Tina
Sofa Friends
Mirrors.
Echoes.
Uncharted ways of living.
They are our friends.
Welcome to the OnTheSofa living room.
Meet our Sofa Friends,
And rediscover yourself.
Creative & Production by Dandan Ouyang
Photography by Mengchen Sun
Tina
Founder & Instructor, Youwu Studio
Gently pushing open the doors of Youwu Studio, you are greeted by the faint chime of bells and a healing scent; from that very moment, all weariness and fatigue begin to melt away. Tina is the founder of this Gyrotonic* studio. Her professional background in clinical medicine gives her a profound awareness of both the physical body and the inner core, allowing her to guide practitioners in discovering their own mind-body connection. When you learn to let your strength flow as a yielding motion rather than as resistance, the body is unchained and free to dance. As Tina elegantly puts it: to some extent, we are all dancers, singers—we are all artists.
*Gyrotonic was invented by Juliu Horvath, a former principal dancer of the Romanian National Ballet.
Q: What led you to study Gyrotonic and pursue it professionally? What draws you to this practice?
A: Ever since I was young, I’ve been deeply fascinated by movement, philosophy, art, life, and health. For a long time, I treated them as separate hobbies or distinct aspects of my work. They existed in isolation until I discovered Gyrotonic. Suddenly, all these separate passions perfectly intertwined into a single, unified practice.
Q: There is a piece of calligraphy of the Tao Te Ching hanging in your studio. A core phrase from it reads: "Returning is the motion of the Tao; Yielding is the way of the Tao." Today, some women exhibit a "fear of weakness," terrified of possessing or exposing vulnerabilities, or of being labeled as weak. How do you interpret this "weakness," and how do you draw strength from it?
A: There is a perspective I truly love: the "you" in your own mind isn't necessarily you; the "you" in the eyes of others certainly isn't you; but how you view others—that is the true reflection of yourself. When someone labels you as weak, it essentially reflects their own lack of inner strength.
Distinct from the label of being a "weak person," this "softness" or "weakness" is actually an energy. It is an energy that belongs profoundly to us as women—a natural instinct and a pure gift. If you harness it well and allow this energy to flow freely, you will discover immense power.
What do you usually do on the sofa?
A couple of months ago, we got a new electric recliner sofa. It switches seamlessly between sitting and lounging, fulfilling every fantasy I ever had about a sofa, and it has quickly become an essential anchor in our home.
We have a nine-year-old senior dog who spends most of his day sunk into a beanbag asleep, and a one-year-old kitten who is endlessly curious about the world. Whenever I’m on the sofa, they take turns coming over to keep me company while I work, read, or watch a movie... and sometimes, we all just drift off to sleep on it together.
Tina wears Sofa V-Neck Cashmere Sweater 'The Curator' Sepia;
Sofa Cotton Crew Neck Long Sleeve 'The Traveler' Salt/Palm.