A Bowen Clinic, and other journeys

This is the nicest piece of graffiti I’ve seen.

“If no one has told you today, I’m proud of you. You didn’t get this far just to get this far. Keep going!!! ♥️♥️”

On the same afternoon a few weeks ago, at separate times, two new clients came to my clinic to see if Bowen Therapy might help their body. Each had different issues. They were from different towns, and as far as I know they’re not related and don’t even know each other.

During their initial interviews they both spoke about experiencing whole body pain every night for quite some time, but neither had written it on their intake form. They used the same terminology to name and describe it.

They would wake up in the middle of the night and be so sore they couldn’t move. It took extreme willpower to move any joint, and it was absolutely excruciating, but once they changed positions the pain would ease and they could go back to sleep.

Both clients came back weekly, and their priority issues were gradually resolving. This week they had their third treatment. When I enquired about their whole body pain at night they both looked a little surprised and said “Oh, I’d forgotten about that,” and thought for a while. “I haven’t had that since before the last Bowen treatment.”

May you have a rejuvenating weekend.

Have I mentioned how important it is to drink enough good quality fresh water every day? I think so, just a few times. I can even hear some of you rolling your eyes as I write this.

I was lamenting with a particularly delightful client that I wouldn’t be able to continue to enjoy her company anymore as she is getting so much better and she won’t be coming in anymore. Her response was:

“Don’t worry Prue, I’ll come back and have a drink of water with you”. 🤣

I have lots of interesting and intelligent clients, and so many interesting conversations happen in my clinic.

The other day a client was telling me some of the ways her family is saving money, and wanted to check that they wouldn’t impact their health. I have integrated most the same ideas after doing a detoxing course with Jennifer Price a few months ago, so was able to confidently assure her that she was probably on the right track health wise.

Some of her ideas included:

Cooking with coconut oil or pure lard to make it easy to clean surfaces with a hot damp cloth.
Using bicarb and white vinegar for cleaning kitchens and bathrooms when a hot damp cloth doesn’t do the job.
Using bicarb and water instead of shampoo and apple cider vinegar and water instead of conditioner.
Scrub the skin with water rather than using soap.
Use colloidal silver spray and a crystal salt deodorant.
Brush your teeth with baking powder and water.

Just to name a few. Recommend you use good quality products not necessarily found in supermarkets.

“The more we bathe the less we bond.” Most of us are washing ourselves in a manner that strips the natural oils from our skin. Then we replace that with artificially pleasant smelling creams and moisturisers, and to top it off apply chemically smelly deodorant, aftershave and perfumes. All the while the scent that our bodies would naturally emit if it were cleaned with more natural products, which makes us socially acceptable on a natural instinctive but subconscious level, can no longer be recognised.

So these few ideas, using these simple products, may reduce our grocery bill, reduce our toxic load AND improve our social life. Win win all round I think.

“My body feels less heavy. My chest is breathing better. Sleeping really well - only woke up once last night.” This was a new client’s response when I checked in to see how she was going three days after her first session of Bowen Therapy.

At the end of a Bowen treatment people often comment that the painful area feels lighter or, in fact, their whole body feels lighter.

This feeling may be a reflection of the rehydration of the fascia, restoring its flexibility so that it allows the muscles to work properly. If all the muscles are working properly then nothing is dragging the tensegrity structure of the body down.

This feeling of “lightness” is actually normal, but is different to what the person has got used to thinking is normal. When the body recalibrated itself, that lightness then becomes the new normal.

My kefir grains are just loving the raw milk from Katie Simmond’s Dubbo Health Food Shop!

For those that make their own kefir, I find that the kefir grains take a few days to get used to a new type of milk before they’re happy and start multiplying again. But they take to the raw milk and increase by about 30% from day one, so the milk must be good! And it’s so yummy!

For those that would like to begin making your own kefir so you have a cheap source of probiotics and all the other good stuff it contains, you can have some of mine. When I get too many, my chookies love them, but I’d prefer they go to improving the health of a human.

Sometimes what you put in your mouth really matters. Having had Bowen Therapy resolve her knee pain and increase her energy levels and motivation, a farmer continues to see me every month to manage her back pain that just kept coming back. After one of these monthly sessions she was asking me about what I eat, and why. It turned out we eat almost the same things, except that she has oat porridge for breakfast.

"You should try it," she said. "It's so good for you."

"Is it?" I replied. Then I pointed out, given what I'd just explained to her, how it would effect my body and why I wouldn't eat it. She concluded the conversation by stating that she wouldn't survive if she didn't have her porridge in the morning.

The following month she said that she'd actually stopped eating oat porridge in the morning to see what happened, and had replaced it with some protein and vegetables. A few days later she noticed that her anxiety was much better, and that her bowel motions had become more regular. When I asked about her lower back pain she said that it had only just come back the day beforehand, and rather than being across her whole lower back, it was just in one spot and only niggled at her when she went to sit down. This was much better than all the previous times, and a very different pain pattern.

She said she thinks all these improvements were because of stopping the oat porridge, and expressed amazement at how much better she feels without her morning porridge.

This is an amazing leg story, but I promise I'm not pulling your leg. A regular client had a hip operation a few months ago and was recovering well. Not long before her appointment with me she had moved the hip in a manner in which she had been told not to for some time yet, and she found out why - it REALLY hurt! She was scared the hip had "popped out again" and she'd need another operation, because it felt like the last time that had happened.

She, like most people, says it always takes a few days to feel the full benefits of a Bowen treatment. I always hope to relieve her pain immediately but most of the time that doesn't happen. This was one of those times, and when I left she was still in a considerable amount of pain.

The next evening she sent me this text message, "Prue, my leg came good at 2.30pm today. Thank you. The pain is sooo good, all gone. I won't be doing that again."

I spoke to her the next morning and she told me that it was like one minute it hurt, and the next it didn't. Extraordinary how the body takes the messages from Bowen and applies them. I wonder what happened in that time between the treatment and the relief, and what the body did to change so suddenly. Fascinating.

I had someone call me on their way to the airport, in a hurry. He was going overseas on business and hadn’t had time to do anything about his sore elbow, and wondered if I could do anything in 10 minutes to fix it. He didn’t really have any other options at such short notice, so I said I’d give it a go and if it didn’t work he wouldn’t have to pay me.

So he dropped in, I did a few Bowen moves and the elbow felt all better. Always astounding when this happens so fast. I got paid (full price too) and off he went.

He called a couple of weeks later saying his elbow hadn’t troubled him at all since, and was it just a fluke or not? I said the fluke was that he out of all the therapists in Dubbo he chose to see someone who knew how to fix it that fast. Cheeky huh?

It was a bit like the story of the aeronautical engineer who was flown to the other side of the world to fix an aeroplane engine that wouldn’t start and after some consideration he got a hammer and tapped on a part and started it ran smoothly after that. He was paid $20,000 for that.

Perhaps I should ask that price for working under pressure to a time constraint 🤣🤣

A farmer, who has a small orchard of olive trees, comes to see me every few years when things start going wrong. He always brings me a tub of the yummiest olives, because he knows I have a soft spot for them.

Last time he was in I must have admitted to him that I didn’t share the last tub of olives with the Beloved Business Coach. So this time he brought in two tubs - one for me and one for my beloved. What a treasure!

There are a few things every horse rider should know about saddle fitting. This is one of them. Keep your horse comfortable so that you (or your kids) are safe.

I was running a bit late, and the carer of the client I was treating had arrived to pick her up. I came out of the therapy room, having finished the treatment, to hear my next client, well into her eighties, telling the carer “… and that’s how Prue and her Bowen keep me going so well.”

I have no idea what she said, but the carer also made an appointment then and there!

A 13yo kelpie had one hind leg amputated when it was 6 months old. Chiropractic and osteopathic treatments when required have kept her in good shape but these practitioners haven’t been available for a while. The owner asked me if I might try helping the dog. Its remaining hind leg wasn’t working so well and she was scooting around on her butt pulling herself along with her front legs.

Since the amputation the dog has not liked her back and tail being touched, and the owner had to hold her for the other therapists to treat her. That doesn’t really work for CCMRT (Bowen on dogs), so I didn’t get much done in the first session. Despite that, the owner thought there may have been some improvement during the week, especially as the cooler mornings had set in.

At the start of the second treatment it was obvious that she was still not wanting me to touch her, so I decided to use the quantum science approach with TBT. She sat hiding in her bed, and I sat on the verandah, unable to see her, and did my work.

The next day I had this text exchange with the owner:

“Thank you very much for your session with # # yesterday. She is running around so, so much happier.”
“Is she up on her hind leg?”
“Yes, she has been getting up and running around on her hind leg. She’s so much happier.”

I always find these results remarkable, especially the remote work.

Over the years I’ve introduced many Bowen Therapists to the concept of remote or distance healing. During the Covid lockdowns I spent some time developing a 2 day workshop on remote Bowen treatments which included a structure, the importance of asking for permission, as well as information on how it works using some quantum science principles. It was so interesting to pair up people to practise on each other in different countries and to hear the recipients’ experiences.

Also during Covid I trained and qualified in another equine modality which involves quantum science principles, called Tucker Biokinetic Therapy (TBT). Because we love horses so much we were sure to practise on a human first before we worked on our horse 🤣. This technique works for all animals, and is also effective remotely.

Using TBT, have been able to assist some people in Sydney with adverse reactions. They were all unable to work due to fatigue and either pain or different neurological problems. Whilst their symptoms didn’t fully resolve, they decreased significantly so they could easily return to work.

Once again, I was in Dubbo and they were in Sydney.

Shortly after successfully treating the shearer’s back and wrist pain with remote Bowen, I was asked to help a lady from Brewarrina who couldn’t get in to Dubbo. Over the previous four years she had progressively increasing fatigue and pain which was preventing her from doing much. Four weekly remote Bowen sessions and the lady was back working a full day in the paddocks, preparing meals and keeping up with the housework, washing and gardening.

After that there was the amazing recovery of a lady that had been recently diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia - incredible nerve pain in the jaw and face. This was during one of the Covid lockdowns, and I was at home in Dubbo and she was at home an hour away.

And for years I’ve been helping beautiful Yvonne from Kununurra, whose post I shared on Monday.

My first real foray into the world of remote Bowen was back when I was doing Equine Muscle Release Therapy training. An Austrian shearer working in Gippsland got me talking about it, and wanted to experience it to see if it really worked.

We got together on the phone one Sunday, her near Orbost and me in Dubbo, I treated her and we did the same the following week. Her lower back pain and symptoms of carpal tunnel, both of which she’d had for a few years and were gradually getting worse, resolved.

I spoke with her three months later and 2 years after that, and she still hadn’t had either problem come back despite continuing to shear sheep for 6 months in Austria and 6 months in Australia each year.

I enjoy helping people all over Australia. Thank you Yvonne A McKerrow Jennings for these kind words.

A newly retired tradie used to come for Bowen Therapy every week for three years before he and his wife retired to the coast. I tried to convince him to come fortnightly, then monthly, as his back, neck, shoulder and digestive issues resolved, however he insisted on his weekly treatments.

He was a burley tough bloke, one that I wouldn’t have expected liked pampering. I asked him occasionally why he thought he needed Bowen every week, and he would never tell me. That is, until his very last session. It was a little hard to hear, and brings a tear to my eye every time I think of it.

“You want to know why I saw you every week? I’ll tell you. My very first Bowen treatment was on the 15th anniversary of my son’s su***de. I never told anyone, but I talk to him every day, and before then there was nothing, and I wanted to kill myself to be with him. Every day I planned for my own su***de tomorrow, and every day there was another tomorrow, until that very first Bowen treatment.

I thought I’d been scammed, the little that you did, but next day I woke up. I didn’t feel like killing myself for the first day in 15 years. I kept checking in to see how I was going, trying to find that desire not to be here on the planet, but it just wasn’t there. At the end of the day I thought wow, that Bowen must have done something.

For a while I was too scared not to have my weekly sessions, but after a while I got my confidence back and realised I didn’t need them. But that quiet place in my mind that I go to when I’m having Bowen is the time I felt my son is with me, and I didn’t want to miss out on that, ever.

Over the last few years I’ve healed from my grief, and today, in there on the massage table, I explained to him that mum and I are moving to the coast, and I didn’t know if I’d find another Bowen Therapist over there, but I was OK with that, and said goodbye. You know the response I got? My whole body got warm like I was having a nice big hug, and I know my son is coming with me, and he will always be with me from now on.

That’s why I’ve come back every week. Bowen gave me my life back, and then gave me my son back.”

Bowen Therapy helps people in so many ways we will never ever know or understand.

Excited that this program is up and going, and to be a part of it. I’ve helped so many people with symptoms lingering from concussions sustained weeks or decades beforehand. Hopefully the results of this will help everyone recognise that there really is a treatment for concussion.

Good timing as the football season get underway.
I’ve just recently completed all the prerequisites to become a Bowen Association of Australia (BAA) listed Bowen Concussion Protocol Practitioner.

What does this mean?

It lets you know I’ve :
- Had my technique reviewed by a registered Bowen trainer.
- Took part in a series of zoom meetings and webinars into the use of the Bowen technique and the protocol to help people with post concussion symptoms.
- Completed concussion education via the Concussion Legacy Foundation and Connectivity - Traumatic Brain Injury Australia

It gives me more confidence, knowledge and insights when clients present after a concussion.
It also allows me to take part in the study this year into Bowen and concussion recovery with the BAA.

It backs up the experience I already have over the last 12 months working with the players in the concussion return to play protocol as a trainer at the Portarlington FNC.

And it has assisted me in treating my daughter who had a concussion a month ago and is now recovered and back playing netball.

I hope I don’t have to call on it often but in reality in 2021 it was the second most common injury in the AFL.

It’s great that Bowen is for everyone and it doesn’t matter how you sustained your concussion.

Newborn twins were brought in to see me on their way home from hospital. Their birth had been difficult, and the smallest was in the special care nursery for many days before being returned to her mother’s room.

During that time her sister had developed symptoms which the parents were told was reflux. Those symptoms were so bad that she was put in the special care nursery which further prolonged their time in hospital.

Finally all were reunited and they were sent home to their father and 3 young siblings - 5 under 5!

Before they travelled the couple of hours home they saw me, hoping I might help the first twin with difficulty suckling and the second with reflux. I also gave the beautiful mother a relaxing Bowen treatment while their father basked in the peace of sleeping babies in both arms.

After a settled and filling breastfeed, they headed off on their way home. A few weeks later I heard from them and the little family had not looked back. The mother was busy but happy, and the twins were settled and thriving. All was going well in that full house.

Tribute to Tom Bowen on his birthday. Tom developed this gentle and effective soft tissue therapy last century, and it has since become known around the world as Bowen Therapy. It helps so many people and animals with pain and suffering in the most remarkably effective way.
To mark the occasion, all proceeds from Bowen treatments today will go to the Tom Bowen Legacy Trust Fund, which assists children with disabilities.

The only people who enjoy the results of Bowen Therapy on anxiety more than Bowen Therapists, are the anxious people they help. 💕

Doing some shopping at one of my favourite locally owned food stores, I noticed a little toddler with a big bump on his forehead. I smiled at the mother and commented about the obvious recent tumble, and she explained the he’d fallen 3 times in the last 12 hours and bumped exactly the same part of his forehead.

I offered to give the wee lad a Baby Bowen then and there, hoping it might improve his coordination a bit, and she accepted.

When I’d finished the grandmother, who has been interested in Bowen for a while, tells people about it but hasn’t had a treatment yet, asked what I’d done on her grandson and what does it do.

My response was talking about how Bowen seems to trigger the body to recall and realign to its blueprint, how it knows it should be, like in the womb. Because little ones haven’t had much time away from that, their bodies don’t require much to remember that and it is quick and easy for them to come back into balance.

Driving back to work I was contemplating how the two little moves opening up the thoracic back, and the three little moves addressing the diaphragm can resolve such a large myriad of baby complaints. All I could come up with was this.

The first thing we do when we’re born is to take a breath. The last thing we do when we die it’s to take a breath. Is it any wonder that, in getting back to the blueprint, it’s all about the breath.

A visitor to Dubbo popped in the other day for Bowen for the back pain he’d developed on the long drive to Dubbo. He’s a client of the “Grandmother of Bowen”, Bowen Therapist and instructor, the beautiful Anne Schubert from Forster, and knew that Bowen would make his visit to Dubbo comfortable. Boy was he passionate!

He walked in and announced “I still can’t believe people don’t know about Bowen! Nobody I’ve spoken to here knows what it is, and it’s the best therapy, in fact the only therapy, that works every time for everything that my body struggles with.” Boy was he passionate!

I have a sign in my clinic that says “YOU GET BETTER, THEN YOU TELL YOUR FRIENDS.” We talked about what a shame it is that, when telling their friends about how Bowen might help them, Bowen clients get the following responses or a version thereof:

“It sounds too good to be true.”

“It must’ve been a coincidence.”

“It’s all very well for you, but that (resolution of problem) could never happen for me.”

So please help. If you’ve had Bowen (and you’ve no doubt benefitted from it) please Share any social media posts you see about Bowen in the future. Please help to spread the love and the word so that more people can benefit soon.

Thanks for helping to stamp out needless physical and emotional suffering, and helping to make the world a better place.

"Why did my shoulder get better when you fixed my sciatic pain?"

People often present for Bowen Therapy with both sciatic and shoulder pain, and choose as their priority to have me focus on their sciatic pain first. It is a common theme that correcting the sciatic problem will correct the shoulder issue as well.

In my work I look at many of the systems of connections that are within the body, and choose to work with structures accordingly. Two of these connections I use are the scientific fascia lines (Thomas Myers' Anatomy Trains) and the energy based meridian lines (from Traditional Chinese Medicine).

In the case of the connection between sciatic pain and the shoulder, I often refer to the Pericardium Meridian, which travels through the front of the shoulder, down the inside of the arm to the palm and the end of the middle finger. The muscles that stimulate this meridian are the piriformis, one of the gluteal muscles and one of the leg adductors.

A tight piriformis muscle is often indicated in sciatic pain, as it can squash the sciatic nerve which lies either underneath it or runs through it. The nerve can also run over the top of the muscle as well, in which case the tight muscle wouldn't impact the nerve at all.

By addressing and releasing the pressure on the sciatic nerve by using Bowen on the piriformis and gluteal muscles, I am stimulating the energy in the Pericardium Meridian which also relieves the shoulder issue. I don't even need to touch the shoulder.

It works both ways too. I recall one lady who came in with sciatic pain and she couldn't stand the thought of anyone touching it because it was so tender and sore. With "first do no harm" in mind, I addressed her shoulder in that first treatment and didn't touch the area of concern at all. Immediately after the session she felt a slight improvement in her discomfort, and during the week she got significant relief to such an extent that I was able to directly address the piriformis muscle in the second session. This cleared up the problem.

A newly retired tradie used to come for Bowen Therapy every week for three years before he and his wife retired to the coast. I tried to convince him to come fortnightly, then monthly, as his back, neck, shoulder and digestive issues resolved, however he insisted on his weekly treatments.

He was a burley tough bloke, one that I wouldn’t have expected liked pampering. I asked him occasionally why he thought he needed Bowen every week, and he would never tell me. That is, until his very last session. It was a little hard to hear, and brings a tear to my eye every time I think of it.

“You want to know why I saw you every week? I’ll tell you. My very first Bowen treatment was on the 15th anniversary of my son’s su***de. I never told anyone, but I talk to him every day, and before then there was nothing, and I wanted to kill myself to be with him. Every day I planned for my own su***de tomorrow, and every day there was another tomorrow, until that very first Bowen treatment.

I thought I’d been scammed, the little that you did, but next day I woke up. I didn’t feel like killing myself for the first day in 15 years. I kept checking in to see how I was going, trying to find that desire not to be here on the planet, but it just wasn’t there. At the end of the day I thought wow, that Bowen must have done something.

For a while I was too scared not to have my weekly sessions, but after a while I got my confidence back and realised I didn’t need them. But that quiet place in my mind that I go to when I’m having Bowen is the time I felt my son is with me, and I didn’t want to miss out on that, ever.

Over the last few years I’ve healed from my grief, and today, in there on the massage table, I explained to him that mum and I are moving to the coast, and I didn’t know if I’d find another Bowen Therapist over there, but I was OK with that, and said goodbye. You know the response I got? My whole body got warm like I was having a nice big hug, and I know my son is coming with me, and he will always be with me from now on.

That’s why I’ve come back every week. Bowen gave me my life back, and then gave me my son back.”

Bowen Therapy helps people in so many ways we will never ever know or understand.

The Impact of External Pressure on Bladder Meridian Point 13 in Horses.

Bladder Meridian Point 13 (BL13), also known as Feishu, is traditionally used in acupuncture to address respiratory and cardiovascular issues. However, it is also an important reference point to consider when assessing saddle fit.

Ill-fitting saddles exerting excessive pressure on BL13 and surrounding tissues, can lead to discomfort, pain and musculoskeletal issues in horses, including localized inflammation, muscle tension, and nerve compression, causing soreness along the back.

Chronic pressure on BL13 may contribute to conditions such as thoracic vertebral problems, muscular atrophy, and behavioral issues in horses.

Horses experiencing discomfort from pressure on BL13 may display various behavioral signs, including resistance or reluctance to be saddled, changes in posture or gait, reluctance to engage in training, and signs of pain such as flinching, ear pinning, or tail swishing. Subtle signs of discomfort, such as changes in facial expression or muscle tension, may also be observed.

Addressing saddle fit issues and alleviating pressure on BL13 is crucial for maintaining the physical and emotional well-being of horses. Proper saddle fitting, ensuring adequate clearance over BL13, and distributing pressure evenly along the back are essential.

Regular assessment of saddle fit and adjustments as needed can help mitigate the potential negative effects on BL13 and promote the horse's overall comfort and performance.

References:
Hernandez, E. A., & Allen, K. J. (2017). Saddle fit and its association with equine thoracolumbar asymmetry, thoracolumbar range of motion, and saddle slip. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 48, 1-11.
Dyson, S., & Greve, L. (2017). Subjective gait assessment of 57 sports horses in normal work: A comparison of the response to flexion tests, movement in hand, on the lunge, and ridden. Equine Veterinary Journal, 49(2), 212-217.
McGreevy, P. D., & McLean, A. N. (2010). Behavioural problems with the ridden horse. In Equitation Science (pp. 237-252). John Wiley & Sons.

Wondering what Bowen Therapy is, how it works, and what's involved? Check out the three short videos on the homepage of my website - one's at the start and the other two are at the end.
http://www.bowentherapydubbo.com.au/

I received this text yesterday from someone who uses Bowen Therapy when things go wrong, and she mentions some of the wonderful side effects too!

Grateful that my clients get better, then tell their family and friends. 🙏 ❤️