“Soothing touch, whether it be applied to a ruffled cat, a crying infant or a frightened child, has a universally recognised power to ameliorate the signs of distress. How can it be that we overlook its usefulness on the jangled adult as well? What is it that leads us to assume that the stressed child merely needs ‘comforting’, while the stressed adult needs ‘medicine’?”    

Deane Juhan

Most of us don’t like to admit that we are stressed, but unfortunately a lot of us – especially this time of the year- are pretty stressed out! You have to buy presents for a whole lot of people. That will mean you will spend more money that you have or really want to. You will either have people over to your house this holiday season or you will have to go to family and we don’t always get along with those dearest to us. Parking is a nightmare. Shopping centres are crazy busy and no one has any patience. Not to even mention getting all swept up in the emotions of the crowds! No wonder we are at our wits end.

So, let’s firstly look at what is happening inside your body when you are in a stressed state. Your autonomic nervous system (ANS) will go into sympathetic mode. This is your fight-or-flight mode. When you are in this mode, your body shuts down those systems that it doesn’t need to fight or flee.

This long-term stress state can be devastating on the body. Stress makes us release adrenalin, it tenses our muscles and suppresses our digestion. It can lead to high blood pressure, headaches, hormone imbalance, insomnia, depression, weight gain, chronic illness, lack of libido and all kinds of muscular aches and pains. Surely, we can all agree, that this is definitely not the mode that we want to be in!

Luckily, Bowen therapy can switch you back into parasympathetic mode where you can heal, repair and digest. Bowen is all about sensitive touching and this has the ability to radically change our nervous systems, particularly its response to stress, worry and anxiety. Touch has a highly beneficial effect on what is called our hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is a vital element in our stress and immune response.

Bowen can reduce stress, anxiety, tension, fatigue and can improve your quality of sleep. It can release the muscular tension and help your body to rest, repair and digest. Case studies on Bowen therapy reports clients feeling calm, relaxed, balanced and better able to deal with stressful situations for weeks after a session.

So, when you feel stressed, worried and anxious, why not give Bowen Therapy a go this holiday season!

Love yourself and your body will thank you!