Tom Bowen
The technique was developed in the 1950s and 60s by Tom Bowen (1916-1982), an Australian therapist who started out treating work related problems and sports injuries. He found a gentler and subtle approach is often more effective in helping the body to heal. He had particular interest in back pain and in the 1960s, he opened his clinic and developed the therapy. During the 1970s, the Webb Report (Australian Government Report into Complementary Therapies) found that Tom Bowen was treating 13,000 people a year. Bowen therapy is being taught to final year of university students of Osteopathy in Australia.
The technique was developed in the 1950s and 60s by Tom Bowen (1916-1982), an Australian therapist who started out treating work related problems and sports injuries. He found a gentler and subtle approach is often more effective in helping the body to heal. He had particular interest in back pain and in the 1960s, he opened his clinic and developed the therapy. During the 1970s, the Webb Report (Australian Government Report into Complementary Therapies) found that Tom Bowen was treating 13,000 people a year. Bowen therapy is being taught to final year of university students of Osteopathy in Australia.
Bowen Treatment
A Bowen session may last from 15 minutes to roughly an hour. Clients usually lie on a massage table or may be seated in a chair if required, for comfort. A session involves a series of Bowen moves, which are gently but purposeful, done through light clothing or directly done on the skin, of the client's ultimate choice. The work is very subtle, relaxing and gentle involving no hard or prolonged pressure. Clients often report feelings of release and relief following a move.
There are brief pauses between the sets of Bowen moves during the session, allowing the body to respond to treatment moves and the muscles to relax. During these pauses, the practitioner may leave the patient rest and feel his or her body quietly.
A first set of beginning three to four treatments is highly recommended. By the end of the initial treatment, the whole body will be addressed. Bowen continues to work between treatments. Most clients feel significantly better after or in the few days after treatment as the body continues to rebalance itself.
Sessions are usually scheduled between five and seven days or even longer apart. Most people will have responses from one to three or four sessions. Even long standing chronic pain can be relieved. Other conditions might need to be treated more often, but in either case it is recommended that clients return for regular treatments every six to eight weeks, or monthly basis to maintain optimum health.
A Bowen session may last from 15 minutes to roughly an hour. Clients usually lie on a massage table or may be seated in a chair if required, for comfort. A session involves a series of Bowen moves, which are gently but purposeful, done through light clothing or directly done on the skin, of the client's ultimate choice. The work is very subtle, relaxing and gentle involving no hard or prolonged pressure. Clients often report feelings of release and relief following a move.
There are brief pauses between the sets of Bowen moves during the session, allowing the body to respond to treatment moves and the muscles to relax. During these pauses, the practitioner may leave the patient rest and feel his or her body quietly.
A first set of beginning three to four treatments is highly recommended. By the end of the initial treatment, the whole body will be addressed. Bowen continues to work between treatments. Most clients feel significantly better after or in the few days after treatment as the body continues to rebalance itself.
Sessions are usually scheduled between five and seven days or even longer apart. Most people will have responses from one to three or four sessions. Even long standing chronic pain can be relieved. Other conditions might need to be treated more often, but in either case it is recommended that clients return for regular treatments every six to eight weeks, or monthly basis to maintain optimum health.
How we serve our clients in different areas:
Bowen in Sports:
Bowen Therapy resets the body and helps it to move back into balance. Using gentle but powerful moves and focusing on specific areas of tension and pains, we have helped professional fencing athlete and a junior golfer with encouraging results.
Bowen Therapy resets the body and helps it to move back into balance. Using gentle but powerful moves and focusing on specific areas of tension and pains, we have helped professional fencing athlete and a junior golfer with encouraging results.
Manish comes for a Bowen treatment before every business trip:
Manish is a ‘frequent flyer’. He had chronic neck and shoulder pain. He responded well to the first Bowen treatment and was subsequently pain-free. Since then, he comes for a regular ‘maintenance’ treatment before his business trip to keep himself in good shape for months overseas.
Manish is a ‘frequent flyer’. He had chronic neck and shoulder pain. He responded well to the first Bowen treatment and was subsequently pain-free. Since then, he comes for a regular ‘maintenance’ treatment before his business trip to keep himself in good shape for months overseas.
Comments from people after having Bowen treatments:
Kelvin Shum:
"I had lower back pain more than 10 years ago. I have seen so many doctors and tried many kinds of treatments, more than I can remember. E.g. physio, acupuncture, yoga, pilate, Chinese bonesetting, chiropractor, u name it. However, they only reduced my pain for a short period of time and the pain came back over & over again which is very sad and disappointing when I was still a young man. I used to be very sporty. I was a trailwalker and marathon runner, but I cant sports at all for many years.
In 2018, I tried another chiropractor but I think he did something wrong and my condition got worse. I not only suffered lower back pain, but sciatica as well. I can feel my sacral was twisted but the chiropractor cannot do anything to fix it after a few more attempts.
It was my lowest point in life. I cannot even lift my leg up when I was sitting down and I carry the pain with me all day long for many months, until one day my Tai Chi master referred me to Bowen Therapy.
I found Alice online and I have no knowledge about Bowen at all but I trusted my Tai Chi Master. My first impression of Bowen was that it was very gentle and I even doubt if it really works on me, but I can feel instant improvement when I get up after my 1st session.
I felt really tired and almost fell into sleep during my treatment. I then continued with Alice for a few more times and my conditions got better and better until one day my sciatic goes away.
One thing I want to share my experience as a patient is that the after care exercises. They are very important. When I moved my muscles & joints, I can hear the bone cracking sound and I can feel my joints were popped back to where they supposed to be. It’s really amazing.
I have developed my interest in Bowen over the years and referred many of my friends and colleagues to try it out and they all came back to me with positive feedbacks.
I am very glad that Farida has the opportunity to teach in HK after years of pandemic. I have already signed up to be her 1st batch of student in HK. I hope I can spread this good news to my friends and family about Bowen and there’s still many other options for patients like me before they consider doing surgery."
Miss Chow:
"After I had my first Bowen treatment on my injured right foot on 30/7/2022, I felt that there was strength in my feet. Not only can I feel it in my feet, but it’s also in my upper body. It seemed that Bowen had activated the body's automatic healing mechanism. My left foot showed the colour of blood stasis before Bowen. After the first treatment, the skin color of both legs has become normal.
In an accident, my malleolus sprained, two toes were fractured, and my Achilles tendon was injured. After more than 6 months of seeing a doctor (GP), a Chinese orthopaedic practitioner, an osteopath, and a physical therapist, I still have the following symptoms:
1. My feet are of 2 different skin colour, and they are still swollen. Even if the swelling is subsided a while, it will get back to swelling again very soon, and the cycle repeats.
2. The toes cannot be flexed flexibly. When doing certain stretching exercises, the toes cannot function well. I can only walk slowly, and it is impossible for me to run.
3. The Achilles tendon is twitched from time to time when walking. My walking is similar to that of a disabled person.
Fortunately, my friend introduced to me Bowen therapy. After four sessions, the following changes were evident:
1. The feet return to normal color, and there aren’t any swelling. I felt better circulation and drainage in body. I can wear sneakers again.
2. My toes can be flexed now when I’m doing the stretching exercises. My pace of walking is much faster than before, and I can even run for some distance.
3. I can feel my Achilles tendon more relaxed during walking.
In addition, I found Bowen helpful for the following symptoms:
1. Constipation : I keep finding ways to solve my constipation problems for many years. I used to rely on probiotics. Now I have not used probiotics for two weeks, but I have smooth bowel movements every two days.
2. Sleep problem : The quality of sleep has been poor for many years. On weekdays, I used to wake up at about 3:00 a.m., and couldn’t fall back to sleep until dawn. I have to get up immediately and go to work just after falling asleep again. My mental state therefore is very poor. But with Bowen treatments, I can sleep better now. I can have a full night’s sleep until 6 am in the past two days. I’m feeling energized after a good night’s sleep." 😊 - Reset the whole body
Mr. Yip :
"Bowen really has helped me with a lot of my problems, especially with my headaches. The whole process is very relaxing and your body feels rejuvenated after a Bowen session. People who are having issues in their body should definitely give this therapy a try!" 😊 - Relief from Pain & Revitalize
Miss Yung:
"I have tried the Bowen Theray and it was a therapy which helped to awake and connect the sleepy parts of my body. I felt a slight but flowing energy between the points where I was touched by the therapist and it was probably the start of the self-healing process. To me, the whole process was relaxing and non intrusive and definitely worth trying." 😊 - Restore Body Balance & Revitalize
Miss Wong after having a series of treatments:
"Like many other Hong Kong people, I'm a very busy person; for most of the time I'm working or thinking about working. Yet to me, Bowen is a time to lay back. Deep breaths between each movement allow me to rest (and even accidentally sleep!) and it definitely calms me. It's definitely a great way to relax during bustling days. Also, I could sleep better after treatment!" 😊 - Relaxation & Restore Body Balance
Kelvin Shum:
"I had lower back pain more than 10 years ago. I have seen so many doctors and tried many kinds of treatments, more than I can remember. E.g. physio, acupuncture, yoga, pilate, Chinese bonesetting, chiropractor, u name it. However, they only reduced my pain for a short period of time and the pain came back over & over again which is very sad and disappointing when I was still a young man. I used to be very sporty. I was a trailwalker and marathon runner, but I cant sports at all for many years.
In 2018, I tried another chiropractor but I think he did something wrong and my condition got worse. I not only suffered lower back pain, but sciatica as well. I can feel my sacral was twisted but the chiropractor cannot do anything to fix it after a few more attempts.
It was my lowest point in life. I cannot even lift my leg up when I was sitting down and I carry the pain with me all day long for many months, until one day my Tai Chi master referred me to Bowen Therapy.
I found Alice online and I have no knowledge about Bowen at all but I trusted my Tai Chi Master. My first impression of Bowen was that it was very gentle and I even doubt if it really works on me, but I can feel instant improvement when I get up after my 1st session.
I felt really tired and almost fell into sleep during my treatment. I then continued with Alice for a few more times and my conditions got better and better until one day my sciatic goes away.
One thing I want to share my experience as a patient is that the after care exercises. They are very important. When I moved my muscles & joints, I can hear the bone cracking sound and I can feel my joints were popped back to where they supposed to be. It’s really amazing.
I have developed my interest in Bowen over the years and referred many of my friends and colleagues to try it out and they all came back to me with positive feedbacks.
I am very glad that Farida has the opportunity to teach in HK after years of pandemic. I have already signed up to be her 1st batch of student in HK. I hope I can spread this good news to my friends and family about Bowen and there’s still many other options for patients like me before they consider doing surgery."
Miss Chow:
"After I had my first Bowen treatment on my injured right foot on 30/7/2022, I felt that there was strength in my feet. Not only can I feel it in my feet, but it’s also in my upper body. It seemed that Bowen had activated the body's automatic healing mechanism. My left foot showed the colour of blood stasis before Bowen. After the first treatment, the skin color of both legs has become normal.
In an accident, my malleolus sprained, two toes were fractured, and my Achilles tendon was injured. After more than 6 months of seeing a doctor (GP), a Chinese orthopaedic practitioner, an osteopath, and a physical therapist, I still have the following symptoms:
1. My feet are of 2 different skin colour, and they are still swollen. Even if the swelling is subsided a while, it will get back to swelling again very soon, and the cycle repeats.
2. The toes cannot be flexed flexibly. When doing certain stretching exercises, the toes cannot function well. I can only walk slowly, and it is impossible for me to run.
3. The Achilles tendon is twitched from time to time when walking. My walking is similar to that of a disabled person.
Fortunately, my friend introduced to me Bowen therapy. After four sessions, the following changes were evident:
1. The feet return to normal color, and there aren’t any swelling. I felt better circulation and drainage in body. I can wear sneakers again.
2. My toes can be flexed now when I’m doing the stretching exercises. My pace of walking is much faster than before, and I can even run for some distance.
3. I can feel my Achilles tendon more relaxed during walking.
In addition, I found Bowen helpful for the following symptoms:
1. Constipation : I keep finding ways to solve my constipation problems for many years. I used to rely on probiotics. Now I have not used probiotics for two weeks, but I have smooth bowel movements every two days.
2. Sleep problem : The quality of sleep has been poor for many years. On weekdays, I used to wake up at about 3:00 a.m., and couldn’t fall back to sleep until dawn. I have to get up immediately and go to work just after falling asleep again. My mental state therefore is very poor. But with Bowen treatments, I can sleep better now. I can have a full night’s sleep until 6 am in the past two days. I’m feeling energized after a good night’s sleep." 😊 - Reset the whole body
Mr. Yip :
"Bowen really has helped me with a lot of my problems, especially with my headaches. The whole process is very relaxing and your body feels rejuvenated after a Bowen session. People who are having issues in their body should definitely give this therapy a try!" 😊 - Relief from Pain & Revitalize
Miss Yung:
"I have tried the Bowen Theray and it was a therapy which helped to awake and connect the sleepy parts of my body. I felt a slight but flowing energy between the points where I was touched by the therapist and it was probably the start of the self-healing process. To me, the whole process was relaxing and non intrusive and definitely worth trying." 😊 - Restore Body Balance & Revitalize
Miss Wong after having a series of treatments:
"Like many other Hong Kong people, I'm a very busy person; for most of the time I'm working or thinking about working. Yet to me, Bowen is a time to lay back. Deep breaths between each movement allow me to rest (and even accidentally sleep!) and it definitely calms me. It's definitely a great way to relax during bustling days. Also, I could sleep better after treatment!" 😊 - Relaxation & Restore Body Balance
