About us
Humanity Pilates was created by three friends, Roque, G, and Matt, who met during Suryaside Yoga’s 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2023. While also teaching Strong AF fitness classes at Suryaside, they shared a vision to create a space where movement builds more than muscle - it builds connection, resilience, and community.
Our boutique reformer Pilates studio welcomes people from all walks of life to strengthen their minds, bodies, and breath, using Pilates as a tool to move better, feel stronger, and live fully.
Our Team
Founders
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Roque Rodriguez
Roque Rodriguez (Pronounced: ROW-Keh), the son of Dominican immigrants, is a 500-hour trained Yoga teacher and proud co-founder of Suryaside Yoga in Queens, NY. Roque has run several yoga teacher trainings, provided teacher training scholarships to BIPOC folks living in underserved communities, and volunteered with Liberation Prison Yoga to bring healing practices to Rikers Island Correctional Facility.
He is a co founder of Abolitionist Educators, a consulting firm that runs workshops for adults and teens on mindfulness tools, trauma sensitive communication, and healthy community building. Roque is a recipient of the Creatives Rebuild New York Artist Employment grant. He used this grant to provide Healing Through Writing workshops for the Woodside Houses community. These workshops include journaling, creative writing, breathing exercises and meditation.
Roque encourages folks to Practice Humanity as a way of life. Whether that be calling out injustices, helping to feed and care for your community members, or simply being compassionate with yourself and the people around you.
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Matt Lawrence
Matt Lawrence is passionate about sharing the benefits of exercise and guiding practitioners towards greater awareness of their physical and mental well-being. His mindfulness-based philosophy incorporates a diversity of influences, including sports, meditation, and multiple disciplines of yoga. Fairly new to Pilates himself, Matt strives to create a welcoming and inclusive space where practitioners of all levels can feel comfortable exploring their practice. He lives in Sunnyside with his wife, Tracy, and cat, Klaus, and can be found teaching or practicing at Suryaside if he’s not at Humanity Pilates.
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Geraldine Mariano
Geraldine Mariano (she/they) is a Filipino-American yoga and fitness instructor who is dedicated to uplifting and celebrating others. With a deep passion for both physical well-being and human connection, she strives to create spaces where people from all paths of life can feel safe, supported, and empowered to show up as their real and full selves. Her approach blends strength and circuit training, yoga, sports, mindfulness, and compassion, offering a holistic perspective on fitness that nurtures body and soul. Geraldine was born and raised in Queens, is a middle child, and a cat mom to the bestest Penelope “Penny” Pumpernickel.
Instructors
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Laura Dalesme
Laura (she/her) is a French-American certified Pilates teacher and Lead Trainer with extensive experience in classical and contemporary Pilates. After moving to New York City in 2021, she completed comprehensive training at Core Pilates and Good Day Pilates. She has since specialized in guiding prenatal and postnatal clients safely and confidently through Pilates, and is also a certified yoga instructor and birth doula.
Her classes combine calm, grounded energy with functional, intelligently layered movement to support strength, balance, and long-term well-being. She is deeply passionate about mentoring teachers, fostering community, and helping students build strength and confidence.
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Nidhi Desai
Nidhi is a driven health and wellness enthusiast on her journey to becoming a Sports Dietitian. With hands-on experience working with patients, athletes, and the broader community, she combines her nutrition knowledge with a passion for fitness to make a lasting impact. As a Polestar-certified Pilates instructor, she designs dynamic and personalized classes that not only meet individual goals but also bring joy and energy to every session. Known for her bubbly and motivating personality, Nidhi creates an uplifting environment where people feel supported, empowered, and excited about their health journey. Her mission is to inspire others to build sustainable habits, discover the power of movement, and embrace wellness as a way of life.
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Christie Farrell
Christie is a 450-hour Certified Pilates instructor who has taught both Classical and Contemporary Pilates all over NYC since 2022. She loves showing people how Pilates and functional movement can change their lives, not only for the rest of their workout routine but for their entire life. Christie is on the Pilates Education team for Equinox's Comprehensive Pilates Certification Program. When not in the studio, you can find Christie auditioning for theatre and TV/film, or playing with her cat, Elton. www.christiefarrell.com
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Grace O'Mara
Grace has been dancing since she was four and has spent the last five years performing and teaching across New York, Maine, and Europe. While dancing professionally, she discovered Pilates not just as cross-training—but as a powerful way to build strength, mobility, and longevity in every body.
Now a certified instructor, Grace brings a positive, approachable energy to Pilates and teaching. She’s known for her creativity, encouragement, and ability to tailor movement to each individual. Grace loves working with all ages and backgrounds and is dedicated to challenging you safely, and helping you feel strong and capable!
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Margot Carmody
Margot began teaching Pilates in 2014 after completing Contemporary Pilates training under Lawson Harris at The Lab. After graduating from NYU with a minor in Creative Writing and Poetry, they went on to complete a Classical Comprehensive certification at Core Pilates NYC in 2019. Margot also completed a personal training mentorship with Brooklyn Athletic Club, where they worked as a personal trainer and taught group strength training and Pilates mat with props.
In the early years of teaching, Margot experienced back and knee injuries that shifted their own relationship to movement. This experience deepened their empathy for clients navigating injury, pain, or changes in how they move through daily life, and continues to inform their thoughtful, adaptable teaching approach.
Originally from Queens and a first-generation Colombian American, Margot brings a multidisciplinary approach to movement shaped by both athletics and the arts. They hold an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon, where their work explored social justice and identity through cultural reclamation, music, and embodied storytelling.
This philosophy carries into Margot’s Pilates teaching. They view movement as a practice of reclaiming both body and mind, meeting students with curiosity, adaptability, and respect for different learning styles. Grounded in Joseph Pilates’ belief that “physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness,” Margot aims to create classes that are empowering, and accessible to every body.