About Deborah Merkle - Rubenfeld Synergy, Portland, Oregon

y journey into the realm of mind/body began over 30 years
ago when I took my first yoga class. In doing yoga I learned to
use my mind to influence how my body moved and stretched.
Focusing my concentration on various parts of my body, I attempted to perfect the physical poses taught in hatha yoga
class. The stretching and strengthening, along with various
yogic breathing techniques also enabled me to sit still for my meditation practice. Together, yoga and meditation greatly contributed to both my physical and emotional well-being.
I had effectively learned to use my mind to work with my
body, and to some degree, my emotions.

“I” was my mind back then; “I” lived above the neck. My
body was merely my vehicle I was to keep in good shape,
which I attempted to do with diet and yoga. Working with
yoga so excited me I traveled to India to study further. Over
time, however, negative emotional experiences “cropped up”
and yoga alone was not enough to provide me with a sense of
ease or well-being. I began psychotherapy to help me explore
my emotions, and although talking was helpful, I often found myself just going round and round in my head with my issues
and not really integrating any real changes into my life. At the suggestion of my acupuncturist I tried the Synergy Method.

After a few Rubenfeld sessions, I had a profound “aha” – my
body had lots of things to say to me. True things. And as I
learned how to listen to my self through the body, I became
aware of many emotions I had stored away, repressed, not acknowledged. Being able to express and examine these feelings began to transform my life – in body, mind and spirit. The
changes Rubenfeld Synergy were helping me make were so profoundly positive for me, I felt compelled to learning and
sharing this mind/body therapy with others.