Accessing the Somatic Benefits of Mind-Body Bowen
– Peter Levine, Walking the Tiger
“Body sensation rather than intense emotion is the key to healing trauma”
The Rising Interest in Somatic Work
In case the concept of somatics is not yet on your radar, google tells us that the definition of “somatic” is “affecting the body“. So while psyche is understood to be the mind, soul or spirit, soma is understood to be the physical body. In the context of somatic therapy, this means understanding the connection between emotions and the physical body. Unprocessed negative emotions can manifest as physical ailments, and somatic practices aim to address this by using internal awareness to bring hidden aspects of oneself into consciousness.
The beauty of somatic work is its bidirectional nature—bodywork practitioners can uncover emotional patterns while addressing physical pain, and psychological therapists can use body sensations to help clear deep-seated psychological patterns. Regardless of which approach is taken, both the physical and the emotional bodies will experience relief.
The somatic implications of using Bowen Therapy have long been overlooked by the majority of practitioners, probably due to the fact that most patients manage to resolve their complaint without time to give it much thought. Traditionally used to treat physical ailments, Bowen Therapy is an extremely effective wholistic treatment with a high success rate. There are many resources that provide detailed information about typical Bowen treatments (click here for more information).
Despite its high success rate, some clients don’t experience the exceptional results that most do. To address these persistent cases, the concept of Mind-Body Bowen was developed and has been successfully applied where regular treatments fall short.
Mind-Body Bowen
Mind-Body Bowen is traditionally performed without the use of any psycho-active substance. The treatment itself consists of the very same moves Tom Bowen created many years ago. The approach for using these moves, however, differs in Mind-Body Bowen sessions. After being brought into a state of deep relaxation, the specialized moves will prompt clients to experience sensations such as tingling, spasms, pain, heat, cold or even nausea. These reactions are recorded by the practitioner and carefully mapped to discover patterns pointing to specific traumas or memories. In some cases, just focusing awareness on the physical sensations will allow the blockage to clear. In more deep-rooted issues however, there can be an extremely profound reaction (both physical and emotional). This is where the concept of psychedelics comes in.
Psychedelics with Mind-Body Bowen
Mind-Body Bowen does not require traumatic experiences to be re-lived; simply re-recognized from a different viewpoint. Believe it or not, one of the most effective methods of releasing blocked trauma during a Mind-Body Bowen session is by simply acknowledging it, feeling into it, allowing it and accepting it. This is not natural for most people. We see pain as negative and we try to reduce it. We see someone feeling sad and we tell them to cheer up. We feel a negative emotion and immediately feel guilty for feeling that way. We do this instinctively and subconsciously.
Psycho-active substances can help us overcome this instinct. The psychological state that can be achieved with plant medicine can bring us to a place where we are able to get out of our own way and allow ourselves to let go of these negative patterns. The neuroplasticity that results from a plant medicine journey allows our brains to adapt and reorganize as they release the blockages. While Mind-Body Bowen is successful without the use of psycho-active substances, it is a much longer road to resolution.
“When the unconscious is made conscious, we set the stage for cure. Even though consciousness is the antidote for serious illness, unconsciousness was the antidote also, earlier in our lives, when too much pain could have been lethal.”
Dr. Arthur Janov, the new primal scream
If you are interested in learning more about Psychedelic-enhanced Mind-Body Bowen treatments, please reach out to us here.
Psychetopia 
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