The Yoga Shala Staff

KRISTA SHIRLEY
FOUNDER, DIRECTOR & TEACHER

Krista Shirley is a level 2 authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher, a Pilates Instructor, Body Mechanics/Proprioception instructor and the founder of The Yoga Shala in Maitland, Florida. Krista’s dedication to her personal yoga practice shines through in her teaching. Her energy is contagious and inspiring! Krista specializes in meeting each student where they are.

She aims to help clients create a habit of daily movement practices, improve mobility, increase flexibility and strength, rehabilitate from injuries, work towards mastery of movements, and feel good in their bodies! Krista specializes in helping each student truly integrate the body and mind and gain greater proprioception and body awareness.

Krista is here to help you begin or advance your Ashtanga Yoga journey, Pilates practice, or work on gaining functional mobility through Body Mechanics and looks forward to sharing this transformational and enriching practice with you.

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. 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.

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.  While yoga asana is an important part of the practice, Neil’s yoga mediation and devotion practice learned from his Guru, Paramahansa Yogananada, 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 tired out 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.

Lezlie Laws

Lezlie Laws describes herself as a life-long learner, having devoted more than five decades to studying the wisdom traditions, psychology, literature, and the classical 8-limbed path of Astanga yoga and meditation. She taught literature and creative writing at the University of Missouri-Columbia and then at Rollins College, retiring in 2013 to develop and teach the LifeArt curriculum: a system of tools, techniques, and practices that help fellow seekers embark on their own journeys of self-discovery, purpose, and passion. Lezlie holds a PhD from the University of Missouri-Columbia, is a 500-RYT certified Astanga yoga teacher, and has studied with American yoga pioneer Beryl Bender Birch for the last twenty years. In 2022 she completed an intensive certification program for teaching meditation and guiding students to deeper levels of self-knowledge. This program, Mindfulness Meditation Certification Program, led by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, confers on Lezlie her second certification as a meditation teacher.

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. Her current endeavors deal more with energetic, physical and emotional repatterining techniques for transformation and lasting wellness and 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 visual artist and graphic designer and has taught different aspects of Graphic Design and Visual Communication at Full Sail University for over 16 years.