What is Bowen Therapy?
I am a little late getting this blog post done. I try to get these posts done either Saturday or Sunday because that is the only time I have available usually.
I decided to write about what Bowen Therapy is because I have explained it to a lot of people and I realized I really should write about it so people have a better understanding of what it does.
Bowen Therapy was created by Tom Bowen and started in Australia, which is where Tom Bowen lived and worked. It is a system of moves that challenges soft tissue, releases its congestion and stimulates energy flow. The moves are very distinct and applied at very precise points on the body. The movement is a type of rolling which is done with just the thumbs and forefingers.
These movements are designed to stimulate the tissues and nerve pathways which then send signals to your brain telling your brain to release, relax, let go.
If you think about playing a guitar string, the string vibrates when you strum it and makes a certain tune. Depending on where you strum it, in which fret you strum it and how you strum it, a different note is played. The same goes for Bowen Therapy moves. A different "vibration" is sent through your nervous system. The biggest oddity of Bowen Therapy is that each of the procedures is followed by a 2 minute pause. This pause seems to allow the body and brain more time to respond and communicate.
The best part about Bowen Therapy in my biased opinion is that it is so non invasive, its even better than massage of any type that I have experienced. Also, the other huge positive to this therapy is that it can reduce inflammation within 5-10 minutes which makes it such a unique therapy.
If you respond, you will know right away. If not, you will also know right away and there is no harm done.
The expectation after a treatment is that you may feel like you were hit by a bus. The reason for that is Bowen Therapy just pulled apart all of your defense mechanisms. Inflammation is a defense, pain is a defense, low to no range of motion is a defense. Once that is pulled apart there is bound to be pain as your nervous system is no longer overloaded and is now able to relax. The biggest most noticeable things that occur is that you sleep better. You have less pain in a few days, and probably a bit more energy. Most people describe it as pain in a good way.
The best thing you can do after a treatment is drink as much water as possible because your inflamed semi dehydrated tissues are now less inflamed and less dehydrated and your body needs a lot of fluids to flush all the loosened up congestion out of you system. You need to drink a lot of water, and move around a bit.
For further info and some great resources I highly recommend visiting the following sites:
https://thebowentechnique.com/what-is-the-bowen-technique/
http://bowen-online.com/bowen-therapy-faqs/?fbclid=IwAR23-Y22HESKWW36DPxMBWnhfGNoqIJ9xNLbrTLRauCPyuOV6XGdTfFXAIg
