About

Renata Malinauskas

Hello, I’m Renata. I’m a psychotherapist and insight meditation teacher. My work is devoted to supporting people to awaken to their true nature and live from a place of wholeness and freedom.

I am passionate about self-inquiry as a gateway to wholeness — a way of coming into direct contact with life as it unfolds, moment to moment. I believe that what we seek in life already lives within us. Yet through trauma, conditioning, or nervous system dysregulation, we often become disconnected from our bodies and from the deeper intelligence that guides us.

Through the simple act of coming home to the body — feeling, sensing, and listening — we return to what is real and alive within us. From this embodied presence, we rediscover our inner guidance, clarity, and freedom. Life begins to move through us more effortlessly, expressing itself with authenticity and purpose.

My Path

I was born and raised in a culturally unsafe environment and experienced early trauma that shaped my understanding of the human condition. From a young age, I was deeply curious about the meaning and purpose of life — what it truly means to be alive, to love, and to live with integrity.

This longing for understanding and healing led me onto a spiritual path early on. After many years of meditation practice, silent retreats, and deep personal healing, I came to realise that the body is not something to transcend or fix — but the very gateway home. The body is the ground of both healing and awakening, the vessel through which we meet and integrate all of life.

Lineages & Influences

For over fifteen years, I’ve immersed myself in the Buddha Dharma through the Insight and Vajrayana traditions, training and practicing under teachers who emphasise the body as the gateway to realization. This foundation became the ground for my work as a Dharma teacher, which I now share through Still Water Insight — a space for meditation, retreats, and teachings dedicated to embodied awakening.

Alongside this, I have trained in several somatic and trauma-informed modalities, including Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, Psychosomatic Therapy, Tension and Trauma Release Exercises (TRE®), and Focusing. These approaches have taught me to listen deeply to the intelligence of the body and to honour its natural unfolding.

My Work Today

My work now weaves together these threads — contemplative depth, somatic inquiry, and the natural intelligence of the body — to support others in their own journey of healing and awakening.

I offer one-on-one psychotherapy and Insight Meditation events and retreats through Still Water Insight.

Work with Renata

Work with Renata

My Qualifications and Certifications

  • ISITTA - Innate Somatic Intelligence Trauma Therapy Approach (Level I and II) - Embodywise - Sydney, NSW, Australia (2019-2022)

  • Insight Dharma Teacher Training and Mentoring Program - Insight Meditation Institute - Sydney, NSW, Australia (2021 - 2025)

  • HAKOMI Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy - Napier, New Zealand (2019-2021)

  • TRE (Tension and Trauma Release Exercises) Certification Training - TRE Australia - Sydney, NSW, Australia (2019-2020)

  • Mindfulness and Compassion Teacher Training - Insight Meditation Institute - Sydney, NSW, Australia (2019 - 2020)

  • Cert III in Psychosomatic Therapy - Psychosomatic Therapy College (PTC) - GC, QLD, Australia (2018)

  • Cert III and IV in Fitness - TAFE - SYD, NSW, Australia (2013-2014)

  • Sports Nutrition and Supplementation Specialisation - Sao Paulo University (USP) - SP, Brazil (2012)

  • Bachelor Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics - Sao Camilo University Centre - SP, Brazil (2008-2012)

  • Punchfit Trainer (2013) 

Extra Courses/ Self Development 

  • Eugene Gendlin - The Philosophy of the Implicit - Sydney, NSW, Australia (2019 - current)

  • Diamond Approach - Ridhwan Foundation - (2018 - current)

  • Tremor Revolution - TRE Australia - Sydney, NSW, Australia (2019)

  • Internal Family System (IFS) - IFS Training Australia - Sydney, NSW, Australia (2019)

  • Vipassana/Insight Meditation Silent Retreats - Over 500 days (2013-current)

  • Focusing Level I and II - Conscious Directions - Byron Bay, NSW, Australia (2018)

  • Nonviolent Communication (NVC) Foundation Training - Conscious Directions - Byron Bay, NSW, Australia (2018)

  • TRE (Trauma Release Exercise) workshops - TRE Australia - SYD, NSW, Australia (2018)

  • Hakomi Workshop - Sydney, NSW (2018)

  • Nutritional/ Herbal Technical Training - Herbs of Gold - SYD, NSW, Australia (2016)

  • RehabFx Sydney (2013) 

Volunteer Experiences 

Stay Connected @renatamalinauskas_

View fullsize Knowing Beyond Thought 🌿 I’ll be offering a talk tomorrow at Lennox Meditation on the theme of direct knowing — the kind of wisdom that arises not from thinking, but from being in intimate contact with our lived experience. Awakening i
View fullsize Tiny update from the past couple of months. A lot of movement. A new home. A new community. A new lifestyle. A shift in priorities. Lots of Creativity. And, most of all — slowness and self-care. Grateful for life’s gifts and challen
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View fullsize Lovely ending ritual offered to the staff in the final L2 module of our Hakomi training in Brisbane. I’m so grateful for this work. 💛🌱 If you are a therapist, health practitioner, or simply an advocate of the healing arts, I highly recommen
View fullsize One of my favourite Zen sayings. 🌙 We can read all the books, take all the courses… but in the end, the journey is about coming home to ourselves — to this moment, this breath, this body. 💛
View fullsize Last Sunday I held the Awakening the Heart day retreat in Narrabeen. As always, it was a real joy to facilitate a space for silence, meditation, inquiry, and learning. Together we explored the four boundless heart qualities—kindness, compassio