What is Bowen

The Bowen Technique is a soft tissue release therapy that is completely non-invasive and does not use any hard force or manipulation, the rolling type moves mostly made with fingers and thumbs act as a stimulation to the soft tissue and muscles of the body. It is believed that the Bowen Technique acts as a kind reminder to the body to reset, repair and balance itself in the most optimum way that it knows how to.

During a treatment short breaks are intermittently introduced this is so that the body the brain and the nervous system have time to register and respond to the moves that we make.

During this time the whole body can potentially begin to move into a deeper state of relaxation when this happens subtle adjustments and alignments can be made and better function is restored bringing about pain reduction , healing and recovery.

The Bowen Technique is a complete Holistic remedial therapy which means it has the potential to align itself to most conditions & phenomena that we commonly see in people today and the gentle touch of Bowen makes it suitable to all people of all ages including newborn babies and the elderly.

The Bowen Technique is a Holistic Therapy, this means that the body is treated as a whole and not just the named disease or condition the client may be presenting with. We do not diagnose but treat the person as a whole person.

The Bowen Technique treatment protocol is very well worked out in its effect on the whole body.For instance, probably the most common presentation for a Bowen therapist will be back pain. With Bowen we will tend to give a whole-body treatment at the first visit, which includes the neck, knees and shoulders. Because it is often very difficult to be completely sure where any given pain is coming from and to know how other structures are being affected by the original problem, Bowen’s holistic way of treating will most often get to the root of problems gently and efficiently giving the therapist a much bigger picture and therefore scope to work with.

How Does the Bowen Technique Work?

In short, it is not certain how it is working, but here are some ideas!

One of the least understood areas of the body is the brain. Even specialists in the study of the brain will disagree about its most basic of functions, with some people saying that the brain is a whole and others insisting that it operates within a modular system with a bit for each mental function. And yet we can be sure that it is the brain which is responsible for the entire system and that any attempt to effect physical change has to be examined and accepted by the brain.

There are something like 600,000 signals that travel from the brain into the body every second and these in turn come back to the brain with information which is then interpreted and sent back out. Whenever we feel, hear, see or even think something, the brain brings in past experience in order to categorise the sensation and create an appropriate response.

In the case of the Bowen move, the brain is unable to do this instantly and needs more information to form a response. As it is, just when the brain is asking for more info, the therapist has left the room, and therefore the brain has to send specific signals to the area in order to gauge a response. If the client is lying down, the immediate response is nearly always rapid and deep relaxation. The client will also often report that they feel a tingling sensation or warmth in the area just worked. “It felt like your hands were still on me,” is a common comment.We believe this demonstrates that because the move is out of the ordinary, the brain is looking for information about what happened.

One of the more difficult elements to come to terms with is how little is done during a session. In addition, the client may well walk out of the treatment room having felt little or no improvement over and above a sense of relaxation. However, the reactions to Bowen in the days following a treatment can often belie its soft and gentle approach. Stiffness, soreness, headache and feeling like “I’ve been run over by a bus!” are common.All excellent signs, they demonstrate that the brain and body have started the process of repair.

This process, when started, is generally rapid and it is not uncommon for even longstanding pain to be reduced or resolved in two or three treatments. Most sports- or work-related problems can often be dealt with within the two or three treatments, making Bowen not only good remedial treatment, but cost effective for the client as well.

Although musculoskeletal problems such as frozen shoulder, back and neck pain account for the majority of conditions brought for Bowen treatment, it can also be helpful with more organic problems. Clients have reported significant improvements with asthma, migraines, irritable bowel, infertility and other reproductive problems. Even hayfever has been brought to Bowen.

There are no such things in this life as guarantees and this can be said of Bowen as well. If the body responds to the treatment, then it can and will start the process of repair. If it doesn’t respond, then no harm is done.

PLEASE NOTE:

The Bowen Technique is not a substitute for medical treatment.

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