Left alone in a Bowen session

a friend of mine is a practitioner of Bowen and I was a guinea pig for her when she was training - from my experience the massage movements are performed and then you are left so that the body can adjust, before moving onto the next bit - but my friend stayed in the room with me.

I hope this is clear - she didn't leave me alone in the room - just stopped massaging.

Luv Binah
x

When I have had Bowen, the practitioner went out of the room twice, for about 5 minutes.
This is part of the treatment

tigress

I had a few Bowen treatments, and got the leaflet and also read up a bit on it, about 18 months ago. It didn't work for me, though the practitioner was an honest and trustworthy type of person. But anyway, it's actually part of the method that you are left alone more than half the time (in my experience), yes. If you're not being left, that's a very strange style of Bowen to my knowledge, and questionable -again, to my limited knowledge and memory.

V

I have been to two Bowen therapists. The one who gave me the most effective treatment was the one who left me alone between 'adjustments'. I was with him for about 45 minutes, and he left me for about 3/4 minutes between each movement, and I was left for 15 mins at the end of the session, sitting quietly in a comfy chair, with a glass of cucumber water - I walked out feeling 200% better than when I went in. Later in that year I went to a different practitioner, who never left the room, fiddled about constantly on various parts of my body, and chatted about her personal life - there was also the most dreadful muzak (sounded like Hooked on Classics!) playing in the background. Admittedly, she just had the one room, and had she left, she would have been stood in the gift shop. I couldn't wait to get out, and felt worse afterwards. #

Having looked at the credentials of both, they were trained in different 'camps'. I have since been back several times to the first chap, and find that two sessions is enough to put right anything that might be niggling. The second therapist is no longer working at the back of the shop and she didn't leave a forwarding address.

a friend of mine is a practitioner of Bowen and I was a guinea pig for her when she was training - from my experience the massage movements are performed and then you are left so that the body can adjust, before moving onto the next bit - but my friend stayed in the room with me.

I hope this is clear - she didn't leave me alone in the room - just stopped massaging.

Luv Binah
x

Yes Binah, your post is spot on. The practitioner should not leave the room just stop performing the massage to allow the body to adjust.

Thanks for all your replies.

The strange thing is that my practitioner never seems to "stop" massaging except when she moves to another part of my body (which takes only seconds). My hour usually consists of 10-15 minutes initially telling her how I’ve been etc. Then I lie on my front whilst she massages my back, legs, shoulders etc for about 20-25 minutes. Then I turn over and lie on my back for about 15-20 minutes whilst she massages my arms, neck, head etc. As I said – the only time she doesn’t massage is when she is moving to another part of my body, when she’s removing/replacing towels covering me and when I turn over from my front to my back. This just literally takes seconds (30 seconds at most) and certainly not minutes. At the end of the session she finishes the massage, I lie still for about a minute and then gives me a glass of water. I then pay and leave.

So at no point does she leave me i.e. not massage me (whilst either remaining in the room or outside the room). She did say she trained with the European school of Bowen and she’s very nice but now I’m not so sure about the way that she does things.:(

Thanks for all your replies.

So at no point does she leave me i.e. not massage me (whilst either remaining in the room or outside the room). She did say she trained with the European school of Bowen and she’s very nice but now I’m not so sure about the way that she does things.:(

If what she is doing does not conform to established practises but you are obtaining good results from her, then we should be magnanimous enough to say maybe she has a new technique/style or system that works. After all IMHO most if not all holistic therapies have changed or been added on to over the years

To take a few words out of your signature

You have saddled up anyway.

i think either she has found what to do that suits her and she likes doing it that way as maybe prefer to go wiht flow rather then taking breaks? Or she is in a hurry and want it over with? if you benefit from it then i think it is up to you how you feel maybe try differnet practioner to see how you feel?

Amethystfairy:)

I've never had Bowen and have only ever seen it done on others. I could be totally wrong in what I believe bowen to be bu I never think of it as 'massage' with towels being moved etc. I actually always thought of it as being a clothed therapy. And even if that proves to be wrong, I always thought it was meant to be very gentle movements rather than massaging as such?

Feel free to correct me as I have no idea!

I could be totally wrong in what I believe bowen to be bu I never think of it as 'massage' with towels being moved etc. I actually always thought of it as being a clothed therapy.

I am fully clothed except the towels/blankets are on me to keep me warm (well I’m assuming that’s the reason anyway). She removes the blankets/towels in order to massage a particular area and then places them back when she’s finished in an area. I am using the word massage but you’re right – she uses movements.

I’m only querying her methods as I keep having to go back fairly regularly (like once a fortnight) whereas others I’ve known don’t have to go back so regularly and their healing has been more longer lasting. This also tied in with the fact that I’ve read a few articles saying that the "client" has been left alone during the treatment (in order for the body to respond) and also the girl that I’ve started work with also mentioned that her practitioner leaves her alone for about 20 minutes at the end of her session – again for the same reason.

From my experience with, I'm sure, a good practitioner, being left is definitely a part of Bowen. The philosophy is that your body heals itself. They just give it a nudge. So the healing happens when left alone. She'd come back in and ask in detail every time what I'd felt while she was outside. Moreover, her leaflet suggested that only a few sessions would be enough to deal with almost anything.

V

I get the impression that your (Happygirl) therapist has tweaked what she has learnt into a therapy 'all her own'. I have several colleagues who do Bowen, and all leave the 'body' to adjust between movements - and all rarely see the client more than a few times - generally leaving at least 7 - 10 days between appointments. To have to see you more regularly makes me thinks she hasn't learnt the technique fully enough to make it effective. As Amethystfairy says, maybe you should try a different practitioner.

From my experience with, I'm sure, a good practitioner, being left is definitely a part of Bowen. The philosophy is that your body heals itself. They just give it a nudge. So the healing happens when left alone. She'd come back in and ask in detail every time what I'd felt while she was outside. Moreover, her leaflet suggested that only a few sessions would be enough to deal with almost anything.

V

Not being picky about this,:rolleyes: but yes the client should be allowed to relax and allow their body to adjust and heal, but there is no need to actually leave the room. In fact I would never leave a client alone during any treatment.

Thanks for all your replies. It looks as though my body should be left alone during the treatment.

I get the impression that your (Happygirl) therapist has tweaked what she has learnt into a therapy 'all her own'. I have several colleagues who do Bowen, and all leave the 'body' to adjust between movements - and all rarely see the client more than a few times - generally leaving at least 7 - 10 days between appointments. To have to see you more regularly makes me thinks she hasn't learnt the technique fully enough to make it effective.

Initially I had to go and see the practitioner every 10 days (for the first 3 sessions) but she thought that that would be it and I wouldn’t have to see her again. But it turns out that I still have to go about every 2 weeks – otherwise the neck pain and migraines return. From the other people that I’ve spoken to – they just need an occasional "top up" after the initial session/s. It just made me wonder ?

Thanks for all your replies. It looks as though my body should be left alone during the treatment.

If you look on the link below you will see that it says "a pause" not "leaving the room"
[DLMURL] http://www.bowen-technique.co.uk/howworks.htm [/DLMURL]

The link below gives some further insights.

[DLMURL] http://www.bowen-technique.co.uk/about.htm [/DLMURL]

I'm told that Tom Bowen left the room - and went to other treat other patients - whilst people adjusted to the changes.

I'm told that Tom Bowen left the room - and went to other treat other patients - whilst people adjusted to the changes.

Never heard that one before.

Which would mean that if there was more than two patients it would be a very long time between coming back to the first patient?

Bowen left the room. Why?

I learned Bowen directly from one of Mr Bowen's students. Bowen DID leave the room to go treat other people. Bowen refined his work so that one or two moves are all he did on returning to the client. (so no long, extended periods of abscence). He worked with assistants who helped clients on and of the treatment beds. Why leave the room (besides treating someone else)? So that the client's body could respond to the move without any further interference. Mr Bowen described this as allowing the body to become 'fluid'. Its a process that takes time during the Bowen session to achieve and continues for days afterwards.
I'm sure you're all aware that even being in the same room (not even touching a client) you can influence the outcome. All the Bowen practitioner does is initiate moves that help the body begin it's self-repair mechanisms. Some practitioners do not trust the technique enough to leave the client alone - but I'm pretty sure both main teaching oganisations of Bowen in the UK instruct student practitioners to leave the room. How the qualified practitioner decides to run their clinic is a matter for themselves.

Totally agree with Posturemaster here.

I know of a few Bowen therapists who leave the room and even occassionally treat 2 clients simultaneously going from room to room.

There should only be a few moves and then a pause. To do a lot of moves goes against the fact that the body needs to assimilate the "message" it has just been given

There should be no distractions i.e. talk, music etc I don't know a Bowen practitioner who does any of that.

Some Bowen practitioners do stay in the room but sit silently while the client rests and some leave the room.

I agree with Jabba, I think Hapyygirls practitioner has developed her own therapy.

Still, if it works, don't knock it though I have rarely seen clients come back as often as every fortnight.

That said, Happygirl, you may be doing something after treatment to excacerbate your condition and making it flare up again. Even Bowen can only do so much if we don't change what we do lifestyle wise between treatments.

Patchouli

my friend is a bowen practitioner and I went to her with a specific problem to which she suggested 3-4 treatments should resolve it every 7-10 days and it did beautifully - I felt relief after a couple of sessions and slept like a baby after each one - the only reason she doesnt leave the room is because she would have to stand outside in the cold otherwise (she works from a converted garage) but she leaves me quietly to rest between movements

I find it a strange treatment because it is not as relaxing as a masssage at the time but I feel fantastic afterwards

happygirl - I think the proof of the pudding is how you feel after the treatment (s)

I'm not so sure of the no music/ talking during a Bowen session.
The Bowen practitioner I go to plays quiet relaxing background music as I do as a therapist.
As with the talking, I find some clients like to talk to you during a session, whereas others like to remain quiet. I just respect each individuals way.

I'm not so sure of the no music/ talking during a Bowen session.
The Bowen practitioner I go to plays quiet relaxing background music as I do as a therapist.
As with the talking, I find some clients like to talk to you during a session, whereas others like to remain quiet. I just respect each individuals way.

I did part one and two of the Bowen course a few years ago and the woman who was teaching told our group there should be very little extraneous stimulation as the brain needs to assimilate the message it has been sent by the practitioner.

To talk and have a lot of noise intereferes with the treatment, we were told.

Patchouli

I am a Bowen Practitioner (nearly 10 years now!) and 99% of the time, I leave the room for 2-3 minutes, to allow the body to do its work of healing and re-balancing AND to remove myself from the energy field of my client. If I have a client who likes to chat at the start of a session, I simply move about a metre away from the table and out of the field of energy between moves and listen without too much replying! 😉 Eventually, the client is happy to just relax and not talk anymore. I also ask for feedback before I do the next set of moves - if the client is still having a response like warmth, ache, fluttering, twitching etc. - I will wait another minute or so until any sensations subside. Bit like a computer - wait till it has completed the last command/task you gave it before asking it to do something else!! 😀

I generally see my clients 2-3 times, around a week apart and in the majority of cases, that is enough to address most issues. I then see the client as they wish, somewhere between 4-8 weeks for 'maintenance' or 'top-ups'! 🙂 I have also found that clients who come back after many months of no Bowen, respond very quickly - the body seems to remember what to do!
Having said all of that, I also respect that we all have our own way of developing our work and what works best for our client and ourselves.

Intent and intuition is paramount to success and healing, in my opinion! Oh, and I absolutely always play some very calming and peaceful music quietly in the background - reiki music, Medicine Woman, Tony O'Connor or peaceful classical pieces. 😉

Hiya it could be the NST 'version' of Bowen which leaves no breaks and hits the body with everything it can and lets the body work it out! Having done the Bowen what everyone else does - learnt with ossie and elaine rentsch - I find this type too harsh. I think you need to look elsewhere for a Bowen therapist.