Interview with Renata Leung, Certified Rolfer® and Yoga Teacher, Enschede, Netherlands
In the first part of our conversation, Renata Leung shared how Yoga helped her through a challenging time – and how Rolfing® Structural Integration opened a deeper healing journey that gave her a new sense of balance and presence. Read Part 1 here.
In this second part, Renata speaks about how the Rolfing training redefined her professional path. For her, Rolfing is not just a method, but a whole new way of experiencing the body in gravity, in space, and in relationship.
Today, working as a Rolfer®, she describes how this deeper awareness continues to transform her teaching, her practice, and her way of being in the world. For Yoga teachers, her story shows that Rolfing Structural Integration can open an entirely new professional horizon.
Discovering Relationship Through Rolfing® Training
Q: What does Rolfing® offer that Yoga alone does not?
Relationship.
I experience Yoga as a gentle invitation to quiet the noise around me and return to my body-home, a place where I can feel safe and comfortable. Yoga helps me manage stress, release tension in body and mind, and make amends with myself. Wonderful! But I can't stay there all the time, just enjoying a peaceful inner space, because life is relationship.
Rolfing Structural Integration is much more than a method for aligning the body. It is about relationship: relationship with gravity, with the space around me, with the people around me. How do I inhabit space? How much do I reach out into it? Do I feel confident enough to take up space, or am I too shy, too insecure, too afraid, constantly retreating and shrinking my body?
Some people go the other way: in order to occupy space, they push themselves too hard, constantly opening the chest and keeping the body tense and upright. They don’t allow themselves to let go and rest.
So, no matter what the pattern is, I would say that Rolfing offers a unique approach to building healthy relationships - with ourselves, with the gravitational field, with space, with others.
In a way, Rolfing and Yoga begin from a common ground: the ecological vision that we are all part of something greater, and everything is connected. In both Yoga and Rolfing, it is impossible to think of the body as separate; bodies only exist in space and share that space with other beings.
However, in Yoga, this idea often remained abstract (at least the way I used to understand it): a beautiful principle that inspired me to act with gratitude and respect toward all living beings. When I encountered Rolfing, I realized that it’s actually possible to embody this idea, to feel it in how my body stands, moves, and relates to space.
Rolfing® Structural Integration is much more than a method for aligning the body. It is about relationship: with gravity, with space, with others.”
How Rolfing® Training Enriched My Yoga Teaching
Q: Has your Rolfing® training influenced the way you teach Yoga?
When I went through my Yoga training, I was taught an essential principle: to build each asana with as little effort as possible, without straining. In Yoga, the main raw material is body perception: feel your body, build your presence, and allow the movement to arise from there.
In some cases, this works beautifully as a meditative practice. But in other cases, such as asanas that require strength and endurance, it was very difficult to put this principle into practice.
After studying Rolfing®, it became easier. As I mentioned in the previous question, Rolfing helps embody the idea that the body is part of a greater system. It's not just about sensing the body itself, but about feeling the body standing in the gravitational field - sensing the ground and the space around you.
When you gain this broader awareness, you no longer need to strain or make excessive effort to move or build an asana. With this new perception, you can experience your body in a completely different way: by taking advantage of the ground and the forces around you, you can move or sustain your body in certain postures - even challenging ones - with lightness.
Beyond Effort: A Different Kind of Connection
Q: Both Rolfing® and Yoga invite a deeper connection to the body. How do you experience the difference in how each method supports this journey?
I would say that Rolfing® and Yoga both invite a deeper connection to the self through the body. They are the most gentle yet powerful bodily approaches I’ve ever encountered.
Yoga taught me to let go, to release the need for excessive effort in everything I do.
It seems that most body-related practices are associated with effort and performance, especially in sports. We love to watch the Olympic Games and see athletes pushing their limits. It’s beautiful! It reminds us of our full potential as human beings. But when this mindset sneaks into our daily lives - and it often does - then we have a problem. When effort and performance become too central, it’s easy to disconnect from ourselves and focus mainly (sometimes only!) on outcomes, on the finish line. I'm not saying that effort and performance aren’t important, but I do wonder if we may be overvaluing them.
I lived like this for many years, until I became completely disconnected from myself. Then I found Yoga - this gentle invitation to return to my body-home, without judgment or expectation of results. It was a huge turning point in my life. I was finally allowing myself to rest and let go of everything I couldn’t control. Boom! Freedom.
Rolfing came to complete this journey, inviting my awareness not only into my body, but into my body in space.
I wouldn’t say that Rolfing and Yoga are different. I feel they are complementary. Ida Rolf developed many of her ideas based on Yoga.
I always say: Rolfing® is like a postgraduate course in Yoga.”
Finding Balance in Gravity and in Life
Q: Rolfing® emphasises gravity and spatial awareness. Has this changed how you inhabit your body?
A lot! Do you remember when I spoke about the insecure pattern in my body and mind [here] - and the need to make excessive effort just to do things, just to be in the world?
In Rolfing, the emphasis on gravity, orientation, and spatial awareness opened up a whole new world for me. It goes beyond the body, beyond the self. When my body is well-organized in gravity, and my perception is awake to space and to the gravitational field around me, there’s no reason to feel insecure anymore. There’s a powerful force rising from the ground to support me, gravitational forces surrounding me, and my body is awake and able to interact with those forces in a harmonious way.
It may sound abstract, but to me, there is something truly beautiful in this shared journey: two people - Rolfer and client - in relationship, each seeking their own balance, both separately and together.
Why Yoga Teachers Should Consider Rolfing® Training
Q: What would you say to Yoga teachers curious about becoming a Rolfer®?
Do it! Rolfing training not only deepens our Yoga practice and teaching, but also transforms our lives in a profound way. It expands our perception of the body - not just as a physical form, but as something dynamic, relational, and alive within a greater system.
For me, becoming a Rolfer® was a natural next step in the journey that Yoga started.
If you're curious, it's probably because something in you is already sensing that Yoga and Rolfing speak to the same truth, just through different doors.”
Looking Ahead
Q: How do you see Yoga and Rolfing® shaping your future?
Looking ahead, I see Rolfing® and Yoga continuing to shape my work and my life as one continuous journey: a journey of awareness, presence, and connection.
In my personal practice, the two are already fully integrated. Rolfing has changed the way I move, breathe, and experience my body in space. That naturally influences how I explore Yoga, and how I guide others through it.
Professionally, I still offer them in distinct formats: a Yoga class is not the same as a Rolfing session. But my approach in both is deeply informed by the other. When I teach Yoga, I bring the anatomical precision, spatial awareness, and subtle listening that Rolfing has taught me. When I practice Rolfing, I bring the softness, patience, and embodied presence that Yoga has nurtured in me over the years.
In the future, I hope to keep exploring new ways to combine both, especially in contexts where people are seeking not just physical improvement, but a deeper connection with themselves. I believe that together, Yoga and Rolfing offer powerful tools for transformation.
Yoga brought me home to myself, Rolfing® taught me how to stand in the world.”
Interview partner: Renata Takllan Rogow Leung, Certified Rolfer® and Yoga Teacher
Interview and editing: Sabine Becker
Photo: Copyright © Renata Leung
More about Renata Leung
Renata Leung’s Instagram channel
More information on how to become a Certified Rolfer®
Learn more about Rolfing® Structural Integration.
Find a Rolfer® or Rolf Movement™ Practitioner near you
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