An Occult Therapy

 

Earlier this year, the following was written on a flyer which had been placed in my mailbox:

Are you seeking a gentle yet powerful approach to pain relief, stress reduction, and overall well-being? Look no further than Bowenwork therapy, offered by [name and address/phone/website/email of practitioner redacted]. Bowenwork is helpful to all; it was developed by Thomas Bowen, a devout Christian. Come and feel the power of Bowenwork today! (Emphasis mine). 

I had never heard of Bowenwork before (aka "Bowen Therapy" and "Bowen Technique"--hereinafter BT). In my experience, when someone emphasizes how "Christian" something is, it usually is not the case. I began to research and, sure enough, far from being "Christian," it is actually occult. As many practitioners of BT claim to be "Christian" (mostly Protestant and Vatican II sect), I will expose BT for what it really is in this post so no one will be fooled. (Please note that this post is a compilation of all the resources, both online and print, which I used in my research. I take no credit for any of the information herein. All I did was condense the information into a terse and readable post---Introibo).  

What BT Claims to Be

According to The American Bowen Academy: Bowenwork is a gentle form of bodywork where very subtle moves performed over muscles and connective tissue send messages deep into the body through multiple layers of fascia, impacting nerves, lymphatics, organ function, muscles, joints, as well as the autonomic nervous system - an innovative approach to chronic and acute pain management. 

(See americanbowen.academy). 

There are many definitions I found besides the one above. No matter how defined, it is an alternative medicine technique that combines massage with what some describe as "vibrational energy healing."  It was developed by an Australian engineer with no medical training named Thomas Bowen (1916-1982) and was introduced into the U.S. in 1990. Thomas Bowen professed himself to be a devout Protestant.

However, BT is not consistent with a Christian view of the body or of health. According to one BT source: Tom Bowen believed in the universal energy called Chi. This energy circulates within the body along 14 channels, called meridians and it was identified by Chinese medicine.

The meridians contain acupuncture points which influence internal organs and their function. According to Chinese medicine the free circulation of Chi throughout the human body is essential for good health.

Most moves of the Bowen technique are practiced on particular meridians and some on specific acupuncture points. It is not known whether Tom Bowen had sufficient knowledge of Chinese medicine on which he based his procedures.  Nonetheless, acupuncturists practicing the Bowen technique claim that the Chi is modified during and after each Bowen treatment. 

(See bowtech.si/en/the-mechanism-of-bowen-technique; Emphasis mine). 

When there's talk of "vital energy" and "chi" (sometimes spelled "ki") you're dealing with pagan and occult teachings. 

BT and Science

There are many medical claims made by BT therapists, but what does the medical research have to say?

According to therapists who practice Bowenwork, this type of therapy acts on the autonomic nervous system. They believe it inhibits the sympathetic nervous system (your fight-or-flight stress response) and activates the parasympathetic nervous system (your rest-and-digest response).

However, no research has yet confirmed this or other mechanisms of action. (Emphasis mine),

Furthermore, Some people refer to Bowen therapy as a type of therapeutic massage. It isn’t a medical treatment, though. There’s minimal scientific research on its effectiveness, and its purported benefits are mainly anecdotal. (Emphasis mine).

Despite all this, BT is considered by some to be a veritable panacea. 

Conditions commonly addressed by Bowen therapy include:

• frozen shoulder
• headaches
• migraine
• back pain
• neck pain
• knee injuries

Some people may use Bowen therapy to manage pain due to:

• respiratory conditions, like asthma
• gastrointestinal disorders, like irritable bowel syndrome
• cancer treatment side effects

Additionally, some people may also seek Bowen therapy for managing:

• stress
• fatigue
• depression
• anxiety
• high blood pressure
• stiffness and reduced range of motion

That's quite a list for a therapy whose exact mechanism for working is unknown, and benefits are mostly anecdotal. Limited research exists on the benefits, long-term effects, and risks of Bowen therapy. Some research suggests that it may help with pain and mobility, but more studies are needed to generalize results to all age groups and populations.

If you decide to have a session of Bowen therapy, it’s important to seek a licensed therapist and ask about potential side effects of the treatment. 

(All Information from this section, See healthline.com/health/bowen-therapy#bottom-line; all emphasis mine). 

Pagan and Occult Roots of BT

During a typical BT treatment, which lasts about 30-45 minutes, the practitioner uses his/her fingers to make a gentle rolling type of motion on different muscles in the body. The practitioner then pauses, sometimes even leaving the room for a few minutes, to allow the body to “make its own adjustments” or, in a sense, to heal itself. How is this possible?

According to one practitioner:

His (Thomas Bowen's) main principle and belief was that the body is able to heal itself, he believed that good medicine was to assist the body's natural ability to repair and regulate itself and that bodily dysfunction were the result of disturbances in the tissues. His underlying assumption was that structure governs function, and that disturbances of structure in whatever tissue within the body will lead to disturbances of functioning in that structure and, in turn, of the function of the body as a whole. His goal was to restore the structural integrity in the body in order to restore its optimum function.

He also believed in the universal life energy called Chi. In traditional Chinese medicine, this energy must flow freely throughout the body in order to assure a state of maximum health. Bowen's gift was to discover a system of mobilization to rebalance the natural flow of energy. 

(See bowentherapytechnique.com/page3/page3.html; All Emphasis in original). 

The idea of chi or ki is purely pagan/occult. A key to understanding pagan approaches to health and views of the body is in the knowledge of what is taught about the "subtle body." It is integrated from Hinduism, and Taoism, then appropriated by occultists. Here is one description of an occult book on the subtle body by an “intuitive healer” or "psychic healer:"

All healers are “energetic” healers, whether they know it or not. Because every health issue has a physical and an energetic component, even a simple physical treatment like bandaging a cut also impacts the body’s spiritual, mental, and emotional welfare.

The Subtle Body is a comprehensive encyclopedia devoted to the critical world of our invisible anatomy, where so much of healing actually occurs. Compiled by intuitive healer and scholar Cyndi Dale, this 500-page full color illustrated reference book covers: * What is the “subtle body”? New scientific understanding of our quantum-state existence and the unseen fields that determine our physical condition * True integrative care: how combining Eastern energetic modalities with Western scientific rigor yields optimum results * The meridians, fields, and chakras: detailed information and diagrams about the role of these energetic structures in our overall health * Energy-based therapy principles from the world’s healing traditions–including Ayurveda, Qigong, Reiki, Quabalah, and many more. (See cyndidale.com/product/the-subtle-body). 

The chi/ki belief makes BT a form of energy healing like Reiki  just mentioned in the book description. Here is the pagan mumbo-jumbo regarding chi/ki: "The source or cause of health comes from the Ki that flows through and around the individual rather than from the functional condition of the physical organs and tissues. It is Ki that animates the physical organs and tissues as it flows through them and therefore is responsible for creating a healthy condition. If the flow of Ki is disrupted, the physical organs and tissues will be adversely affected. Therefore, it is a disruption in the flow of Ki that is the main cause of illness.

An important attribute of Ki is that it responds to ones thoughts and feelings. Ki will flow more strongly or be weakened in its action depending on the quality of ones thoughts and feelings. It is our negative thoughts and feelings that are the main cause of restriction in the flow of Ki. All negative or dis-harmonious thoughts or feelings will cause a disruption in the flow of Ki. Even Western medicine recognizes the role played by the mind in creating illness and some Western doctors state that as much as 98% of illness is caused directly or indirectly by the mind.

It must be understood that the mind exists not only in the brain, but also through-out the body. The nervous system extends to every organ and tissue in the body and so the mind exists here also. It is also known that the mind even extends outside the body in a subtle energy field 2 to 3 feet thick called the aura. Because of this, it is more appropriate to call our mind a mind/body as the mind and body are so closely linked."  (See Reiki.org; Emphasis mine).

Here's what's wrong with this doctrine:
1. There is no soul as the animating principle of the body, but some impersonal "Ki energy."

2. Ki nevertheless can respond and be manipulated by thoughts and feelings, yet there is no explanation as to how or why this is known/proven.

3. The claim that "some Western doctors" (not even naming one) state "98% of illness is caused directly or indirectly by the mind" is not only completely unsubstantiated, but terms are not even defined. What does it mean that an illness is caused "indirectly by the mind"?

4. It states the existence of some "aura" which is "known" to exist without any citations to a single relevant medical or scientific source.

What if it Really Works?

The objection may be raised: What if there's some truth to Bowen Therapy? Maybe science just hasn't discovered everything we know about the workings of the body; a  bodily energy might be at work. Many people claim health benefits. Besides, I don't believe in the pagan/occult stuff. As long as I see it as an "energetic massage" that may help me, what's wrong with using BT? 

There's much wrong with it. It is a form of Reiki, and it was correctly condemned by (wait for it)...The Vatican II Sect! (Hey, even a broken clock is right twice every 24 hours, right?). Since the sect actually got something right (even if not well known and never enforced), I cite it here; just substitute "Bowen Therapy" for Reiki as both have the same worldview based on "energy healing." 

The Vatican II sect document entitled Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy, has this to say in paragraph #9:

The difference between what Christians recognize as healing by divine grace and Reiki therapy is also evident in the basic terms used by Reiki proponents to describe what happens in Reiki therapy, particularly that of "universal life energy." Neither the Scriptures nor the Christian tradition as a whole speak of the natural world as based on "universal life energy" that is subject to manipulation by the natural human power of thought and will. In fact, this worldview has its origins in eastern religions and has a certain monist and pantheistic character, in that distinctions among self, world, and God tend to fall away. (Emphasis mine)

Their conclusion:
Reiki therapy finds no support either in the findings of natural science or in Christian belief. For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems...In terms of caring for one's spiritual health, there are important dangers. To use Reiki one would have to accept at least in an implicit way central elements of the worldview that undergirds Reiki theory, elements that belong neither to Christian faith nor to natural science.
Without justification either from Christian faith or natural science, however, a Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no-man's-land that is neither faith nor science. Superstition corrupts one's worship of God by turning one's religious feeling and practice in a false direction.(See paragraphs 10 and 11; Emphasis mine. The term "Catholic" is meant to denote a member of the Vatican II sect).

Therefore, to submit oneself to any pagan "energy healing" like BT or Reiki becomes an implicit denial of dogma, as the basis of these practices rests upon the heresy of pantheism.

From the Vatican Council (1870), Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Dei Filius, it states:

The Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church believes and confesses that there is one true and living God, Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, Almighty, Eternal, Immense, Incomprehensible, Infinite in intelligence, in will, and in all perfection, who, as being one, sole, absolutely simple and immutable spiritual substance, is to be declared as really and essentially distinct from the world, of supreme beatitude in and from Himself, and ineffably exalted above all things which exist, or are conceivable, except Himself. 

3. If anyone shall say that the substance and essence of God and of all things is one and the same; let him be anathema. 

4. If anyone shall say that finite things, both corporeal and spiritual, or at least spiritual, have emanated from the Divine substance; or that the Divine essence, by the manifestation and evolution of itself, becomes all things; or, lastly, that God is a universal or indefinite being, which by determining itself constitutes the universality of things, distinct according to genera, species and individuals; let him be anathema. 

5. If anyone does not confess that the world, and all things that are contained in it, both spiritual and material, have been, in their whole substance, produced by God out of nothing; or shall say that God created, not by His will, free from all necessity, but by a necessity equal to the necessity whereby He loves Himself; or shall deny that the world was made for the glory of God; let him be anathema. 

You also open yourself up to possible demonic obsession/possession whenever you involve yourself in anything occult or pagan. 

Conclusion

Bowen Therapy is based on the occult/pagan worldview of pantheism and replaces the One True Personal God with an impersonal "life force" called chi or ki. It may have some benefit from the placebo effect, among other explanations, but do you really want physical improvement at any cost? 

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" (St. Matthew 16:26).