ditto

I wrote this pretty much word for word somewhere else, but as I have this pesky, time consuming motherhood thing going on right now...mostly though, it's because I have this instatiable urge to update, but without the equal and requisite urge to, you know, write anything, so I'm kinda fucked. So going with old two birds, one stone, minimal entertainment adage, here it is: today's entry. Woo.

(you only have yourselves to blame, you non commenting non commenters)

Bowen Therapy

This article, while a leetle bit too flowery for my liking, might be able to give you an idea of what it is.

If I can address a few of the more out there statements though, because fucksake, I'm a bowen therapist, not a hippy flowerchild.

It empowers the body’s own healing resources...

Well yes it does, but I prefer to say it encourages the body to heal because the 'empowering' in this context suggests to me that there's some kind of magical component to the therapy.

There isn't.

It works on a purely mechanical level. That's not to say that those who subscribe to working with energy can't also do so when working with Bowen, but for those who poo poo the idea of universal energy and shit, I worry that we alientate them by suggesting that Bowen is some kind of magic.

Bowen is an all embracing vibrational energy therapy...

Uh, yeah, okay.

I'm gonna give you a quick anatomy lesson to explain this, okay?

All of our hundreds of muscles are covered by a single layer of what's called 'muscle fascia'. This fascia fits over the muscles much like a body stocking, and allows for free and fluid movement of the muscles both alone, and over each other.

When there is an issue with the muscle, it 'sticks' to the fascia, so the muscle becomes contracted, or knotted, or impinges on a nerve....whatever discomfort you're feeling can be explained away by shortening of a muscle or muscle group.

Because the fascia is, like a body stocking is, a single unit, when there is tension on it over one muscle, it will always indirectly affect the tension of it over the whole body. Capiche? That's why Bowen is touted to be about balance. We work with that muscle fascia, releasing the tension and allowing the muscles to lengthen and relax to where nature intended, before we had injury and stress creeping into our lives and affecting how we feel.

Now,this vibrational energy crap: Imagine the fascia is like a guitar string. Traditional massage can be likened to pushing on that string, or running a finger down it. It won't create a note, it will just pull on the string. Bowen, otoh, 'plucks' that guitar string, and like that would evoke a vibration resulting in a note of music, Bowen evokes a 'vibration' down the muscle fascia which results in the muscle becoming 'unstuck' from the fascia. .

Simply put, unlike traditonal massage, we work across the muscle fibre, rather than along it.

The precise location of the Bowen moves correlate markedly with the latest research into the meridian energy system, acu-points and myofascial trigger point therapy.

Well yes, it does, but it's just a point of fact, not some mysterious discovery.

Observation also suggests the lymphatic system is greatly affected by this technique.

As a bowen therapist, duh. It doesn't 'suggest' it, we know it does it.

Bowen encourages the flow of lymph. When there is muscle tension, there is also congestion from the accumulation of toxins. Allowing the muscle to relax naturally promotes the re-establishement of lymph flow and so, the removal of those toxins from the system. That's why we encourage ourt clients to drink, drink, drink water after a session. So they don't feel like they've been hit by a truck the day after.

The treatment is holistic as, referring back to the muscle fascia and it being affected all over by tension in one injured area, if we treat one area, it's always going to ultimately affect the entire body.

I became a Bowen Therapist after two sessions as a client literally changed my life. I'd been in pain for over twenty years, and now I'm not. I've since also become a personal trainer and gym instructor, when before Bowen, there would have been no way I'd have been able to do any of the physical feats I can do now.

At the time, I figured I'd tried every thing else, what the hell, why not throw more good money after bad and see that this doesn';t work either. Except that it did.

My results may not be typical, but imo, they're relective of the potential everyone has to feel better than they do today.

(Also, I'm not a doctor so make sure you consult your doctor first so that I don't get sued by some random party for making bogus medical claims on the internet. The end)