Meet the Founder

Hey, I’m Lara Sophie, trauma-informed therapist, yoga teacher, and the heart behind The Soulshine Space, our holistic health community.

A few years ago, my life looked completely different. I worked as a police officer, pushing my body to extremes in bodybuilding and trying to control everything around me. From the outside, I seemed to have it all together, but inside I was numb, disconnected, and lost touch with who I really was.

My turning point wasn’t loud or dramatic, it was a quiet awakening. During a Yoga Retreat in Sri Lanka, I finally found space to breathe, to feel, and to come back home to myself. I discovered that healing isn’t just a mental process — it lives deeply in the body. Learning to listen to, trust, and feel safe in my body again became an essential part of my transformation.

That moment didn’t fix everything overnight, but it planted a seed. A seed that grew into choosing presence over perfection, joy over numbness, and authenticity over control.

Since then, I’ve left my old way of living (distracted, numb, disconnected) behind. I now live in Portugal and spend my winters in Sri Lanka, a place that feels like home and continues to inspire my work and spirit.

Today, through The Soulshine Space, I create transformational retreats, where nervous system repair, yoga, breathwork, shadow work, and trauma-informed practices come together to bring people back to joy, connection, and empowerment. These retreats are rooted in the very tools that transformed me, and they ripple into my 1:1 therapy and online offerings.

This isn’t about quick fixes or pretending to have it all figured out. It’s about deep rest, honest connection, and returning home to yourself — again and again.