Bowen technique
What is Bowen Technique
Bowen can offer relief for many types of injuries and other health problems both acute and chronic, using the body’s innate healing mechanisms.
Bowen is a holistic, non-invasive hands-on therapy. It involves gentle rolling type ‘moves’ over specific points on muscles, tendons, nerves and fascia. The ‘moves’ are performed using thumbs and fingers applying gentle pressure. The moves are sequenced together into ‘procedures’ which in turn makes the treatment work on a deep, dynamic and often profound level.
The Bowen Technique rebalances soft tissue – muscle, fascia, ligament and tendon, and energises the circulation and lymph, and brings balance to the nervous system so that the body, whether for the very old, sick, young, athletic, or disabled, can perform to the maximum of its ability.
The Bowen Technique is a system of gentle but powerful soft tissue mobilizations that affects the body both structurally and energetically to restore its self-healing mechanism. It is painless, non-invasive and safe to use on anyone from the newborn to the elderly and provides lasting relief from a wide variety of acute and chronic conditions.
Bowen is great for sports people, fantastic for every person from the very old to the newborn baby, for pre and post-pregnancy, pre and post-surgery, for the terminally ill or for people with degenerative disease’s.
How Bowen Works
The Bowen Technique does not focus on a single symptom but on the body as a whole, restoring balance via the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS controls over 80% of the body’s functions and is heavily influenced by external stressors. The ‘bowen move’ communicates through the ANS in such a way that it triggers a rebalancing process for muscle, nerves, lymph and fascia (connective tissue). The ANS is divided into two areas, sympathetic (fight, flight, freeze) and the para-sympathetic (rest, relax, and repair mode).
Due to the stresses of everyday life a huge majority of people live in the high alert sympatheitic mode, contributing and even causing many imbalances in the mind and body (knotty and tight muscles, physical and mental tension, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, heart conditions, cancer, stroke, and so on).
The Bowen Technique helps to trigger the para sympathetic nervous system to over-ride the sympathetic nervous system, and therefore allowing the body to run in a balanced way, calming everything down and becoming able to cope with the everyday stresses, potentially alleviating the a fore mentioned conditions.
The Bowen ‘move’ and How It Works
The Bowen ‘move’ although extremely simple works in a very dynamic way. It has a dramatic (but gentle) effect on the muscle, connective tissue (fascia), nervous system, lymphatic system, and the circulation, in fact every single single area of the human body.
The first part of the bowen move draws the skin slack back and then applies a gentle pressure on the skin, fascia, nerve and muscle, this ‘hold’ is the first signal to the ANS to stop, pay attention, and then re start in the para sympathetic mode.
The next part of the bowen move gently rolls over the muscle, tendon, ligament, and nerves which sends a ripple through the tissue. This ripple is like a mini shock wave which excites the cells of these tissues. As a consequence of this movement the muscle tissue loosens becoming softer and the toxins in the tissue become freer and are gradually carried away by the increase of blood circulation. These toxins are carried to the lymphatic system (which is also now working to a greater potential) and taken via the lymphatics to the kidneys to then be excreted out of the body.
Tightness or congestion in the connective tissue (fascia) can have a huge detrimental effect on the body causing many problems, including having a detrimental effect on the muscle, circulation of blood and lymph, and nerve endings.
The gentle bowen move pushes the skin over the muscle which creates a sliding effect on the connective tissue (which lies between the skin and muscle). This movement creates a lot of energy and subtle movement in the fascia tissue, freeing toxins, and increasing oxygenated blood and allows the fascia to be restored to its correct state.
With the muscle tissue and connective tissue being loosened through the bowen move it allows for fresh blood to be carried into these areas by the circulation. This oxygenated blood feeds these tissues like a ’breath of life’ and in turn the muscle tissue becomes fuller and stronger and healthier allowing the body to be in a much better state of balance.
As the bowen move is gently rolling over the muscle it is also very gently rolling over nerve endings which are located in the muscle tissue. These nerves travel all the way to the central nervous system (up the spine and into the brain). This very gentle stimulation is where the ANS stops and starts up again in the para sympathetic mode and nervous system imbalances start to be corrected.
Bowen moves are often in key lymphatic areas where there are bundles of lymph nodes. The rolling movement of the bowen move is great at stimulating these lymph nodes and freeing off congested tissue in the area that had become compromised to the sluggishness of the lymphatic system.
Drinking plenty of water and doing walking is crucial after a bowen treatment because it helps the lymphatic system to carry toxins to the kidneys so they can be expelled from the body.
What can bowen therapy treat?
Bowen is a great therapy for most people including sports people, athletes, gymnasts, dancers, for the very old to the newborn baby, people who work in an office, for labourers, before/during and after pregnancy, pre and post surgery, for the terminally ill, for rest and relaxation, or for people with degenerative disease’s.
Some of the conditions that Bowen Therapy can help to alleviate the symptoms of:
*Ankle pain
*Asthma and other respiratory problems
*Arthritis
*Aches and pains
*Attention Defecit Disorder/Hyperactivity
*Bowen Therapy for Baby: colic, vomiting, irritability or not sleeping, fluidy lungs, any sort of unsettled behaviour.
*Back problems: pain, stiffness and spasms in the upper, lower back and spine.
*Bedwetting
*Breast pain
*Coccyx pain: through injury or after birth.
*Carpal Tunnel and RSI: from sports injury, heavy lifting, vibrating machinery (neumatic drill, chain saw), computer use
*Degeneration of joints
*Digestive problems
*Detox from drugs
*Elbow: relating to sports injury or computer use
*Foot pain: plantar fasciatis, hammer toes, bunion
*Frozen Shoulder: capsulitis, rotator cuff, arthritis
*Fibromyalgia: and other nervous system conditions where there is hyper-sensitivity, altered sensation, loss of feeling in limbs or other areas of the body
*Heart conditions: angina, chest pain
*Herniated disks
*Headaches and Migraines
*Infertility (male or female)
*Incontinence (adult)
*Joint stiffness
*Knee pain: tendon, ligament damage, strain
*Kidney: infection, water retention, assist kidney function
*Musculo skeletal conditions of the spine and limbs: post traumatic,pre or post surgery or from a more arthritic origin (lumbar, thoracic, cervical pain and related muscle spasms and loss of mobility).
*Menstrual Pain: PMT, irregularity, heavy bleeding, faintness.
*M.E (Myalgic encephalomyelitis): Chronic fatigue syndrome(CFS)
* Multiple Sclerosis (M.S)
*Neck problems: pain, stiffness, strain and aches in the upper, lower and side of the neck.
*Pelvic imbalances: tilt, leg length, hip pain imbalance, inguinal and groin pain.
*Parkinsons
*Pregnancy: before (to help the body adjust to the hormonal changes that affect joint stability, and to help with back pain, sciatica, morning sickness, difficulty sleeping, stress. During labour, and also after labour to help the pelvis and back rebalance, and assisting with the hormonal change (headaches, stress, joint stability)
*Sports injuries: ankle, shin splints, runner knees, adductor and hamstring strain, rotator cuff injuries, tennis elbow, golfers elbow, frozen shoulder.
*Sciatica
*Stress /Insomnia
*Sacroiliac pain and imbalances: post traumatic and related to pregnancy.
*Slipped disc
*Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMJ): misalignment, pain and tension in the jaw
*Whiplash: Receiving Bowen soon after an accident can dramatically speed recovery.