Meet the Team
Naomi Pritchett • (she/her)
Founder & Studio OwnerNaomi first stepped on the mat in 2009 and has spent over a decade immersed in the study and teaching of yoga.
Her background in yoga, strength training, and somatic movement informs a teaching style that’s both intentional and accessible—offering functional movement, thoughtful modifications, and a steady build of breath and rhythm.
Expect a strong, intelligently-sequenced class that starts slow and builds into rhythmic, breath-driven movement, while offering modifications and cueing that make even the most challenging sequences feel accessible. Whether you’re brand new or experienced, you’ll be supported—and you’ll sweat.
Her classes are a balance of strength, breath, intention, and music—an invitation to move with purpose, explore your edge, and reconnect to your body.
Alex Pritchett • (he/him)
Studio Co-OwnerAlex first stepped onto a yoga mat in 2015—on a first date with his wife, Naomi (you might know her). Since then, yoga has become a grounding practice for him, offering both a physical and spiritual reset that complements his other passions, including rock climbing, disc golf, hiking, and powerlifting.
In May 2025, Alex completed his 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Solstice Yoga, with a focus on hot vinyasa. His teaching style blends strong, intentional movement with progressive sequencing, pose variations, and a touch of levity. Beyond Flow classes, Alex also co-leads specialty offerings like Sound + Healing, weaving together sound with restorative postures, and supportive assists.
He lives in Durham, NC with Naomi and their two dogs, Ollie and Juni.
Janice Thomas • (she/her)
Lead TeacherJanice first found yoga in 2018 as a new mom looking for space to move, breathe, and reconnect with herself. What started as a personal outlet quickly became a lifelong practice—one rooted in strength, self-awareness, and community.
Since completing her 200-hour training in 2021, Janice has played an essential role in shaping the teaching culture at Solstice Yoga. She now serves as Lead Teacher, supporting class development, mentoring instructors, and co-leading our 200-Hour Teacher Training with clarity, warmth, and presence.
Her Power Flow classes are among the most challenging on the schedule—but thanks to her precise cueing, thoughtful progressions, and clear modifications, you’ll never feel lost. Janice combines strength-based movement with smart sequencing and a strong sense of purpose. Her teaching is direct and intentional, offering space to push your edge while staying grounded in your body.
Laura Lundeguard • (she / her)
Laura is a yoga teacher, birth doula and has over 1000 hours of teaching experience. Laura first discovered yoga about 15 years ago and practiced on and off until she dove deep into her practice in 2015 following the passing of her twin sister. Her practice allowed her to heal from her grief while giving her the expansion to explore her own capacity. Laura’s teaching is informed by her own experiences of living with chronic pain and illness.
Laura helps to guide each student to find their own path of unfurling and healing, by linking breath to movement to ground into the sensations of their body, while finding space for playful and creative movement. She is honored to share space with each student who takes her classes, and looks forward to walking alongside you.
Chris Diaz • (she/her)
As a former gymnast, runner, and swimmer, Chris had always been engaged with athletics but sustained injuries and was looking for something more restorative. When finding yoga, Chris was inspired by the community and integration of the practice through one's life as well as the asana or physical practice. This motivated her to complete a 200 hr training with a focus on power vinyasa style, and to begin teaching and learning about other styles of yoga.
Chris's classes include creative and strengthening flows to empower and challenge yourself on the mat.
Chris lives in Durham with her spouse, Elijah, and dog, Roxie.
Chelsea Middleton • (she/her)
Chelsea started her yoga journey in 2017 and when she did her first heated flow she fell in love. She was encouraged to pursue yoga teaching because of how hard she found it to learn and how fulfilled she felt from pose mastery. She completed her 200-hour training in 2018 at Ganesha’s Yoga and Wellness.
She has been practicing and teaching for years, constantly looking for a studio that feels like a nurturing, happy home. She was a group fitness instructor, teaching classes ranging from barre to strength and conditioning. She has lots of experience structuring and formatting classes with everyone’s safety in mind. Her classes emphasize breath to movement and breathwork in general.
Chelsea is originally from North Carolina and has lived all over the state. She can be found around Durham at her lab bench on Duke University’s campus or at a local coffee shop. She goes to the dog park every day and really enjoys cooking vegan food.
Julie Molina • (she/her)
Since first stepping onto the mat in 2011, Julie has turned to yoga to move her body, quiet her mind, and feel more grounded. But what surprised her most was how yoga also provided her with community and a home, no matter where she moved. (From California to Chile, and finally, Durham!)
Julie completed her 200-hour teacher training at Solstice Yoga in May 2025. She teaches a vinyasa style that includes grounding, breathwork, and embodiment. Expect a mindful, music-filled flow with space to adapt — including modifications to support you and challenges to meet you.
Julie is continuously inspired by the capacity and strength her students cultivate through their practice.
Summer Leverette • (she/her)
Summer discovered hot yoga in 2008, but her journey has been anything but linear. She explored countless styles over the years, yet it wasn’t until becoming a first-time mom in 2021 that she sought a consistent, soulful practice—one that was gentle on the body, nourishing for the mind, and restorative for the spirit.
After months of searching for a studio that felt like home, she found a practice that reignited her love for movement. Even after a long pause from physical activity, Summer felt stronger, lighter, and more alive on her mat. Through alignment-focused movement, she transformed her relationship with her body and embraced a deeper understanding and connection between mind, body, and breath.
Today, Summer helps students of all levels move with intention, build strength, and cultivate awareness. Her classes are a balance of challenge, care, and playful wisdom. She lives by the mantra: “A stable body, built through stable breath, creates a stable mind.” Her mission is to help students move smarter, feel stronger, and fall in love with mindful movement along the way.
Jessica Young • (she/her)
Jessica is a Vinyasa yoga teacher with a 200-hour certification and a deep passion for guiding others back to themselves through breath and movement. Her classes offer a welcoming and grounded space where students are invited to feel, release, and reconnect—with their bodies, their breath, and their truth.
What began as a search for a workout eight years ago became the start of a profound spiritual journey. For Jessica, yoga has been a homecoming—a practice that continuously reminds her who she is while teaching her to hold space with compassion for herself and the world around her.
Through creative, intuitive flows, Jessica encourages students to move with intention, listen inward, and return to that inner place of clarity and calm—again and again.
Jessica lives in Hillsborough with her partner, Adam, her dog Ralphie, and her cat Serena. When she’s not teaching yoga, you can find her hiking local trails, paddle boarding, or hunting for vintage treasures at thrift stores.
Shannon Lavery • (she/her)
Shannon Lavery is a RYT-200 from Kunga Yoga School at In Balance Yoga, in Blacksburg, VA, and is currently studying under Gopi Kinnicutt, Bhakti Yoga DC to complete her 300 HR Advanced Teacher Training.
Shannon has been honored to support and teach at numerous conferences and festivals, assist internationally known mindfulness meditation teacher Tara Brach, and practice and learn from teachers of all backgrounds and experiences. A dedicated and passionate yoga instructor, and a lifelong learner, she understands the impact the teachings and practices can have on our lives and, when shared correctly, the rippling effect it can have in communities and the world at large.
She is grateful for her training and continued education on how to teach yoga in a non-intimidating way that welcomes all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and abilities.
Shannon’s classes consist of dynamic, fluid, and strong vinyasa flow classes with a focus on energetic alignment, creative sequencing, breathwork, and meditation.
Raha Manyara • (she/her)
Raha began her yoga practice 8 years ago. She fell in love with the practice halfway through her first ever hot yoga class. For Raha, the yoga community she met was a very welcome and much needed re-introduction to Durham, NC her new home.
Originally from Kenya, Raha had been living in Durham for over three years at that point. Her new yogi community showed her the love, caring and friendships that Durham has to offer.
Raha participated in her first 200-hr yoga teacher training in the year 2000 through a Black Lives Matter related movement. This training focused on creating spaces for marginalized people and meeting people where they are, therefore making the whole practice of yoga accessible to everyone. She completed her second 200-hr training in 2023. She teaches both Vinyasa styled power and flow classes. Raha’s goal is to lead classes that help the students feel strong and safe in their own bodies.
Mia Stopa • (she/her)
Mia is a Chapel Hill native with a lifelong love of movement and the outdoors. A hiker, runner, and an avid student of yoga, she approaches teaching with a sense of curiosity, care, and reverence for the body’s natural rhythms.
Her yoga journey began early in the pandemic, when recovering from a hamstring injury led her to a consistent home practice. With curiosity as her guiding principle, Mia delved into a wide range of online yoga resources before transitioning to in-person instruction.
Mia has since taught regularly in the Chapel Hill and Durham areas, offering both restorative and slow flow vinyasa classes. Her Slow Flow classes are grounding and gentle—woven with mindful breathwork, nourishing stretches, and fluid transitions. Her classes place a central emphasis on fostering curiosity and establishing a strong mind-body-breath connection. Her goal is first and foremost to create a safe space where students can practice tuning into their creative mind and body.
Nicole Haight • (she/her)
Nicole’s classes begin with a moment of reflection, whether through breathwork, a poem, or simply taking time to arrive, before moving into a thoughtfully sequenced flow that is both energizing and accessible. With an emphasis on breath and mindful movement, she creates a grounding atmosphere where students are encouraged to find what feels good in their bodies. Her teaching balances challenge with support, with modifications that make the practice inclusive for all levels.
Nicole found yoga many years ago and felt an immediate connection to the practice, knowing it would be a meaningful part of her life. Over time, it became a steady source of grounding that supported her through change, strengthened her body and mind, and offered space to reconnect. She completed her 200-hour teacher training at Solstice Yoga and is continuing her studies through a mentorship with Mira at Shala Yoga.
She hopes to guide students toward their own relationship with yoga, one that feels deeply supportive both on and off the mat. Her classes are an invitation to take space for yourself, connect breath with movement, and carry the grounding energy of practice into the rest of your day.
Kay Cee Sprintz • (she/her)
Kay Cee first discovered the physical practice of yoga in 2014. Eventually, her yoga practice developed into a spiritual journey, guiding her toward a deeper understanding of herself and the world around her. Kay Cee’s background as a teacher and cheerleading/gymnastics coach brings a unique perspective to her yoga practice and teaching, blending the principles of education with the power of movement. After spending a few years out of the classroom, she soon felt a calling to return to teaching and found herself enrolling in a yoga teacher training program.
Kay Cee's teaching philosophy is rooted in embodiment and accessibility. She believes that yoga is for Every Body and strives to create a welcoming space where students of all levels can explore and grow. Her classes are a fusion of creative flows and thoughtful cueing, designed to cultivate strength, flexibility, and mindfulness.
Lauren Guy • (she/her)
A lifelong mover and classically trained dancer, Lauren first turned to yoga as a way to stay active after injuries compromised her dance career. What began as a way to stay active quickly became a source of grounding, balance, and joy. Over time, regular Vinyasa and Ashtanga practice supported her through life’s transitions, helping her connect breath with movement and explore deeper layers of personal growth. She is a graduate of Solstice’s Yoga’s 200-hour teacher training.
As a registered nurse, Lauren is keenly aware of the physical and emotional benefits of a regular movement practice. Her mantra, “Find ways to move that bring you joy,” acknowledges that no single movement practice is one-size-fits-all.
Lauren’s classes provide space for exploration and opportunities for challenge. She draws on her education in both dance and nursing to create sequences that are creative, strength-building, and invigorating.
Maya Sekaran • (she/her)
Maya began her yoga journey 10 years ago, when she challenged herself to do 30 minutes of yoga everyday for a year. She agreed to reward herself with a fancy trip if she succeeded, but instead fell in love with the practice and decided to reward herself with a 200-hour teacher training at Yoga Vida in New York City. She has found that when she has a consistent practice, she is steadier through the natural ups and downs in life, sees more beauty in everyday tasks, and is more engaged with her friends, family, and colleagues. The physical benefits are nice too!
Maya's classes emphasize safe and aligned technique, engagement with the breath, and inclusivity to all bodies. She aims to have students leave her class feeling focused, optimistic, and open. Maya lives in Durham with her dog, Farrah, and partner, Tarun. Catch them trying every new ice cream flavor at The Parlour and Jeni's, or going for long walks in Duke Forest.
Nicole Coscoluella • (she/her)
Nicole began practicing yoga in 2014 as a way to escape from the stresses of graduate school. Her physical practice deepened at Barre-Up in Raleigh then at Global Breath Studio and Vyb Studio in Durham. Eventually, the spiritual component of yoga played as large a role as the physical aspect, allowing her to be kinder to herself, her body, and the world around her. Over the years, she has taken classes of varying styles of yoga so her teaching is experimental and playful, incorporating strength-building, mindfulness, mind-body centering, alignment, and breathwork. Nicole is also inspired by music so her playlists will be diverse and heavily inspiring the tempo and flow of class.
Nicole completed her 200-hour YTT at Solstice Yoga in May 2025 and lives in Durham with her zoo of animals and can be found tending to her extensive garden, at the gym, or hiking on some trail with one, two, or all three of her dogs.
Angela Hsu • (she/her)
E-RYT 500, YACEP, Reiki Master
Angela began practicing yoga just as a means to complement her skydiving career. Competing in the discipline of freestyle (which is like dancing and acrobatics in the sky), flexibility and strength helped to create interesting and dynamic movement for competition routines. However, yoga became much more than just an aid to reach her skydiving goals. In addition to the physicality of the practice – the mental and spiritual benefits quickly came to light – and became an integral part of her life.
Completing her first YTT in 2011, she has since accumulated well over 5,000 hours of teaching. She is a featured yogi in the documentary Why We Breathe, a Lululemon Legacy Ambassador, and was also featured in ORIGIN Magazine as part of their “Women who eat impossible for breakfast” series.