Directors
Angela Caplan (she/her/hers)
E-RYT 500, YACEP Certified Advanced Relax and Renew Trainer®
Certified Anusara Yoga® 2007-2012 Member Rasa Yoga Collective
Angela began teaching by assisting her first yoga teacher in a maximum-security prison. She was a college student during years of social unrest and felt she could contribute some bit of peace by teaching inmates to meditate. She continued to offer meditation & hatha yoga in correctional facilities for years to come. As her own meditation practice unfolded, so did a natural desire to share the power & potency of hatha yoga. Angela studies & practices daily & has continued to do so through her younger years of raising a family & immersing herself in the art of dance & choreography. Angela's love of teaching is attributed to the influences of the late modern dancer, Nona Schurman as well as numerous skilled yoga teachers in the Iyengar, Anusara, and Rasa Yoga traditions. In addition to co-directing & teaching classes, workshops & teacher- trainings at Shakti Yoga, Angela specializes in Private Yoga and incorporates Usui Reiki in her sessions upon request. She has also taught hatha yoga & movement at the University of Rochester, Livingston County Mental Health, and as a guest in private studios. Most recently, Angela received a certificate of completion from a Rasa Yoga 300 hr. virtual teacher training which she enrolled in to inform and enrich her understanding of yoga and cultural appreciation/ appropriation, racial equity, gender identity, & sacred activism. Angela’s classes, through her studies with Sianna Sherman, incorporate mantras, mudras, storytelling, pranayama, as well as yogic and daily-living philosophy into a safe and still challenging practice of asana.
"My intention is to offer classes that are creative & nurturing, dynamic & graceful. Most of all, I wish to offer whatever help & service I can, to those who want physical, mental, emotional & spiritual connection. In my own practice & life, I aspire to keep joy & compassion, laughter, and love in the forefront, while stepping with courage and confidence into whatever challenges I am faced with. I support students in doing the same. Most important to me is to welcome every Body in the spirit of inclusivity and equity, for the good of all."
Jacki McCausland
E-RYT 500, YACEP Certified Anusara Yoga® 2009-2012 Certified Relax and Renew Trainer®
Jacki’s initial journey in yoga and meditation began in the early 1970’s when she was asking important questions on the meaning of life. This deep interest in spirituality, along with her studies and university degree in dance, led her quite naturally to exploring hatha yoga. Jacki has been teaching yoga since the 1980’s, having practiced the Iyengar Yoga method for 10 years, and Anusara Yoga from 1997-2012. She continues to enhance her personal growth through ongoing study, practice and application of yogic teachings in her daily life. Jacki served as the owner and director of the Valley School of Dance from 1982-2020. Jacki also taught dance as a faculty member of SUNY Geneseo from 1984-2020, and taught yoga as a faculty member of the University of Rochester's Program of Dance and Movement from 2000-2015. Currently, she and Angela Caplan co-direct and co-own Shakti Yoga, which has offered yoga classes since 1990, and RYT-200 and RYT-300 yoga teacher trainings since 2011.
“Yoga is a practice of engaging and embracing life more fully, both with its challenges and its great joys. Every pose, every breath presents me with another opportunity to step more deeply into my own being to access its steadiness, strength, stillness and goodness. I love sharing my own explorations, discoveries and insights with students, as we grow together as more empowered, sensitive and alive human beings.”