Bowen Technique at The Therapy Shed
The Bowen Technique is still fairly unknown to most people, though those who have experienced it tend to quickly become advocates for this amazing treatment. I get very excited about it and can’t wait to share it with you.
Bowen is a holistic therapy, meaning it treats the body as a whole, promoting balance of both body and mind. I offer treatments at my ‘Shed’ which is a beautiful cabin located in rural Herefordshire, just outside Ledbury.
How I stumbled across Bowen
Back in 2006, my husband and I were in a bad car accident. Thankfully, although the car was smashed to pieces, we escaped with minor cuts and bruises, and bad whiplash. I was left with residual neck pain and restricted movement, particularly when trying to look over my shoulder. As many of us do, I put up with it, until a couple of years later when a friend suggested trying the Bowen Technique. Just two treatments later, my neck pain had completely gone, and it has never come back. I turned to Bowen a few years later for help with hormonal balance, and after trying various other therapies, Bowen was the only thing that gave me lasting relief. I’ve been a qualified Bowen practitioner for the past 6 years, alongside other therapies that I have been offering for many years now.
A little bit of background on the Bowen Technique
The technique is named after Tom Bowen (1916 – 1982), an Australian who began developing his technique back in the 1950s. He noticed that certain moves on the body had particular effects. He developed his technique and shared his work with a small number of colleagues who passed on his work after his death. ‘Bowen’ remains hugely popular in Australia and it is now practised all over the world. Modern science continues to explore and validate the technique, including how and why it works.
So, what EXACTLY is it?
The technique primarily works on Fascia - think of the thin white layer when you peel an orange. Fascia is the thin layer of connective tissue situated underneath the skin, which surrounds all our muscles and organs and is interwoven throughout our body. Healthy fascia allows us to move freely, whilst providing support and structure. If there is a bio-mechanical imbalance in one part of the body, it can cause pain or dysfunction elsewhere. This helps explain why you may attend for a treatment with a problem in one area, and I perform moves over another part of the body in order to help treat it.
A treatment typically consists of a series of specific moves made over very precise points on the body. Each move is firm but gentle, and there is no forced manipulation. The moves are designed to create impulses in the fascia which are carried to the brain, seeking a response where it is needed.
Treatments are gentle, relaxing, and clients remain fully clothed. They encourage the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) to take over from the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) which kicks in when the body is in pain or under stress – our ‘fight or flight’ response. When the body is back in parasympathetic mode, it can rest and start the process of repair and healing.
How can Bowen treatments help you?
Bowen can be helpful for a whole variety of different problems as each treatment aims to release tension in the body and encourage realignment. It is great for muscular skeletal issues such as back pain, TMJ dysfunction and sports injuries, as well as systemic problems such as digestive problems, hormonal issues, stress and anxiety. Most clients feel relaxed during and after treatment, and it is safe to use on people of any age, including babies.
Acute injury may respond within just 1-3 sessions, while chronic conditions may require several sessions. An initial course of 3 treatments is recommended to establish whether the client is likely to respond to treatment, ideally at an interval of 7 days apart. Clients often find a ‘top-up’ treatment helpful every so often to maintain health and wellbeing.
I get very excited about Bowen and the amazing results people have – I love seeing the changes in people, especially when they feed back that they are feeling like themselves again and have got their sparkle back!
If you’d like to know more about how it could help you, then do just get in touch. I hope I have inspired you to give it a try, and I look forward to welcoming you to my beautiful Therapy Shed.
*This blog was written as a guest blog for Local Discovery Card in October 2022.