I have always been interested in movement, science and self image. At Rhode Island College I majored in Physical Education and Biology, and later graduated from Columbia University in Physical Therapy. I enjoyed running long distances, gymnastics, playing squash, and swimming - for feeling strong, healthy and alive. In the summer of 1977, I rode my bicycle 4000 miles from Boston to San Francisco.

It was during my first year in San Francisco that I discovered different approaches to mental and physical health that changed the direction of my life.

In 1978, I pulled a hamstring during an early morning run up a small hill in Golden Gate park. This little injury kept me from running for several days and when I began again, I started to develop other pains, in my hip and knee. I eventually stopped running and discovered that it wasn't the physical exercise I missed, but the mental relaxation and endorphine high that comes after running 5 miles.

I had also begun to study Tai Chi Chuan with Master Kam Man Choy in Chinatown. My daily practice of Tai Chi helped me heal from the nagging hip and knee problems and, surprisingly, I experienced the same mental effects as running, with much less effort and strain! There were other unexpected benefits too, such as more awareness of my environment, easier breathing and a suppleness to my joints. I was hooked and eventually became a certified instructor of Yang style Tai Chi Chuan.

I was introduced to the Feldenkrais Method when I shared a house with Mark Reese. (Sadly, Mark died in 2006 and we lost one of the world's leading Feldenkrais teachers and writers). I met many people who were studying with Moshe Feldenkrais. I admired their creativity and the quality of their lives. There was something about seeking to live one's dream, avowed or not.

My work experience in Physical Therapy had been in hospitals and a rehabilitation center. My training in Physical Therapy and the sciences had been very valuable. Now I was ready to explore a different way to work and way of thinking.

In 1984, I entered a Feldenkrais training held in San Rafael. At the time, I had been feeling trapped and discouraged by my mind, my creativity and my professional work. Moshe Feldenkrais said 'I'm interested in flexible minds, not just flexible bodies'. I definitely wanted some release of the vise on my mind. I remember the moment when I got what I wanted. Lying on my back with my knees bent, I was moving my pelvis in a circle, my head in a circle, and my eyes in a circle. The instruction was to slowly and without changing the effort begin to make the circles of the head and pelvis in opposite directions, then, alternate the direction of the eye circles to go sometimes with the pelvis and sometimes with the head. Finally, to make a gentle opening and closing of the hand simultaneously. I actually felt my brain change its habitual clenching at control. I felt light, free and aware of all parts of myself without effort. This experience changed how I learn, and how I experience myself and my relations with others.

I opened the Feldenkrais Center for Movement Education with Julie Casson Rubin in 1988. Feldenkrais Method has meant much more than a complementary medical approach to Physical Therapy. It allows me to creatively work with all kinds of people of all ages, even in situations where it seems hopeless. Engaging people in a pleasant process of learning about themselves to improve the quality of their life. The improvement can be in any area of, thinking, moving, sensing and feeling. My work nourishes me as well as my students.

I've developed special Feldenkrais programs for pain, and one for pelvic floor issues which are now available on CD. I teach internationally, in training programs for the next generation of Feldenkrais teachers. I've also worked with doctors to develop pain programs, at Kaiser Occupational Health in SF, and in Point Reyes at Coastal Health Alliance. program. I am a frequent trainer at the Feldenkrais Institute in NYC. I present regularly at conferences and teach classes and workshops at our center in SF. My newest class is one for babies and their parents, promoting healthy development through communication and movement. I am just beginning a doctoral program in Physical Therapy and am continuing to develop my programs for pelvic health.

Articles by Deborah Bowes:
Pelvic Health and Awareness
Awareness Basics
Self Care for Back Pain
Science & the Feldenkrais Method

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