Team – LJUS STUDIO

Our Team

Let us guide you

And support your yoga passion.

We know yoga. With thousands of hours of training and real life teaching experience, you are in great hands with all our teachers at Ljus Studio.

We consist of independent, highly trained, experienced, and enthusiastic teachers who are passionate about sharing their yoga knowledge within the community. With a diverse collective of instructors, we are able to offer a number of different styles of yoga to suit all kinds of practice. Our studio concept encourages our teachers to instruct in their own way, and while our teaching methods might vary, each one of us as Ljus Studio shares a common ground; we love and are dedicated to what we do. Through our work, we are engaging with our world in the best way we can. We hope you can feel that light and energy when you visit us.

Carla Araos

Qualicert / Health Insurance Certified Teacher

Carla started practicing yoga in 2002 in her hometown of Santiago, Chile, as a way of finding balance in her life as a busy architecture student. She had always been passionate about movement, having years of experience in ballet and in 2008, after working as an industrial designer for several years, she left Chile to discover a new path. She saw how yoga had helped to overcome many of life's difficulties, including her own personal hardships; It had healed her, and had given an inner strength and focus. She now felt a strong desire to share her knowledge and to show others the benefits of regular practice. Carla did her first TT at Samahita Retreat in Thailand and constantly continues to enhance her practice and teaching by regularly attending TT and workshops with teachers such as Michael Hamilton, John Scott, Dough Keller, and Francoise Freedman. Her main practice and sources of inspiration for her classes are Ashtanga yoga, Vipassana and yoga Nidra. She is also a certified prenatal and postnatal teacher. Having been through a bicycle accident herself, she understands even more now the importance of adapting the practice for different moments and possibilities of movement. In her classes, she focuses on exploring while keeping the practice safe, finding healthy alignment in synchronicity with breathing. She encourages finding the strength from a place within rather than from using force, respecting each body as unique and perfect.

www.carlaaraos.com
Insta: @carla.araos.yoga

Sarah Mai

After attending her first yoga class in 2004, Sarah's initial curiosity for yoga developed into a real passion. She was fascinated by the deep union of precise bodywork and spirituality. Yoga has guided her through many challenging phases in life, helping her to find her grounding and boosting her self-confidence. Sarah completed her Yoga Teacher Trainings (Yoga Alliance) at AIRYOGA in Zurich: In 2012 a 200-hour Vinyasa Flow Training and in 2015 a 300-hour Advanced Hatha Yoga Training with Stephen Thomas. She continues to deepen her knowledge in workshops with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Rachel Zinman, Marc Holzmann, Yogeswari, Mark Stephens, and others. This year she attended the teacher module ‚Chakra’ at the Swiss Yoga Studium with Johannes Glarner, deepening her knowledge about the subtle and energetic work with the chakras. Furthermores, she assists her teacher Stephen Thomas at the 200-hour Teacher Trainings in AIRYOGA where they share their love and knowledge with all these wonderful new yoga teachers. She emphasises practising mindfully and listening to the body’s intuitive feedback. In her classes she always refers back to an awareness of the breath. Yoga should not merely ground and strengthen us, but support us to find a peaceful path to our inner essence. Sarah shares her philosophical understanding of yoga with her students, inviting them to lead their awareness from the mind into the space of the heart and to reside in that space.

Insta: @sarah_elisam

Jlona Kopf

Around 10 years ago, Jlona discovered yoga as the perfect way to find balance in her fast-paced life. She had always been drawn to the idea of being present in the moment, and yoga quickly became a sanctuary where she could reconnect with herself. During a particularly challenging time, her practice provided a powerful source of inner strength and healing. While leading a dynamic career as a managing director in the advertising industry, Jlona continues to find in yoga the ideal complement to her screen-heavy, often hectic workday. For her, yoga is a holistic experience that nourishes both body and mind. She completed her teacher training in Synergy Yoga in Sri Lanka, this style moves effortlessly from the core and spine, offering a pain-free and sustainable approach to building strength without tension and cultivating flexibility without strain. Her classes are inclusive and welcoming to all, regardless of age or physical limitations. She strives to create an atmosphere where students can feel at ease, have fun, and enjoy a moment of self-care. Beyond the mat, Jlona is an adventurer at heart. She loves travelling and staying active outdoors, embracing the mountains in every season. Her creativity shines through in her love for working with her hands, from pottery to painting, as she continually finds new ways to stay grounded and express herself.

Insta: @jlona.k