Introduction
There are many stories told about Tom Bowen..., and they have varying degrees of truth.
Tom was not a talkative person, especially about himself, and some of what he
did share was embellished with time. For example, it was reported as fact that he was born in 1904,
had served in the military (as a medic, thus his interest in healing), returned to university
for the study of chemistry, and was working as a chemical engineer at the
time of his entry into manipulative practice - Absolutely untrue!
Contents:-
Tom Bowen's Life
Tom Bowen's "Professional Training"
Recollections of Tom's daughter Heather
Tom Bowen's Healing Career
What the first Bowen Practice was like…
Tom Bowen's legendary Generosity
Tom Bowen the Healer
Tom Bowen and the Authorities
Tom Bowen: Diabetes and Hearing Loss
Tom Bowen's Training of Others
Tom Bowen and Ossie Rentsch
Mrs. Rene Horwood's Letter to Ossie Rentsch
The Bowen Legacy
Bowen Myths, Proofs, Clinical Experiences:-
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Tom Bowen in his Office:-
His younger clients knew him as "Uncle Tom":-
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Tom Bowen's Life
Born on April 16 1916, Thomas Ambrose Bowen was the third child and only son of
William and Norah Bowen, who had emigrated to Brunswick, Victoria, Australia
from Wolverhampton, England. He had two older sisters, Norah and Beatrice and a
younger sister, Agnes. The family were deeply involved with the Salvation Army
and were very hospitable, not only to people from the home country but also to
drunks in need of a safe haven. From an early age Tom was made to give up his
bed for visitors, and his children credit to this early training his later
generosity to the downtrodden.
Tom Bowen had a keen interest in animals. According to his younger (and only remaining)
sister, Agnes, he wanted to become a doctor. This was never an option, because
his father would not have considered any of his children getting a better
education than was necessary to be employed. Also, Bowen's teen years were
set in the midst of the great depression of the 1930's and his father,
William Bowen, chose to pay off business debts rather than fund Tom's medical
education. Tom left school after the eighth grade (probably at age 14) and
entered the labour force, first as a milk carter, then as a general hand at
the woollen mills. For a while he worked as a carpenter, his father's trade.
Bowen was very athletic; according to his long-time secretary and business
manager Rene Horwood, the only sport he didn't engage in was wrestling.
He loved swimming, umpiring cricket on Saturday afternoons, and playing
lawn bowls. Tom also ran a boys' club with the Salvation Army, which involved a lot of athletics.
Tom was married at the age of 25 to Jessie McLean at the Salvation Army,
Ringwood in 12 September 1941. They first lived with Tom's parents who
had moved to Geelong, Victoria (large provincial town). Tom and Jessie
had three children, Pam, Barry and Heather.
In Geelong, Tom worked on the wharves and then at the Geelong Cement Works
as a general hand. There is some strong likelihood that Tom's interest in
sports, coaching young players and helping with their injuries, was pivotal
in his development of manual techniques.
An Effective Asthma Treatment...
During their married life Jessie suffered from very bad asthma, often being
hospitalized in an effort to help her breathe. This was in her early forties
(presumably in the mid 1950's). Tom worked out some special soft tissue 'moves'
to help her shift her congestion and found dietary advice and some special
medicine from a chemist in Queensland. By following the dietary guidelines
(it was most unusual in those days to change your diet for an "illness"),
and having Tom work on her whenever she had an asthma attack, Jessie received
considerable benefit. After some years she no longer required the medicine
but thanks to Tom's method and diet she never had to go to hospital again.
She died in 1995. She would have been approximately 78 years of age.
(Author's comment: Bowen therapy does help to alleviate the symptoms of asthma, and is
definitely a beneficial adjunct to orthodox therapy).
A Self-Trained "osteopath"...
Tom Bowen began a full-time practice in the late 1950's.
He called himself
an osteopath (an unregulated profession at the time) and practiced what he
called "soft tissue manipulation". In 1973, in an interview by the Osteopathy,
Chiropractic and Naturopathic committee of the Victorian Parliament, Tom stated
under oath that he had treated about 280 patients per week,
with an assistant and a receptionist.
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Tom Bowen's "Professional Training"
The student of Bowen is soon left in no doubt as to the unique effects of
Bowen therapy. But how did it all come about?
Tom Bowen was not formally trained in any medical or alternative therapy
discipline. He stated simply that his work was 'a gift from God'. Nevertheless
he did study many textual sources, and (probably because he had to call himself
something) considered himself to be an osteopath.
It was the late 1950's while working at the Geelong Cement Works that Bowen
began to publicly demonstrate his special interest in healing. Tom loved sport,
and attended local games of Victorian-rules football in and around Geelong.
Tom Bowen watched the teams' trainers treat injured players and began to learn
from them his particular style of massage and soft-tissue manipulation.
He observed that particular 'moves' on the body's soft tissue resulted in
particular effects. One of the men he met at the 'footy club' was Ernie Saunders
(referred to as a 'legend' in the 40's and 50's as a physical manipulator')
from a suburb of nearby Melbourne. Saunders is generally believed to have had
an early powerful influence on Bowen's skills with manual therapy. Tom would
visit him and they would share many hours together and it was through talking
with Ernie that he began to learn what was later to become Tom's technique. It
was not long before Tom's ideas far outweighed those of Ernie's and the visits
ceased. The development stage commenced.
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The following is from Tom's daughter Heather, and relates her early childhood
recollections of her father Tom in his search for healing skills:-
"When I was growing up we didn't really get involved with what dad did. As far
as I was concerned, as a child of about 5 or 6, he worked as a general hand at
the Geelong Cement Works. But he also did something else because he used to
come home and have tea (or dinner as we call it) and then dress up in good pants,
and shirt and tie, and he would disappear at about 6:30 - 7pm; I would not see
him again until next morning. As you can imagine, as a small child what he
did was a mystery, and I didn't really understand until I was much older.
(This would have been in the late 1950's.) Dad had a friend at the cement
works, named Stan Horwood, who knew somehow that dad had a special gift, as
he used to help the men at the cement works if they got hurt. Also, at this
time, dad used to meet with a group of men in an outer Melbourne suburb, called
Footscray, and they used to talk about muscular problems of the body. It
appears that dad knew far more than this group of 3 men, and stopped visiting
them, and just developed things on his own. It was Stan who convinced dad he
should do something with this gift and offered him the use of a front room at
his house in which he could treat people away from the work site. After Stan
died, this practice continued until it became so big that he had to move, and
so the decision was made that he do this work full time. Our mother was never
one to take risks and she was a bit apprehensive, but as they say, the rest is
history. This is my understanding of how it all got started."
Although such words as "magical" and "miraculous" are often applied to Tom Bowen's
methods, and his personal results, he worked very hard for his miracles.
He read voraciously in any books he could find to improve his technique,
and to help with difficult patients' cases. His favourite sources were
osteopathic texts. He might have studied for a period of time with
a Chinese doctor in a neighbouring town. He may also have "appropriated" things his students
learned in their chiropractic, osteopathic, and massage training and experience.
One area where Mr. Bowen didn't seem to need much help was in diagnosis.
While most osteopaths have extensive theory and testing to determine which
areas need work, Tom Bowen knew in an instant. He would advise his students
to look at the set of the patient's jaw, as that told the whole story.
To some degree or other they were able to do this - but never to the quick and
comprehensive degree that Tom could.
Even with this highly developed visual sense, Tom always emphasized fine-tuning
one's palpation skills. He was very interested in the nervous system, claiming
to be able to feel nerve vibrations. At one point early in his career, Tom had
volunteered for a year or so at a hospital clinic, massaging polio patients.
Perhaps this was part of the proving ground to developing his techniques.
By observing and working with people whose nervous systems were systematically
failing, he could get a better sense of how they were meant to function in the first place.
Once Mr. Bowen went into serious practice, his reputation grew quickly.
His quest for
knowledge about how the human body works never ceased, and he continued to
improve his knowledge on textual matter from shiatsu to osteopathy, until
shortly before his death. The way Tom saw it, the key lay in opening up the body's
energy pathways to allow it to begin the process of healing. In other words,
the body is it's own best physician.
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Tom Bowen's Healing Career
One person who benefited from Tom Bowen's hands-on therapy was Rene Horwood,
the wife of Stan Horwood, the friend of Bowen's from the Geelong Cement Works. (
Note: Rene is short for Irene, Mrs. Horwood's middle name.)
The Horwoods credited Rene's recovery from a stroke to Bowen's hands-on therapy.
In 1957, they invited him to use their home for seeing patients in the evenings
after work. The front room of their home at 100 Autumn Street, Geelong, Geelong
became Tom Bowen's first clinic.
Stan Horwood died a few months after Bowen began seeing patients. As Stan had
requested, Rene looked after Tom. She acted as his mentor, receptionist, and
business manager. Rene, who had run a successful hairdressing business in
Melbourne and had secretarial skills, also helped Bowen develop some of his
techniques. She outlived him by almost 19 years, dying in September 2001 at the age of 93.
The business grew through word of mouth - there was absolutely no advertising.
People would wait outside the Horwood residence for hours to see Tom. Cars
would line the pavement.
It became obvious that the practice could not continue
this way and so in 1959 at the age of 43,
he moved to 99 Latrobe Tce
and began a full time practice.
Rene came too. She worked alongside Tom. She was his business manager for
all but two of the 26 years of Bowen practice. Additionally, if a patient had
a problem that required more than two hands, Rene would assist Tom with the procedure.
He stayed at 99 Latrobe Tce for a few years and then moved to 283 LaTrobe Tce,
Geelong where he moved between two rooms.
At this time he used single beds with a mat at the bottom of the bed. It was
many years later before he moved to electric massage tables.
He finally (and unwillingly) moved from LaTrobe Tce to
Villamanta Street, Geelong West.
Tom Bowen became famous throughout his career for being able to cure the incurable, and
find solutions when none seemed possible: even up to the day he was hospitalized
for the last time, he continued
developing moves to assist his patients. Sometimes he would call Rene in the
small hours of the morning to tell her he had worked out how to treat a particular
patient. He continued sharing those refinements with his Boys.
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What the first Bowen Practice was like…
At all of Tom's clinics there were collection boxes for all kinds of charities.
At times there were novelty items available for sale. Anything to help those
less fortunate than others.
Tom did not have appointments as such. A patient would ring the Bowen clinic
and be told the opening hours of the clinic were between 9am - 11am and 2pm - 4pm.
On arrival at the clinic patients were given a number from 1 to 33 in order of
presentation. They would wait in the waiting room until their number was called.
When all patients were seen during the morning he would then go home for lunch
which Jessie had prepared and had waiting for him. He would return just before
1pm and return home when all patients had been seen in the afternoon which
would have been some time after 5:30pm. During the evening he would do house
calls returning home at approximately 9:30pm.
Although the clinic was always fully booked, appointments were not necessary
for pregnant women with lower back pain or people suffering acute asthma
attacks; these he would see on demand, often in a hallway.
For treatments he initially used standard, low, single beds. When he saw a
hydraulic massage table after more than twenty years in practice, he ordered
two for his clinic. He worked mainly from two treatment rooms; one of his later
clinics had four rooms. One room contained two beds so he could treat family
members together. In addition to seeing patients in the clinic, Bowen often made
evening house calls to people who were unable to travel to him.
At his peak, he was reported to treat 100 clients a day on occasion. After
sixteen years as a practising osteopath, in a 1973 interview, he reported that
he was seeing approximately 250 patients each week. His students (more about
them below) confirm that he worked at a steady rate of fourteen patients per hour.
Bowen was quite deaf and in his later years wore two hearing aids. He could read
Rene's lips better than other people's; she therefore often repeated what others
said to Tom so that he could lip-read. To keep conversation to a minimum, and/or
to reduce the hum of the hearing aids, he sometimes turned them off.
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Tom Bowen's legendary Generosity
Bowen began charging for his services only after a couple of years in practice,
when the husband of one patient insisted on it and gave him a donation box for
that purpose. However, even after his clinic staff began routinely charging for
treatment, Bowen knew that there were some who could not afford it; and he would
indicate to office staff on these patients' record cards that they were not to be charged.
Saturday Clinics for the Disabled…
Tom's first granddaughter had been born with cerebral palsy and died at the
age of five. Some people suggest this as a source of Bowen's passion for helping
disabled people. Indeed, a good friend of Rene Horwood's confirms that he often
said that he ran the clinics for the disabled in memory of his granddaughter. He
would open his clinic on two Saturday mornings a month to give free treatments
to the disabled, and in particular to disabled children. Tom was known to these
children as 'Uncle Tom' On Christmas Day, he would also visit them before
spending the day with his own children. (In later years, when his health was
failing, these clinics were held only once a month.) A friend and a few of
his students helped him with these free clinics. Parents would bring their
children to him from many miles away, sometimes travelling 3 - 4 hours. Patients
would line up on walkers, in wheelchairs, in chairs, or standing with personal
assistants. Bowen would treat them in that line, moving along one group at a
time, returning to add the next series of moves, and repeating the pattern over and over.
Results were not immediate with these children but over a number of years results
were amazing. Two of Bowen's students continued running these free clinics in
Geelong for twelve years after his death (one of them was Dr. Ryan ).
Saturday Evenings for the Footballers…
Bowen's generosity was seen in other contexts as well:
He held a clinic every Saturday evening for those who had injured themselves
playing sport during the day. Tom would treat the day's injured footballers for
free until the last one had been helped. People once again, came from near and far.
Sunday Mornings at Geelong Prison…
On Sunday mornings, he would visit the Geelong Prison to treat prisoners.
The Victorian Police Board awarded him a medal in appreciation for his help.
The Geelong police also awarded him with a commemorative plaque for his services to them.
Sunday Afternoon Emergencies…
He often opened his clinic on Sunday afternoons, too, for emergency cases,
Emergency Treatment for Animals…
Animals that had been injured and were in danger of being put down would receive his attention.
Helping the Poor and Needy…
If Tom had people attend his clinic who were in desperate circumstances or
with disabled children needing extra care, he was a most generous person.
At this stage of his career he could have made a great deal of money, but
this was definitely not his priority. What Tom could do for people was his
greatest reward and this continued to be his cause throughout his life. He
did not always immediate have the answer to a problem that was presented to
him but he would analyse the problem and have a solution in a few days.
A sign by John o'London which hung in his waiting room read as follows:
I expect to pass through this world but once:
Any good thing therefore that I can do or any kindness
that I can show to any fellow-creature let me do it now.
Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.
Tom Bowen treated everybody the same, from
street drunkards to the well known and powerful.
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Tom Bowen the Healer
Early in his career, Bowen discovered that he had what can only be described as an
extreme hypersensitivity of the fingers and hands, which apparently enabled
him to feel nerve transmission and consequently find blockages in the nervous and muscular
systems. In fact, oftentimes during experiments when working on somebody, if
he performed a 'move' as he called them, which was wrong, he would receive a
burning sensation in the fingers so hot, that he would have to quickly leave
the room and cool his hands under cold running water. Add to
this unique ability of touch, a discerning eye for variation in the muscular
surface tension on his client's body, you have a man with a rare and powerful
experimental methodology for probing the body.
There is absolutely no doubt that Bowen demonstrated, genius-like abilities with the
development of his unique work. According to his own conservative estimates he
consistently achieved around an 88% success rate in just two to three sessions.
Most of Bowen's patients experienced relief of their complaint(s) in one or two
sessions, and many also reported relief of symptoms for which they had not sought
treatment. This phenomenon is common today, too, in the clinics of Bowen
practitioners. In his 1973 government health interview, Bowen claimed a success rate of 88%.
Tom was not a man to lie, and I'm sure that even today's doctors and physiotherapists
would be proud of such a success rate.
Tom Bowen treated an average of 14 patients per hour. Two main factors account
for his ability to work at this phenomenal pace:
- His uncanny ability to assess each person's needs with little verbal or
hands-on interaction. He was aware of the specific 'moves' that were needed
(as well as how much hands-on work might be too much for them) by observing
them in the waiting room and treatment room. As he worked, his super-sensitive
fingers would assess, treat, and monitor changes in their tissue, allowing him
to get maximum results with the minimum number of 'moves'.
- His assistants. These women escorted the patients into the treatment rooms,
took their histories, helped get them onto the treatment beds in the appropriate
position, and loosened their clothing so that Bowen could make best use of his
time. He would move from room to room applying his technique as needed, and
would signal his assistants by clicking his fingers to turn the patients over or get them up.
(Note: Nowadays, Bowen practitioners do not work at that rate; most see from
one to six clients per hour. Without Tom Bowen's assessment skills, most
practitioners need three, four, or more sessions to get the results that
Tom Bowen often achieved in one or two. Even so, the Bowen Technique is
remarkable for the speed with which it stimulates healing and the length
of time that the results last.)
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Tom Bowen and the Authorities
Before Tom Bowen rented his first outside clinic in 1959, he went to the authorities
to register his practice. They told him that only physiotherapists were
required to register; if he called himself anything else, he wouldn't have to
register. Tom decided to call himself an osteopath because that was his philosophical
and practical approach to healing.
Tom's "Osteopathic" practice continued until 1973 when
the regulations
were changed: osteopaths, chiropractors, and naturopaths were from then on required to be
licensed and to register with the government.
Parliamentary Committee Interview
Tom Bowen was interviewed by the Osteopathic, Chiropractic and Naturopathic
Committee (Victorian Parliament). Bowen stated under oath that he treated
about 280 patients per week with the help of a receptionist and an assistant. (The officials were stunned)!
He reported that he never advertised but just relied upon word of mouth. He estimated
his success rate to be about 88%, and claimed that he could sense
minute vibrations in the soft tissues and that the tension in the muscles helped
him find the precise places to mobilize. By 1975, he was seeing 13,000 patients a
year (documented by the Victorian Government Webb report over a 27 weeks period).
That is an amazing number of clients per year for a one man clinic.
After this extensive interview (the records read like an interrogation!), he was invited (as were other
unlicensed practitioners), to take a "grandfathering test" to be qualified
as an osteopath.
Turned down by the Academy of Osteopaths...
Bowen applied for registration as
an osteopath. Tom passed the practical requirements with flying colours but not the orals.
He refused to be restricted to text book parroting:-
"Bring them in, and I'll show you what I'll do," was his basic response.
He felt from his experience that there was no single solution to a named condition, but rather,
there were many other factors that depended upon the individuality
of the patient rather than any named illness.
Tom Bowen felt somewhat demoralised by this rejection: in part because his patients
would not become eligible for insurance coverage for his treatments, but also
because Tom felt that the 'establishment' was telling him he was not worthy or
appreciated. Whether he was registered or not people still came from far and
wide to see him.
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Tom Bowen: Diabetes and Hearing Loss
During his time at Villamanta Street, (this was in 1979) he had his first leg
removed. The reason was probably diabetes. Family members were told
it was due to poor circulation. This was a devastating time for Tom who was a
very active man. A friend would drive Tom to physiotherapy a few times a week,
and two of his students ran his clinic during his hospitalisation and recovery.
Upon his return to the clinic, he worked from a wheelchair. Later on, he used a
prosthetic leg that was made for him by friends at the Cement Works. Even then,
he continued to work at the same rate of about fourteen patients per hour. The
practice continued to grow as it had always done, by word of mouth.
In 1982, Tom had his second leg removed. Due to a serious infection he was moved
to the infectious disease area of the hospital where he never recovered.
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Tom Bowen's Training of Others
Probably because he was so busy, Tom didn't write down any of his technique
or philosophy. From time to time, he would take on an associate, working as
an unpaid assistant one day of the week, to follow him and watch as he worked.
Bowen's teaching style consisted of answering an observer's questions in brief,
non-technical terms, including a simple 'yes' or 'no' that would leave much
to the imagination. Some observers lasted only one day, others a little longer,
before leaving in confusion or being asked by Bowen not to return. In all the
years he 'taught' in this way, Bowen considered only six students to be fully
competent in his methods. He referred affectionately to these six as his Boys.
These men were: Keith Davis, Nigel Love, Kevin Neave, Oswald Rentsch, Kevin Ryan
and Romney Smeeton. They all had different backgrounds: osteopathic,
massage therapist, chiropractor, etc... These men each had their own set
day at which they would attend the clinic. There were others who would attend
his clinic to learn his technique but if Tom felt that they didn't 'have the touch'
he would ask them to leave.
Tom left it to each of these men to take their own notes, and formulate their
own ideas about what he was doing. Interestingly, they were not encouraged to
share technique with each other. And after Tom's death, those who did compare
notes were astonished by how differently they were taught, though common threads
certainly ran through each's practice.
Tom's range of technique was enormous, with some procedures used only once a
year or so. His brightest students, who were observing and working with him for
years, were politely informed on occasion that they had about 10 - 15% of what
he knew. A disconcerting thing to hear, to be sure. But he also reassured them
that when they needed it, the rest would come. What's truly amazing is that
fourth and fifth generation versions of the work, comprising smaller and smaller
slices of slices of the original, are still so effective. But it is true - even
the smallest dash of Bowen's technology will spice up any therapeutic stew to
which it's added. In true holographic measure, the smallest fraction still brings results.
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Tom Bowen and Ossie Rentsch
Oswald Rentsch (one of the founders of Bowtech) was the first or second of "Tom's
Boys".
Oswald Rentsch ("Ossie" to all who know him) undertook the study of massage in 1959
with the goal of easing his wife Elaine's unremitting pain (a childhood neck injury
had damaged her spine severely, and she fully expected to become an invalid). Fifteen
years later in 1974, Ossie was still searching for relief for Elaine's suffering.
Then he met Tom Bowen. According to Ossie it happened like this:-
Mr Rentsch met Tom Bowen in Adelaide
at a December 1973 conference of naturopaths and natural therapists. As they
shook hands, Ossie told Bowen, 'I would like to learn from you.' Ossie was
surprised at his own words, since he didn't know anything about Bowen at
the time. He was even more surprised when Bowen organised straight away
with Rene for Ossie to observe at the clinic on the following Wednesday morning.
The trip between Ossie's home in Byaduk and the clinic in Geelong took over
two hours in each direction, so Ossie didn't expect to observe Bowen more
than the one time. That is not how it turned out! - Ossie obviously felt that he should let Tom
treat his wife's neck, and Elaine soon become Tom's patient. She recalls her first visit: "When he touched my
neck, he said, 'It will take six months to get this right.' But even after the one
treatment, I could feel energy moving in my neck." Elaine's health gradually returned.
She continued accompanying Ossie to the clinic, where she sometimes assisted Bowen's
patients and observed his treatments.
Ossie and Elaine's Bowen clinic.
In 1976 Elaine and Ossie opened a purely and exclusively "Bowen" clinic of
their own in Hamilton, Victoria.
Recalls Ossie:-
"At Tom's suggestion, we didn't advertise... By the end of six months
we were booked solid".
Until his death (1982), Bowen visited the Rentsch's clinic from time to time and
fine-tuned their moves. In his turn, and like the rest of Tom's Boys, Ossie
visited Bowen's clinic, too, to keep up with the latest refinements.
Recalls Ossie:-
"Many professionals came to watch us work, and they kept asking
us to teach, saying, 'If you don't teach this, Bowen's work will disappear.' Finally,
a fellow in Perth got a group together and we went there to teach."
Documenting the Method
According to Bowtech®, it was Ossie more than any other of "Bowen's Boys" that took on
the task of documenting the Bowen method: This involved
writing and drawing what he had observed Tom Bowen do, and then returning the
notes to Bowen for approval and/or correction. Rene Horwood was very helpful
during this process, having worked with Bowen for some 16 years by the time Ossie
made his first visit to the clinic. Over the course of several years, Ossie
produced a set of notes that is considered by many to be an accurate representation
of many aspects of Tom Bowen's technique.
[Author's comment: Bowtech® have made a few
minor adaptations and improvements to what was originally taught by Ossie Rentsch].
Ossie's Bed Side Promise
The veracity of the bed side promise story is disputed by some.
After the amputation of Bowen's second leg, complications set in. Shortly
before Bowen's death a few weeks later, Ossie promised him that he would make
Bowen's name known around the world (see "Mrs. Rene Horwood's Letter to Ossie Rentsch", quoted below).
In carrying out this promise, he began to
transmit the technique to others a few years later. A class in 1986 in Perth,
Western Australia, was the first of many. By 1990, Ossie and Elaine were
teaching full time, and they sold their clinic in Hamilton. They now travel
ten months out of the year, teaching in many countries around the world. Over
14,000 students have learnt the Bowen Technique through the Bowen Therapy
Academy of Australia (or Bowtech, which is the company name). Some 70
instructors trained by Ossie and Elaine have taught Bowtech seminars in
many countries and in multiple languages.
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Mrs. Rene Horwood's Letter to Ossie Rentsch
(Mr Bowen's Private Secretary & First Receptionist).
The veracity of Rene Harwood's letter is disputed by some.
"I do remember you Ossie and I remember the other boys, and as far as I'm
concerned there was only 6 that Tom taught. You Ossie & Elaine, Keith Davis,
Nigel Love, Romney Smeeton, Kevin Neave and Kevin Ryan.
Keith Davis has always been a good friend of mine. He's a brother of Elaine
Love's and the Love's I'll never forget because all the time Tom was
hospitalised over the last 4 years, Nigel used to pick me up and take me to
the hospital, because towards the end with Tom being deaf and not being able
to wear his hearing aid, I was his only means of communication. He could lip
read me but not easily lip read others.
None of these wanted to teach, they all wanted to do their own things and they
were all able to increase their own clinics. Keith doubled his and so did Romney
and Kevin Neave. He was another one in Melbourne who was very good to us all.
I'll never forget one day, visiting Tom, that was after he had his second leg
off. He wasn't wearing his hearing aid and we were all very emotional and I
think Tom knew too, because he died three weeks after he had his second leg
off. From memory, Nigel Love must have been there, and I think Mrs Love must
have been there too, because they used to always pick me up and take me to
hospital, then take me home for tea. Ossie & Elaine were there.
Ossie had hold of one of Tom's hands and I had hold of the other, and Ossie
said This might be our last visit Tom, but I want to promise you something
before I go. Before I die, I promise you, your name will be known around the
world. I looked at Tom and said Did you understand what he said ?. He shook
his head no. So I repeated what Ossie had said. He put his other hand out
and took Ossie's other hand and said Thank you son. I'm very glad. I would
have liked a little longer, but I know you will carry on my work. However,
Tom had asked you long before that to teach.
Don't you remember Ossie you were very emotional when he said Thank you Son?
You couldn't answer and I lip read back to him and said, Right Tom at last
you've got your wish, you've asked all the boys would they carry on, now
you've got your wish with Ossie & Elaine. After we left the hospital do
you remember Ossie I thanked you when we were going down in the lift,
for giving Tom his final wish to teach his work.
We talked about you taking his name around the world. There was one thing
I asked you - could you do me a favour because Barry was one of my favourites
and he was living in Sydney. If I give you Barry's address when we get home
will you promise me before you do anything you'll talk it over with him?
You talked it over with Barry and there's only one thing you told Barry that
you want to do, and that's honour Tom. You said I could do anything I like
with this work but I will always honour Tom as being the founder of this
work and that's what I've always done. And that's what I did. And I said
to him What about the other members of your family? and he just said, Don't
worry about them, they are being looked after.
Ossie, you had asked Tom earlier, What about the family taking this on? and
he said None of them are interested in it, he said The women folk are not
interested in it at all, he said. I wished Barry would have taken it on, but
he wants to be a musician. I'd like you to teach it, but I don't want you to
teach it until after I die.
I can remember Tom saying to you, that this was his wish. Even me, I was under
an oath never to get hot fingers and do any manipulation in spite of all I'd
learned and taught him too. I showed Tom a lot of moves that he did. I showed
him the frozen shoulder move. And I can tell you Ossie, I don't know whether
you ever heard how the frozen shoulder got the name. Because we did a butcher
that was carrying frozen carcasses from the cool room to the shop. That's how
the frozen shoulder got it's name.
I remember when Ossie & Elaine started, they got their opportunity after they
put their girl through Medical School. They were invited to America to
demonstrate the Bowen Technique and that was the beginning of Ossie's
promise to Tom to make his name known around the world".
Rene Horwood
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The Bowen Legacy
Numerous interpretations of Tom Bowen's work are taught around the world today - even as high as
university level in Australia. Each person who has been taught Tom's technique has
their own unique way of interpreting it. There are very many offshoots of the original "Bowen Therapy", but
it seems likely that "Bowtech® Bowen" as taught by Ossie and Elaine Rentsch
is as close to the original as any Bowen therapy can be.
Through the Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia, the Rentsch's have taught "Bowtech® ,"
Bowen therapy, to more than 15,000
practitioners throughout the world. They began training instructors in 1994; At the time or writing (June 2005),70 people
now teach Bowtech in 20 countries and in six languages.
Historical References:-
http://www.bowentherapytechnique.com/BowenPat/Bowen_History.html
http://www.bowen-technique.co.uk/
http://www.bowentherapy.com/
http://www.bowendirectory.com/
http://www.bowtech.com
http://www.usbowen.com/bowen.htm
http://www.nsthealth.com/pdf/nst_bowen.pdf
Bowen Myths, Proofs, Clinical Experiences:-
Myths:-
http://www.usbowen.com/Myth.htm
Proofs:-
http://www.bowentherapytechnique.com/BowenPat/Research.html
http://www.bowtech.com/public/about/research/review.do#level1
Bowen Research Summary
Clinical Experiences:-
http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Bowen/rapapo18.htm
http://www.bowentherapytechnique.com/BowenPat/Research.html
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