Bowen Therapy Academy of Australia, Bowen Hands, March 2020 ed.
Hello, Bowen practitioners and instructors worldwide,
“We are in an unprecedented situation and normal rules no longer apply”, said UN chief António Guterres on March 19th, 2020! A virus that escaped its host -a Chinese bat- upset the whole world and blocked the entire planet. Could this be a confirmation of the chaos theory? Can a bat flapping its wings in China create a hurricane in Europe?
Health services are on alert, and doctors and nursing staff are surpassing themselves to deal with this invisible enemy. But once we deal with the symptoms and become familiar with this coronavirus, we need to look at the causes of viruses.
As you might have read, the cause is the disruption of natural processes, the reduction of biodiversity, the destruction of wildlife, the industrialization of agriculture, and intensive farming. Thus, the causes are anthropogenic, even if we adopt the scenario of the virus escaping a laboratory, in which case man would be the cause just the same.
In recent years, humans have become more vulnerable to many non-communicable diseases (heart disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases, etc.) and the percentage of patients with metabolic syndrome (obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol) and weakened immune systems keeps rising. Therefore, after improving the health system and its services, we have to stop interfering with nature’s laws and violating the environment.
As the indigenous people declared during the World Peoples’ Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba in Bolivia: “Mother Earth can live without us, but we can’t live without her” and this is an urgent reminder to stop believing that we can conquer nature and start cooperating with it harmoniously.
This crisis is an opportunity to redefine our priorities and reassess life’s values. We need to change our way of living, working, travelling, producing our food, and maintaining our physical, emotional, and mental health.
We as Bowen practitioners and instructors also need to reassess our values and start thinking of ways to prove that another way of dealing with public health is not only possible but necessary. Authorities and stakeholders need proof by means of validated research in order for the public to make informed decisions concerning health choices. Students and practitioners need proof in the form of constant support from instructors and associations worldwide in order to evolve, maintain their standard, and thrive.
It is wonderful to see so many people engage in online gatherings, webinars, group meditations, and education. Doing online revisions has helped our Greek students solidify their knowledge in these months of seeming inertia, now that all seminars have been canceled. These hours of virtual meetings help them keep up with the technique and at the same time provide a frame for bonding and exchanging ideas with practitioners from all over the country.
Therefore I want to truly thank the entire Bowen community for the inspiration each and every member provides with every post, book, webinar or retreat organized during these times of change. Every change is for the best, otherwise, there would be no need for it. Let’s hope we all learn the lesson of love and collaboration well and put it to good use.
Until we meet again in person I hope you all stay healthy and uplifted!
With love from Greece
Alexandra Antoniou
Senior Bowtech Instructor