Meet Dr. Renée Bowen

Renée is one of the Owners of Essential Wave Studios and she is the Wellness Studio’s in-house Manual Physical Therapist and Pilates Instructor. Renée is originally from the high desert Rocky Mountains of Santa Fe, NM. Growing up, she began gymnastics and dance at a young age. Along the way, she had one incredible mentor after another, beginning with her Mother, Susan Johnson, and Father, Warner Johnson, who modeled for her that with hard work one can pursue their life’s dream. 

Being a dancer, Renée was no stranger to having to consistently manage chronic pain and nursing injuries back to health. In 2003, she was introduced to the art and practice of Pilates and finally cured her chronic lower back pain in the process. It was with the encouragement of her first Pilates instructor that she pursued her Pilates teacher training. She taught Pilates to help support her way through her early dance career while under scholarship as a freshman at Marymount Manhattan College to be a professional ballet and modern dancer in New York City, NY.  

After a career-defining injury to her Achilles while dancing on pointe at Marymount Manhattan College, she was introduced to the incredible benefits of Manual Physical Therapy. The experience of receiving Manual Therapy and Dry Needling helped her so much that it inspired her to change course from pursuing a professional dance career to pursue her Physical Therapy degree.  

On the path toward becoming a Physical Therapist, Renée first earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Physiology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR. Renée then achieved her Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) at Oregon’s Pacific University. And upon graduating, with distinction, she moved to Colorado Springs, CO to be nearer to her now husband, Aron Bowen, and pursue a Manual Therapy Fellowship, which is a 6-year post graduate program that she received from the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT). Renée’s mentors in Colorado of the Institute of Manipulative Physiotherapy & Clinical Training really shaped her into the manual therapist she is today with their dedication to educating therapists to apply differential diagnosis and clinical reasoning with manual therapy and a biomechanical approach. 

For the last 13 years, Renée has been practicing Manual Physical Therapy and she began her Women’s Health specialization after the humbling experience of birthing her son, Koa Wave Bowen, in 2019. 

Renée’s credentials include:

• Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
• Certified Orthopedic Manipulative Therapist (COMT)
• Diplomat of Manipulative Therapy (Dip.MT)
• Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists (FAAOMPT)
• Certified in Dry Needling (Cert.DN)
• KT tape trained
• Pilates trained