IT’S NOT   The fundamental distinction between Bowenwork and other modalities is that Bowenwork is not operator directed. Other modalities are manually or energetically concerned through diagnostic certainty with manipulating the physical or energetic body to do what they believe is required to repair it. Bowen is concerned with activating a response that puts the full diagnostic and repair responsibility with the client. This happens below the conscious level for the most part. The results are integrated into ongoing function because the body was engaged in the decision and performed the action to change, leading to long lasting results.   Massage falls into the category of strong stimuli by virtue of volume of contact even if the specific intensity is weak. Therefore per the Arndt-Schulz law of Physiology  (Weak stimuli increases physiologic activity, moderate stimuli inhibits activity, and very strong stimuli abolishes activity) it abolishes or shuts down activity. The discernable effects of this shut down can last a day or more (4 days is the time allotted before Bowen can be performed) but eventually the body returns to its prior state with no new strategies to deal with its problems except perhaps yearning to be shut down again. Of course it feels good but it is not the long term answer to correct function. Does this pattern sound familiar concerning pain relievers? Receiving massage outside of the parameters of Bowenwork can be a wonderful experience and is recommended because it relaxes and brings body awareness.    Chiropractic seeks to activate the innate healing response but does not take into account.  1. That mixing it with massage, heat or electrical stimulation dilutes or stops the response. 2. The “thrust move” which mechanically repositions the spine is a strong stimulus and when done in excess can weaken connective tissue. 3. The timing variables between adjustments and sessions may not allow the body opportunity to activate itself.  Bowenwork™ gets results in about 1/5 the number of visits typical of chiropractic. Spines will reset to proper position with the full cooperation of the surrounding tissue rather than in spite of it when using Bowen procedures.   Energy work and its many models, from the meridians and points used in acupuncture, Shiatsu, and Jin Shin Do to the marma points in the Aruvedic model and the positive, neutral and negative aspects of polarity all have rich histories. The list goes on with Chakras, the layers of the aural body, and the incorporation of different light and sound techniques. Reflexologists work with microcosms of the body in the feet, hands, ear or tongue. Do all of these energy fields exist and have a bearing in health and well being, and can they be manipulated to activate change? Just like other directed therapies and medicines the answer is yes; at times they are able to micromanage and influence an element that is part of the big picture in a way that has positive results. The Bowen approach does not suppose to know at which sublevel(s) there is disruption taking place but rather beliefs that the individual body/mind of the client can be activated to accomplish a resetting of all the components under its control.   IT IS Empowerment: From my Bowenwork perspective the only authority (outside of Divine intervention – which should never be discounted) that has been there through all the good health, from the start of the problem, with the best view in the house, with all the tools necessary to do the repairs is the brain/body itself. Engage it, activate its own diagnostic capability, let it reference its own knowledge of its correct function, position, chemical and energetic mixes and it will have an irrepressible desire to restore itself and blend all of its resource in accelerated action to complete the task. Bowenwork is the cues essential holistic modality working with and affecting the entire human being. Bowenwork can accomplish everything that every other bodywork modality is capably of because the human being is just that capable when it is aligned with its underlying power.   Return to How it Works