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BOWEN AND LYMPH People ask sometimes, “Is Bowen good for lymphatic drainage?” A standard answer maintains that yes, some moves are definitely lymphatic in nature. Usually, the ‘milking’ of the SCM muscles, or splitting moves on the calf or forearm are referenced. This answer is truthful, in the same sense that Swedish massage strokes produce lymphatic drainage. If so, both therapies are operating from a popularly held image of the lymph system as entirely passive. Specifically: Such outside forces include: Thankfully, though, a living body is not quite so passive, or dumb, and subtleties within the lymph system invite a more sophisticated appreciation and therapeutic approach. Practically every Bowen move is lymphatic. The smallest lymph vessels, the lymph capillaries indeed passively receive interstitial fluid. But the secondary vessels have smooth muscled walls. Each segment, between two one-way valves, is call a lymphangion, or “lymph heart”. In a healthy system, these muscles contract in sequence, similar to a normal swallowing reflex. In other words, there is a natural, internally regulated peristalsis of fluid through the lymph system, totally separate from external forces. Therapeutic massage can impel lymph through the system faster than normal each time it’s applied, but does not necessarily improve drainage long term, any more than enemas improve your innate ability to eliminate waste. But subtle stimulations at specific points will trigger ‘master’ neuro-lymphatic reflexes that seem to restore the coordinated mechanism of the lymphangions when have been disrupted. The lymph system not only has a heart, it has a brain! Mapping of points helps you know what organ, gland, etc. is being stimulated. We introduce reflex points progressively in the three levels of Bowen Bridge training. Quite a number of traditional Bowen moves already land on these points. As entry-level reflex work, new Bowen moves can be added when called for. Interestingly, both directions of the move play into the kind of stimulation these points like. The entire thoracic region can be stimulated in a brief but powerful fashion. A second level of reflex point use can involve a more complex cross-referencing to finesse the effects and speed the process. I have been using lymphatic (and vascular) reflex points for over 20 years. Though some would contest the notion, I find them completely compatible with the spirit and application of Bowen. And they don’t take forever to learn. It’s not as simple as gazing at a Touch for Health® chart, but nowhere as complex as, say, Traditional Chinese Medicine. A yet deeper level of involvement with reflex points can yield stunning tools and protocols to address modern, whole-system syndromes. We teach multi-system, multi-session protocols. Just as individual points can ‘defibrillate’ a stretch of lymphatic, you can progressively reboot major nerve, glandular and digestive systems. In this way, you can uncover an older, healthier default mechanism, one that underlies and predates any current disease process. As with fascia, learning to influence the liquid transport systems makes therapy a lot easier. It is just such a joy to sit back and let the fluid do it. Gene Dobkin This article is reprinted with permission from In Touch, Journal of the Bowen Therapists’ European Registry. |
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U.S. Bowen |