Category Archives: Bowen Therapy

Difference Between Craniosacral Therapy and Bowen Therapy

Bowen Therapy, craniosacral therapy

What is the difference between craniosacral therapy and Bowen therapy?

Marilyn

Response:

Bowen Therapy:

  • Moves, positions and holds hands, feet, arms or legs into various positions for releases
  • Gently rolls the body or positions the body for releases
  • Focus is on the release if trauma and tension throughout the entire body body

Craniosacral

  • Touch is very gentle – more so than Bowen Therapy.
  • The therapist may work on or off the body
  • Focus is on cranial sacral system – the system that comprises the brain, spine and sacrum.

Differences Between Bowen Therapy and Craniosacral therapy:

The difference between cranial sacral therapy and Bowen therapy depends in large part on the practitioner. Some cranial sacral therapists are more technique oriented. They are trained to move through a standard serious of adjustments.

Other cranial sacral therapists are trained to listen to the person’s body and allow the body to communicate how it needs to release the trapped trauma. There is no standard protocol that is used with any particular patient.

My personal experience with Bowen therapy involved a treatment I received from Naturopath doctor John Coleman and his associate four years ago at a workshop in Tacoma, Washington. Bowen therapy originated in Australia in the 1980’s.

I loved receiving the Bowen treatment from John. It clearly allows for gentle releases of stress, trauma and tension.

Bowen therapy is a wonderful therapy, as is craniosacral. Either one will work for some people and not others. It is more physical than craniosacral therapy, but both can generate similar outcomes. If one therapy does not help you, try the other!

John Coleman recommends Bowen therapy to persons with Parkinsons Disease because it was so helpful to him personally. Some people report back to me who have had Bowen therapy that is indeed the case for them. Others report they did not receive the releases that they had hoped for. Still others report relief is maintained for several days after the treatment, but symptoms tend to return.

Many therapists – whether Bowen or Craniosacral – have extensive training with other modalities. When they begin working – they will employ other modalities as needed in addition to using the techniques associated with cranial sacral therapy.

I suggest that anyone who currently has the symptoms Parkinson shop around for a practitioner who provides the support that works well for you. It is a very personal choice. You might want to try several therapists so you can experience the wide range of treatments that are possible.

An alternative option that merits serious consideration is Breathwork which involves continuous breathing to release trauma. For more information visit: https://breathwork.today

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com

What is Bowen Therapy?

Bowen Therapy

Do you have an explanation of Bowen Therapy on your website? I would like one please. What is Bowen Therapy that some medical practitioners say is useful as a therapy for Parkinsons?

Marilyn

So your question turns on what is Bowen Therapy exactly? The Bowen Technique involves a gentle, rolling touch over the muscles and tisses of the body with only very light contact. The ‘rolls’ either tighten or loosen muscles depending on the way the move is done.

The practitioner will stimulate sets of meridian points, with pauses, to allow the body to respond to the stimulation. The Bowen Technique releases built-up stress and trauma that has been trapped in the muscles and tissues of the body. Clients describe experiences of profound relaxation after a session, often falling asleep during the treatment.

The Bowen Technique stimulates the stretch and golgi tendon reflexes as well as joint proprioceptors in a way that heightens the sensory awareness of the body in the area worked on. This can lead to strange sensations such as heat release, tingling and a general increased awareness of the areas being worked.

A typical session takes place over 30 to 45 minutes, with occasional short breaks during the session to allow the body to respond to the treatment. Sessions are usually part of a series of three to five sessions, beginning with general stress loading points such as the lower and upper back, before moving on to problem areas specific to the person being treated.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

Where can I find a Bowen Therapist in the USA?

Bowen Therapy

John Coleman, ND, recommends Bowen therapy
as a way to release trauma and stress from tissues in
the body as one way of finding relief from the symptoms
of Parkinson’s. Bowen therapy originated in Australia, but
there are many therapists who are trained in
Bowen therapy that practice in the United States today. 

If you click on the link below you can do a search of
Bowen therapists by region. This is a very useful resource
because it gives the level of training for each therapist
and their phone number to call for further information.   

       Bowen Therapists in the USA 

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery 

© 2008 Parkinsons Recovery