Functional Bowen™ Therapy For Children

Why Functional Bowen™ Therapy For My Child?©

By Judy Terwilliger, RN (# 322974), CMT (#25334)
Clinical RN Therapist, Advanced Pediatric Functional Bowen™ Practitioner
Method Founder & Instructor.


Functional Bowen™ Therapy is a process that assists the body to release trapped, muscles, tendons and ligaments that are hindered from working properly by some degree of fascial holding/restriction. It’s focus, lies in helping to gain the release of the 3-Dimensional system of the body called “fascia” (pronounced Fa-Shuh).

Fascia is the webbed network of tissue that lives between other tissue spaces. It provides hydration, stability, and movement using messages from the brain. When this fascia gets tight or immobile it prevents the brain from getting massages throughout the body to carry out the job of movement.

Movement is necessary for all life. All our body systems depend on the movement within the body. This is especially true in babies, infants and children who are learning to develop and interact with their world – in the right way. This holding/restriction prevents, slows and/or distorts that development.

We use the method of Functional Bowen™ Therapy to assist the body to release this fascial holding / restriction, release nerves that are held captive and restoring the normal job of supporting movement which supports positive body function, often called homeostasis or body balance.

In adults this help to the fascia can relieve painful pulling that promotes arthritis and spinal problems such as compressed disks leading to low back pain. In children this fascial help can work to resolve difficult movement patterns (grinding of their teeth, inability to properly crawl, walk, or run) or an inability to mentally focus (from nervous system congestion that produces fussiness/irritability) they have developed over time or by injury such as falling off a swing, trampoline or sports activities. In babies this fascial help provides a very profound change in their developing life habits of: eating (breast or bottle feeding), sleeping without fitfulness or developing night terrors, general mobility – reaching, grasping, turning over, crawling, walking, running and so on.

In the child with a tongue tie or other oral restriction this help assists in the actual revision of the problem if seen prerevision to release the muscles held captive by the fascial restriction of the tongue. This child possesses a fascial restriction (with muscles that pull) because they have a diagnosed restriction of their tongue. Essentially, they have been practicing improper / dysfunctional movement their whole existence with a restriction of their fascia created by a restriction of their tongue.

You cannot have one without the other.

A tongue restriction = fascial restriction.

This method helps the body to prevent life-long pulling that can go unseen causing adult level problems. The body requires help before a revision to assist the provider to gain clear room to make a proper revision and post revision to resolve the pulling that exists, having developed since in the womb that will not go away left un-assisted with helping the fascia back to that state of homeostasis as above.

Balance is the key and this method of help for the fascia can bring that needed help.


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