AMERICAN BOWEN ACADEMY - Key Persons
Abby enjoys her client's responses to Bowen sessions. For more than 10 years, she has worked with clients from all age groups using this technique and never grows tired of seeing the "I feel better" look on their face. Having the ability to perform this work is a skill that Abby is thankful to have: to work on her family, friends, clients and anybody who needs some help especially when they have hit the wall and feel like they have to live with the discomfort they have… until they find The Bowen Technique.
Abby finds great satisfaction when her students realize they can affect the body the first time they feel the feedback of the roll of the muscle under their fingers and they understand that they are learning a very important skill. Abby enjoys teaching all classes offered by the Academy. Continuing education classes that Abby has developed integrates her expertise from her work history with her experience as an Instructor to help students understand that there are so many applications for this modality.
After 20 years practicing Massage therapy, Bettina discovered Bowenwork therapy when a friend told her about the fast remarkable effect it had treating her back pain. The other attractive aspect of Bowenwork was that it had the potential to extend her career as a bodyworker because of the gentle nature of the work on her body as well as those of her clients.
She is practicing Bowenwork almost exclusively now. She continues to be amazed at the lasting results she witnesses with her clients in relieving pain, range of motion restrictions, anxiety, and many other discomforts. Her clients report feelings of relaxation and overall wellbeing with Bowenwork is more profound than massage.
Bettina loves sharing, Bowenwork: An Introduction to Wellness in Your Hands, with others as an Associate Instructor.
Darcy's overarching life passion has been supporting and guiding others in experiencing more ease and more joy in life - including freedom from pain, limitations, in body, mind and soul. This passion has been expressed over the years in many roles, most recently via Bowenwork. Darcy originally sought Bowenwork to help address a bone-on-bone knee from an old skiing injury, seeking to avoid surgery and yet do all she loved to do. Noticing immediate progress, she could see both the power of Bowenwork, and was thrilled that the principles of Bowenwork lined up exactly with her work in Therapeutic Yoga. She dove right in and completed coursework and case studies by late 2017.
In addition to continually refining her practice, Darcy has always loved teaching and sharing what she has learned, giving people the tools they need for their own well-being. She also noted that Bowenwork, like Yoga, was not limited to physical outcomes, but affected emotional and spiritual well-being as well. It was only natural to become a certified Wellness Associate (ABA) able to offer "Bowenwork, Wellness in Your Hands" to anyone wanting to learn a little more about Bowen - and be able to offer some wonderful basic Bowenwork to family, friends, and yourself!
Providing Bowenwork to people and animals has become the love of David's life because of the wonderful and amazing results the technique provides in reducing and relieving pain, easing stress, and resetting tension patterns in the body in a safe and non-invasive way. David's 11 years of experience offering Bowenwork has resulted in compelling results for numerous people, resolving back, knee, shoulder, and posture issues for many of them. It has provided an end to sciatic and neck pain, improved toxin release, and better energy for many clients.
Teaching the Bowen Technique is rewarding and inspiring as students gain an understanding of the power and simplicity of the hands-on moves. Sharing the knowledge and ability of Bowenwork to help people and animals is the most profound opportunity David has discovered in bringing balance and alignment to the body.
I discovered Bowenwork 11 years ago and was amazed by the fast, powerful and lasting results. As a retired nurse from the Netherlands, I never heard about this before, but I have had my practice since 2008 and just love my job. It's a unique modality, which is safe for all kind of different conditions and suitable for all ages. This work is gentle, quick and very effective and gives the body the ability to heal and balance itself.
I'm excited to share some simple emergency moves and spread the news and benefits of Bowenwork, and I hope to create more awareness of this wonderful technique in the state of Florida
Heather believes that every bodyworker's journey is to find a therapy or modality that resonates with him/her on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level, and she has found that calling in Bowenwork! Not only is Bowenwork easy on the practitioner's body, but it is gentle and pleasant for the recipient because nothing is forced or imposed, simply informed and allowed. Heather's clients see lasting results in areas where massage and other therapies only offered temporary relief, it any at all. Sharing in their healing processes brings a sense of wonder and fulfillment on a level she had not previously experienced while providing massage therapy. Heather especially loves that Bowenwork is effective because it supports and activates the natural healing mechanisms already in place within each body.
As a practitioner, Heather endeavors to facilitate each client's process of embracing the healing power of their own body. She is humbled by what each body teaches her every day, knowing that stepping back and allowing the body to respond in its own way and time yields the best results. As an instructor, Heather looks forward to introducing Bowenwork to people of all ages and walks of life, hoping it will soon be a commonly recognized term among people searching for health and wellness tools for themselves and their families. Bowenwork should be the first thought, not the last resort!
With degrees in health sciences, focusing on exercise, nutrition, fitness, and Bowenwork. Helen applies cutting-edge methods to maximize client health. Helen specializes in functional fitness, muscle release techniques, and stability training to assist with pain management, injury recovery, and preventative care. Mrs. Leonard worked closely with a chiropractic and pain management clinic bringing an innovative and effective approach resulting in profound long-term improvement. She had been a wellness clinician for 28 years and is practicing Bowenwork as an important integral therapy to maximize healing for her clients. Helen's desire to spread the word of Bowenwork, so she began teaching the 4-hour introductory class for family and friends to provide access to helping each other's health regiment.
Helen brings a wealth of experience and broad knowledge of how to regain and improve health. She instructs other students to learn Bowenwork and become certified Bowenwork practitioners and develop their own practice for healing people.
Karin is excited about Bowenwork because it is the most holistic form of bodywork she has come across in 34 years. It works physically, energetically, emotionally and even spiritually. It is elegant, effective and efficient as well as sustainable for the practitioner and gentle for the client.
She has been teaching since 2000, seeing many exciting changes in students and practitioners as they start new careers or build on existing ones, build their confidence and self-esteem and grow. Karin feels is very rewarding to teach others to do Bowenwork and she is passionate about it. After 15 years of teaching, she enjoys sharing what she has learned with other's who are striving to also be Bowenwork Instructors.She loves the multifaceted aspects of teaching this amazing modality to anyone who wants to learn how to help others.
Linda is passionate about helping her clients achieve balance, relief from pain and stress, and in ultimately reaching their individual health goals. She teaches about the body's ability to heal itself in this incredible process. Bowen maneuvers are designed to work with the body to gently return it to its appropriate balance.
Linda is thrilled to teach Bowenwork: An introduction to Wellness in Your Hands as an Associate Instructor for the Bowen Academy of America. This class will offer an understanding of what Bowen is and instill the confidence necessary to put these basic moves into action in helping friends and family. You'll learn a lot and have fun while doing it.
Lisa Toole loves the gentle effectiveness of the Bowenwork modality and the "less is more" approach to encouraging the body's self-correction. As a practitioner and Associate Instructor, she believes in following the client's pace of healing with respect for each body's inner wisdom in determining the order of healing. Unlike interventive approaches to wellness, Lisa finds greater value for clients when their unique pace for healing is respected. Personal empowerment is a great benefit of Bowenwork and one that Lisa deeply values. She credits her own wellness to periodic Bowenwork sessions.
Lisa finds teaching Introduction to Bowenwork: Wellness in Your Hands to be exciting, challenging, and fun. When asked about teaching she responded by saying, "Witnessing the moment when a student ‘gets the move', or shares how they helped someone, or when a student expresses their excitement for the work; well it's all so contagious in a great way. It's a feeling you just can't bottle!" Lisa enjoys each opportunity to deepen the reach of the work through collaboration with students.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Instructor
- Associate Instructors Are Listed Alphabetically by State and Then City
Lora Fox is a Northwest Arkansas native. She was raised in Prairie Grove and currently sees clients in a small shop there. Lora was first introduced to Bowenwork as a client and in 2015 became a certified practitioner.
Lora strives to spread the news and benefits of Bowenwork to the surrounding areas. "Bowenwork has opened many doors for me and the smile on the faces of people that I have helped makes all the hard work worth it!"
Prior to accepting the role of Administrator for the American Bowen Academy, Steven spent the past 13 years working in the private post-secondary education management world at both the vocational and collegiate levels. Eight of those years were spent teaching and in the management of a massage/bodywork school. While currently not practicing, Steven maintains my massage license and has completed the first four modules of Bowen. With a very eclectic background, one of the common threads throughout his journey is that he embraces learning something new. Whether that ‘new' is a learned skill or his own personal growth, looking for new ways to challenge himself to be a better human being has ultimately led Steven to be here with the academy.
Steven lives with his incredible wife, Susanmarie, in Sparta, TN with two cats and a dog. Susanmarie is a certified Bowenwork practitioner with her own holistic health practice.
His first experience with Bowenwork came several years ago after a car accident left him in constant pain and discomfort. After three years of doctor visits, physical therapy, and other treatments, Steven finally started finding relief through Bowenwork. He has witnessed firsthand the benefits and is honored to now be part of the Academy.
Thank you for visiting our American Bowen Academy website. I hope you find the site easy to navigate and obtain the information that you need. If not, feel free to give me a call or drop me an email.
I learned an equine version of Bowen in 2004 when, as a Certified Recreation Therapist, I was the director of an equine-assisted therapy program for 50+ adolescents in a residential mental health facility. Our overworked, aging therapy horses were already benefiting from the botanical medicines I had been trained to use, and the outcomes improved with the addition of Bowen. The horses were not only more receptive to herbs and Bowen than to more invasive interventions and pharmaceuticals, but I also had new options in my toolkit that were a great complement to traditional veterinary care. In my free time, I developed a busy private practice working with world-class performance horses with herbs and Bowen. In 2007 I was invited to train to become an Equine Touch instructor and also became certified in equine craniosacral therapy through the Vluggen Institute of Equine Osteopathy.
Two years later, when that equine Bowen was fading in the U.S., I sought additional Bowen training with the American Bowen Academy. Learning to apply Bowen to the human body expanded my understanding of the equine work - and vice versa. In 2012 I began working as an inpatient rehabilitation therapist for the Minneapolis V.A. Health Care System Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center. The profound responses to Bowenwork there - in veterans and active duty servicemembers rehabilitating after traumatic brain injury, stroke, multiple amputations, burns, PTSD, etc. - changed my focus from horses to humans. Even though Bowenwork is only a small fraction of my role as a recreation therapist, the results have impressed medical providers on our multidisciplinary rehab team, with positive outcomes not seen from previous interventions. Some patients even tell their physicians that Bowenwork is the most important therapy they get all week!
Paula's love of the Bowen technique was instantaneous. After a problematic frozen shoulder was not healing despite various other means of treatment, a dear friend introduced Bowen to her. He said "you've tried EVERYTHING else, why not try Bowen ?" Her response was "whatever". To her surprise, from the very first session, her shoulder released and the rest is history. She was one of the first to be certified in Pennsylvania.
Teaching Bowen comes naturally when you love what you do!! It is like the best kept secret that you just can't keep to yourself. She loves sharing this profound technique with everyone she meets. It was a no brainer to become an instructor. Assisting others to help heal the world is spreading the beautiful legacy that Mr. Bowen has left us. Bowen must be shared and while Paula is breathing, that is her life's passion!
Teaching allows Sandra to combine her extensive experience in nursing and holistic medicine when explaining the application of Bowenwork procedures, and helping students to assess clients' health needs. Sandra has developed 2 continuing education classes to help expand Bowenwork practitioners' clinical knowledge - ‘Bowenwork for Women's Wellness' and ‘Bowenwork For People Living With Cancer.' Learning is a collaborative experience, and Sandra enjoys learning new information from her students that enrich her understanding of Bowenwork. She brings a warm sense of humour to her classes to enhance the learning process, and as a result, her classes are fun!