In a nutshell, Bowen is a gentle technique of muscle and soft tissue release.
It is able to help many symptoms from back and hip pain, headaches, joint pain and stiffness, hormonal symptoms, stress and poor sleep.
Bowen helps the body to restore optimal spinal alignment , taking excess load off joints, muscles, tendons, and our precious network of nerve endings, microcirculation and lymphatic system which are found in our fascia - this reduces pain and improves range of movement.
What about old injuries?
Car accidents or sporting injuries from the past can hang around and haunt us down the track - Bowen has an effective way of taking the load off damaged joints, removing congestion and toxic buildup from the area to help muscles and tendons in the problem area slide and glide smoothly. The result of this is that you move with greater ease, less pain, reduced swelling, improved sleep and reduced need for painkillers.
So, What happens to me in a Bowen session?
For your first Bowen session, I allocate an hour. I start by getting a thorough history about past injuries, medical issues and lifestyle. I like to know about previous surgery, as scar tissue (adhesions) can be the starting place for many strange ways that the body can try to compensate.
I use medical and orthopaedic assessment techniques so I can monitor how quickly you are improving over a period of time, as well as listening to your experience of what you have noticed with your body alignment shifting.
Generally the treatment time of the session takes 20-40 minutes. I treat through loose light clothing generally and in some areas work directly on skin, and unlike a remedial massage, I leave short breaks of up to 2 minutes after certain release points so your body has time to respond to the work. To achieve best results with Bowen I don't overload the body with too many conflicting signals as this gets the best long term results.
"Less is best" is a famous motto of Bowen Therapists worldwide!
How many treatments do I need?
This varies from client to client. Most clients start with 2-3 treatments, each a week apart to improve symmetry and relieve inflammation at the site of injury. Some clients have 100% improvement after just one session, whereas many long term structural problems require persistence with more sessions to achieve their best results. Many clients with chronic pain have huge improvements in their quality of life by coming for monthly "tune-up" sessions.
Who can benefit from Bowen?
The beauty of Bowen is that it is gentle enough to be applied to anyone!
Newborn babies, children and teenagers, professional athletes, pregnant women and the frail elderly - there are enormous benefits to all with Bowen Therapy.
