The Yoga Shala · Maitland, Florida

Teaching shaped by practice, experience, and genuine care.

Our teachers arrive through different paths, but share the same commitment: observe carefully, teach the person in front of us, and create space for every student to learn without pressure or comparison.

Meet the people who guide Ashtanga Yoga, Body Mechanics, breathwork, meditation, and sound at The Yoga Shala.

Portrait of Krista Shirley, founder and director of The Yoga Shala in Maitland
Krista Shirley Founder · Director · Teacher
Founder, Director & Teacher

Krista Shirley

Ashtanga · Body Mechanics · Private Instruction

Krista Shirley is a Level II Authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher, Pilates instructor, Body Mechanics and proprioception instructor, and founder of The Yoga Shala in Maitland, Florida. Her teaching is grounded in decades of personal practice and a commitment to meeting each student where they are.

She helps students build sustainable movement habits, improve mobility, flexibility, strength, body awareness, and proprioception, and return to movement after injury with greater confidence.

Krista teaches Morning Mysore, beginner yoga, and Body Mechanics classes, leads monthly workshops, and offers private sessions in Yoga, Pilates, Body Mechanics, Reiki, Meditation, and Breathwork.

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The teaching team

Different paths. Shared attention.

Each instructor brings a distinct history, area of study, and way of seeing movement. What connects them is a commitment to careful observation, sustainable practice, and teaching that respects the whole person.

Portrait of Alisia Tomko, Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga instructor at The Yoga Shala 02
Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga

Alisia Tomko

Alisia is a dedicated Ashtanga yoga teacher who has been studying under Krista Shirley for the past year. She maintains a consistent daily morning practice and is currently practicing Intermediate (Second) Series, continuing to deepen her understanding of the Ashtanga tradition through disciplined study and experience.

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After completing an intensive teacher apprenticeship, Alisia continues to shadow Krista in a Mysore setting, refining her teaching, hands-on assists, and ability to support students with care and intention. Alisia believes that yoga is a lifelong journey of learning, growth, and self-discovery. Her classes emphasize the connection between breath and movement above all else.

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Portrait of Lisa Buckley, Body Mechanics and Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga instructor 03
Body Mechanics & Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga

Lisa Buckley

Lisa Buckley is an Ashtanga Yoga teacher at The Yoga Shala and a certified Mat Pilates instructor who believes that mindful movement begins with strong foundations, steady breath, and the willingness to slow down. She completed her Ashtanga Yoga Apprenticeship under the guidance of Krista Shirley and loves helping students discover a practice that is both grounding and deeply personal.

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Drawing from both yoga and Pilates, Lisa's classes invite students to move with intention, breathe with awareness, and fully experience each posture rather than simply passing through it. She believes yoga is always there to meet us where we are, and hopes every class leaves students feeling more present, more connected to their bodies, and supported both on and off the mat.

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Portrait of Robin Robertson, Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga instructor at The Yoga Shala 04
Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga

Robin Robertson

Robin Robertson’s path as a teacher is rooted in both strength and stillness. With more than two decades in martial arts—holding multiple black belt ranks—she weaves the discipline, focus, and perseverance of martial training into the mindfulness and balance of yoga.

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Her yoga teacher journey began in Mysore, India, and later deepened at The Yoga Shala, where she completed the 200-hour Yoga Apprenticeship in 2017 under the guidance of Krista Shirley. She also holds a 22-hour Yin Yoga certification, continuing to explore the balance between strength and surrender in her own practice.

Robin’s teaching style blends the power of martial arts with the softness of yoga, creating classes that are both grounding and empowering. She believes yoga is less about perfect postures and more about cultivating resilience, inner peace, and harmony—both on and off the mat.

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Portrait of Reinghard Abarca, Mysore and pranayama instructor at The Yoga Shala 05
Mysore and Pranayama Instructor

Reinghard Abarca

Reinghard is a dedicated yoga practitioner with 18 years of experience. His journey began through the traditional Ashtanga Vinyasa method under the guidance of Krista Shirley.

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What started as a physical practice has evolved into a lifelong path of inner transformation. Over the years, Reinghard has had the privilege of studying with teachers whose wisdom continues to shape his path—most notably Richard Freeman and, most significantly, Gregor Maehle and Monica Gauci. Their guidance has deeply influenced both his personal practice and the way he shares yoga with others.

For Reinghard, yoga is not about achieving perfect poses. It is a profound and practical system for awakening to our true nature and returning to wholeness. He sees yoga as a mirror that, through sincere practice, reflects our true nature.

As a teacher, Reinghard’s role is to share the knowledge and tools passed down through his teachers and the wisdom of the Yoga Shastras. He believes the true power of yoga lies not only in the precision of asana, but also in cultivating awareness, devotion, and clear intention. This allows each person to become a vessel for the Divine to express itself uniquely through life—and to recognize how that expression can affect the planet and all beings.

Whether a student is just beginning or looking to deepen an established practice, Reinghard offers a space for steady exploration that is rooted in tradition while remaining responsive to each student’s unique needs.

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Portrait of Laura Daniel, sound bath instructor at The Yoga Shala 06
Sound Bath

Laura Daniel

In 1990 Laura started her practice of Hatha yoga beginning with the Iyengar tradition, moving to a fluid Vinyasa style and finally landing into her favorite style, Ashtanga Yoga. She is versed in the study of Kriyas and gained her Yoga Alliance certification from her studies in Kundalini Yoga at the Kundalini Yoga Center in Altamonte Springs, FL.

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Her current endeavors deal more with energetic, physical and emotional repatterning techniques for transformation and lasting wellness and she is working toward her certification in Biosonic Sound Healing with Dr. John Beaulieu, ND, PhD.

“My purpose as a teacher is to help students find a path that is right for them. Helping them find a practice that will enhance their lives.” Laura is also a visual artist and graphic designer and has taught different aspects of Graphic Design and Visual Communication at Full Sail University for over 16 years.

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Portrait of Neil Valle, led Ashtanga and Mysore instructor at The Yoga Shala 07
Led Ashtanga and Mysore

Neil Valle

Neil Valle has been practicing yoga asana (postures) for over 8 years and meditation for 10 years. When he’s not working as a pediatric speech-language pathologist at his private practice helping children and young adults communicate to their fullest potential or spending time with his family and two French bulldogs, you’ll find him on the mat or meditating.

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While yoga asana is an important part of the practice, Neil’s yoga meditation and devotion practice learned from his Guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, are the cornerstones of his spiritual practice.

Aside from family and yoga, Neil loves spending time outdoors hiking in the mountains, kayaking in the local lakes and waterways, and visiting all the natural wonders across the country.

Neil came to yoga as a result of a combination of interest and necessity. After being diagnosed with degenerative disk disease, a yoga teacher relative suggested Ashtanga Yoga, and from the first time he tried an Ashtanga video online, he was hooked. As he continued to practice regularly, he experienced reduced pain, reduced stiffness and numbness, and increased flexibility, strength, mental ease and overall vitality.

Neil continues to practice Ashtanga Yoga regularly as a home practice and with guidance from his teacher Krista Shirley at The Yoga Shala. In 2020 Neil participated in Miami Life Center’s 200hr Ashtanga Practitioner’s Intensive with Kino MacGregor and Tim Feldman. He enjoys practicing a variety of asana styles, like vinyasa and yin yoga. In April 2024, Neil graduated from Yoga University’s 290hr Power Alignment Yoga Teacher Training with specialty certifications in Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra.

He enjoys working with a wide range of students, with a focus on elements of alignment, accessibility, mobility, breathwork, meditation, and even yogic philosophy.

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Portrait of Asta Caplan, Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga instructor at The Yoga Shala 08
Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga

Asta Caplan

Asta discovered Ashtanga Yoga in 1998 while training as a professional ballet dancer, and the practice quickly became a lifelong devotion. In 2012, she received Level Two Authorization from Sharath Jois, grandson of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the founder of Ashtanga Yoga.

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Over the years, Asta has studied extensively with some of the most respected teachers in the Ashtanga tradition, including Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Sharath Jois, Manju Jois, Eddie Stern, Tim Miller, Mark and Joanne Darby, Rolf Naujokat, Lino Miele, Philippa Asher, Harmony Slater, Petri Räisänen, and Louise Ellis. Her personal practice encompasses the complete Primary and Intermediate Series, Advanced Series A and B, and elements of Advanced Series C.

Asta completed formal teacher training with Sharath Jois in Mysore in 2014, followed by a Third Series teacher training with Tim Miller in California in 2015, and a teachers’ course with David Swenson in 2017.

From 2015 to 2024, Asta had the privilege of serving as the main teacher of a traditional Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga program, and from 2017 to 2024 she was the owner and lead teacher of Ashtanga Spirit Munich. She relocated to Clermont, Florida in the summer of 2024 and now teaches both locally and internationally.

Asta believes a yoga shala should be an inclusive, safe space for self-discovery. Her teaching emphasizes clarity, compassion, accessibility, and depth—offering students the full perspective of Ashtanga Yoga while supporting them in building an individual, sustainable practice. She is deeply committed to the idea that a teacher’s own practice is both a source of inspiration and a living example of steady dedication, curiosity, and openness.

Guided by the philosophy “practice, and all is coming,” Asta seeks to inspire students of all backgrounds, levels, and ages to experience the transformative physical, mental, and emotional benefits of Ashtanga Yoga—and to discover what becomes possible through consistent, devoted practice.

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Portrait of Gabriella Armor, Mysore and Body Mechanics instructor at The Yoga Shala 09
Mysore & Body Mechanics

Gabriella Armor

Gabriella Armor was introduced to yoga in an undergraduate yoga course in 2013 but truly developed a consistent practice and understanding of yoga when she began Ashtanga at The Yoga Shala in 2019. She underwent teacher training shortly after joining the Shala and has been teaching since.

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As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Gabriella has a passion for guiding individuals to understand their own anatomy and cultivate awareness of one’s self from physical to emotional and spiritual depths.

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The Yoga Shala is a body movement studio with a specialized approach, customizing each client's class experience, based on their goals and needs. Our goal is to foster a lighthearted, non-dogmatic, warm and encouraging environment.

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