Bowenwork

What is Bowenwork?

Bowenwork is a system of touch that initiates a series of responses through stimulation of the nervous, musculoskeletal, and fascial systems and the energetic pathways.

Practitioners perform a sequence of small movements on specific points on the body, interspersed with rest periods. The Bowenwork movements stimulate mechanoreceptors (nerve endings) and the body responds by balancing the autonomic nervous system and musculoskeletal symmetry, thereby removing blockages to the free flow of energy in the body. The rest periods allow time for the complex interchange between tissue, fascia, fluid and energetic flow. From the point of view of complementary health care, when the body’s nervous and energetic systems are in balance, its physical, emotional and mental functions return to a healthy state.

Is Bowenwork right for you?

The purpose of a Bowenwork session is to activate the innate healing mechanisms within the body so that, given time, the autonomic nervous system will self-regulate, energy will move more freely, and the body will heal to the capacity it is able.

The work is gentle on the body because the overarching philosophy of the practice is “Less is best.” Practitioners aim to provide only enough inputs to elicit the body’s healing response. The number of inputs and length of rest periods is determined for each client during each session; hence the sessions do not have a fixed duration, but can vary from a few moments to an hour (the rest periods generally taking more time than the hands-on work).

Responses in the nervous and energetic systems continue for up to 10 days after each session. Typically sessions are scheduled a week or two apart to allow these processes to complete before providing new input. The client is given self-care advice about staying appropriately hydrated, performing targeted gentle exercises daily and seeking advice from other health-care providers as needed.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call (360) 417-0703.