Thomas Ambrose Bowen (1916-1982) began developing his technique in the 1950s in Geelong, Australia. He became interested in ways to alleviate human suffering and began to notice that certain moves on the body had particular effects. Tom Bowen developed his technique without having previous formal training in any modality or discipline. In fact, he frequently stated that his work was ‘a gift from God’. He continued to develop and refine the technique throughout his lifetime with the help of his friend and secretary, Rene Horwood.
Mr. Bowen was extremely busy in his Geelong clinic, performing about 13,000 treatments a year. This was verified by the 1975 Victorian government inquiry into alternative health care professionals. Considering treatments were seven days apart and most people needed only one to three treatments, an amazing number of clients passed through the clinic and benefited from his gift. Mr. Bowen also held free clinics for children, people with disabilities, and community service workers.
In 1974, while attending a national health conference In Adelaide, Australia, Oswald Rentsch met Mr. Bowen for the first time.
For the next two and a half years Ossie and five others (hand-picked by Tom) studied Mr. Bowen’s technique, ultimately being authorized by him to document the work. Mr. Bowen had no notes, charts or manuals, but with the help of Rene Horwood Ossie produced a true representation of Mr. Bowen’s original technique.
Honoring Mr. Bowen’s request to teach the work after his death, Ossie and Elaine named it The Bowen Technique and held their first seminar in Perth, Australia in 1986. Dedicated to preserving the technique and ensuring it was taught in its original form, they founded the Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia in 1987. Since then, Ossie and Elaine have introduced Bowtech to many countries of the world.
Because this technique is so effective, it has been widely embraced by a broad spectrum of people, and health professionals are impressed by the effectiveness of the Bowen technique and the diversity of problems addressed by it.
(Source: Bowtech The Original Bowen Technique – www.bowtech.com)
THOMAS AMBROSE BOWEN (Tom Bowen)
Born 1916-1982, an Australian, created, refined and practiced what we know today, as Bowen Therapy.