Bowen Therapy is a new concept in bodywork.

There are few explanations for how Bowen Therapy works, but Russell Sturgess, the founder of Fascial Kinetics, spent years researching and developing a comprehensive understanding of how therapy works within the body.

He developed the theory that Bowen Therapy achieves its profound and long lasting effects by working with the superficial and deep connective tissue in the body. This connective tissue is called fascia, and forms one continuous structure in the body, and is the medium through which communication between cells occur. It forms the spaces between the cells and is a major fluid transit pathway in the body. Blood vessels deliver nutrients and oxygen into this tissue, lymph vessels collect waste, nerves are protected by this tissue, muscles and bones supported and encased in its structure.

Fascial Kinetics literally means ‘moving fascia’. When the Fascial Kinetics understanding of how Bowen Therapy worked was first developed, there was very little awareness of fascia and its properties. Since then, the research into fascia and the understanding of its properties has expanded immensely. In 2000, a google search of ‘fascia’ yielded around 400 results; in 2004 the search gave about 1200 results; but in 2008 there were over 14,000 results from the search.

For the lay person, fascia is still a mystery, but anyone who has handled a chicken breast is familiar with the clear filmy sheath that surrounds the muscle. That is fascia. The white pith of an orange are also similar to fascia: surrounding the outside of the flesh under the orange peel, and reaching into the very centre of the orange, separating the segments the same way that fascia stretches into bone, separating the layers of muscle of the body.

Fascia is strongly affected by dehydration and inactivity. As Pat Piper, a Fascial Kinetics instructor explains: “Non hydrated fascia is like the set jelly or unstirred household paint and has very little flexibility. This gives the feeling of being stiff and less mobile. Remember this fascia surrounds the muscles and if it is shrunken from trauma or dehydration the muscles will be less able to stretch and move to their full potential.”

Imagine holding a hair dryer close to a plastic bag – it shrinks and shrivels up, and can’t be restored to its former shape. When fascia becomes dehydrated or glued it also shrinks and pulls out of shape. Like a spider web, any tension in one part of the fascial sheath distorts and pulls the whole structure out of shape and balance.

In a Bowen treatment, a series of selectively placed transverse moves are executed to address the fascia between the muscles and the skin. This creates a window of opportunity for the flexibility of the fascia to be restored. Adhesions within the fibres in the fascia are released and the whole structure is encouraged to become more hydrated. This in turn assists the structures housed within this tissue - nerves, muscles, lymph and vascular structures, and organs – to function more effectively. Improved function in these structures leads to improved general health and decreased levels of pain.

If, as is suggested in Fascial Kinetics, Bowen Therapy addresses the fascias of the body, then this is a modality that challenges, transforms and heals one of the most dynamic forms in the human body. A greater understanding of the molecular properties of fascia explains the rational of why this series of what seems to be very simple and non-invasive moves are able to achieve such profound physical, emotional and spiritual changes in client’s lives.

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