MEET YOUR GUIDES

Lorena is the creator behind the vision of Casa Copal. ​​​​​​​​
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Lorena's been a student of yoga for 13 years. ​​​​​​​​She started her training in Mexico & soon, she was following her heart to dive deeper into her practice, Eastern philosophy & ancestral wisdom from the mountains & jungles. ​​​​​​​​
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Mexico, India, Nepal, California, Peru, Greece, & Canada are the places where Lorena kept shedding layers & finding herself over & over again. Connecting to these sites' potent energies, trekking sacred mountains, cleansing in the holy rivers, and honoring her teachers, the land & wisdom keepers, Lorena understood she, too, was meant to carry these teachings forward in her own way. ​​​​​​​​
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Lorena's offerings weave together all she's experienced & she believes her dharma is to hold space for people to gather to laugh, share love, be free, sing, move & heal. ​​​​​​​​

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Her teachers & certifications

“Hayley’s goal as a teacher is to lovingly guide you back to yourself. To give you the space, in your body and in your mind, so that your soul can be what shines through. 

Hayley has studied the teachings of yoga here in Vancouver, in Thailand, and in Mexico. A forever student and a lover of travel, you can always safely bet that she has another plane ticket and another teacher training booked at any point in time. 

In her classes you can expect safe movements, great tunes, fun sequences, and a whole lot of love and support.”

Tara Achkar is a certified Traditional Tantra Hatha Yoga and Meditation teacher as well as an Ayurvedic Practitioner. With over 8 years of experience practicing yoga, Tara’s teaching style takes a holistic approach through the mind-body and breath. Tara works with the physical body to expand your experience and release any physical blockages, and with your breath to expand your awareness of life and be in-tuned with your higher self.

Teresa(she/they) has been on fire for supporting her community for over 20 years as a Celebrant, Integrative Bodywork Therapist, yoga teacher and teacher trainer, Full Spectrum Doula including End of Life, Grief Guide and Ecstatic Dance Guide to name a few of her paths of service. It is her passion to create spaces for reclamation, spaces for community connection and spaces to be validated, held and celebrated in the human experience.

Teresa believes in co-creating in spaces together and bows deeply to being a forever student. Her teaching style is unapologetically loving, consent focused, compassionate, playful, authentic and always a co-creation with YOU ALL.

Compassionate, healing-oriented, story-lover, rhythm; an eternal believer, balancing the want and the need.

Wendy’s offerings are a direct language to the heart; intuitive, ever-expanding, and above all safe in nature. Her teachings have taken her to many beautiful places within Canada; around North, South, and Central America; and the Caribbean introducing her to many fabulous human beings along the way.

In 2012 in Costa Rica, she did her first Teacher Training. Since then, she has been leading classes, workshops, and retreats. She has had many mentors besides her family; Wendy studied under the umbrella of great teachers including Dharma Mittra, Seane Corn, Leslie Kaminoff, and Ashley Ludman. She considers herself an “eternal student”.

Her style of teaching/coaching is a direct reflection of who she is. Directness with a brush of humour and a lot of empathy make her offerings a safe place to start peeling away the layers that are no longer needed and discovering our true nature.

Amanda is a 500-hour certified yoga teacher, Ayurvedic Practitioner, and Reiki master. A dedicated student of yoga for 12 years, her journey began as a personal quest for healing and self-discovery, leading her to explore various traditions and teachings across Ayurveda and yoga.

In her classes, you’ll discover tools to support the nervous system and mind through breathing techniques and gentle, restful practices. Her slow, deliberate teaching style encourages exploring individual needs and honoring unique paths. Amanda creates a nurturing space to slow down, be present, and connect with your body with curiosity and kindness, allowing students time to fully experience and integrate each aspect of the practice.

Amanda's diverse background includes Hatha-Vinyasa, Yin & Restorative Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Ayurvedic Yoga, Pre & Postnatal Yoga, and trauma-informed facilitation. Her compassionate and inclusive approach provides a sanctuary for students to experience profound relaxation. She believes deeply in yoga's power not only as a physical practice but also as a holistic tool for inner peace and personal empowerment.

To learn more about Amanda and her certifications, check out her website at amandabarcellos.com."

Saghi is your studio manager at Casa Copal.

In Persian, Saghi means the cupbearer, the one who holds the vessel & serves others. As the path of Yoga unfolds for her, Saghi is discovering that her dharma has always been to hold space as a teacher so that the wisdom of ancient teachings can be carried forward & shared with others. 

She is deeply curious about the different ways Yoga connects people back to themselves & she believes that our bodies are powerful portals to wholeness. Whether through movement, Bhakti (the yoga of devotion), breathwork, or meditation, every modality is a path to lead you to You. 

Saghi sources from traditional Yoga teachings, Shamanism, Poetry, and Earth-based wisdom. All these are woven together in her classes to cultivate a safe & accessible space for you to rest your soul and soak in the medicine of the teachings. 

The art of embodied movement through breath is ever present in a variety of ways in Diego's class. Expect a wide range of mental, physical and spiritual engagement in your practice. From Bahkti Marga (Devotional Yoga), to Vinyasa Yoga (Yoga of Intention),

Diego carries an active and playful practice challenging you on your mat; whilst engaging with a meditative rhythm to engage deeper states of consciousness. Diego incorporates multicultural archetypes including Non Dualistic Tantrica Yoga, Andean medicine practices of Peru, and Toltec medicine traditions from Mexico.

A dedicated life long yoga philosophy, breath and movement student. Deanna honours motion, stillness and an earth-based understanding to realize and embody a human experience from a place of compassion and curiosity. This foundation seeps into her teachings and in all her waking hours.

Expect to be welcomed and celebrated for who you already are and to leave with a deep appreciation for what is. Expect classes to range from classical to modern with a deep connection to breath and moulding the light and dark within ourselves.

Her teachings are an expansive journey through our own inner layers.

Peter has been walking the Yogi’s Path for over 15 years – as a student, practitioner, and teacher - and he has a deep passion for this powerful lifestyle.

From his first experiences with asana, pranayama, and meditation, he knew that Yoga would be his Way. His main goal in life is to share his passion and this practice that has transformed him profoundly with as many people as he can.

Peter considers the practices of Yoga to be medicine and he is a stand for delivering the teachings and practices in a way that is personal and personalized. During his classes, you can expect to breathe deep, move mindfully, go deep, and fly high.

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Peter’s path has been paved by the grace of his Guru, Ram Dass, to whom he is eternally grateful. Be Here Now, as a book and teaching, is his constant companion.

Peter began his yoga journey immersed in both the Ashtanga Vinyasa and Sivananda traditions, where he was first authorized to teach by Swami Govindananda. Peter is currently and primarily a student of the Krishnamacharya Yoga lineage.

Hello! Yoga is a way of holding two seemingly contradictory forces as a balanced and unified whole. Not an easy task as the forces are constantly changing. In my life, yoga shows up as: observing, contemplating (aka over analyzing virgo), letting go.. finding ebb and flow in the three. Sometimes smooth, sometimes rocky, usually both.

I aim to cultivate space where we explore chi flow in breath and body..
with stillness, motion, silence, mantra..
To foster a mood of showing up on your mat as an act of devotion to your Self..
Where we may accept, embrace, give thanks to the parts of us we have outgrown..
Or simply to be present in a bubble of time you've carved for yourself.

All this to say, I am a fellow seeker of what it means to live this human life.

Chandni (Sanskrit: the light of the moon)
In alignment with her Sanskrit name, Chandni supports individuals to find their path of light through times of darkness. She is passionate about expanding consciousness and transcendence through altered states using traditional Eastern healing models, plant medicines, and energy work.

Chandni comes from a family lineage of Yogi's and healers, and these teachings have been part of her Indian heritage and culture since birth.
Chandni is a Chakra Healer, supporting clients to access their body's innate healing intelligence to process emotions and energetic blocks through the rising of Kundalini Energy in its traditional use. She utilizes teachings passed down from her maternal family lineage. She is trained in Spinal Energetics, and also completed her KRI yoga certification (Kundalini Research Institute) in 2012, and has been practicing in a professional capacity since.

By profession Chandni is a registered Clinical Psychotherapist, and has been working in healthcare since 2014. She is the founder of @TheTherapeuticCentre and also facilitates Conscious Women's Groups @WoMoonCircles.

Chandni's teaching style is traditional and in alignment to the Eastern Yogic practices of healing. She teaches with an enriched and deep understanding of her cultural and spiritual roots. She is an embodiment of her practice, and works in honour and acknowledgement of the teachings from her heritage, with an added skillset of clinical practice in Psychology.