Here's what you can look forward to during and after your session!
*The Bowen session is usually performed lying comfortably on a massage table in a relaxing clinic setting, however, your practitioner can deliver the moves in the sitting position in a chair, a wheelchair, or a hospital bed. Baby Bowen is performed while the mother is holding her baby.
*Wear or bring light and loose-fitting clothing (shorts and t-shirt), that your practitioner can work through. You may also choose to wear undergarments and be professionally draped for modesty and comfort. No nudity is allowed and the only exposed part of the body is the one that the practitioner is working on at that time.
*You will be asked to complete a health intake form (click here). Please be prepared to list all the major injuries and surgeries you have had in the past. These might be the reasons why you are in pain today. After the consultation and assessment, the practitioner will select the best course of treatment and “Bowen protocols” to apply.
*The practitioner places fingers or thumbs on the skin over precise points on your muscles, tendons, or other soft structures. She then applies a gentle, rolling pressure to effect a change in the underlying tissue. The changes stimulate the body’s autonomic nervous system to rebalance. Once this occurs, the body can initiate a healing response on structural and energetic levels.
*The actual hands-on work may take very few of 20-60 minutes of the entire session depending on your body’s unique response.
*After each series of moves, your practitioner will make sure you are comfortable and will leave the treatment room to allow your body time to respond to the treatment. During that time, you may experience some subtle sensations in the areas of the body from where the practitioner worked. Most clients experience a feeling of deep relaxation or might even fall asleep. It is important that you feel comfortable and allow yourself to relax.
After your session
A Bowen session INITIATES a cascade of beneficial changes that continue for several days. It is recommended that the client wait a week before receiving any other manual therapy. Applying other manipulative therapies (including self-massage) during that time can interrupt the response process and overall effectiveness of the Bowen Therapy
* Drinking water before and after the session is necessary.
*Your therapist might assign you specific Bowen Exercises to be performed once a day for the next 5 days following your treatment.
*Clients are advised not to sit for more than 30 min at a time and not to perform any excessive exercises until the next day to help with the unwinding and aligning process. Refrain from receiving any other bodywork treatment, pedicures, dental work, or self-massage, heat, or ice application within the next 5 days following the Bowen treatment.
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*Reduced pain, a greater range of motion, a sense of relaxation, and well-being might be noticeable right after your Bowen Session.
*Occasionally your body might go through a “healing crisis” and experience soreness or mild temporary nausea in the days following your session.