Article from the Bowen Technique Norwich website
(https://bowentechniquenorwich.co.uk/2016/08/15/how-can-a-gentle-bowen-move-have-such-a-powerful-effect)
Bowen Technique Norwich
How can a gentle Bowen move have such a powerful effect?
August 15, 2016 ~ Natalie Lang
Many of my clients are often ask me ” how can you do so little and get such effective results?” In my early days as a Practitioner I found this question hard to answer and the only sensible reply I could come up with “Bowen works, I’m not sure how, but it just does”.
Precise, gentle, moves over muscles and tendons
Thankfully new studies and research have started to reveal answers to the question above.
The simplicity of Bowen Technique begins with its method. Using fingers and thumbs, with gentle slow pressure, the Bowen move is applied to the body by drawing the skin back (in time with the clients breathing) to the edge of the muscle, tendon or ligament, and then held for a moment or two. (Bowen therapists describe this as ‘challenging the muscles’)
While the move is at rest position, it has a two fold effect on the structures underneath.
The ‘slow melting pressure’ describes the softening of the fascia (connective tissue matrix that covers muscles and organs of the body) allowing the therapist to rest deeper into the tissue below, creating and finishing with a precise active move over the particular area. It is at this point that the Bowen moves creates a piezoelectric current.
The word Piezoelectric is derived from the Greek piezein, which means to squeeze or press, and piezo, which is Greek for “push”.
In his book ‘Energy Medicine’ Dr James Oschman states that the current creates “signals that inform the cells of the movement, loads, or other activities occurring elsewhere in their body. The cells, in turn, are thought to use this information to adjust their activities in maintaining and nourishing the surrounding tissues.”
Dr Oschman’s explanation of what happens when a slow, gentle Bowen move is applied to the body, also highlights why the ‘gaps’ or ‘breaks’ become so integral to a Bowen treatment. One of my clients described the gaps as an opportunity to “let it sink in”. Working precisely and efficiently with piezoelectric inducing moves creates the philosophy “less is more”, reducing intervention by the therapist to its lowest, leaving the body to do what it does best to restore health and balance.
“Bowen’s gentle stimulation of the fascial tissue and muscular system appears to facilitate the body’s capacity to detect, amplify and process bio-electromagnetic signals that are crucial for health.” (2)
(1) Schleip, R., Fascia as a Sensory Organ, World Massage Conference Webinar, Nov 2009
(2) Bowen – Moving Blocked Energy by Kayode Olafimihan and Susannah Hall (more info) listed in bowen technique, originally published in issue 74 – March 2002
Source: https://bowentechniquenorwich.co.uk/2016/08/15/how-can-a-gentle-bowen-move-have-such-a-powerful-effect/
(https://bowentechniquenorwich.co.uk/2016/08/15/how-can-a-gentle-bowen-move-have-such-a-powerful-effect)
Bowen Technique Norwich
How can a gentle Bowen move have such a powerful effect?
August 15, 2016 ~ Natalie Lang
Many of my clients are often ask me ” how can you do so little and get such effective results?” In my early days as a Practitioner I found this question hard to answer and the only sensible reply I could come up with “Bowen works, I’m not sure how, but it just does”.
Precise, gentle, moves over muscles and tendons
Thankfully new studies and research have started to reveal answers to the question above.
The simplicity of Bowen Technique begins with its method. Using fingers and thumbs, with gentle slow pressure, the Bowen move is applied to the body by drawing the skin back (in time with the clients breathing) to the edge of the muscle, tendon or ligament, and then held for a moment or two. (Bowen therapists describe this as ‘challenging the muscles’)
While the move is at rest position, it has a two fold effect on the structures underneath.
- It invites the body’s awareness to the particular area you are working on.
- It activates the ‘slow melting pressure’ a term described by Robert Schleip PHD in Fascial research.(1)
The ‘slow melting pressure’ describes the softening of the fascia (connective tissue matrix that covers muscles and organs of the body) allowing the therapist to rest deeper into the tissue below, creating and finishing with a precise active move over the particular area. It is at this point that the Bowen moves creates a piezoelectric current.
The word Piezoelectric is derived from the Greek piezein, which means to squeeze or press, and piezo, which is Greek for “push”.
In his book ‘Energy Medicine’ Dr James Oschman states that the current creates “signals that inform the cells of the movement, loads, or other activities occurring elsewhere in their body. The cells, in turn, are thought to use this information to adjust their activities in maintaining and nourishing the surrounding tissues.”
Dr Oschman’s explanation of what happens when a slow, gentle Bowen move is applied to the body, also highlights why the ‘gaps’ or ‘breaks’ become so integral to a Bowen treatment. One of my clients described the gaps as an opportunity to “let it sink in”. Working precisely and efficiently with piezoelectric inducing moves creates the philosophy “less is more”, reducing intervention by the therapist to its lowest, leaving the body to do what it does best to restore health and balance.
“Bowen’s gentle stimulation of the fascial tissue and muscular system appears to facilitate the body’s capacity to detect, amplify and process bio-electromagnetic signals that are crucial for health.” (2)
(1) Schleip, R., Fascia as a Sensory Organ, World Massage Conference Webinar, Nov 2009
(2) Bowen – Moving Blocked Energy by Kayode Olafimihan and Susannah Hall (more info) listed in bowen technique, originally published in issue 74 – March 2002
Source: https://bowentechniquenorwich.co.uk/2016/08/15/how-can-a-gentle-bowen-move-have-such-a-powerful-effect/