Bowen Technique

Origins and historical development :

Bowen Technique is a relative newcomer to the world of Complementary Therapy, having been developed in the 1950’s by Tom Bowen. He was a lay-practitioner who treated the aches and pains of his co-workers in a woollen mill and cement works in Geelong, Australia. His love of sports led him to work as a self taught masseur; and he also began learning bone manipulation from fellow Australian, Ernie Saunders. Bowen then set himself up as an Osteopath in 1952. Due to the success of his treatments, he became very popular and went on to open his own clinic in the1960’s. Suffering from diabetes, Bowen unfortunately lost a leg early on in his career and would work either using a prosthetic limb or from a wheelchair. He taught his method to the Australian Osteopath, Ossie Rentsch, who continued his work after Bowen’s death in 1982, training practitioners in Australia, New Zealand and North America. Bowen Technique was first brought to the UK in 1993.

What to expect during a treatment :

Bowen Technique is a very gentle hands-on therapy of subtle, yet precise soft tissue manipulation. The practitioner makes light rolling movements over the muscle and connective tissue on various parts of the client’s body. Although the thumbs and fingers are used, the touch is gentle with little pressure being applied. This encourages circulation of the blood and lymph fluid, increased mobility and is also said to release blocked energy. The practitioner will not seek to force or directly re-align the body to fit a specific idea of how it should be, nor will an attempt at diagnosis be made. Bowen Technique is an holistic therapy focusing on the whole person throughout the treatment and is based on the belief that all bodies are different; and each has its own interpretation of disease or injury together with its own personalised response.

The aim of the treatment is to stimulate energy flow in the body so encouraging the self healing capabilities within and restoring the natural state of wellbeing. One feature of Bowen Technique is periodic breaks, during which no work is done and the client is not touched. This allows the body an opportunity to gradually respond to the work that is being carried out and trigger the body’s self healing process to start whilst the treatment is in progress.

Depending on the condition to be treated a client may only require 2 to 4 sessions, with each one lasting between 40 and 60 minutes.

Conditions suitable for treatment :

Bowen Technique is commonly used to treat muscle complaints, joint problems (including arthritis), back and neck pain, frozen shoulder, sports injuries (such as tennis elbow), RSI, stress, asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, kidney problems, insomnia and menstrual problems.