The Treatment

What is a Bowen treatment

I use Bowen in four different ways:

To improve drainage
To release muscular tension
To release fascial tension
To re-set the structure

Bowen is a very gentle form of therapy, but from experience there are some instances where the application of pressure is slightly more ‘assertive’, and there may be some degree of discomfort. The level of discomfort is more a reflection of the degree of dysfunction presenting and again, from experience, it does not last.

The treatment you get from me is a whole body review so it is truly ‘whole-istic’ !
The reason that I do this is because 90% of the clients that walk through the door complain of the symptom, and not the cause, which I need to find to remove the symptoms. Never has the song ‘Dem Bones’ (the ankle bone is connected to the knee bone) been more appropriate. I have many examples in humans, horses and dogs of this happening – from a gelding scar causing forelimb lameness to shoulder pain being directly connected to a badly twisted ankle.

What does a treatment feel like?

Bowen is different for everyone. You might feel any of the following:- pins and needles, tingling, warmth, cold, surging, withering and tightening. Your tummy might rumble and you might dribble. You might experience aching, spasms or sudden pain. Your body might want to unwind and might start twitching or moving of its own accord. This is all very normal and whilst it can be upsetting, it is only transient and shows that the body is making changes.

Holistic

A key element of the principle guiding Bowen is that we work holistically and according to the well-established principle of naturopathic medicine: ‘That the body be treated as a whole, without referral to named disease’. Indeed, with Bowen we don’t diagnose and we are not treating just the named disease or condition, but we are treating the whole being.

Aftercare

There are some normal post treatment effects:-

Within 24 hours:-

Immediately after the treatment, you may find that you are light headed. This will gradually pass and is very normal post treatment.
You may find that you need to urinate much more than normal.
You may also experience a deep feeling of relaxation, which usually lasts until bed time and almost always results in a very deep and relaxing sleep.
Physically you might feel different – clients often report feeling ‘straighter’ or ‘stretched’
You are likely to sleep very deeply the same night as the treatment

24 to 48 hours:-

You might find parts of your body hurt much more than normal. This could range from a dull ache, to stabbing pain and could be as a direct result of the changes your body has made during the Bowen treatment. The subtle changes will cause a response from the body, and fortunately, in most cases, the response is a temporary flare up. Once this subsides, there is usually a sudden lifting of pain which is usually accompanied by increased flexibility, suppleness and mobility.