Malcolm Bowles

Pre-Licensed

I began meditating because I didn't know what else to do. It helped, however, not in the way the apps promise. Some days, the breath is a friend. Some days it's a fire alarm, and I need to open my eyes, feel the chair, and look at the wall for a while. That's the practice, too. So I make short, plain practices with the choices built in: eyes open or closed, still or moving, breath or another anchor—three to ten minutes, no music, no Sanskrit, nothing new-age. If a practice makes things worse, stop, look around the room, and count that as a good sit. I'm a yoga teacher (RYT 500), an ordained Zen Buddhist lay priest, and a clinical social worker. My clinical work is with veterans at a nonprofit in San Francisco, where I'm a Registered Associate Clinical Social Worker (California #105191) under the supervision of a licensed clinician. What I offer here is education and practice, not treatment, and I don't see private clients. If you're in crisis, please reach out to a person.

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