skin on fingers

Bowen is a muscle, nerve, soft connective tissue and subtle energy technique named after Australian, Tom Bowen (1916-1982), who developed it. It is a non-invasive, gentle form of bodywork that works within the limits defined by the specific elasticity of a person’s skin. The fingers or thumbs connect to the skin and gently draw the ‘slack’ back to the edge of a muscle, ligament or tendon. The skin is held for a short while. Rolling the fingers or thumbs back over the muscle, tendon, ligament and their fascia, completes the procedure. Bowen is a form of natural healing. It treats the whole person not just the part(s) of the body in which symptoms occur. Practitioners do not, therefore, make allopathic medical diagnoses. They use a process of visual assessment and physical/energetic palpation of tissue tension and energetic blocks to guide treatment. The number of practitioners in Britain now approaches a thousand.

Doctors confirm its effectiveness

Now used worldwide, people visit Bowen practitioners to help many different conditions. Dr. Mercola says of Bowen: ‘A simple, short, powerful and effective technique for maximizing optimal health…it’s application is completely safe and appropriate for everyone from highly trained athletes, to newborns, to pregnant women, to the elderly and infirm.’[1]

Dr. Motha, an obstetrician, confirms Bowen’s usefulness. She prescribes Bowen to help with pre- and post-natal care. She recently presented her findings at the Royal College of Medicine and the Royal College of Obstetricians.

In the US, Dr. Joanne Whitaker’s study, measuring changes in the value and pattern in heart rate variability as a result of treatment, has found Bowen to be effective in balancing the autonomic nervous system. In particular, she has found it helpful in treating fibromyalgia.

Trials by sports scientist Helen Kinnear and Bowen instructor Julian Baker have shown Bowen to be effective in treating frozen shoulder. 70% of their subjects experienced improvement after receiving Bowen, compared to 20% receiving generalised massage.

Relieving a wide range of symptoms

Bowen has helped patients relax, de-stress and alleviate emotional problems. It has been beneficial for pregnancy symptoms, headaches and migraines, digestive disorders including constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, respiratory problems and reproductive disorders including menstrual problems and ovarian cysts. Its musculo-skeletal effectiveness extends to general muscle, tendon and ligament injuries, back pain, fibromyalgia, temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) problems, whiplash, repetitive strain injury, trapped nerves and sciatica.

A friendly therapy

Bowen is also very effective used with a wide range of other complementary modalities including osteopathy, chiropractic work, acupuncture, shiatsu, manual lymphatic drainage, cranio-sacral work, hypnotherapy, reiki, kinesiology, and homeopathy.