WHAT IS BOWEN THERAPY?
WHAT IS BOWEN THERAPY?
Bowen Therapy is a holistic, hands on, non-invasive therapy. It does not attempt to inflict the will of the therapist or a specific outcome onto the client, be they human or animal. Instead, it offers the body an opportunity to conduct its own healing processes. The technique consists of a series of targeted moves across muscles, tendons and other soft tissues, most noticeably, fascia. The therapist uses their fingers, thumbs and palms on specific areas, applying gentle pressure to effect a movement of the tissue, sending vibrations to surrounding muscles and the brain.
HOW DOES BOWEN WORK?
The body will decide how it will, or won’t react, the intention being that these movements will encourage the brain to work to release any tension and pull in the fascia*, muscles, tendons and ligaments, allowing re-alignment of those soft tissues and thereby, the skeleton, encouraging correct functioning of the body as a whole. *Please see Understanding Fascia for more in depth information.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BOWEN THERAPY IN GENERAL?
In Bowen therapy, we treat the body as a whole, but we choose where to make the moves, based on our understanding of the issues presented to us and the anatomy and physiology of the client we are treating. Therefore, Bowen has the ability to help promote the resolution of specific issues, whilst also providing the client with an overall relaxing treatment that helps with general health and wellbeing.
WHAT MAKES IT A BOWEN TREATMENT?
The following is true whether you are treating humans or animals. What identifies Bowen as a treatment is the Bowen move and the breaks.
THE BOWEN MOVE
The therapist will pick specific parts of the body on which to make the move, using their fingers, hands, or elbows. The move consists of gently pushing, or pulling the skin in the opposite direction to which they want the soft tissue (fascia, muscle, tendon, ligament), to move. They will then apply a little pressure and roll over the chosen area.
THE BREAKS
After a certain number of moves, the therapist will move away from the client, leaving the room, or the stable for at least two minutes, depending on how the treatment is progressing and allow the brain time to process the information received and begin the healing process.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM ALL BOWEN PRACTITIONERS?
We will treat the body, human or animal, holistically, as a whole.
We will never diagnose.
We will not treat specific conditions.
We will not prescribe, or suggest altering any medications unless we are qualified to do so.
We will suggest you see another expert, or qualified health professional if we are at all concerned about a client’s health and wellbeing.
WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
What we now know as Bowen Therapy was first practised as a technique by a man in Geelong, Victoria, Australia called Tom Bowen. He left school at the age of fourteen and took labouring jobs, he had no formal therapy, or medical experience.
He was known for his work with greyhounds and racehorses before working with humans and was soon practising full time, using his understated method of making small, simple moves wherever they had aches and pains. His technique seemed to be based on a quiet, instinctive feel for what his patient needed.
BOWEN TODAY
Today, Bowen is well established as a respected, effective therapy in many professional sports and it continues to grow in terms of general public awareness and understanding of its role and value as a therapy. It is true though, that there is still a lot to done in terms of education and awareness before the therapy is seen to be mainstream. The College of Bowen Studies, led by Paula Esson, is making massive inroads in terms of meeting that challenge, supplementing students’ "traditional" Bowen teaching with exciting steps into the worlds of sports injuries and gait analysis amongst other things.
PAULA ESSON DESCRIBES BOWEN AS...
“The Bowen Technique is a remarkable hands on approach to retrieving normal (for the individual) function of the fascia, soft tissue and biomechanics of the underlying skeletal structure. Our simple goal is to gain balance in all areas of the body whether it is organic, myofascial or psychological impact of chronic pain or tension.”
Paula Esson, Sport One, College of Bowen Studies, May 2018