Rina Trevi
Shibari artist and intimacy guide who runs the Intimately Tied rope retreats, frames her practice as Shibari as Ritual, and has co-taught beginner workshops in Austin.
Rina Trevi describes herself as a shibari artist, author and vulnerability and intimacy guide. She runs Intimately Tied, which offers shibari retreats presented as a coaching practice centered on vulnerability and connection and open to couples, singles, coaches, therapists and artists alike.
Background
Her about page counts seven years devoted to shibari as a path of self-discovery, alongside tantric bodywork, about ten years of meditation and tantric practice in Asia, and twelve earlier years as a professional dominatrix in New York and abroad; a workshop listing from a Valentine’s season gave her shibari practice as five years. The show notes of a November 2024 Intimacy Evolution podcast episode summarize her path as leading from a corporate career in post-Soviet Russia to professional dominatrix work in the United States and then to bringing spiritual and holistic practice into her BDSM work. Her own press biography tells it differently: she grew up in post-Soviet Russia, and after leaving lived in Washington, DC, earned an MBA and worked in corporate finance before travelling to Thailand and India. She also lists certifications in trauma and somatics, coaching and related fields.
Approach and teaching
She calls her method Shibari as Ritual, a ceremonial way of using rope for presence, nervous-system attunement and bodily transformation, and says she has written an art book of that name; no publisher listing for it was found. Intimately Tied held a Valentine’s retreat on February 13 at The Portal in Austin, organized by her. With Nikki Siso she co-hosted “Shibari for Sex (& Intimacy)” in Austin, a sold-out, beginner-friendly workshop of three and a half hours covering rope safety, verbal and nonverbal communication, breathing, tantra-inspired ritual and play with the four elements.