Bowen Therapy is a Bodywork modality and is one of the ways we assess and optimise the structural alignment and integrity of the body. You may have also heard it referred to as The Bowen Technique.

As a Bowen Therapist working with our clients at the Functional Health Clinic we pull Bowen Therapy in alongside our other modalities (Functional Medicine, Nutrition Coaching, Movement) to create a comprehensive and coherent approach to solving the health challenges and enhancing vitality.

Here, we don’t apply bodywork in the conventional way.

In fact, we’re really emphasising that we move away from a this-for-that approach.  By this we mean that conventionally only a muscle or joint ache, pain or symptom will classically be treated with a manual therapy hands-on bodywork and whilst this is clearly a relevant and valuable step – there is so much more to bodywork than this linear and narrow application.

The potential for bodywork like Bowen Therapy to actually affect and improve the function of many systems, tissues, organs, glands and cells in the body, is immense!

In fact it can be part of an approach to restore function of the digestive, detoxification, immune, autonomic nervous and hormonal systems too.

Bowen Therapy (The Bowen Technique) is a hands-on method that acts on the soft tissue of the body. This includes the muscles, fascia and connective tissues.

Through my Bowen Therapist training over the last 15 years, I have observed many different teachings, applications and interpretations of the work. My initial training was actually very prescriptive and lacked assessment.

It was a great foundation to then learn and explore more effective ways of applying this bodywork to my clients’ individual needs and goals.

Our Assessment is now quick, targeted and enables us to track and confirm the changes to the body during the Bowen Therapy session.

We focus on quickly identifying the primary structural stressors.  The tissues that are having the most influence on the central nervous system – and therefore the alignment and function of the body.

Once we’ve targeted and cleared the first layer we move to the next layer and so on.

Read about the Impact of the Bowen Technique in Irina’s Case Study

There are many valuable forms of Bodywork and we’ve explored the mechanisms by which Bowen Therapy creates such a healing response in further posts, case studies and articles.  So initially let’s look at why the Health Restoration Program has this type of therapy at the forefront of creating balance, alignment, repair and vitality in the body.

Consider the situations where no matter how many back massages someone gets, their lower back pain remains the same.  Or why multiple shoulder manipulations don’t fix the problem.  In my opinion, this is not because the given manual therapy (e.g. physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage, bowen therapy etc) is not useful, but more to do with whether it is appropriate for the individual and their given symptoms and goals.

In these examples, the lower back issue may never be resolved until the person identifies and corrects the digestive inflammation that could be the real cause of pain.  Or the right shoulder issue may only be relieved if the liver and detoxification system is supported, preventing the reflexing pain to the joint, which is a common occurrence and cause!

Fascia is the connective tissue that integrates and binds tissues and structures together in the body.  It is more complex and impressive than previously thought and has an important role in many functions – movement, posture, hormonal, inflammation, communication and more.  Its fascinating stuff on an anatomical and physiological level and is the web that connects and binds us!

Conventionally, the Bowen Technique is a ‘light touch’ therapy taught with the tenet that “less is more”.  When applied in this way the superficial fascia (skin and surface layers) is the main tissue that bodywork like the Bowen Therapy affects and is why it can have an incredible impact on certain functions and factors.

However, we no longer stop there.

We prefer the tenet of “less is more, except when it’s not enough”!

This means that when we need to go deeper, we will.  If we need to affect the Deeper Fascial Layers and tissues then we’ll apply the appropriate pressure to get the change and response we require.

This means that as Bowen Therapists we can truly achieve the goal of identifying, targeting and resolving the Primary Structural Stressors.

So no matter what your goal, the Bowen Therapy may form an essential part of your healing program:

So we could actually do any type of assessment – be it postural, movement, digestion, energy, hormonal, immune, inflammation etc – identify an imbalance/dysfunction and utilise Bowen Therapy to potentially achieve successful changes.

Quite amazing and taking it beyond the concept of bodywork only helping physical muscle and joint type symptoms and dysfunctions.

So – are you prepared to do what it takes to achieve your goals and are you open to just how much potential your body and its system of systems has?

The optimal function blueprint already exists in every cell of your body.  The Bowen Technique simply helps to provide the internal environment to express the blueprint.

When we combine (integrate) this method strategically alongside Functional Medicine, Nutrition and Movement, the outcomes can be inspiring.  As a Bowen Therapist in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK I look forward to the opportunity of working with you to solve your health challenges.