Deborah Power

"I've had the most incredible experiences working with women," says fitness instructor Deborah Power. "I've seen their lives change. They're taking charge of their health." Powers began teaching fitness 23 years ago in Berkeley, her home town. She trained and competed in bodybuilding, apprenticed with an exercise physiologist, and worked as a physical therapist. For four years she had her own personal training company, Fitness Focus. "I drove to people's homes and offices, from San Francisco to Silicon Valley," she says. After she moved to Eugene in 1996 with her husband and infant daughter, Powers began teaching empowerment fitness classes for women. Three years ago, she opened the Body Now! Health and Fitness Center in a former warehouse on River Avenue, featuring the largest movement studio in Eugene. Body Now! offers 35 classes for women ranging in age from 7 to 90+. No contract is required. "I came to a class and said, 'I want to live here!" says Jana Nelson, who retired from LCC in 2005. "It's a comfortable environment and a nurturing experience." Learn more at bodynow.us.