What Is Bowen Therapy?

7 October 2024 126 Views

What is Bowen Therapy?

Bowen therapy is a technique developed by Thomas Ambrose Bowen – born on April 18, 1916, in Brunswick, Victoria, Australia.Tom Bowen was a humble man who, in his lifetime and beyond, made an incredible impact on humanity around the world after he developed this unique therapeutic system now practiced in more than 40 countries.

Bowen therapy is a uniquely developed and remarkably effective Soft Tissue Osteopathic method, at times also called the homeopathy of bodywork, it utilizes subtle inputs to the body (known as moves), stimulating the body to heal itself, often profoundly, bringing it back to homeostasis. It is a technique for the integration of the structure via stimulation of the neurological and neuromuscular systems.

Bowen utilizes absolutely zero mechanical adjustments to the bones themselves, as in classical Osteopathy or Chiropractic “cracking”, preferring instead to passively adjust the spine, pelvic girdle, TMJ and cranium directly through applied rolling moves in very specific sequences, over soft tissue i.e. skin, fascia, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves. (It is not massage).

What Is The Aim Of Bowen Therapy

Bowen´s main aim is to remove pain, acute or chronic, correct dysfunctional physiological conditions and psychosomatic stresses, by eliminating irregular muscular tensional patterns that have manifested in the body and kept it in recompensation or “survival mode”, due to poor postural habits, injury, post-surgery, trauma and poor lifestyle habits. It takes a lot of energy and ever-increasing amounts of it to keep one in survival mode if issues are not dealt with… until the body decides it no longer can and something has to give. Once the body is balanced and corrected only then does true recovery begin as the energy shifts from the recompensated state to recovery.

Correcting the tensional relationships between nerves, muscles and bones is paramount, and indeed, one of the main guiding principles surrounding Bowen Therapy.

Adhering to the basic principle that “muscles move bones primarily”, and not the other way around, emphasis is therefore placed squarely on ensuring that the muscular system is balanced bilaterally, both at Macro and Micro levels. Thus, restoring the systemic and involuntary function of the Sacro-spinal-cranial system, via the restoration of balanced muscular tensions and consequently “tensegrity” throughout the body.

Rather than focusing on a single complaint, Bowen Technique addresses the entire body, by restoring balance via the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS controls over 80% of bodily functions and is very susceptible to external stressors. Most people today live in a constant state of high stress and sympathetic ANS over-stimulation (fight, flight or freeze mode). Healing can occur only after the ANS shifts from sympathetic to parasympathetic dominance (rest, relax and repair mode). Bowen Technique enables that shift. During a session, the client often drops into deep relaxation or falls asleep, and loud peristalsis may be heard. Both of these changes are indications of a profound release from stress and a shift towards parasympathetic influence. This shift could explain, in part, the common observation that a Bowen Technique session seems to reactivate the recovery process in situations where healing from trauma, sickness or surgery has stalled or reached a plateau.

Conclusion

Using a “System before Symptom” approach means that there is no health issue that cannot be safely and effectively addressed with Bowen Therapy. It is suitable for all acute and chronic conditions and for all age groups.

It is renowned around the world as a “wonder technique” for correcting back and neck pain but, in reality this is a very small percentage of the vast array of maladies and conditions that respond quickly and profoundly to the application of a few sessions.