Our teachers

Martina O'Donnell

Founder | Hot Yoga Teacher

Martina discovered yoga through the Bikram method in 2010 during two sabbatical years and from this moment on she practices different styles of yoga in more than 30 countries around the world, thus combining her work and her passion for traveling with the practice of different styles of yoga around the world.

• Bikram Yoga Training in San Diego, CA 2010
• 500 h Vinyasa Yoga Training in Rishikesh India 2017
• Yoga Training for Children Yoga Kids & Family Málaga in 2018

Co-founder Yoga Travelers: Organizer with Esak García of yoga retreats around the world.

Meet the team

Our trainers are Fitness & Yoga Professionals, equipped with a deep understanding of the human body. They bring to the team their own expertise in Yoga, Pilates, Total Barre, or Meditation.

Marbella Studio Team

Souraya Zouaoui

Souraya Zouaoui is an experienced practitioner in Hatha, Vinyasa & Yin Yoga, transitioning from luxury retail to the world of yoga and healing. Trained extensively in yoga and recognized by the Yoga Alliance, she conducts immersive retreats and private classes, embodying a philosophy that emphasizes holistic well-being. Beyond yoga, Souraya specializes in touch therapy, energy healing, vegetarian/vegan cuisine, Inner Dance, breathwork, and trauma release sessions. Her teachings focus on uniting mind, body, and spirit for balance and serenity, believing in the transformative power of yoga to sculpt the body and awaken consciousness.

Snizhana Bedukha

Zhana is a passionate and dedicated kids ballet teacher and Barre instructor with a deep love for dance and a commitment to nurturing young talents. Born in the Ukraine where her journey into the world of dance began. From a young age, she displayed a natural flair for ballet and embarked on her training at School of Art. Her dedication and talent soon caught the eye of renowned ballet instructors, leading to intensive training and participation in various ballet productions. After honing her skills, Zhana felt a calling to share her love for ballet with the next generation. She completed their ballet teacher certification at the National Ballet University of Ukraine where she learned the art of teaching and connecting with young dancers.

Zarah Boden

Always fascinated at the grace and intelligence of the human body and guided by Spirit, Zarah has explored movement through yoga and dance for over 20 years. She completed her first Yoga TTC in London, going on to travel and further her learning in India with intensive studies of Astanga Vinyasa, Hatha, Pranayama and Indian Philosophy and various forms of bodywork and energy healing. She has also studied and practices Integrative Breathwork which incorporates breath awareness and conscious breathing for healing, growth, personal awakening and transformation. Zarah greatest source of inspiration is the breath which you will feel in her classes. A companion to unearth the depths of our being, a way to strip back the layers into our most authentic version and a path to cultivating balance of body and mind, to shine light on the infinite potential within...

Paulina Walden

Paulina has been practicing Yoga for 15 yrs and found Bikram Yoga in 2013 and fell in love she did her 26&2 teacher training 200 h yoga alliance in Marbella at Ushna Yoga Studio. When not teaching or practicing Yoga Paulina works with psychotherapy and is the founder and CEO of swedish psychology company Evidentia Psykologi. Paulina has a Medicine master in pschotherapy and is a Licensed Psychotherapist in CBT (Cognitive behavioral Therapy) and also specialised in Child and youth psychotherapy.

Maria Bachmann

Maria is a bikram yoga and hot inferno pilates teacher from Estonia. She attended the Bikram yoga teacher training in fall 2011 in LA and since then she have been teaching in various places all over the world. In summer 2014 she represented successfully Estonia on Yoga Championships held in Vienna, Austria. She discovered Hot Inferno Pilates as she was teaching yoga in Mexico and she was absolutely fascinated by it. A perfect addition to yoga that she is have been teaching it for several years. At the moment She is very happy to share her life between yoga/hot pilates, music and photography. She became a fitness instructor , to share what she have learned and experienced with other people, guide them to more energy, physical and mental strength and better health. It is so fascinating to see continuous improvements of one´s practice and to know, that it is just the beginning of the long way.

Jimena Del Valle

Jimena have studied the YTT 200 h & the YTT 300 h with Javier Castro. She has a daily practice with different teachers in various disciplines (yoga, artistic gymnastics, circus training, roping and acrobatic hoops). Attends workshops and masterclasses frequently. Her Vinyasa classes include specific exercises to build the strength and skill necessary for acrobatics and inverts (drills and skills) as well as flexibility work on the most involved muscles (hip circuit, shoulder circuit and extensions). It is important that each student does the asanas according to their abilities, that is why she give different options and leave time in the class so that the student can assimilate the asana and retry it several times.

Santander Studio Team

Fernanda Pereira Chueiri

Fernanda comenzó a practicar Yoga en 2011. De aquella iniciación surgió un viaje a la India Mumbai ese mismo año y en THE YOGA INSTITUT consolidó su formación profesional suponiendo la confirmación de su vocación yogui. Con una dedicación exquisita avanzó en la educación personal de su espiritualidad en la escuela española Witryh del gran maestro “Soma”, Xavier Satrustegui. Siente la llamada del Kundalini Yoga y como discípula de la gran maestra Nam Nidhan Khalsa aprende los secretos del Yogi Bhajan con el fin de convertirse en un eslabón en la transmisión de la realización personal y espiritual para personas que buscan una vida de luz, abundante y bienaventurada. Como profesora de educación emocional y mindfulness, Fernanda se ha especializado también en yoga para niños, adolescentes y yoga en familia.

Marisol Carretón Newport

Su pasión y vocación impartir los conocimientos adquiridos sobre el movimiento y toda su formación continuada durante 22 años y sigue aprendiendo. Conocimientos y formación en diferentes disciplinas aunque su base es la danza así es certificada por la Royal high School y en pilates suelo y máquinas , poblaciones especiales, rehabilitación, embarazadas y todos los talleres de implementos por Stott Pilates. Certificada en fascial fitness tambien por Stott pilates y pilates aéreo por unnata pilates en madrid. Especialista en rehabilitación aplicada al movimiento y amplia formación en Nueva York y Europa. Primera instructora en impartir Inferno Hot Pilates en Cantabria , ahora en el nuevo Centro Ushna Santander, con la sala acondicionada para ello. Certificada como instructora en ballet fit, disciplina tan de moda y muy efectiva que ahora tiene muchos seguidores. Así tenemos en el centro como instructora a Marisol Carretón impartiendo las disciplinas de infernó hot pilates y barre fit, haciendo de su pasión su profesión.

Lorena Carvajal

Practicante de Hatha Yoga desde hace 16 años. Obtuvo la certificación de instructora de Bikram Yoga en 2012, ha impartido más de 2000 clases principalmente en Chile y España, también en Bruselas, EEUU y México y realizado talleres y clínicas de posturas en Chile, España e Italia. “El entendimiento del cuerpo desarrollado a través de la práctica, me ha llevado también a desarrollar entrenamientos para mejorar la movilidad, la flexibilidad y la fuerza y con esto ayudar a profundizar en la práctica” Lorena Carvajal