©2007 Simply Bowen/Maria Lofquist All Rights Reserved
©2007 Simply Bowen/Maria Lofquist
©2007 Simply Bowen/Maria Lofquist
©2007 Simply Bowen/Maria Lofquist
Simply Bowen
Bowen Therapy in Minnesota
With Maria Lofquist
With Maria Lofquist
Frequently Asked Questions
• How does Bowen therapy work?
• How long does a treatment take?
• How many treatments will I need?
• What does it feel like to have a Bowenwork Session?
• What kind of results might one expect?
• Helpful Instructions to Make the Most of Your Bowen Session
• Do’s and Don’ts after Bowenwork?
• What Happens after a Bowen Treatment?
• How Can Such A Gentle Technique Produce Such Profound Results?
• Who Can Have Bowenwork?
How does Bowen therapy work?
Within the spinal cord there is the capacity to relay messages from the brain with the greatest speed and precision. When this occurs, the organs of the body and even the cells themselves operate far better. It is through these channels that Bowenwork affects the body in both subtle and profound ways. Through very gentle moves at specific points on the body, Bowen impresses a healing sequence that the body responds to at its own pace.
Bowenwork stimulates the body's autonomic nervous system to rebalance, initiating a healing response on structural and energetic levels.
How long does a treatment take?
Treatments may last as little as 20 minutes or as long as an hour and a half, depending on what is required.
How many treatments will I need?
In the beginning a follow up treatment is usually recommended. Each treatment received becomes the foundation for the following treatment. It is a progressive therapy and so each treatment will feel different to the previous ones as the body makes its changes.
Typically an acute situation, such as an accident, will require fewer treatments than a chronic one, such as asthma. For an acute situation, 3 to 5 sessions is often enough, depending upon the circumstances.
Chronic conditions take longer to establish themselves in the body, often presenting multiple or underlying conditions, and therefore may require more sessions.
Once a state of stability has been reached, regular "maintenance" sessions are desired by most people. Usually these are once a month or bi-monthly and have been found to be most beneficial in addressing new (daily) stresses, preventing them from taking hold and causing problems in the future.
What does it feel like to have a Bowenwork Session?
Being relaxed is the basic foundation for the work. The touch is very gentle, the moves minimal, but the results are amazing. It is a highly experiential treatment producing very individual results. A common observation is that the client is bewildered that such a seemingly insignificant series of moves can have such profound results.
Bowen practitioners are trained to develop a depth of awareness about tissue tension. This heightened sensing enables a Bowen Practitioner to coordinate the component parts of a “move” into a smooth, dance-like rhythm that is soothing and relaxing to clients, who sometimes fall asleep.
Energy begins to flow within the body as tensions release and realignment occurs. Many sensations are reported such as warmth, tingling, "adjusting", mobility and goose-bumps during and even after a Bowen treatment. Sometimes temporary discomfort may be experienced as tensions gather in the body to be released.
Particularly stressed people, often fall into a deep sleep, or report a sensation of floating during a Bowen session.
For some clients not much is noticed as the Bowen work processes in their body. Then, after progressive sessions, all of a sudden, one day whatever ailed them is just simply gone! This is a fairly common occurrence with Bowenwork.
What kind of results might one expect?
The response that people have to Bowen therapy varies as each person is unique, with unique situations.
Most people experience a deep sense of relaxation during the session which often lasts longer than traditional massage or other soothing therapies (up to 5-7 days).
Emotional responses can occur but are not especially commonplace. After a time most people gain a sense of "put-togetherness", calm and confidence. For some, the ability to cope with stress is eased through regular Bowen treatments.
Many times no dramatic changed is noticed but with continued regular treatments a tipping point is reached, the body completes its process and total relief is attained, sometimes to the unawareness of the client - they just forgot what they were coming in for.
Helpful Instructions to Make the Most of Your Bowen Session
Wear loose, comfortable, stretchy clothing - t-shirt material is great! Shorts and t-shirts or camisoles are best. If you need, shorts will be provided for you.
Be prepared to relax. Turn off your cell phone and be in your moment.
Ask questions before and after treatments. It is helpful to understand this unique work as it unfolds with your body.
When getting off the table after a Bowen session, bring your weight down to the ground on both feet evenly, at the same time. This is recommended every time you stand - out of bed, or from a chair. By making this simple postulate you are grounding your body evenly, creating balance throughout.
Do’s and Don’ts after Bowenwork?
• Avoid other bodywork treatments for at least five days. Bowenwork continues to unwind and realign the body for a minimum of five days. To engage in other bodywork can interfere and negate the Bowenwork.
• Drink extra water. Bowenwork can be detoxifying and it is important to flush released toxins from the body. Hydration is the body’s lubrication. Proper hydration provides a fluid environment for the continuation of the process over the coming days.
• Walk. Walking is movement and helps to keep things relaxed. Even a small walk of a minute or two is beneficial.
• Don’t rest your weight on your tailbone when sitting. From the spine, all nerves expand out to the body. The coccyx is the end of the spine and putting pressure there creates a restriction of the flow of energy in the body. If you catch yourself slouching on the couch, get up, move around and sit back down.
• It is recommended to avoid extreme cold or heat (ice/heat packs). Heat and cold draw blood to and from an area of the body when applied. This can act like a form of bodywork that may interfere with the Bowen process.
• On the day of your treatment only, when sitting for more than 30 minutes, stand up and walk around a little. This helps keep everything moving rather than stagnant.
• After some treatments a client may be given certain exercises to perform. Exercises recommended after Bowen sessions are an extension of the treatment and important to do. They are gentle and easy for most people to perform.
What Happens after a Bowen Treatment?
It is a very gentle treatment but the results can be very profound, especially when regularly integrated into one's lifestyle choices. For at least five days after a treatment Bowen continues to work on the body. Put another way, when you have a session of Bowenwork, be it for 15 minutes or one hour, the processing delivered into the nerves and cells will continue to respond for at least five days, tweaking and adjusting, even when you are sleeping.
It is for that reason that it is advised not to partake in other treatments (chiropractic, massage, physical therapy, energy healing etc) for at least five days after Bowenwork. The five day wait period allows the body to fully respond and process the Bowen “download”.
There is no real lifestyle changes required for after Bowen care - you can continue your normal daily routine.
How Can Such A Gentle Technique Produce Such Profound Results?
All natural therapies recognize the existence of an innate self-healing intelligence that establishes, maintains and restores health, given optimum conditions. This innate intelligence communicates with the body through the vehicle of the nervous system.
When the body experiences stress, trauma or shock our nervous system gets triggered into “fight, flight or freeze”. However, when that threat is past, the body often gets stuck in its stress response and loses the ability to rest and relax. In such an imbalanced state, the function of our nervous system is compromised and its communication obstructed.
Bowen moves are designed to free the body’s innate self healing intelligence - the true healer of the body - by restoring balance and harmony at the cellular level. The precise and gentle Bowen moves send subtle vibrational messages along the nervous system to the brain. These powerful stimulations, when given adequate time for integration by the body, reset and balance the autonomic nervous system which results in an immediate improvement in all the body’s organs and systems.
The technique initiates an integrated body response, balancing the body at the cellular level and restoring the energy flow within it. The rhythmic pattern of movements and pauses that continue throughout a session allow the “sacred space” needed for healing to occur. Treatments are thus directed at normalizing the autonomic nervous system with concern for establishing and maintaining the normal structural integrity of the body.
Who Can Have Bowenwork?
Bowen is completely safe and appropriate for everyone, with few contraindications. It has helped the chronically ill, the highly conditioned athlete, accident victims, the elderly, pregnant women, newborns and children. If you have any specific concerns please ask.
• How does Bowen therapy work?
• How long does a treatment take?
• How many treatments will I need?
• What does it feel like to have a Bowenwork Session?
• What kind of results might one expect?
• Helpful Instructions to Make the Most of Your Bowen Session
• Do’s and Don’ts after Bowenwork?
• What Happens after a Bowen Treatment?
• How Can Such A Gentle Technique Produce Such Profound Results?
• Who Can Have Bowenwork?
How does Bowen therapy work?
Within the spinal cord there is the capacity to relay messages from the brain with the greatest speed and precision. When this occurs, the organs of the body and even the cells themselves operate far better. It is through these channels that Bowenwork affects the body in both subtle and profound ways. Through very gentle moves at specific points on the body, Bowen impresses a healing sequence that the body responds to at its own pace.
Bowenwork stimulates the body's autonomic nervous system to rebalance, initiating a healing response on structural and energetic levels.
How long does a treatment take?
Treatments may last as little as 20 minutes or as long as an hour and a half, depending on what is required.
How many treatments will I need?
In the beginning a follow up treatment is usually recommended. Each treatment received becomes the foundation for the following treatment. It is a progressive therapy and so each treatment will feel different to the previous ones as the body makes its changes.
Typically an acute situation, such as an accident, will require fewer treatments than a chronic one, such as asthma. For an acute situation, 3 to 5 sessions is often enough, depending upon the circumstances.
Chronic conditions take longer to establish themselves in the body, often presenting multiple or underlying conditions, and therefore may require more sessions.
Once a state of stability has been reached, regular "maintenance" sessions are desired by most people. Usually these are once a month or bi-monthly and have been found to be most beneficial in addressing new (daily) stresses, preventing them from taking hold and causing problems in the future.
What does it feel like to have a Bowenwork Session?
Being relaxed is the basic foundation for the work. The touch is very gentle, the moves minimal, but the results are amazing. It is a highly experiential treatment producing very individual results. A common observation is that the client is bewildered that such a seemingly insignificant series of moves can have such profound results.
Bowen practitioners are trained to develop a depth of awareness about tissue tension. This heightened sensing enables a Bowen Practitioner to coordinate the component parts of a “move” into a smooth, dance-like rhythm that is soothing and relaxing to clients, who sometimes fall asleep.
Energy begins to flow within the body as tensions release and realignment occurs. Many sensations are reported such as warmth, tingling, "adjusting", mobility and goose-bumps during and even after a Bowen treatment. Sometimes temporary discomfort may be experienced as tensions gather in the body to be released.
Particularly stressed people, often fall into a deep sleep, or report a sensation of floating during a Bowen session.
For some clients not much is noticed as the Bowen work processes in their body. Then, after progressive sessions, all of a sudden, one day whatever ailed them is just simply gone! This is a fairly common occurrence with Bowenwork.
What kind of results might one expect?
The response that people have to Bowen therapy varies as each person is unique, with unique situations.
Most people experience a deep sense of relaxation during the session which often lasts longer than traditional massage or other soothing therapies (up to 5-7 days).
Emotional responses can occur but are not especially commonplace. After a time most people gain a sense of "put-togetherness", calm and confidence. For some, the ability to cope with stress is eased through regular Bowen treatments.
Many times no dramatic changed is noticed but with continued regular treatments a tipping point is reached, the body completes its process and total relief is attained, sometimes to the unawareness of the client - they just forgot what they were coming in for.
Helpful Instructions to Make the Most of Your Bowen Session
Wear loose, comfortable, stretchy clothing - t-shirt material is great! Shorts and t-shirts or camisoles are best. If you need, shorts will be provided for you.
Be prepared to relax. Turn off your cell phone and be in your moment.
Ask questions before and after treatments. It is helpful to understand this unique work as it unfolds with your body.
When getting off the table after a Bowen session, bring your weight down to the ground on both feet evenly, at the same time. This is recommended every time you stand - out of bed, or from a chair. By making this simple postulate you are grounding your body evenly, creating balance throughout.
Do’s and Don’ts after Bowenwork?
• Avoid other bodywork treatments for at least five days. Bowenwork continues to unwind and realign the body for a minimum of five days. To engage in other bodywork can interfere and negate the Bowenwork.
• Drink extra water. Bowenwork can be detoxifying and it is important to flush released toxins from the body. Hydration is the body’s lubrication. Proper hydration provides a fluid environment for the continuation of the process over the coming days.
• Walk. Walking is movement and helps to keep things relaxed. Even a small walk of a minute or two is beneficial.
• Don’t rest your weight on your tailbone when sitting. From the spine, all nerves expand out to the body. The coccyx is the end of the spine and putting pressure there creates a restriction of the flow of energy in the body. If you catch yourself slouching on the couch, get up, move around and sit back down.
• It is recommended to avoid extreme cold or heat (ice/heat packs). Heat and cold draw blood to and from an area of the body when applied. This can act like a form of bodywork that may interfere with the Bowen process.
• On the day of your treatment only, when sitting for more than 30 minutes, stand up and walk around a little. This helps keep everything moving rather than stagnant.
• After some treatments a client may be given certain exercises to perform. Exercises recommended after Bowen sessions are an extension of the treatment and important to do. They are gentle and easy for most people to perform.
What Happens after a Bowen Treatment?
It is a very gentle treatment but the results can be very profound, especially when regularly integrated into one's lifestyle choices. For at least five days after a treatment Bowen continues to work on the body. Put another way, when you have a session of Bowenwork, be it for 15 minutes or one hour, the processing delivered into the nerves and cells will continue to respond for at least five days, tweaking and adjusting, even when you are sleeping.
It is for that reason that it is advised not to partake in other treatments (chiropractic, massage, physical therapy, energy healing etc) for at least five days after Bowenwork. The five day wait period allows the body to fully respond and process the Bowen “download”.
There is no real lifestyle changes required for after Bowen care - you can continue your normal daily routine.
How Can Such A Gentle Technique Produce Such Profound Results?
All natural therapies recognize the existence of an innate self-healing intelligence that establishes, maintains and restores health, given optimum conditions. This innate intelligence communicates with the body through the vehicle of the nervous system.
When the body experiences stress, trauma or shock our nervous system gets triggered into “fight, flight or freeze”. However, when that threat is past, the body often gets stuck in its stress response and loses the ability to rest and relax. In such an imbalanced state, the function of our nervous system is compromised and its communication obstructed.
Bowen moves are designed to free the body’s innate self healing intelligence - the true healer of the body - by restoring balance and harmony at the cellular level. The precise and gentle Bowen moves send subtle vibrational messages along the nervous system to the brain. These powerful stimulations, when given adequate time for integration by the body, reset and balance the autonomic nervous system which results in an immediate improvement in all the body’s organs and systems.
The technique initiates an integrated body response, balancing the body at the cellular level and restoring the energy flow within it. The rhythmic pattern of movements and pauses that continue throughout a session allow the “sacred space” needed for healing to occur. Treatments are thus directed at normalizing the autonomic nervous system with concern for establishing and maintaining the normal structural integrity of the body.
Who Can Have Bowenwork?
Bowen is completely safe and appropriate for everyone, with few contraindications. It has helped the chronically ill, the highly conditioned athlete, accident victims, the elderly, pregnant women, newborns and children. If you have any specific concerns please ask.
