• What Conditions Respond To The Bowen Technique?
• Origin of the Bowen Technique
• Tom Bowen's "Boys"
• History of Bowen in Canada
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • What is Bowen College Inc.?
  • What is Bowtech®?
  • What is Neural Touch™?
  • What is the Bowen Healing System™ ?
  • What is NST (Neurostructural Integration Technique)?
  • What is the Emmett Technique?
  • What is European College Of Bowen Studies?
  • What is Fascial Kinetics?
  • What is Smart Bowen®?
  • What is VHT?
  • What is ISBT – Bowen Therapy® (International School of Bowen Therapy)?
  • In order to practice must I register under any organizations in Canada?
  • What is BTFA (Bowen Therapists Federation of Australia)?
  • What is Bowen Directory?
  • What is Bowen Canada?
  • How and where can I showcase my Bowen practice and training in Canada?
• Our Training Programs

What Conditions Respond To The Bowen Technique?

The Bowen Technique is safe to use on anyone, from the newborn to the elderly, as there are no vigorous manipulations employed in the treatment. The soothing and restorative effects of Bowen therapy have been found to reduce physical, emotional and mental stress; improve joint mobility, increase circulation of lymphatic and venous fluids and the assimilation of nutrients; and eliminate toxins.

Bowen practitioners have found it achieves profound, substantial, rapid and lasting relief from a wide spectrum of conditions: Musculo-skeletal pain, Respiratory problems, Arthritic Pain, Allergies, Back Pain (Chronic and Acute), Asthma, Bunions, Bronchitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Hay Fever, Fibromyalgia, Sinusitis, Foot and Ankle Problems, Frozen Shoulder and Pain, Digestive Disorders, Gait Disorders, Bowel Problems, Hammer Toes, Colic, Hamstrings, Constipation, Headaches, Crohn’s Disease, Heel Pain, Indigestion, Hernia, Inflexibility, Gynecological problems, Knee and Hip Restrictions, Breast Lumps, Leg Length Discrepancies, Infertility , Migraine, Mastitis, Plantar Fascitis, Premenstrual Syndrome, Pelvic Problems, Polymyalgia, Postural Problems, Balance Problems, RSI/ OSS, Bed Wetting in Children, Sciatica, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Scoliosis, Earache and Ear Infections, Shin Splints, Hemorrhoids, Sporting Injuries, Tinnitus, Tennis Elbow and TMJ Syndrome.

In place of the illness and discomfort experienced with the conditions listed above, Bowen introduces a state of ease and wellbeing.

ORIGIN OF THE BOWEN TECHNIQUE

A technique that ‘talks to the muscles’ and leaves patients relaxed and pain-free – that was the creation of Tom Bowen and the origin of the worldwide acclaimed Bowen Technique. Thomas Ambrose Bowen (1916-1982), of Geelong Victoria in Australia, was a quiet, reserved, and enigmatic man with an uncanny gift for teaching. Although details of his life history, professional training, and work experience are in dispute, there is agreement that an attempt by the Victorian Government to discredit the technique turned into its greatest promotion.

Tom Bowen was a masseur working in football clubs in the 1950s and 60s when he started experimenting and developing "Bowen". He discovered that by gently moving muscles with a special rolling technique, he was able to stimulate the muscles to re-set themselves and hence free the body from painful, maladaptive patterns. From acute sports injuries to chronic conditions such as asthma and allergies, the Bowen Technique helps release pain and "dis-ease" and allows the body’s own healing force to flourish.

The details of Tom Bowen’s life are not well known and are currently heavily disputed. What is clear, however, is how his legacy has helped thousands of people around the world live healthier, pain-free lives. It is also evident that this man, who friends described as quiet and reserved, was a generous soul and a natural born healer. He taught a small number of students his technique with the hopes that it would grow and spread and he never claimed any copyright for any of his work or assigned anyone to represent it. Tom never saw his work as a finite modality but rather a work in progress.

A survey on alternative therapies conducted by the Australian Government in 1975 revealed that Tom was treating approximately 13,000 patients per year. Not only were his clients reporting remarkable outcomes, he was found to be achieving these results with treatments that usually involved only two or three sessions per client. In the end, an inquiry that initially appeared as a threat to his practice became a major promotion of the Bowen technique. Tom Bowen passed on his skills to only a few students who became known as "the boys".

Tom Bowen’s "boys"

Over the years, Tom Bowen agreed to train only a half dozen students. Among these "boys" who trained with him were:

• Oswald Rentsch, Massage Therapist who spent 2 years training with Tom
• Keith Davis, Chiropractor 7 years
• Nigel Love, Chiropractor, at end of era
• Kevin Neave, Chiropractor 4 - 5 years
• Romney Smeeton, Chiropractor 5 years, at end of era
• Kevin Ryan, Osteopath 2 years, at end of era.

Tom entrusted Romney Smeeton, Keith Davis, Kevin Neave, and Kevin Ryan to run his clinic after his health prevented him from continuing to practice. The same four ran Tom’s handicap clinic for 12 years after his death.

The six students of Tom Bowen and the many interpretations that exist dispel the notion that there is such a thing as one original or authorized Bowen technique, or that all Bowen in the world is an offshoot from any one of Tom Bowen’s students. Indeed, it has been reported by his students that Tom himself admitted that he had shown them only a small fraction of what he really knew and practiced.

All six students’ exposure was to the original technique in that they studied directly with the originator himself. There is a basis of Tom Bowen’s work that is now part of public domain, as he himself never claimed any copyright, thus books and publications are available by different authors.

Oswald Rentsch claimed that Tom invited him to learn after a handshake at a conference. Some say this was reflective of Bowen’s ability to recognize an individual’s touch. The thing in common with all these men was that they were all physical therapists in some regard, with most of them having an osteopathic or chiropractic training and background with the exception of Ossie Rentsch who was a masseur. It was this formal training, which gave them access to Bowen's clinic and helped them to compare methods, but paradoxically may also have restricted their ability to look beyond a rigid format.

Ossie Rentsch started teaching his interpretation of the work in 1982 after Bowen's death. He has claimed that Bowen commissioned him to document the work and on his 'deathbed' told Rentsch to go and take it out into the world. This claim, along with many other stories and claims subsequently have never been independently verified, but it was certainly due to Ossie Rentsch that the work did indeed become as widespread around the world as it is today.

The Rentsch’s (Oswald and his wife Elaine) implemented a Training Program under their company Bowtech®. They have been largely responsible for its spread throughout the world. They first introduced their Bowen training program in the format of a level system and eventually changed it to their current Module system. Currently they have a program that is based on 7 modules and, an advance / master’s course which represents the original work Tom Bowen shared over their time together.

According to many, as with all things, there is dispute about who Bowen said what to, and what exactly he did. Bowen picked up and applied many different ways of using his therapy over the years. Some people claim to teach Bowen's later or "advanced" work while others boast of the purity of the method that call their versions the 'original'.

Another organization instrumental and responsible for the widespread success of The Bowen Technique in the UK and Europe has been The European College of Bowen Studies. In 1994 the ECBS was established, and been run by Julian Baker and his wife Louise Atwill. In 1991, practicing Applied Physiologist, Michael J. Nixon-Livy, from Australia, commenced the challenging task of unraveling Tom Bowen’s later, more advanced principles, at that time known only to a handful of individuals. By 1995 he had completed his research and choreographed Bowen’s advanced principles into a system, which is now being taught by his organization.

Since its launch in 1996 in France, NST continues to make a significant and positive impact on health care systems throughout Europe, the USA and Australia.

The recent surge of interest in Bowen Technique and its widespread teachings is due mainly to its success with the patients who receive it. Bowtech, ECBS, and NST are just a few well-known Bowen training organizations for this wonderful modality. Below, we have listed other organizations, which differentiate themselves based on their own contributions to the method. It would appear that even the "Boys" spending time with Bowen himself, all came away with their own take on his method.

One of Tom’s students, Dr. Kevin Ryan, made this observation:

No matter what we set out to learn we bring with us our previous knowledge and skills. It is to be expected that six (six of Tom’s students) should come away with six interpretations of the master’s work... The difference would have been slight had each of us learned from Tom at the same time . . . Remember that he did not wake up one morning 50 years ago, suddenly inspired with ’the Bowen Technique’ as you may know it. His road to Damascus extended over some 35 years and is littered with thrown away ideas, new pathways, additions and subtractions, always learning and improving how and what he did best. Indeed on the Final morning I spent with him prior to his admission to hospital, he demonstrated a further change to his treatment of one particular lower back presentation. Considering the dynamic nature of his work and his delicate palpatory and manipulative skills. It is little wonder that the point of evolution at which each of us worked with Tom influenced our interpretation greatly...It is worth remembering that Tom’s work and technique was in a sense not complete at his death, just as every body therapy modality is not completed by the loss of the originator. Each of us who come in touch with his approach has the opportunity to continue its development as we consciously or unconsciously incorporate it into what we already do or vice versa.

History of Bowen in Canada

The early instructors to learn from and work for Bowtech® in Canada were Dr. Sherry Ure (1992), Dr. Lise Maltais (1994), and Dr. Manon Bolliger (1992). They learned directly through Ossie Rentch. Louise Tremblay trained under Patrick Rousselot. all, including Wanda Parks (2001) trained with Ossie and Elaine for the Specialized procedures. Manon Bolliger, Lise Maltais and Wanda Parks were responsible for the training of the vast majority of the present instructors who are with Bowtech. (Derek Murphy, Louise Tremblay, Jonathan Damonte, Meryl Cook, Kim Guerin, Christine Perkins).

Bowen Canada was established in 2000 by Manon Bolliger and Jonathan Damonte in order to have a Canadian representation for Bowtech here in Canada. It was their hope to put Bowen on the map in Canada and be part of a larger community of Bowen Practitioners. The board of Bowen Canada was formed by Lise Maltais, Manon Bolliger and Louise Tremblay. The first coordinator was Jonathan Damonte, followed by MaryAnne Hembroff and Jason Bakovich, followed by Andrea Sandoval and presently by Pierre Saine.

In 2006, there was a decision-making process established by the founding Board of Bowen Canada (consensus or majority vote), which granted the Board independent status and this was sanctioned in 2002 by Bowtech® . This status was reneged by Bowtech® later in an attempt to solve the perceived conflict that had arisen regarding the location of Bowen Canada’s headquarters. The democratic decision to keep Bowen Canada’s headquarter in Vancouver (2 out of 3 members in favour) was overturned. Thus was formed the Bowen Academy by Lise Maltais, Wanda Parks, Meryl Cook, and Manon Bolliger. Due to irreconcilable differences in management when Bowen Canada was moved to Quebec by Louise Tremblay and her partner Pierre Saine, Bowtech® sanctioned both Boards.

2007, a year of growing confusion, was accentuated with misinformation regarding the status of the Bowen Academy Instructors (see Newsletter #1 –wishing us all farewell in our new careers); innuendos of misappropriation of funds, incessant attempts at discrediting the validity of the courses students took with us, as well as a realization arising amongst practitioners that they were not privy to the whole story of Tom Bowen and the politics surrounding "approved" courses for continuing education credits. Despite numerous letters in support of what had become the Bowen Academy’s new mandate (ie to create a website exposing different versions of Tom Bowen’s work to students already well versed in the technique, albeit these CE courses not officially recognized by Bowtech), led to a disparity of positions that Bowtech’s mandate could not fulfill. In November 2007, Manon Bolliger with the approval of the Bowen Academy, wrote a letter to all practitioners asking them to join Bowen Canada and dissolved Bowen Academy. This was done as a last resort hoping the needs and requests of the practitioners to a more comprehensive view of Bowen could be obtained from within the one organization.

Subsequently, in Dec 2007, Manon Bolliger was dismissed by Bowtech and accused of "blackmail". There was no explanation cited for the dismissal. Lise Maltais was also dismissed and Wanda Parks resigned because of the unprofessional way things were handled. At the moment the issue regarding the dismissal of these senior instructors remains, as there are no boards of appeal or any such structures available in Bowtech to address wrongful dismissals.

In 2008, the Bowen College Inc. was created through the efforts of Wanda Parks and Manon Bolliger who put together a brand new curriculum and persisted with their vision of seeking knowledge and sharing it. Since starting up many others have joined Bowen College and formed a wonderful group of instructors that are carrying the vision forward, offering practitioners as much as is available to share on Bowen. There are no political affiliations with Bowen College and everyone with the spirit of sharing knowledge is invited to join the effort.

A fact remains that allegations by Bowtech® of copyright infringement are not substantiated. Tom Bowen never copyrighted his technique. Bowen College respectfully is not using any of Bowtech’s materials and despite this unexpected turn of events, see a very promising future for the Bowen technique as do the many people who have benefited from its expansion.