BowenBuzz

Most therapists don’t fail because they lack skill.
They struggle because they’ve never been taught how to think like a business owner.
In this episode, business coach Rich Everett breaks down the real drivers of clinic growth: clarity, positioning, pricing, and mindset: and why many great therapists stay stuck despite doing great work.
If you want a more sustainable, profitable practice without losing your integrity, this conversation will shift how you see your business.




























“Your business is a reflection of your mindset—change the thinking, and the results follow.”
Rich Everett






Chris Reed sits down with business coach Rich Everett to explore the gap between being a skilled Bowen therapist and running a successful business.
Drawing on experience in corporate transformation and small business coaching, Rich unpacks the patterns he sees across industries—and why they show up just as strongly in Bowen practices.
This is a practical, honest conversation about:
Why therapists struggle to attract clients
The fear around niching and pricing
How mindset shapes business outcomes
What actually creates long-term sustainability

















Clarity drives growth
If you can’t clearly explain who you help and how you help them, your marketing won’t work.





























Specialisation attracts, it doesn’t repel
Generic messaging gets ignored.Clear, specific messaging gets results.






Your business reflects your thinking
If something isn’t working externally, the first place to look is internally.
























The post Episode 48: Therapist to Business Owner The Shift That Changes Everything appeared first on Bowen Buzz.

In this episode of The BowenBuzz Podcast, host Chris Reed is joined by Mike Oleon. Meeting at the Fascia Research Congress in New Orleans for a fascinating deep dive into biotensegrity, fascia, and force transmission in the human body.

Mike’s journey into fascia research is anything but conventional. A former puppeteer, he shares how encountering a biotensegrity-inspired model completely reshaped how he understood movement, structure, and the body. What began as curiosity quickly became a passion for understanding how discontinuous compressive elements (like bones) are suspended within a continuous tensile network (fascia, ligaments, tendons), a concept central to tensegrity.

Together, Chris and Mike unpack what tensegrity actually means: a structure where stability arises not from stacked parts, but from preloaded tension distributed throughout the system. This mirrors how the human body truly functions, where bones don’t “rest” on each other, and force is transmitted globally rather than locally.

“These structures are really maps of force distribution, when you change tension in one place, the effect shows up somewhere else, often unexpectedly.”
— Mike Oleon

Mike explains how tension and movement don’t travel in straight lines, but instead follow spiral and helical pathways, challenging traditional linear models still found in textbooks and exercise instruction. This has profound implications for manual therapists, including Bowen therapists, myotherapists, and massage therapists, who often see pain or dysfunction manifest far from its true source.

A major focus of the conversation is Mike’s work developing hands-on tensegrity models as educational and clinical tools. These models allow practitioners—and clients—to feel how force, restriction, or imbalance in one area can affect the entire system. This tactile understanding may also improve client engagement and compliance with rehabilitation exercises.

This episode offers a powerful reframe of how we understand fascia, movement, and dysfunction—and why biotensegrity belongs in every bodyworker’s clinical toolkit.

Key Takeaways

The body is a tensegrity system: Stability comes from balanced tension, not stacked bones or isolated joints.

Fascial dysfunction acts globally: Restrictions in one area can create symptoms far away through force transmission.

Tensegrity models enhance understanding and compliance: Feeling the system in action helps both practitioners and clients truly grasp the “why” behind treatment and exercise.

Contacts

Mike Oleon: mike@minimokinetics.com

Website: https://minimokinetics.com/

Sponsored by the Business of Bowen (BoB) Supporting an engaged and passionate circle of Bowen therapists committed to learning and growth

The post Episode 47; Puppets, Fascia and Biotensegrity with Mike Oleon appeared first on Bowen Buzz.

In this episode of The BowenBuzz, Chris talks with Larina Paoletti from Newmarket, New Hampshire (USA), a highly experienced physical therapist (physiotherapist) who has successfully integrated Bowenwork into a mainstream hospital outpatient setting.

Larina began her formal training in 2014, completing certification over about two and a half years while working full-time, raising three children as a single mum, and caring for her father. Early on, she worked for the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA), travelling house-to-house providing physical therapy. That environment forced creativity: many clients weren’t mobile enough for table work, so Larina rapidly learned how to adapt Bowen in seated and home-based settings, and she began noticing meaningful shifts, even with complex pain and mobility-limited patients.

“People think of Bowen as a last resort… but results are quicker when I see them sooner.”

A pivotal moment came when a nurse encouraged her to apply for the hospital’s Patient Innovation Incentive Award. Larina submitted two case studies in March 2019 and won unanimously. The prize required a short video and a presentation to senior hospital leadership (including executives and clinical decision makers). Despite nerves, Larina delivered and the first question from the audience was: “Where do I sign up?” That single moment became the seed of a hospital-based Bowen-informed program.

Her transition into outpatient care coincided with COVID shutdowns, delaying education and rollout. But Larina persisted starting with staff and complex patients, then expanding through outcomes and word-of-mouth. Her early focus group included fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and chronic pain, and she soon gained a key advocate: a rheumatologist who began referring directly because he was excited to offer something beyond medication, injections, or surgery.

Larina also became part of the hospital’s concussion team, sharing how Bowen sessions can help some patients regulate early, sometimes before they can tolerate vestibular work. She blends Bowen with physiotherapy principles: Bowen may come first for capacity and symptom reduction, then therapeutic exercise builds function once patients can tolerate more.

The episode also honours Ainsley Farrington’s legacy, including her community impact through a free monthly community clinic. Larina’s message is simple and strong: keep sharing Bowen, keep documenting outcomes, and keep opening doors because this work has enormous potential, and its next leap forward will come from clinicians willing to champion it.

Sponsored by the Business of Bowen (BoB) Supporting an engaged and passionate circle of Bowen therapists committed to learning and growth

The post Episode 46: Larina Paoletti- Bringing Bowen into a US Hospital PT Program appeared first on Bowen Buzz.

Calming Horses Under Pressure

In this episode of The BowenBuzz, Chris sits down with Wes Russell, a highly experienced Bowen practitioner who works with both humans and horses, often in demanding, real-world environments such as endurance riding events across Queensland.

Wes shares that his pathway into Bowen began long before formal training. Growing up in country Queensland with a strong affinity for animals, he originally considered veterinary work before life took him through several careers including the corporate sector and later hands-on work on a stud cattle station. That early grounding in animal husbandry and performance animals would later shape his approach as a therapist.

A turning point came when Wes trained in Equine Muscle Release Therapy (EMRT) through Alison Goward, one of the pioneers of Bowen influenced equine bodywork in Australia. Alison’s structured, staged training model combining in-person intensives, case studies, and progressive skill development gave Wes a deep appreciation for working with the horse’s nervous system rather than imposing force. Wes later expanded his training to include the practical Bowen moves for humans, allowing him to work confidently with both humans and animals.

A central theme of the conversation is Bowen’s role in high pressure performance environments, particularly endurance riding, where horses must pass strict veterinary checkpoints and heart-rate recovery parameters to continue competing. Wes explains how he developed a practical “band-aid” protocol, selecting a small number of strategic moves that can help a horse settle and regulate under time pressure. In these environments, the therapist’s calm presence is critical, especially amid anxious riders, cooling strategies, and the intensity of vet’s gazes..

Wes also unpacks common endurance related challenges such as horses “tying up” (muscle lock up associated with metabolic stress), lameness assessments, and recovery windows. He highlights an important distinction: horses don’t cognitively analyse treatment the way humans do. As a result, changes in breathing, posture, circulation, and relaxation can be clear, rapid, and measurable.

Listeners will hear Wes describe what he looks for during a treatment: head lowering, softening through the body, yawning or licking and chewing, deeper breathing, pronounced vascular changes, and even dramatic coat pattern shifts, phenomena often associated with changes in fascial hydration and nervous system regulation. He also reflects on how owner emotion and therapist demeanour directly influence outcomes, particularly with horses as highly perceptive prey animals.

Throughout the episode, Wes shares memorable stories, from lowering heart rates under pressure, to a striking behavioural shift in a previously “hard-to-catch” horse after early training, to treating riders on rugs in the grass because Bowen is, by nature, portable and adaptable.

Wes finishes with a simple but powerful intention: helping more people understand Bowen’s capacity to support physical, emotional, and even spiritual wellbeing for both humans and animals.

“You’ve got to remain low energy—because that’s where the horse is going to be.” — Wes Russell

Key Takeaways

Equine Bowen and EMRT support nervous system regulation in high-stress performance settings.

Horses offer clear, observable signs of physiological change during treatment.

Therapist presence and calm regulation are as important as technique.

Wes completed his equine training through Alison Goward’s Equine Muscle Release Therapy (EMRT) program. A Bowen-influenced approach to working with horses through gentle, nervous-system-led manual therapy.

More information: https://www.horseandridertherapy.com.au/

Sponsored by the Business of Bowen (BoB) Supporting an engaged and passionate circle of Bowen therapists committed to learning and growth

The post Episode 45: Bowen Therapy, Horse & Rider with Wes Russell appeared first on Bowen Buzz.

In this episode of The Bowen Buzz, Chris speaks with international Bowen instructor Margaret Spicer about the evolution of Mind Body Bowen and her advanced training, Mind Body Bowen in Practice. With more than twenty years of global teaching experience, Margaret offers deep insight into how Bowen therapy interacts with the fascia, nervous system, and stored emotional patterns.

Mind Body Bowen began in 2001 when Margaret and co-teacher Anne Schubert observed that Bowen therapy often triggered sensations, memories, and emotional shifts in clients. These responses reflected the body’s attempt to release long-held patterns rather than random reactions. Early fascia research later helped validate these experiences.
Learn more about fascia science through the Fascia Research Society: https://fasciaresearchsociety.org

Margaret explains how Bowen therapy activates the body’s innate intelligence. When practitioners give space and time, the body reveals its priorities—whether physical tension, old injuries, or unresolved trauma. This aligns with modern understandings of nervous system safety and somatic healing.
For more on nervous system regulation, visit the Polyvagal Institute: https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org

Throughout the conversation, she shares powerful cases, including clients whose bodies guided treatment toward childhood experiences or medical trauma. These examples show how Bowen therapy can support emotional release without forcing discussion. Practitioners simply observe, ask gentle questions, and follow the body’s lead—making Bowen a safe, respectful, and empowering modality.

“The body always knows the priority. Our job is simply to listen and let it lead.”

Therapists can also connect with the professional community through the Bowen Association of Australia:
https://www.bowenassociationaustralia.org.au

Margaret will be speaking at the Bowen Conference in Geelong in May 2026, where she will share her updated insights into the future direction of Bowen therapy, including developments in fascia research and mind–body integration.

Practitioners who want ongoing support can explore the Business of Bowen Membership, a comprehensive education and business development platform designed for Bowen therapists:
https://businessofbowen.com

The post Episode 44: Mind Body Bowen in Practice with Margaret Spicer appeared first on Bowen Buzz.