The Bowen Technique
Although you may not have heard of it yet, the Bowen Technique is fast becoming one of the most popular therapies in the UK. Given that Bowen only arrived here in 1993, this is a remarkable feat, so just what is it that gives this technique such pulling power? Here is a short video that will help to explain this effective therapy to you.
What is it?
Starting on the back, and using the thumbs and fingers on precise points, the practitioner makes gentle rolling moves over muscles and their surrounding soft tissue to encourage the body to realign itself (it is not usually necessary to remove clothing). A key feature of the Bowen technique is that of the therapist leaving the room in between moves in order to allow the work to take effect.
For those accustomed to alternative therapies and the concept of having constant contact with the therapist during a session, it may seem a little disconcerting to see the therapist leave the room at regular intervals during a 45-minute treatment, but this resting time allows the body to absorb the moves and make its own adjustments, in order to initiate the healing process. In fact, any treatment that claims to be Bowen but does not put in the breaks where the therapist leaves the room is not Bowen.
For the impatient or those in need of immediate relief, Bowen could not be better - three treatments are usually sufficient to achieve long-lasting relief from pain or discomfort, although further treatments are sometimes needed; some respond better to treatment than others. But if it is the right therapy for you, some change will be noted by the second treatment, and about 80% of people get a positive response. The key to Bowen's success is the principle that very little needs to be done for the body to start the process of repair. It is important to realise that it is not the therapist who is doing the repair; the body is healing itself, given the right information (from the therapist's moves), time and conditions. Judith and Norman are both fully accredited CNHC members in Bowen therapy. CNHC is the only voluntary regulatory body for complementary healthcare which, through the Department of Health, has official government backing. Maggie Wallace, CNHC’s Executive Chair, recently said: “Complementary healthcare improves the quality of people’s lives and we have to continue to work to ensure that it takes its rightful place as part of the range of healthcare options available to those who need it.”
When should you use it?
Bowen is particularly effective in treating shoulder problems (including frozen shoulder), RSI, tennis elbow, back pain, sports injuries and sciatica. Kidney and gynaecological problems, migraine, knee pain, respiratory problems, physical and mental fatigue and stress can also be eased through the technique, and it is a very effective treatment for infant colic. Many clients return every three months for regular balancing, relaxation and stress management, and to keep problems away. Another interesting element to Bowen is its ability to "access all areas". Although someone might come along with a shoulder, back or neck pain, it often happens that when they come back the following week other things not mentioned have changed or resolved. This sits well with the belief that complementary therapists should not set about treating a specific condition, but instead treat the person as a whole, and confirms that it is not the therapist who is in charge of the healing process. Clients frequently comment on how good they feel, and how quickly they relax - as if they had just had a full body massage.
What Our Clients Say About Bowen Technique
History
While Tom Bowen's healing technique is relatively new in the broader field of Natural Therapies, it is far from being "new". Bowen used his innovative work at his clinic in
Tom Bowen, a self-taught osteopath, was a unique healer who, during 1973, attracted interest from a Government enquiry which reported that he was seeing up to 100 patients in one day!
The healing technique he devised, on which the Bowen Technique is based, is spreading rapidly throughout the world. It is a unique healing gift from
Tom Bowen had no formal training or qualifications in any therapeutic backgrounds. He surrounded himself with practitioners of all kinds of therapies and absorbed their knowledge and ethos to develop his own unique work. He learnt to "read" people with his "seeing" abilities, developed through treating and helping an enormous number of people per week.
Tom minimalised his work to the use of fingers or thumbs across body tissue, muscles, ligaments and tendons. These moves are placed to include meridian and acupressure points. Tom himself was able to deliver a unique treatment to each individual in possibly only one or two treatments. It was common for patients to walk out in the same pain they walked in. Tom's therapy would "get the ball rolling" and over the following few days the body would take over and do the rest. This was a very unique approach to healing.
Tom Bowen found a starting point from which he could encourage the body's own power of healing to take hold. His discovery that this is possible has enormous implications for not only for complementary therapy but significantly in modern medicine.
Judith and Norman both trained with the European College of Bowen Studies, and are fully insured. They are both members of the Bowen Therapists European Register (BTER), which ensures that they are fully qualified, have qualifications in Anatomy and Physiology and First Aid, and are committed to at least 2 days of post-graduate professional development each year.