HISTORY OF BOWEN AND THE PRESENT STATE OF AFFAIRS
Tom Bowen was an Australian layman who was a self-taught practitioner who had no formal training or credentialing.
There have been discrepancies throughout the saga of Bowen therapy all through the years, and even now. One group of people say that Tom was a chemist. That he wanted to be a medical doctor while attending college, but after serving as a medic in the army during World War ll , he found that he could not handle the morbidity and mortality of medicine, so he changed his major to chemistry. The other group of historians say that he was a worker in a factory. Either way, he studied anatomy, physiology, and Eastern Medicine and, somehow figured out a method for removing restrictions in the myofascial planes and along the meridian pathways so that the body could release the existing holding patterns and reset itself so it could start afresh. Other discrepancies have occurred; in his teachings of the 5 or 6 people he taught over the years, he showed the moves differently to all of them. The teachings by various teacher appointees and self appointees, of various practitioners, in the practice of the moves by the late Milton Albrecht who was the teacher in North America for a number of years, and by the other teachers of the technique, the moves may be slightly different from one another.
Tom Bowen had a strictly referral only practice. He treated up to 260 clients per week. Over the years he taught 5 or 6 therapists how to perform the moves, and one of those students, Ossie Rentsch, he chose to have carry on the legacy by teaching the technique to people around the world. He made Ossie promise to wait to teach until after he passed on. This was 1982.
Around 1988 Milton Albrecht of Auburn, California learned of the technique, and studied under Ossie. In 1990 Milton received his massage certificate, quit his job as a mechanic, and began a practice in his home. His practice grew extremely fast and he thereafter taught his cousin Albert La Shell the technique. They both got requests from massage therapists and clients to teach the technique, and about 1993 or so teamed up with Ossie and his wife, Elaine Rentsche to teach a class. Class size grew from 2 to 3 students upward to 30 as years passed.
About 1998 Milton and Ossie/Elaine parted ways and Milton started his own Bowen organization and continued to teach the basic class as well as advanced classes. Ossie and Elaine trained other teachers around the U.S. and they offer classes presently. Other students who developed successful practices began teaching the technique. One of those calls it N.S.T., which stands for neurostimulations technique.
In January of 2003, Milton passed on, and his wife Deni, and daughter Rachel are presently keeping his organization together and teaching the technique to interested parties locally. Eugene Hummell, N.D., teaches in Barberton, Ohio, and Milton's cousin, Albert La Shell, CMT, teaches in Sacramento, California. A few years ago the township of Geelong, where Tom Bowen practiced, a statue was erected in his honor, for all the community service he performed as a result of his famous therapy.
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The Tom Bowen Story - a short biography by Heather Edmonds and Pam Trigg, daughters of Tom Bowen.
Tom left school at an early age, possibly at 15 years of age, and became a carpenter like his father. If he had ever entertained the idea of going to medical school this would never have happened as his father would never had considered any of his children getting a better education than was necessary to be employed.
Tom married Jessie McLean at the Salvation Army, Ringwood in 12 September 1941 and they proceeded to live with Tom’s parents had moved to Geelong, Victoria ( large provincial town). Tom and Jessie had three children, Pam, Barry and Heather.
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. Tom started to somehow learn how to help her shift her congestion
and along with some special medicine obtained from a chemist in the state of
It was during the
1950’s that Tom began an association with a man named Ernie Saunders, often
referred to as a ‘legend in the 40’s and 50’s as a physical manipulator’.
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.
In the
late 1950’s Tom worked for the
At this time, Jessie kept the family going at home with three children and the formal events of family life. She always had his meals on the table when he walked through the door of an evening. He would be at home for about an hour when he would change into good trousers and a shirt and tie and go to the Horwood’s. Mrs. Horwood ran a hairdressing business at this time and so she assisted with the running of the practice.
The
business grew and grew through word of mouth. There was 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 it moved to 99 LaTrobe Tce.,
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 his clinic and told the opening hours of the clinic were between 9am – 11am and 1pm – 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.
Tom had a Saturday morning clinic for disabled children where they were treated free. Parents would bring their children to him from many miles away, sometimes traveling 3 – 4 hours. Results were not immediate with these children but over a number of years results were amazing.
He held a clinic every
Saturday evening for those who had injured themselves playing sport during
the day. This was also a free clinic and people once again, came from near
and far.
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.
Tom trained several men
during his lifetime. These people were: Keith Davis, Nigel Love, Kevin Neave,
Oswald Rentsch, Kevin Ryan and Romney Smeeton. 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.
Due to
circumstances beyond his control, he moved from 283 LaTrobe Tce to
It was
during this time at
In the 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.
Today Tom’s work has
been taught world-wide and is taught at university level in
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