Shakti Yoga Instructors
ALL OF OUR INSTRUCTORS ARE CERTIFIED YOGA TEACHERS, COMMITTED TO OFFERING A COMPREHENSIVE PRACTICE AS CONSCIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE.
Sofia Artola
Sofia Artola began her journey in 2000, and has since dedicated her time to explore, learn and share her experiences of the practice. She opened Shakti Yoga Studio in 2005, with a vision to offer a peaceful, happy and relaxed space for all to come and practice.
Sofia has studied with world renowned teachers, in ashrams both in the US and abroad, traveled to Nepal and India to explore the true essence of yoga and on to Thailand, where she studied Thai yoga massage. She has graduated from Sai Ayurvedic College and Wellness Center with an Associate degree on Vedic studies. She’s dedication her practice as an Ayurvedic consultant and practitioner, as well as health, lifestyle and food, COACH, and helping clients reconnect to their true way of being, through simple connections, and guidance, & finding tools for a re-connection to their heart and way of happiness
For Sofia, the joys of teaching have been in witnessing the progression of someone in their practice, to see and experience the change in their attitude towards life, changes in their body, & the connection that she has with every single person that comes to the studio. For Sofia’s students, the laughter found in her classes is equal to the challenge of the practice. Both are resounding, clear, and complete.
Tara McCabe
Tara began exploring yoga in 2001 as she was beginning a journey into motherhood. Practicing pranayama, asana, and meditation proved to be helpful in creating a joyful experience through this life’s transformation. She began teaching pre-natal and kids yoga in 2007 and joined the Shakti family in 2008. Tara teaches moderate flow, flow, and kids yoga.
She is also devoted to monthly kirtans at Shakti. She has completed two 200 hour trainings. The first under the guidance of Yogi Hari in Sampoorna Yoga and her second training with Ruslan Kleytman in the Yogic arts System specializing in Krama Vinyasa. In 2009, Tara brought together her two passions of yoga and her love for the ocean and founded Key West Paddle Board Yoga, known as Lazy Dog PaddleYoga today. She leads full moon meditations and conducts 20 hour ACE accredited PaddleYoga Certification trainings monthly.
All of Tara’s classes begin with chanting and pranayama, and are followed by a playful flow sequence. Tara encourages her yogis to practice with humor, non judgement and compassion.
Marlene Koeing
The Buddha said, The mind is a restless monkey. Marlene's path through life has been an endeavor to still and calm that monkey, through her creative, spiritual and yoga practices. She grew up in a house full of artists and so the gift of making art has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. As an undergraduate, she studied philosophy, focusing primarily on the teachings of the Buddha and Hindu traditions.
On repeated travels to India and Nepal over the years, visiting numerous Ashrams, monasteries and yoga retreats, her understanding of these traditions has deepened and this has allowed her art work to be infused with their richness.
While living in New York City as a young adult, Marlene began her investigation into the world of yoga. Here she was able to sample a variety of different schools of yoga from Iyengar to Jiva Munkti to Ashtanga, with countless gifted instructors. In 2004, Marlene moved to San Francisco and there came under the instruction of Barbra Weichman, a talented senior Iyengar teacher, who's 50 year+ practice and wisdom brought Marlene's own practice to a new depth.
Upon returning to Key West, Marlene has been lucky enough to be welcomed into the Shakti Yoga family. She completed her 200 hour Krama vinyasa teacher training with Ruslan Kleytman in 2011. She now sees her practice as fully informed by her life as an artist and student of eastern philosophy and spirituality. She brings this creativity and spirituality along with a wide variety of information from all schools of yoga to each and every one of her classes.
Barrett Thrasher
Barrett started practicing yoga in 2008 and completed her first teacher training that same year. She teaches alignment based yoga classes rooted in the Anusara and Iyengar traditions, with a focus on intelligent cueing to help people find their fullest expression of a pose.
She focuses on clear, alignment-based instruction with thoughtful transitions. Her teaching style reflects her playfulness and passion for connection. Barrett works to create a fun atmosphere in class, allowing you the space for curiosity, exploration, and discussion. Her goal is to make class accessible to all ages and skill levels, challenging students to maximize their individual potential on their mat.
As a true Bama girl, Barrett enjoys rooting for the Crimson Tide, being on the water, playing with her Pharaoh Hound named Fera, and spending quality time with her husband, Roger. Roll Tide!
Roger Pippin
A native of south Louisiana, Roger has studied and taught martial arts all of his adult life. After experiencing a severe training injury in 2012, he found that yoga was the best way to help him recover, and later discovered the preventative maintenance dimension of yoga as well. At his very first yoga class he also met his wife Barrett, and they have been together ever since.
Roger completed his teacher training with Joe Palese in Atlanta in 2013. Heavily influenced by Anusara yoga, Roger’s classes also incorporate movements from Brazilian Jujitsu, Aikido, and Filipino Kali. Always seeking a deeper understanding of the relationship between perfect stillness and absolute speed, his classes are fun, dynamic, and athletically challenging.
When not doing martial arts or yoga, Roger produces ambient and experimental electronic music, and is constantly refining his jambalaya and gumbo recipes. He continues his jujitsu training under Coach Eddy Aguiar here in Key West.
Savannah
Savannah's discovery of yoga was in response to the immense weight of grief. Having heard the practice was calming, she in fact found herself crying quietly on her mat within the first class or two. However, it wasn't long before yoga became a place for her to feel strong again. She continued to practice diligently--even into late pregnancy--and then, without meaning to, she took a five year break. When she surfaced again, 13 years into a career and two kids later, her life was amazing, full, loving, and supportive but also somehow hollow. She began searching for why and it wasn’t long before yoga beckoned.
In 2020, Savannah dove into yoga teacher training, finally fulfilling a desire that had been denied for too long. Expanding her practice into advanced training filled her life with the appreciation she always had, but was never able to feel before. It delivered a deep appreciation for herself and for those around her, and a drive and desire to give back.
Savannah began teaching Vinyasa classes in the summer of 2021, leaving her professional career in the spring of 2022. Later that same year, with an interest in trauma recovery, Savannah received her Restorative yoga certification.
These days, her classes invite each student closer to their own center. Through strength of body, composure of breath, and the room to bring awareness, each participant is encouraged to more accurately reflect the unique light of their true self. Like yoga once delivered to her, Savannah's teachings are meant to allow a student to take their surety of step out of the room and into their world.