Bowen Therapy for people, dogs & horses

11/09/2025

🙄This is how I feel sometimes when I read yet another fb post / video specifically blaming just one individual muscle for poor performance....today it was turn of the horse's gluteus medias taking the blame for poor jumping..... we HAVE to see and understand the bigger and whole picture. NO ONE muscle works in isolation!!

🔑 The key is to assess and treat the WHOLE body every single time.

⛔️ Rant over ......

11/09/2025

🍂 My clients often tell me reluctantly that they don't know what is wrong, they just know that something is off, or not quite right. People often feel a little silly if they don't have the right words or knowledge to explain to me what is wrong.

This is a common issue i have seen over and over again in my practise

You are the only person living in your body. It's been yours 24/7 since birth......so if you feel something is not quite right, then listen to that.

Just because extensive tests have come back negative does not mean that something is not right, it just means nobody has found the issue yet and sometimes our incredible advancements in medical technology simply cannot detect issues such as pain, stress, emotional trauma, homeostasis imbalance...these things simply do not show on scans.

This is where complementary therapies come in and often facilitate improvements other approaches have failed. Complementary therapies such as Bowen and Reiki aim to help the body restore itself. Pain can be stored in the cells, fascia, muscles etc long after an issue e.g. an injury has gone. Bowen may help bring the body /brain awareness to this and facilitate a clearance of that memory.

Structural imbalance as a result of an injury can cause pain, tension and restriction in other areas of the body as well as the original injury site.

Low energy levels - both physical and emotional can cause fatigue, poor concentration, insomnia, stress which can then lead to physical symptoms such as migraine, IBS and more.

We cannot disconnect the mind and body, it is all one physical unit working symbiotically with each other - when one system goes off line it affects the others.

🫁🫀Our bodies are highly complex, and whilst we may not all fully understand how they work, we know when something is not right.

If you would like to find out more about Bowen and how it could help you, contact me in the usual ways;

☎️ 07779906866
💻 DM this page
📧 maddyfreeman-bowentherapy@hotmail.co.uk

Image; The Bowen Association. Australia

09/09/2025

Thanks to the College of Bowen Studies who I trained with for this post. If you're experiencing any of the menopause symptoms listed below, or any of the endless other ones (!) Drop me a message and get booked in for your Bowen sessions 😉

08/09/2025

Equine Bowen Therapy. A gentle, non manipulativetherapy that aims to promote release of soft tissue tension , ease stiff joints, ease pain and promote healing. Bowen may help to re-balance the body emotionally and physically. Great for horses from all backgrounds from happy hackers to elite athletes.
Find out more at www.madaboutbowen.com

08/09/2025

The light is definitely changing in the evenings now, with a more Autumnal tone and feel.

Children have gone back to school and regimes have started to return to normal.

If the summer has left you feeling a little frazzled then why not see if Bowen can help you feel a little more like your old self?

A few bullet points about the Bowen Technique;

➡️ A holistic treatment - addresses the whole body, not just specific areas - the site of pain is not always the source of pain

➡️ Aims to rebalance the body - that may mean releasing soft tissue tension and restriction as well as triggering muscles to 'switch on' again after injury

➡️ Improves joint mobility by helping release tension around those areas, as well as dealing with compensatory patterns that may have developed due to an injury/condition e.g. stiffness in the right knee due to over compensating for a left knee issue

➡️Yes, its a fascia release technique but fascia is a complex connective tissue that is present everywhere in the body - this is why sometimes someone coming in with a back issue notices an improvement with their IBS. Fascia can also store memories of pain that can cause issues long after an incident/accident/injury.

➡️ By facilitating a rebalancing of soft tissue issues- from releasing to strengthening we often see a rebalancing of the skeletal structures also e.g. pelvic, jaw alignment etc

I treat people with a wide range of issues including;

➡️ Wide range of back issues e.g. sciatica

➡️ Frozen shoulder

➡️ Tennis elbow

➡️ Neck pain/stiffness

➡️ TMJ / TMD issues

➡️ Osteoarthritis

➡️ Chronic fatigue/ long covid

➡️ Sports injuries & performance

➡️ Stress & anxiety

To list just a few!

To find out more feel free to drop me a DM here
☎️ 07779906866
📧 maddyfreeman-bowentherapy@hotmail.co.uk

🏠 I treat people from Ownzone, Lansdown Road, central Stroud.

I do have access to a ground floor room for those with physical disabilities. If you have any other disabilities you feel may affect your treatment just get in touch and we can discuss your individual needs.

05/09/2025

🍂 The sun is shining but the nights are drawing in and there is a definite little hint of Autumn in the air. 🍂

My horse is starting to get a little bloom to his coat and I drag my thoughts to clipping, rugs....and muddy horses 🙄

🍂 It also means the ground is softer and the heat is more conducive for cranking up the speed and distances....

🏇 NOW is a great time to book your horse/s in for a Post Summer / Pre Autumn full MOT

🏇 A Bowen treatment includes a full static, dynamic and hands on assessment followed by a full body treatment.

🏇 Equine Bowen therapy has many benefits including;

🍂 Releasing soft tissue tension & restriction

🍂 Improving joint mobility

🍂 Facilitating skeletal alignment

🍂 Improving mobility - flexion, extension etc

🍂 Supporting performance

🍂 Aiding recovery

🍂 Reducing stress

And more....

These statements are based on what I have seen and have reported back to me from my many clients over the 10 years I have been treating horses.

🏇Drop me a DM with any questions

🏇 Contact me on 07779906866

🏇maddyfreeman-bowentherapy@hotmail.co.uk

29/08/2025

Keeping older dogs active as much as possible - both mentally and physically is an important part of managing their changing needs.

Tilly is 14 and has OA in her hips and some degenerative changes in her back. This summer has been so hot, on many days they've only had a proper, full walk in the morning when it has been cooler. They have access to our garden so they are able to move around and play, but I have noticed signs of stiffness in her back more frequently.

With Bowen, laser, good diet supplements and NSAID's I try to support her in a variety of ways, but nothing beats being able to get out for a lovely, cool, sniffy evening walk again 🥰

19/08/2025

Late afternoon/early appointments are available with me at Ownzone. 👌

12/08/2025

It's a hot one already. 🥵 Up early to do the horses and a few field jobs with the girls.
Both find the heat in their own way. Tilly is 14 now and has a thicker coat. She also has OA and some degenerative disc disease (try telling her that!) She finds the heat quite hard work now and just takes her time to potter about.

Pippin is only 6 but is very black and does everything at 100mph so I have to keep an eye on her and actively step in and tell her to stop ✋ she definitely finds it harder to regulate her body temperatures️

Get to know your own dogs by observation - sadly I see so many people out with their dogs but glued to their phones or plugged into music so they're not really paying that much attention to them.

Take some time to really "be" with your dogs, we don't have them for long, and nobody ever gets to their death bed and says "I wish I'd spent more time on my phone...."

(A bit deep for a Tuesday i know!)

It's the 12th August so if you're out on the moors today make sure your dogs are well hydrated and seek shade when you can....or a lovely cool stream

12/08/2025

A great post here. Whilst there is never any pressure to rebook. I would usually recommend 2-3 initial sessions when you start. One session may be enough if you've just tweaked yourself and come in immediately, but most people come in to see me with slightly more chronic issues ie they have had these issues for a while, or more complex health issues. These need to be given time to respond to the treatments, think if it as a bit of a 'journey' with tick boxes along the way that we have to go through to get to our final destination which we aim to be optimum wellbeing. Each client is treated as an individual, each session involves a discussion about progress and I adapt to each individual person and their body's needs.

This gentle bodywork follows a calm, intentional rhythm — from settling in to quiet pauses and check-ins.

Every step is designed to support your body’s natural ability to settle and respond, in its own time.

Rebooking is always your choice — there’s no pressure, just support.

10/08/2025

🐾 Active dogs are happy dogs!

🐾 All dogs will benefit from bodywork - I'm here to talk about canine Bowen therapy of course!

🐾 Working, sporting and active dogs are the athletes of the canine world, and as with human athletes, put their bodies under more physical strain than less active dogs.

🐾 Working dogs, whatever their sport, discipline or job, will benefit from regular body work ie Bowen, to help keep them in their best physical and mental state.

🐾 It's important for working dogs to be have an off switch, something some breeds struggle to find. Bowen often helps activates that off switch, enabling the body to spend a little more time in that parasympathetic state rather than always running in the sympathetic state.

🐾 Running, stopping, jumping, twisting and turning over all terrains places a lot of strain on the dog's body. If left un treated this can lead to tension, restriction, pain , injury and subsequent compensatory patterns occurring. Bowen can help address all of these issues,helping reduce the risk of injury, supporting the dog in his/her role a d potentially improving their performance.

✨️ Good diet, supplements, training are also crucial for the working dog.

🐾 The next shooting season is approaching so now is an ideal time to get your dogs booked in for a thorough assessment and treatment.

🐾 Anytime is a great time of course to get your dogs booked in - just get in touch;

➡️DM this page
➡️07779906866
➡️maddyfreeman-bowentherapy@hotmail.co.uk

05/08/2025

During Bowen sessions - human, canine and equine, there are often unusual responses.

These photos show a great and quite common response - we call it Zebra striping (for obvious reasons 🦓)

This reaction immediately happened after working around this pony's diaphragm. We believe it is the lymphatic system being activated, and interestingly they also correlate with dermatomes which are nerve pathways that run throughout the whole body connecting specific parts of the skin to nerve roots in the spine. We work along these pathways in our fascia Bowen work.