Our Teachers

Our teachers lead with clarity, experience, and presence. Each brings their own voice to the room while honoring the depth of the practice.

Nicolette Reff

Nicolette is a yoga teacher, studio owner, and creative whose work is rooted in movement, self-study, and honest inquiry. She returned to yoga after the birth of her second son seeking strength and reconnection — what began as personal practice evolved into teaching and eventually into stewarding Studio 8.

Her background as an artist shapes how she approaches movement: with curiosity, structure, and depth. Alongside teaching, she offers Human Design sessions at the studio, integrating reflection and practical self-understanding into both one-on-one work and group experiences. Her leadership is grounded, steady, and clear, honoring the past of Studio 8 while guiding its next chapter with intention.

Smiling woman with short dark hair wearing a beige Studio 8 Hot Yoga t-shirt against a plain light background.

Laura Ragusa

Laura is a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher and E-RYT 200 with more than a decade of teaching experience. She first discovered yoga while healing from an injury and found lasting transformation through the discipline and presence of hot yoga. Her teaching honors structure, attention, and the quiet power of consistent practice.

Originally from Italy, Laura brings a grounded, soulful quality to her classes, guiding students to slow down, connect more deeply, and carry their practice beyond the mat. Outside the studio, she reconnects through time in nature—hiking, biking, camping, and spending time by the ocean—experiences that continue to shape her understanding of presence and movement. As she often reflects, “The path to presence isn’t always on a mat—it’s in the wind, the waves, the stillness between footsteps.”

Woman in a black t-shirt and purple leggings holding an extended side angle yoga pose on a pink mat indoors.

Clarissa Millen

Clarissa brings a thoughtful blend of artistry and warmth to her teaching, shaped by a deep background in movement and performance. A 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher with certification in Yin Yoga, she also holds a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance, training that informs her attentive, nuanced approach to stillness and sensation.

Her Yin classes emphasize presence, rhythm, and quiet awareness, offering students space to slow down and listen inwardly. Known for her quiet brilliance and understated humor, Clarissa values connection both on and off the mat. Outside the studio, she often finds inspiration near the ocean or through movement and dance, influences that subtly shape the way she holds space.

Young woman in beige tank top with eyes closed, practicing yoga with hands in prayer position outdoors.

Kathleen Hoff

Kat brings a grounded, practical approach to teaching shaped by her background in healthcare, bodywork, and functional strength. A lifelong fitness enthusiast, she currently works full-time as a firefighter and paramedic, experience that deeply informs how she understands the body, movement, and resilience in everyday life.

She leads Movement Lab, a class centered on intelligent strength, joint stability, core integrity, and body awareness through purposeful, functional movement rather than choreography or extremes. Her teaching emphasizes coordination, balance, and nervous system engagement, with an appreciation for play as a tool for building capacity and adaptability. Students can expect movement that may appear simple, yet creates meaningful changes in how the body feels, functions, and responds beyond the studio.

Person performing a forearm balance yoga pose with one leg bent and the other extended upward on a wooden floor.

Jayanna Ramos

Jayanna is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher and Reiki practitioner who teaches Hot Vinyasa with a grounded, steady presence. Her classes are supportive and encouraging, inviting students to show up honestly and move with intention.

Known for her sense of humor and genuine care, Jayanna brings warmth and ease into the room while still offering a strong, energizing practice. Outside the studio, she is a devoted mother of two with a deep love for the outdoors and a strong connection to the natural world, influences that subtly shape the way she teaches and holds space.

Woman in lilac workout clothes performing a yoga warrior pose on a peach yoga mat in a room with wooden floor.

Natalie Christodoulides

Natalie discovered her love for yoga in 2023 after stepping into a hot studio for the first time, drawn to the balance of physical release and inner stillness the practice offered. While she had practiced yoga on and off for years, this experience marked a turning point in her relationship with movement.

Within a year, she completed her yoga teacher training and graduated in May 2025. Since then, Natalie has taught more than 200 classes, sharing a steady, intentional approach to practice with students of all levels. Her classes are known for thoughtful sequencing, clear and calming cues, and a grounding pace informed by her appreciation for yoga philosophy.

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Ibby Pack

Ibby is a Virginia Beach native whose teaching is shaped by curiosity, movement, and lived experience. She came to yoga later in life after first practicing at home, eventually stepping into a hot yoga studio and discovering a practice that stayed with her. Since then, her approach has been informed by a range of yoga lineages and a deep interest in holistic well-being.

Her classes focus on linking breath and movement to help students feel refreshed, grounded, and connected. Ibby holds a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher certification with an emphasis in Hatha-Vinyasa, as well as additional training in Five Elements and Yin yoga. She brings creativity and care into the room, drawing from both her yoga training and her work in the arts and event coordination.

Woman with long blonde hair in black workout clothes doing a yoga pose outdoors on grass with green bushes behind her, while a light brown and white dog stands beside her leg.

Emme Watkins

For Emme, yoga is both a spiritual and physical journey, and she loves helping people feel their best on and off the mat. She fell in love with yoga nine years ago and later completed her teacher training in Bali.

Her teaching style is supportive, upbeat, and refreshingly down-to-earth. With training in Ashtanga Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, and Classical Mat Pilates, she brings a balance of structure and ease to her classes, helping students build confidence without feeling pressure.

Outside the studio, Emme has a strong personal interest in exercise science and stays consistent in her own strength training practice. That curiosity shows up in her teaching through thoughtful sequencing, smart cues, and an emphasis on helping students feel strong, capable, and at home in their bodies.

Her goal is simple: to create a space where people can move, breathe, and feel good without overthinking it.

Smiling woman in light blue outfit and headband sitting cross-legged on sandy beach with hands in prayer pose.

Juliebeth Mezzy

Juliebeth has been a student of yoga and meditation for more than 25 years. She completed her 200-hour teacher training through the Integral Yoga Academy at Satchidananda Ashram – Yogaville in 2017. First introduced to meditation as a teenager, her practice deepened over time through her work as a massage therapist, a field she has been practicing in since 1992.

Meditation remains the foundation of Juliebeth’s teaching, with movement serving as a complementary expression that grew later in her journey. A Board Certified Reflexologist and Massage Therapist, she brings a strong understanding of anatomy into her classes and believes that teaching is, at its core, an act of inspiration. Her classes emphasize presence, accessibility, and a sense of ease.

Smiling older woman with short gray hair wearing a dark sweatshirt with floral design and the words 'Spread Kindness Wildflowers' sitting on a yoga mat with string lights in the background.

Our Teachers

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