A Bowen Treatment - What To Expect

A Bowen treatment usually starts off with you lying on your front – however if this is not comfortable for you for any reason, or if you are heavily pregnant then I can do seated Bowen; and for toddlers or babies who may not lie still I can adapt what I need to do! After a short while I will ask you to turn over to lie on your back.

Three Treatments

Ideally, I ask you to commit to three treatments, about a week apart. The first treatment is to get you and your body used to the Bowen Technique and is usually the same for everyone over the age of 12.

For an acute injury, the sooner you receive a Bowen Treatment the quicker it can support you.

Your first appointment will take slightly longer as I will take your case history – with babies and children I will take the case history before the first appointment so the time with me can be spent making sure they are relaxed and receive some treatment.

The Two Minute Wait

The most unusual thing about a Bowen treatment (for an adult) is that after each set of moves I will leave the room for at least 2 minutes. The gentle, but powerful, Bowen Technique moves send neurological impulses to the brain, which is needs time to process them (ie, the 2-minute waits). The brain will feed impulses back, subconsciously, via the autonomic nervous system shifting the body into parasympathetic dominance (ie, rest, relax and repair mode) and to help support a deep sense of overall relaxation. Respecting this feedback loop is essential for allowing the body to restore its own natural balance.

A treatment may last between 20 and 50 minutes. Sometimes it will require you to be left to rest for longer at the end.

If any scar tissue release is necessary, I will usually wait until your second treatment before working on a scar.

What to Wear

Bowen moves can be done on bare skin or through light, loose clothing - I will ask for heavy and/or tight clothing (eg jeans or leggings) to be removed.