in restorative yoga. In addition, she is Certified in Pilates Mat through Equinox. When she isn’t working with or teaching clients, Courtney enjoys blogging about health & wellness, spending time with friends and family, experimenting in the kitchen and trying new yoga classes.
Myron Tucker
Fitness & Life Coach
Declan Julien
Personal Trainer
Amy Serfass
Personal Trainer
Keyra Averyheart
Personal Trainer
Laura Grant
Yoga
Laura Shapiro
Chi Gong
Anna Carapetyan
Chi Gong
Michele Rafferty
Yoga
