The humble beginning:  Over a decade ago, faced with a scarcity of teaching opportunities, Jonas, an art director and photographer for Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, began hosting yoga sessions at his home with a small group of students. As word spread, the community quickly expanded, giving rise to Second Side Yoga—a sanctuary for dedicated practitioners. Here, individuals and teachers of independent spirit gather to pursue both personal and collective growth.

Nestled discreetly within an unassuming, low-slung building in the East Village/City Place, lacking any ostentatious signage, Second Side Yoga embodies a sort of yoga 'speakeasy.' Upon crossing the threshold, one is greeted with genuine warmth from teachers and fellow students alike. As Fatimah succinctly describes it, "An elite studio without the pretension."

If yoga is the journey of surmounting obstacles and seeking bliss, Second Side Yoga stands as a testament to that ethos. "If a guy with broken English can do it, all of us can. Come only if you wanna get better," Jonas asserts. Second Side Yoga epitomizes the essence of solid, unfiltered yoga, simply good yoga unleashed.

Why the name second side?  We work both the right and left sides of our body in yoga.  Earlier in our studio's history, we often found ourselves saying, "I love my second side," as we completed intense Vinyasa flow sequences on one side of the body and moves onto the other side.  Our tradition maintains that there is a "second side" to the mere physical practice of yoga, just as there is a deeper element to our everyday lives off the mat.  Equal attention and love should be devoted to both and all sides.  How we do anything is how we do everything.

Photography courtesy of Jonas Park.

All subjects in the photos are our yogis and students that practice with us at the studio. We thank all of them to make the great photos possible.