Caitlin Kolbuc
What is Bowen therapy?
Bowen therapy is a gentle form of myofascial release work. It is a therapeutic modality that was created by Tom Bowen in the 1950’s in Geelong, Australia.
One of the main aims of Bowen therapy is to bring the body into parasympathetic balance, which basically means to calm the nervous system. All healing happens in the body when it is in parasympathetic dominance. This is the normal resting state of the body, and it’s where you go when you digest food and when you are asleep at night.
One of the other main aims of Bowen therapy is to gently loosen fasciae adhesions. When you have an old injury or you are in certain postures on a day to day basis, your fasciae matrix (white spider-web like tissue that overlays muscles) can become stuck to your muscles, hard and brittle. It is meant to be fluid and movable. The gentle rolling motion over your muscles seeks to gently break up adhesions as well as to improve blood and lymph flow to your tissues, if it was previously impeded by your stuck fascia.
How does it work?
The “Bowen moves,” are a series of moves that address your body as a whole, focusing on attempting to bring the body into balance. The practitioner will provide gentle pressure to a spot on the belly of a muscle, and with that pressure make a gentle rolling motion overtop the muscle. Proprioceptors in the muscle are stimulated via the nervous system and the muscles resting tension level can reset. There are breaks between sets of Bowen moves, so the practitioner will perform a set of moves and leave the room for a pause so that the body can integrate.
Who could possibly benefit?
Bowen therapy has been utilized to support the bodies natural healing when there have been certain musculoskeletal injuries and structural misalignments. It does not use force in the same way a chiropractic treatment would but it can be an adjunctive support to either chiropractic work or massage, although there are certain timeframes that make most sense when integrating treatments in a plan.
Traditionally, Bowen therapy has been used to support the bodies natural healing process in situations such as:
- arthritis (depending upon origin)
- head and neck tension
- digestive concerns where stress may play a role
- TMJ dysfunction (temporomandibular joint - jaw tension)
- frozen shoulder and shoulder pain (depending upon origin)
- tennis elbow
- carpal tunnel
- postural problems
- foot and ankle problems
- knee and hip restriction
- sciatica (depending upon origin)
If you have questions in terms of deciding whether or not this therapy could possibly benefit you, feel free to call the office or send an email.
I love this therapy particularly for its aim in terms of resetting the ‘mind-body’ connection. We are all moving so fast these days that the stresses of life seem to crop up in our systems. As Peter Levine has pointed out, animals in the wild will “shake out,” their trauma. We are not taught to do the same as human beings. Old emotions can be stored in the body. Sometimes a Bowen treatment can accompany an emotional release but not always. As always, the body is wise in knowing when or not to release old emotional debris.
My aim is to hold a therapeutic space that facilitates healing for you in whatever capacity your bodies innate intelligence allows. We can never guarantee a result but we can hold an intention for your deepest healing, whatever that may look like.
I look forward to working with those, that this resonates with. I look forward to serving you and supporting you on your healing journey back into right relationship with you.
Pricing:
An initial Bowen session: $125
Follow-Up: $100
A treatment plan is determined after the initial assessment
