Bowen Introduction
Optimal alignment and function of our bodies depends on balanced muscle and fascial tension. Injuries, poor posture, emotional stress, illnesses and countless other influences will lead to incorrect tension, leaving our bodies misaligned, both physically and mentally.
What is Bowen?
Bowen Therapy is a gentle, holistic hands-on therapy that helps elevate pain and discomfort by re-aligning and re-creating relaxation and equilibrium in the body. Bowen is applied to specific areas of the body using rolling–type moves and a light touch with no deep or prolonged pressure.
Bowen therapy is a soft tissue, gentle, hands-on remedial therapy of the body, promoting it to reset, repair, balance and heal itself.
The Bowen Technique uses fingers and thumbs in subtle and gentle rolling movements over your muscles, tendons, ligaments and soft tissue at specific points over your body. During this process, specific receptors are stimulated, connecting the brain directly to the area of the problem. The gentle approach of Bowen ensures that the body goes into a deep relaxation mode, allowing itself to repair.
Bowen does not force the body to change, rather it acts as a catalyst to the body recognising its own imbalances and making the changes itself, thereby inducing effective and long lasting results.
Bowen is suitable for all ages, from the tiniest of babies through to the frailest of adults. Clients can be treated through thin clothing or directly onto the skin whilst lying down, although work can be effectively carried out with the client in a chair.
Bowen therapy is holistic and it works the body be treated as a whole, rather than the specific issue.
It is for everyone, with any symptom, of any age.
Bowen therapy is a soft tissue, gentle, hands-on remedial therapy that mediates the innate healing mechanisms of the body, promoting it to reset, repair, balance and heal itself.
Bowen does not force the body to change, there is no adjustment or manipulation, rather it is a catalyst facilitating the body to recognise and make the necessary changes to bring it back to balance (homeostasis).
Bowen was developed in the 1950s by Australian therapist Tom Bowen. He believed in the body’s remarkable ability to heal itself and treated many hundreds of people.
Using fingers and thumbs, the Bowen therapist makes gentle, rolling movements over muscles, tendons, ligaments, soft tissue (superficial fascia) at specific points over the whole body.
A disturbance is made, which potentially creates a signal to the brain encouraging it to respond and new connections to be made, promoting balance.
A unique feature of Bowen work is that the therapist will leave the room for 2 to 4 minutes between each set of moves; this is a defining aspect of the technique. People often report feelings of heat or tingling in specific areas and go into a state deep relaxation.
The breaks allow the body’s different systems to respond to the moves with subtle and fine adjustments to help relieve tension, decrease pain and stimulate the healing process.