The Bowen technique is a soft tissue treatment which involves the therapist using fingers or thumbs to move over muscle, ligament, tendon and fascia on specific points of the body.

The work, the profound, is subtle, relaxing and gentle involving no manipulation, massage, hard or prolonged pressure. During a session the client will lie on a therapy table or bed, although the work can be effectively carried out with the client in a chair.

An initial treatment will address the whole body. As a general rule, moves will be made over the lower and mid back and legs, the upper back and shoulders before finishing with neck.

A feature of the work is that between sets of moves the therapist will leave the room and allow the client to rest. This is a key element of Bowen and is a defining aspect of the technique as well as being one of the most important. The break allows the body the opportunity to create a decision about what action needs to be taken in response to the moves given.

As humans we create appropriate responses to most situations. We can clearly establish where danger is present and determine how we should respond. Similarly we are able to define appropriate responses to other stimuli, whether it be sexual, social, pain, heat, cold etc.

With a Bowen move the response mechanism is thrown into a degree of confusion as to what the appropriate response should be. The moves aren't painful and so therefore defense isn't called for. There is no friction or rubbing so no need to increase fluid to the area. The breaks give the nervous system a chance to establish the correct actions and the body can start the subtle changes it needs to correct and repair itself. In the process other information can be gathered by the body and it is common for areas not being directly treated to respond to the treatment.

Treatments should be scheduled for between five and seven days apart and an initial set of three treatments is recommended in order to establish how the client is likely to respond to treatment.

Response and reactions to treatment click here.