Instructors

   Krista Shirley
An internationally recognized yoga instructor, and one of a select few people worldwide authorized by the Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute to teach Ashtanga Yoga. Krista is extremely passionate about and dedicated to the traditional teachings of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. She travels to Mysore, India each year to spend several months under the guidance of her teachers Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Sharath Rangaswamy, and Saraswati Rangaswamy in order that her own practice and teachings may continue to grow on the right path under their tutelage.  Krista humbly gives thanks to Sharath for entrusting her to carry on the traditional teachings of the Ashtanga Vinyasa system as he has taught her.

Krista resides in Orlando, Florida. Krista is the founder of The Yoga Shala in Orlando, Florida where she teaches traditional Ashtanga Yoga classes. She also teaches yoga at Rollins College, and the Citrus Athletic Club. Visit www.AshtangaYogini.com for more information about Krista.

Krista’s dedication to her personal yoga practice and the Ashtanga lineage shine through in her teaching. Her energy is contagious and inspiring! Krista specializes in providing all her students with a lot of personal attention. Krista is here to help you begin or advance your Ashtanga Yoga journey.

  Shannon “Sati” Chmelar
Sati's conscious spiritual journey began in adolescence after experiencing a series of transcendental awakenings. This gave her a thirst to know the divine nature underlying existence which led her to various practices that largely used the body as a form of spiritual inquiry. Sati began to practice yoga in 2001, and eventually devoted herself to the traditional Ashtanga Yoga system after studying under Manju Jois. She credits Manju for leading her to a profound awakening on the yogic path that eventually changed her life in an unparalleled way. Other teachers that she has studied with who have deeply influenced her practice include Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, Sharath Rangaswamy, Saraswathi Ranagaswamy, Jeff and Harmony Lichty, Tim Feldmann and David Ingalls. Sati has been teaching since 2004 having completed over 680 hours of yoga teacher training including programs directed by David Swenson and Paul Dallaghan. She continues to study with various senior Ashtanga teachers in the U.S. and abroad.

Sati is dedicated to facilitating the transmission of ancient yogic teachings with humility and ever-evolving awareness. Her dedication to the traditional practice of Ashtanga Yoga and philosophical inquiry continually feeds her teaching. She encourages students to cultivate a deep love and devotional attitude that nourishes their practice over a lifetime. She leads classes and workshops and strives to educate her students on all the dimensions of yogic practice including asana, meditation, pranayama, chanting, philosophy and history.

To learn more about Sati visit www.satiyogabodywork.com.

    Laura Daniel

Laura has been practicing yoga since 1991 and teaching since 1996. She began her practice in the Iyengar tradition, then turned to a vinyasa form at the Yoga Institute in Maitland Florida. She began her practice of Ashtanga in 1999 and is certified to teach Kundalini Yoga. She has studied and attended many teacher trainings with many established yogis, but finds her best teachers are her students and her yoga practice buddies. “My purpose as a teacher is to help students find a path that is right for them, to help them find a yoga practice that will enhance their lives.”

   Anat Taggart

Anat fell in-love with yoga in 2001 after having her first son. She is dedicated ashtanga yoga practitioner and mysore student at The Yoga Shala.  Anat decided to pursue yoga teacher training in order to deepen her own practice but discovered tremendous joy in teaching others how to deepen their own practice.  She has completed 200 hours of Ashtanga teacher training with Ashtangi Linda Walker from Urban Ashtanga Yoga Shala.   As a mother of four with a busy life-style she finds peace and calmness in practicing and teaching.   “From all my teachers I have grown wise, but from my students more than anyone else.” (Jewish proverb).

  Joy Golding

Joy has been a practicing Yogini for 13 years and a Yoga teacher for 6 years. Joy is a tremendously dedicated Ashtanga Yoga practitioner who has proven that Yoga practice can help people get through some very tough times. She is a Cancer and Crohne’s Disease survivor and feels that because of her personal Ashtanga practice, she is healed.

She teaches Mysore and led Ashtanga Yoga classes, and practices the Mysore method daily. Joy really has a tremendous passion for teaching yoga. She believes that yoga is for everyone and makes her classes accessible to all walks of life. Her classes are a tapestry of proper alignment, yoga philosophy and spirituality. She makes a safe place for the students to explore their inner landscape as well as assist them with their physical practice. Joy loves to the look on a students face as they progress in the Ashtanga practice and begin to understand all the deeper dimensions of this yoga.

Joy has trained with various teachers, including Bryan Kest and Shiva Rea but she fell in love with Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga when she began studying with David Williams, who was the first person to bring Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga to the west in the early 1970’s.

  Jaime Shearer

Jaime began her yoga practice in 2006 at the suggestion of her personal trainer. She wanted a workout she could enjoy - and a stronger core. Upon hearing this advice, "Find something you love and stick to it," Jaime sought out yoga studios during her travels across North America and fell in love with the Ashtanga tradition. Both challenging and relaxing, Ashtanga yoga gave her a sense of appreciation for her body and abilities, and made the practice of her spirituality real. Jaime has practiced other styles of yoga, but has found that her devotion is to Ashtanga Vinyasa. She completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification in 2008 from Urban Ashtanga, formerly in Orlando. Jaime teaches yoga because of her love for the practice and the gifts she sees students receive from it. She believes yoga is available to all, and the purpose is the practice.

   Jessica Cichra

Jessica began practicing Pilates with her friend and mentor Janie Handlin and was drawn to it because it's a very effective total body workout that produces amazing results, leaving you feeling great and looking toned. Jessica is strongly attracted to its meditative mindfulness, body awareness, and its strenthening, lengthening, and balancing qualities. Students can expect a challenging workout that's fit for all levels in a fun and engaging atmosphere.

   Maureen Hanusek

Maureen began her yoga journey in 1999 and became certified to teach in 2004 in Orlando, FL. Since then she has continued her yoga education by attending workshops and teacher trainings throughout the United States and beyond. While spending a year abroad in Asia, Maureen traveled on to Thailand and Mysore, India, where she decided to dedicate herself to the Ashtanga practice.

Since then she received her 200 hours to become a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance with a concentration in Ashtanga. She continues to attend workshops and teacher trainings, studying with authorized and certified Ashtanga teachers.

  Chris Conn

Christopher will be guest teaching at The Yoga Shala from mid-April to early July while Krista takes maternity leave. He resides in Edinburgh, Scotland. Chris started yoga practice with gentle Hatha yoga classes in 1999, and in Chris discovered the dynamic system of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga via the Primary series DVD by Richard Freeman and began practicing 3 or 4 times per week at home along to the DVD. The series was challenging and appeared, then as now, to be a lifetimes study and practice.

In 2004 Chris first visited India to practice with Lino Miele.  Chris has returned to India every year since to practice at the KPJAYI in Mysore, the source of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga and the home town of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, the father of yoga in the modern age. Chris's experiences in India and with this powerful system of yoga are, for him, the beginnings of a substantially different emerging world view. Christopher teaches from his practice and encourages practitioners to listen to their body.

Christopher helps students to progress when the time is right.  "Slowly, slowly" in the words of Sri K. P. Jois. The student is offered a range of alternatives to challenging postures that will help them work toward the full expression of the posture in time.  People practice yoga for many different reasons, to feel better, to help with sports and as a social activity. All of these are valid and encouraged as yoga is a great system for healing and integration of the body and mind. It is with consistency of practice over an extended period that the real benefits of yoga manifest. One starts to work with deeper ingrained patterns of movement, resistance and emotion and as these begin to unravel the practitioner often feels intense like or dislike towards the practice and aspects of life. This unravelling can lead to a new and healthier perspective on life and living. A teacher's role in this process is to remain engaged with the practitioner without magnifying any issues.