Teachers

Tina Starkey

Tina Starkey is a dynamic yoga teacher with a passion for helping students grow as they flow.

Her love of yoga began in 2012, after discovering yoga as a way to support her physical fitness, specifically distance running. With continued practice, she learned that yoga was so much deeper than the physical asanas! It helped her balance mind and body while juggling a fast-paced career and an active lifestyle. She found the practice to be a powerful tool for grounding, resilience, and presence on and off the mat. In 2024, she completed her RYT-200 certification at Lucky Elephant Yoga & Wellness, and began teaching intermediate level and hot power yoga classes at studios in Apex and Raleigh. Her teaching is focused on empowering participants to be their own best guide, by teaching the “why” behind the postures and breathing practices.

Originally from Maryland, Tina moved to the Triangle in 2019 with her husband, Scott, and their son, Max. They now live in Apex with their mischievous lab-shepherd mix, Finn. Off the mat, you might find Tina listening to a podcast or audiobook, tinkering in her garden, obsessing over creating the perfect playlist, or searching for tickets to her next concert or show.

In Tina’s classes, you can expect to explore strength, flexibility, and mind-body connection, all while finding joy in movement. She teaches with warmth, clarity, and a passion for connection, and hopes students leave feeling supported and eager to come back for more!

Sharon Goodman

Sharon’s approach to teaching is rooted in a genuine desire to make yoga accessible, enjoyable, and meaningful for every student. She creates a welcoming, light-hearted environment while offering thoughtfully challenging practices, allowing students to honor their individual needs and abilities.

Drawing from her background in Hatha and Vinyasa yoga, Sharon designs well-balanced sequences that cultivate both physical strength and mental clarity. Her teaching emphasizes clear verbal cues, gentle hands-on guidance, and purposeful demonstrations, supporting students in exploring each asana with intention, steadiness, and ease.

Sharon finds deep fulfillment in witnessing her students experience the transformative and healthful benefits of yoga, and her enthusiasm continues to grow with every class she teaches.

Her extensive range of teaching styles include Vinyasa Flow (Beginners to Advanced), Gentle, Slow Flow, Restorative, and Yin Yoga.

In addition to her regular classes, Sharon has experience leading 200-hour YTT , 300-hour YTT and Restorative Teacher Trainings. She has a passion for creating interactive dynamic and practical continuing education programs.

Nicole Nichols

Nicole Nichols has been teaching yoga for over three decades. She spent many years teaching in New York, where she trained directly with Sharon Gannon and David Life, co-founders of the Jivamukti Yoga method, before moving to North Carolina and founding Republic of Yoga in 2013.

An Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga teacher, Nicole has trained and mentored hundreds of yoga teachers. Her classes are physically challenging, with choreographic sequencing and an emphasis on alignment. Rooted in a traditional application of vinyasa, her teaching integrates breath, movement, bandha, and focused intention, bringing purpose and awareness to the way one pose gives rise to the next.

Her teaching is infused with the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism and yoga philosophy, with Sanskrit mantra and meditation woven into the practice. Through asana, philosophy, music, humor, and spiritual inquiry, she connects the insights of yoga and self-discovery to everyday life, inviting students to carry the practice beyond the mat.

Nicole lives in Pittsboro with her husband and their beloved Labrador, Oona Maeve.

John Barnes

Since 2013, I have immersed myself in the world of fitness and movement, training under various industry-leading coaches while working remotely as a Civil Engineer. This journey has gradually led me to become a full-time movement and fitness trainer.

In 2019, while living in Hawaii, I started teaching my own classes and training a diverse client base. This included:

I’m looking forward to bringing my passions for Handstands, Soft Acrobatics, and Daoist-inspired practices to Soulful Strength! These classes might sound intimidating, but there is always a doable progression to make the class approachable for everyone.

• Private sessions and group classes for handstands for all ages and abilities.
• Private sessions for seniors ranging from 50-80 years old for strength and mobility.
• General strength training classes.
• Working as a Physical Therapy Aid implementing rehabilitation programs prescribed by the Physical Therapist.
• Learning and practicing Daoist cultivation practices since 2019. 
• Gained my Master of Science in Medical QiGong in January 2025. 

Julie Franklin

Julie teaches yoga in a space where your authentic self is welcomed and all students can experience the benefits of yoga.  Her classes incorporate a thoughtful music selection to energize and motivate, and she teaches with a focus on safe alignment, light hands-on assists and a deep connection to breath.  Julie is a runner, rower and former competitive swimmer, with an appreciation for cross-training and the balance yoga provides.

Her yoga credentials include RYT-200 Hour (Republic of Yoga, Cary NC), RYT-300 Hour (Republic of Yoga, Cary NC) and RYT-200 Hour under Richard Freeman in Ashtanga Yoga (The Yoga Workshop, Boulder CO).  Julie began her study of yoga in New York in 2002, where she owned and operated two yoga studios, teaching a combination of traditional Ashtanga and Vinyasa style yoga classes. Julie has obtained experience through additional study at numerous workshops, training with teachers in San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, Boulder, Washington, DC, including Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, founder of Ashtanga yoga in NYC. 

All ages and experience levels are invited to challenge themselves in a peaceful and inspiring environment.

Aaron Cassada

Aaron first tried yoga as a holistic alternative to surgery, but soon found the greatest benefit was a quieter mind.  When a sign for yoga appeared, Aaron was there, curious and open to what this tradition had to teach.  After several years of practice and a few teacher trainings, he met his teacher, Todd Geiser, the originator of Yogastha Sadhana, in 2018.  With years of one-on-one guidance and daily practice, Aaron maintains authorization to share Yogastha with others seeking transformation in their lives through the eight limbs.  For him, the greatest joy is sharing with others in the light of yoga’s awakening.

Kellye Davis

Kellye Davis, RYT 500 – Born and raised in the vibrant heart of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Kellye Davis brings the rich flavor of her Creole roots into every class she teaches. A blend of Southern sweetness and spicy charm, she infuses her yoga practice with warmth, authenticity, and a joyful spark that lights up the room.

Kellye is a passionate teacher who believes in the transformative power of yoga to bring balance, joy, and serenity to every stage of life. She completed her 200-hour training under the esteemed Nicole Nichols in 2017 and went on to complete her 300-hour training under Jill Sockman at Blue Lotus in 2024, deepening her knowledge, practice, and teaching presence.

Her classes are a delightful blend of traditional yoga practices and modern techniques, designed to cater to all levels. Whether you’re a seasoned yogi or a curious beginner, you’ll find Kellye’s approach welcoming and inspiring. Her infectious enthusiasm and warm personality create a nurturing environment where everyone can thrive.

Kellye’s classes are upbeat, welcoming, and full of heart, offering a playful yet grounded approach to self-discovery and inner peace. Expect feel-good flows, joyful movement, and a class experience that’s both healing and fun – all leading you to a deeply satisfying Savasana.

Laura Vanatta

Laura’s interest in yoga began at the age of nine. Originally from Colorado, she carries a special appreciation for the connection to nature and integrated life philosophy that yoga provides. Her classes provide students with a deeper awareness and understanding of the physical and its interwovenness with all aspects of our being, emotionally, energetically, mentally and spiritually. Her interests in the physical manifestations of stress, trauma, grief and injury deepened during the decade she spent working and teaching yoga abroad. These experiences lead her to further study the therapeutic applications of yoga and to found Balanced Yoga.

Yoga helps us move towards balance in each moment of our lives, which looks different for everyone. It is her intent to help students find the practices that best serve them as they reconnect with inner strength, joy, and peace. She teaches many styles including gentle, yin, restorative, slow flow, hatha, power, vinyasa, ashtanga, and yoga nidra.  Her classes are founded on mindful connection, and incorporate somatic movement, mudra, pranayama, mantra and meditation as we reconnect with our wholeness.

She is a forever student who is grateful to have studied and trained under many lineages. At 16, she began formal yogic studies in the traditional means of one-on-one guidance under her first influential teacher, spending two years as an apprentice of a hybrid Ashtanga-Power Vinyasa approach tailored to the individual. She has been teaching yoga since 2007, and is registered as E-RYT 500, YACEP, Pain Care Aware provider, and currently a Yoga Therapist in training.

Cora-Ann started practicing Yoga occasionally just for fun, thinking that it was just mainly a way to recover from workouts and move, but it evolved into a more consistent and deeper practice for her when healing from injuries and back pain. Since then, Yoga has become a way to be more in tune with her body and mind, strengthening and challenging her both physically and mentally. As a teacher, Cora-Ann aims to create a welcoming atmosphere where you can explore all the facets of Yoga, in both an informative and playful way. As a movement professional with a Masters degree in Exercise Science and a background in Personal Training, she loves how Yoga can be an integral part of a holistic approach to fitness and health. Her classes are alignment focused and will always have lots of options for all skill levels. 

Wanting to truly understand the transformative and philosophical aspects of yoga, she enrolled in her 200-hour immersion teacher training in Raleigh, NC with Blue Lotus, finishing in 2019. She then completed her 300-hour teaching training at The Yoga Connection in Smithfield, NC in 2022. She loves that yoga offers endless opportunities to learn and live more intentionally, as well as connect spiritually. Originally from New Jersey, Cora-Ann met her husband in Indiana, and they moved to North Carolina together in 2017. They have a young daughter, 3 cats, and enjoy fitness, health, music, and going to concerts together. 

Susan Kluger

Susan’s first experience on the yoga mat was more than 25-years ago. She was juggling motherhood with a stressful legal career in Washington, DC. 

As a competitive athlete, she was skeptical when a work colleague dragged her along to an all-levels class. it seriously looked dull. They were barely moving. Yet, once she “caught on,” learning to link her breath with slow intentional movements, Susan began feeling more physically energized, emotionally relaxed and mentally settled. Although she continued to run, weight train and play sports, when time was tight, Susan opted for the yoga mat.

In 2011, Susan took time off work and immersed herself in a month-long residential teacher training at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, in her home State of Massachusetts. Susan wanted to learn the “why.” Why did this ancient practice make her feel so good and help her respond more calmly when life felt like it was spiraling out of control?

Surrounded by a loving community and many master teachers, Susan learned how our physical, breath (energetic), mental, and emotional bodies are interconnected. So excited to spread the word, Susan began teaching at a local studio. When she and her family relocated to Cary in 2012, Susan continued teaching in heated and unheated spaces.

Her craving for more knowledge led her back to Kripalu many times. In addition to an advanced 300-hour teacher certification, Susan earned a 300-hour certification in Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science of healthy living. 

Knowing that yoga and its benefits are accessible to everyone, Susan wanted to learn how to address the needs of students with common injuries, conditions or diseases.

After retiring from practicing law in 2023, Susan enrolled in Kripalu’s School for Integrative Yoga Therapy. She graduated in 2024 with another 300-hour advanced certification in therapeutic yoga.

You will find Susan’s slow flow style challenging, but adaptable for all levels. To break habitual patterns, both physical and mental, Susan offers variety. She often offers themed classes, drawing from yoga philosophy and ayurvedic balancing principles. Susan uses clear language, physical modeling and light hands-on adjustments during class.

With her many years of training in various yoga disciplines, Susan is available for one-on-one sessions. Susan loves working with individuals new to yoga or in need of special attention.

Frank Lech

Frank teaches yoga with a practical, grounded approach shaped by more than twenty years of working with people through strength training, movement, and one-on-one coaching.

His classes combine clear instruction, thoughtful movement, and space to pay attention. He encourages students to build strength, mobility, and confidence without treating their bodies as problems that need to be fixed.

As co-founder of Soulful Strength and Ignite Fitness, Frank is interested in helping people develop a healthier relationship with effort: learning when to push, when to adjust, and how to pursue growth without allowing the pursuit itself to take over.

His teaching is designed for real people with different bodies, abilities, and reasons for practicing. Students can expect thoughtful sequencing, an emphasis on understanding how they move, and an environment where improvement and self-acceptance are not treated as opposites.