Liesje

To be alive, I want to be centered through myself-this journey of finding my way back to center when I feel a fall. I want to physically feel and sense my dance with balance-my suspension through space and my recovery with ground. That aliveness is a gift between me and life. We all can feel it. I want a lot of it and I want others to feel it too.

Liesje Smith, Certified Advanced Rolfer™, Somatic Movement Educator™

Hi, I’m Liesje.

I’m an active member of the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration (RISI) and the International Somatic Education and Movement Therapy Association (ISMETA). I’m an avid student of the Rolfing journal, summits, classes, community and archives, as well as active participant in the Body-Mind Centering, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen’s online live teachings since the start in the fall of 2020. In addition, I have studied extensively embryology, communications meditation and spirituality through online courses and in-person communities that help me reflect and study on embracing change. I also am a contributing member of the Immigration Reform Cohort through Moving On Center, bringing somatic leadership to change makers.

Since coming to live in Athens, in January of 2025, I have had the pleasure to teach at the YWCO, the Healing Arts Center and Canopy Studio. My classes consisted of functional movement principles tailored through Rolf Movement and Body-Mind Centering.

These practices have worked well for me as I curate my own growth while navigating life’s deliverance.

For me, change was pretty intense and I have been weathering the storm of my own traumas with a wise and reflective presence and confidence in Somatics to guide me toward resilience, strength, clarity, peace and ease.

I have been working full-time as a Rolfer since 2013 and became an advanced Rolfer in 2018. I’ve dedicated my passion to Rolfing and other related somatic healing modalities for 28 years. With my extensive background in dance, somatic’s, somatic leadership and many tiers of Rolfing, I can help you go further and perform better then you ever have before. Resolving trauma and restoring balance and alignment is complicated and requires experience in holistic integration. Over the years, I’ve pursued incredible teachers who have supported and encouraged me to teach and share my gift helping people find themselves.

It’s clear to me that Rolfing changes people’s lives to something much more than without it. The vitalizing possibility to connect with natural posture really is available to anyone at any time. Through this form of conscious embodiment, you will access more aliveness and sense of freedom - a pathway toward discovery, change and healing on all levels: physical/social/emotional/personal growth.

My Influences

First, I grew up in immense nature, on beautiful land in Huntington, Vermont.

It was at the Naropa University where I finally got to create what I wanted to! I wanted to create and perform dance pieces. I went all out; avant guard, dynamic heroism pieces with prodigy poets, beautiful talented dancers and my incredibly young and complicated short and troublesome life. Somewhere in the middle of it, I had my first minor brain injury in a car accident and before I knew what I had started, I began what is healing my life.

Over the last 12 years, I have been in the world with a Rolfing practice. So many things can happen in a session and everyone has different goals when coming to Rolfing. I’m here to help bodies flow better, have more support, have better range of motion and less pain. The process is truly transformational. I get great joy helping clients come to see how they can have a whole new opportunity that they never thought was possible. With my years of skill and experience, I have a lot that can help clients through this truly amazing process.

Do you have questions?

Consider scheduling a free 30 minute conversation with me to find out if we are a good fit, or making your first appointment or sign up with my newsletter below and you’ll receive my letters of encouragement.

My family

Favorite kind of movement: Contact Improvisation

One amazing childhood home

a favorite studio

Grateful to teach!

Teaching the developments of movement

Thank you!

I want to offer my sincere gratitude to my community and support circles who walk alongside me as I learn, grow, and build.

To my students and clients: you shape and inform my work. Your trust, curiosity, and commitment to your health and well-being are profound to witness.

My deep thanks to my teachers and mentors for their generosity, wisdom, and guidance. And to my friends, family, and the friends who grow and become family—you breathe life into me daily. I am so filled with appreciation.