How Does Bowen Work?

This question is the most asked. In fact, when I first started my practice, I'd have people say, "bone work or Boeing work, what's that?" It has always made me laugh because I remember my first encounter with Bowenwork and just how confused I was about what it was and what it did. It can seem a bit mysterious and unexplainable. However, once you understand a little bit more about the how the human body self-regulates, the mystery becomes a little more explainable.

Autonomic Nervous System Function
The biggest effect Bowenwork has on the body is how it allows the body to change gears from a state of stress to a state of relaxation, by activating the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This system is responsible for over 80% of bodily functions and it affects everything that happens "automatically" in the body such as circulation, digestion, hormonal balance, etc. The ANS is a part of the Peripheral Nervous system and is further broken down into sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic portion is activated when the body is in a state of emergency and needs to "fight, flight, or freeze." When the body is not in a state of alarm, the parasympathetic is activated and you are able to "rest and digest."

Due to the high levels of stress in our fast paced world, our autonomic nervous system is often overloaded. This is why there are so many health issues related to autonomic system overload, such as digestive problems, sleep issues, back pain, headaches, and chronic pain patterns.

We encourage this shift from a stressed (sympathetic) to a relaxed (parasympathetic) is activated by the delivery of gentle rolling activations or ‘moves’ over soft tissue regions. Each move is performed in a specific location, with a specific amount of pressure, and a precise movement. The response from these movements is an activation of the ANS, whereby signals are sent to the brain. These signals made by the Bowen moves, over-ride conscious movement and thought, thereby directly stimulating the parasympathetic or healing mechanisms of the body. This signal also stimulates the nerve receptors in the muscle tissue, creating a message that alerts the nervous system that the “emergency is over.” Once the body recognizes that it no longer needs to be stuck in this locked state, it begins to heal.  It is common for a person to go into a deep relaxation during a session and have immediate results from this shift.

The process is very gentle and does not require inflicting pain or force to achieve results. Bowenwork can be useful in a new injury or a chronic case.  Results are often seen within just a few sessions.

Here are some other mechanisms that are positively affected by Bowenwork:

Stretch Reflex
When you stand in an upright position and bend to one side, muscles in your spine begin to stretch, but at the same time they have to contract to be able to continue to hold you upright so that you don’t fall over.  This movement is being controlled by receptors located at every stage of the muscle; belly, origination, and insertion. When these receptor sites are activated, they send the brain feedback as to how the muscles are working, whether they are contracting, stretching or holding tension.  When you have a postural imbalance or muscle pain and tightness, it’s often because this feedback loop of communication is interrupted. These interruptions often occur from injury, imbalanced movement, lack of healthy exercise, etc.

Bowenwork plays a crucial role in restoring this feedback loop by the application of precise movements directed over these muscle receptor sites.  Each movement relays new information, helping to restore healthy muscle activity and balanced posture. 

Joint Proprioception
Proprioceptors communicate to the brain where the body is in time in space. Without proprioception, your body wouldn’t be aware of itself and its relationship to the outside world.   A good example of proprioception is watching a child learn how to walk.  It takes time and practice for her to know how to co-ordinate moving one foot in front of the other without falling over.

When there is an injury to a joint, such as in an ankle sprain, the proprioceptors are affected.  Ever wonder why someone injures their ankle, only to re-injure it over and over? With each injury, the tissue and proprioception feedback loop gets weakened causing it to be more susceptible to re-injury.

To assist in the healing of a joint restriction or injury, Bowenwork moves are performed around the connective tissues of the joint capsule.  These activations stimulate the proprioceptors to communicate new information to the brain, encouraging the nervous system to heal the area of injury, thus restoring healthy mobility and tissue health.

(As a side note, especially in the case of ankle injuries, in addition to therapeutic Bowenwork sessions, doing balancing movements without shoes on, such as standing yoga postures, can help retrain and strengthen ankle proprioception, allowing the ankle to respond better to movement and stress, therefore reducing the risk of re-injury.)

Fascia
Fascia is a continuous three dimensional fibrous tissue that surrounds and supports all your muscles, organs, blood vessels, and nerves.  It is in a sense, it is the “web” that holds your body together and plays a dynamic role in stabilizing, supporting and cushioning the body from head to toe.

When the fascia becomes injured, tight, dehydrated, or torqued, it has a negative impact on maintaining balance and homeostasis in the body; therefore all the tissues it supports are impacted. 

Bowen activations directly affect the fascial layers allowing the softening of scar tissue, increase in circulation, reduction of adhesions, improvement in posture, and increase in mobility and range of motion.

Lymphatic Function
The lymphatic system works with the cardiovascular system to keep the body fluids in balance and in fighting disease. 

Because Bowenwork moves are applied gently to the body, they can affect lymph flow, assist in the reduction of swelling, encourage healthy circulation, and stimulate immune function.

Segmental Viscerosomatic Reflexes
These reflexes pertain to reactions and sensations in the body that are related to an organ.  For example, there is a reflex arc between the organs of elimination and detoxification (kidney, liver and bowel) and the lower spine. If this system is out of balance, this viscerosomatic reflex can cause tension in the lower back, causing pain down the legs. 

Bowenwork moves positively engage these reflexes.

Blue Print and Energetic Healing
It has been suggested that Bowenwork enables the body to “remember” itself and restore healing back to its original blueprint.  Energetic medicine recognizes the blueprint is contained in the auric field. When this field is activated thru sound or vibration, the body has a remembrance of wellbeing and can reorganize and re-pattern itself to a state of homeostasis.

Homeopathy
I’ve heard Ossie and Elaine compare Bowenwork to homeopathic medicine a number of times.  Homeopathic medicine is a system of therapy based on the concept that disease can be treated with drugs (in minute doses) thought capable of producing the same symptoms in healthy people as the disease itself. So, in essence, “like cures like.” Bowenwork uses same idea.  Give the body just a little activation and it stimulates the body’s ability to heal itself.

Relationship to Chinese Acupuncture and Detox
Many of the Bowenwork moves are performed on acupuncture points and along meridians.  It is believed stimulating these points and meridians, increases the “chi” or life force of the body.  Research has shown, acupuncture point activation causes an increase in the production of endorphins, activates the immune and endocrine systems.  There is also a diuretic effect after an acupuncture point is activated which can assist in the natural detoxification of the body.

Harmonic Vibration
Mr. Bowen’s work has been often time compared to that of a musician playing his instrument.  It seems the bowenwork moves set up a sort of harmonic vibration that invites the body back to homeostasis and harmony.  Just like listening to classical music has a relaxing and calming affect on the body.

Side Note: In my years of practicing Bowenwork, I’m convinced this is one of the reasons that Bowenwork is so effective.  It seems the order and placement of the Bowenwork moves and procedures creates a harmonic vibration within the body.  I think of it as a music masterpiece.  Mr. Bowen took specific movements, analogous to musical notes, and arranged them in a way, like a musical melody, that gives the body a harmonic message and its response is to relax and heal.