Debora Kolwey began practicing yoga and meditation in her bedroom when she was in Junior High. She was the only person her age that she knew who was interested in these topics and ideas.
“I didn’t think it was unusual,” she says. “I just did it, and I loved it.”
Debora’s life has been marked by exploration and self-motivation. Despite starting a dance career later than most, she was able to catch up and excel. Debora says as a young adult, she was in a hurry. She finished high school and college early and was always looking for the next job or opportunity on the horizon.
She became a fitness and pilates instructor to supplement her income as a professional dancer. Eventually, teaching Pilates and being a sought after national Pilates speaker became her main focus.
Through it all, she says she’s most fulfilled when she’s able to explore the intersection of somatics and spiritually. She studied various aspects of these topics, including body-mind centering, somatic psychology, and Buddhist meditation.
“The externally grasping aspect of the fitness world began to eat at me,” Debora says. “The contrast of Buddhism with the promise of eternal youth and beauty in the fitness culture became more and more frustrating for me.”
Debora says she wants people to be able to explore—to go into themselves, find themselves, and learn about themselves and heal. That’s exactly what Hierarchy of Movement has given her.
Her path first crossed with Norman Allard of Hierarchy of Movement in 1989. In the 90s, Debora attended posture and breath workshops with Norman and stayed in his orbit while developing her own career, getting married, and starting a family.
“Norman’s development and the way he was exploring and bringing things through was consistent with my own development,” Debora says. “I stuck with him because I love his method. It’s one of the most satisfying, life-affirming, sanity-keeping things that’s been a thread through my adult life.”
Debora says that Hierarchy of Movement may not be for everyone. It’s for people who want to experience deep and meaningful changes in their life, and who are willing to do the work to get there.
“You have to get to a place where the pain of change is more valuable than the … not,” she says. “Today, many people are coming to a point where they know that if they keep doing the same things over and over and giving into cultural and societal pressures, they are limiting themselves. When I started working with Norman, I was in a place where I’d worn out much of my ‘external drive,’ and need for recognition, and was able to slow down enough to deal with what all my years of ambition and striving had done to my nervous system.”
What’s difficult, she says, is that true, transformational
change takes time.
“It’s not glamorous. It’s so subtle and so deep. It’s not showy. You have to stick around. I’ve been following Norman for decades. I went away for a little while, and I came back because I knew how valuable it was. Norman is willing to sit with us and remind us to be honest about what we’re doing. The work is so respectful of us as humans.”
Debora explains that Hierarchy of Movement isn’t just for people with injuries or chronic pain. Rather, “It’s life-force stuff.”
She says Hierarchy of Movement has empowered her to
care for herself.
“In our society, we’re so used to going to someone else to ask them, ‘Am I OK? Is my body OK?’”
Debora says this eats away at our self confidence.
“But through this work, if you practice consistently, you learn to take care of yourself and trust your ability to care for yourself. There is nothing more powerful than that.”
“I didn’t think it was unusual,” she says. “I just did it, and I loved it.”
Debora’s life has been marked by exploration and self-motivation. Despite starting a dance career later than most, she was able to catch up and excel. Debora says as a young adult, she was in a hurry. She finished high school and college early and was always looking for the next job or opportunity on the horizon.
She became a fitness and pilates instructor to supplement her income as a professional dancer. Eventually, teaching Pilates and being a sought after national Pilates speaker became her main focus.
Through it all, she says she’s most fulfilled when she’s able to explore the intersection of somatics and spiritually. She studied various aspects of these topics, including body-mind centering, somatic psychology, and Buddhist meditation.
“The externally grasping aspect of the fitness world began to eat at me,” Debora says. “The contrast of Buddhism with the promise of eternal youth and beauty in the fitness culture became more and more frustrating for me.”
Debora says she wants people to be able to explore—to go into themselves, find themselves, and learn about themselves and heal. That’s exactly what Hierarchy of Movement has given her.
Her path first crossed with Norman Allard of Hierarchy of Movement in 1989. In the 90s, Debora attended posture and breath workshops with Norman and stayed in his orbit while developing her own career, getting married, and starting a family.
“Norman’s development and the way he was exploring and bringing things through was consistent with my own development,” Debora says. “I stuck with him because I love his method. It’s one of the most satisfying, life-affirming, sanity-keeping things that’s been a thread through my adult life.”
Debora says that Hierarchy of Movement may not be for everyone. It’s for people who want to experience deep and meaningful changes in their life, and who are willing to do the work to get there.
“You have to get to a place where the pain of change is more valuable than the … not,” she says. “Today, many people are coming to a point where they know that if they keep doing the same things over and over and giving into cultural and societal pressures, they are limiting themselves. When I started working with Norman, I was in a place where I’d worn out much of my ‘external drive,’ and need for recognition, and was able to slow down enough to deal with what all my years of ambition and striving had done to my nervous system.”
What’s difficult, she says, is that true, transformational
change takes time.
“It’s not glamorous. It’s so subtle and so deep. It’s not showy. You have to stick around. I’ve been following Norman for decades. I went away for a little while, and I came back because I knew how valuable it was. Norman is willing to sit with us and remind us to be honest about what we’re doing. The work is so respectful of us as humans.”
Debora explains that Hierarchy of Movement isn’t just for people with injuries or chronic pain. Rather, “It’s life-force stuff.”
She says Hierarchy of Movement has empowered her to
care for herself.
“In our society, we’re so used to going to someone else to ask them, ‘Am I OK? Is my body OK?’”
Debora says this eats away at our self confidence.
“But through this work, if you practice consistently, you learn to take care of yourself and trust your ability to care for yourself. There is nothing more powerful than that.”