The Dancing Doctor

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September 1, 2021

a project of ServiceSpace

I hope that every dance I do reveals something of myself or some wonderful thing a human can be.

- Martha Graham -

The Dancing Doctor

On a chilly morning in November, 2013, Deborah Cohan, MD, a clinical professor and program director at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, walked into an operating suite, her curly hair tucked under a cap, not to perform surgery but to undergo a double mastectomy for breast cancer. Within minutes, the sterile room began to enliven with R&B drumbeats, and the entire surgical team erupted into dance to Beyonce's "Get Me Bodied," with Cohan in the center of it all. This flash mob video, captured by the anesthesiologist, went viral -- with over eight million views to date -- and even Beyonce herself posted it on her Facebook page. "What better time to celebrate life," said Cohan, "than when you're facing death?" In 2014, a year after her surgery, Cohan founded Foundation for Embodied Medicine (FEM), a nonprofit organization to bring this embodied wisdom to patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. More about her journey here. { read more }

Be The Change

Join an Awakin Call on September 11th, 2021 with this compassionate physician and expressive dancer in a call that will be part conversation, part workshop, with an invitation to explore body awareness, conscious movement, and embodied presence in a collective field. RSVP info here. { more }

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