Alma Weinberg is a native New Yorker and has had a long and varied career, including as a music and art teacher with a background in dance. After a life altering event, Alma now teaches T’ai Chi, a form of moving meditation. Alma found that T’ai Chi inspired, motivated, and challenged her, profoundly improving her sense of well-being. Alma’s desire to share these benefits with others led her to become a Certified Wellness Instructor in Qi Gong and T’ai Chi. Since 2016, Alma has taught various classes at HSS, and she currently teaches Moving for Strength & Stability. She also teaches at several adult centers in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Katherine Shapiro has a BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase and over 25 years of experience in Yoga and Pilates, Katherine specializes in thoughtful, individualized movement for strength, balance, and long-term well-being. Her teaching draws from classical Pilates, advanced yoga, and functional movement — blending anatomical precision with deep body awareness. Katherine has trained extensively with ISHTA, Yoga Shanti, and Yoga Works, and studied under Romana Kryzanowska in the original Pilates studio. She currently teaches for Hospital for Special Surgery, Pilates House in NYC, and One Ocean Yoga in Water Mill, where she has been leading classes for over two decades.
Kenneth Gray has practiced and taught Qigong and Martial Arts for 30 years and is a certified instructor of T’ai Chi Chih® and T’ai Chi for Arthritis. Kenneth has taught privately and at many NYC area hospitals and senior centers. Kenneth teaches students to apply the principles of T’ai Chi and Qigong in a practical sense to daily activities for better circulation, balance, and well-being. He is passionate about improving the lives of his students. Kenneth began teaching at HSS in 2015 and currently teaches T’ai Chi Chih Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced classes.
Nancy O’Brien found hope and healing in therapeutic yoga as part of her recovery from serious illness two decades ago. She later trained as a yoga teacher, then became certified as a yoga therapist, and she is committed to bringing the benefits she found in yoga’s mind-body practices to her students and colleagues in medical settings such as HSS. She specializes in making therapeutic yoga accessible to those struggling with pain, chronic illnesses, and health complications such as long COVID and the challenges of aging. She trains yoga teachers and yoga therapists in yoga for arthritis and chronic pain and teaches Integral Yoga Institute’s bi-weekly classes for those conditions. At HSS, Nancy teaches Gentle Yoga for Pain Relief.
Vicky Jin has studied exercise science and nutrition and holds several certifications: the 200-hr Sonic Yoga teacher training, the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Trainer and Stretching and Flexibility Coach, and the Arthritis Foundation’s Exercise for Arthritis. Vicky guides students to move in supportive ways, to connect breath and movement, and to generate positive energy and self-love. At HSS, Vicky teaches the Chair Exercise for Arthritis program for our Asian Community Bone Health Initiative.