Today, I thought I would tell a short story about my experience with the Bowen Technique.

The Bowen Technique is a remedial therapy.  It was developed by Tom Bowen who lived in the outback in Australia.  It is not clear how he developed the technique but it gained a reputation of being very effective as people traveled miles to have a treatment. 

Bowen is an unusual therapy in that there are "rest" periods in the treatment - the therapist leaves the treatment room and allows the body to have a rest.  The rest periods are interspersed into the treatment session.  Normally, a series of "four moves" are made on the body.  Then the therapist moves away from the body, allowing the body to rest.  The therapist then returns and continues with another series of moves.

The Bowen move is bascially a move (roll) across muscle tissue.  To me, when Bowen moves are done across my back, it feels as if the back has become a stringed instrument and the therapist is "plucking" the strings.  The moves are gentle but the treatment is surprisingly powerful.

So now you have the background, back to the short story.

A friend had broken their ankle and it had to put into a cast.  It had seemed to heal OK.  The cast was removed and she had had physiotherapy  sessions and had worked on balance boards, etc.  She had be signed off.  Yet when you watched her walk, there was just a slight "limp" or something not quite right with her gait.  The ankel itself was still occasionally painful.  She was still relying on a walking stick.

Anyway, I suggested a Bowen treatment which consisted on the "basic" Bowen plus the addition of moves for the ankle.  There was no obvious change after the session. 

Later we went out to a garden centre and she was using the walking stick.  Suddenly, she said "I feel I don't need to use the stick now."   The stick was taken back to the car!

Bowen, a gentle, effective treatment.  Have you booked a session?
     

Have you ever wondered why a bodyworker does a particular type of therapy?  There are many reasons.  I thought you might be interested in some of my reasons.  Here are some of the therapies that I do and some of my reasons for studying them:

First it was massage.  Why? It was the first one I experienced.  In my case, I started with massage because of a book that I bought.  I had had massage as part of treatments for muscular problems.  I enjoyed receiving it.  After studying massage, I felt that everyone's body needed massage!

Next it was Bowen.  Why? I had a taster session and couldn't figure out what the therapist was doing on the muscles of my back.  It almost felt like my muscles were being played like strings on a violin!  I then had some treatments for a shoulder problem.  My shoulder got much better!  With these experiences, I thought I would take a course.  Bowen is such a gentle therapy that as a practitioner you can't hurt yourself!  (Massage therapists can and do injury themselves trying to help their clients!  I certainly have!  My shoulder problem was due to massage.)

Next I did a course on myofascial release.  Why? I had read about the technique and was curious.  It is a different approach to the body - much slower and involving "stretching" of tissue.  This therapy works on connections in the tissues in your body.  You can feel the stretch occurring in the tissue as well as connections between tissues.  For me, it was release work on the diaphragm that "hooked" me.  It was an area that had hidden tensions that I was unaware of.  The release was a really great feeling.  Having experienced this, I wanted to continue doing courses on myofascial release.  Each course works on different parts of the body, releasing further tensions in the body.  It is fascinating the connections between different parts of the body.  Where the pain is, may not be where the problem is!

There a few more therapies but I'll leave them for another time!

Do you find it difficult to touch your toes?  You are not alone.  Research has shown that half the population cannot touch their toes due to tight hamstring muscles.  Experts blame this lack of flexibility on poor lifestyles.  Tight hamstrings can lead to a range of problems: back pain, knee problems, hip pain, muscle strains.

Now a study published by Coventry University shows that the Bowen Technique, a gentle remedial complementary therapy, reduces hamstring tightness and increases flexibility.  This effect was observed after a single treatment with most of the participants either being able to touch their toes or showing a significant improvement after a single treatment!

Have a look at the complete article on Bowen research

Do you have tight hamstrings?  Try a Bowen session and let me know how you get on.  Depending on where you live, you could even book a session with me.