The studies of Anatomy and Physiology are endless! Not to mention a bit intimidating and over-whelming!
So know this as a fact...there is NO pressure to learn it all!
Below we take a look at Muscles, The Nervous System, and Fascia.
This three things are very connected to Animal Bowen Therapy and definitely worth understanding.
Allow me to repeat myself...there is NO pressure to learn it all!
That said, it's of value to read the added information below and to print out the PDF's. ( you may have already printed these addition PDF's as part of your Manual Printouts )
Whether you are really really into this or not, you'll find that once you feel confident with Response15-Whole Body Balance you'll be curious to the deeper underlings of how the body works and how Animal Bowen Therapy effects the body!
Muscles
When we look at the muscles for each Move in ABT we begin to incorporate their name and their purpose.
Your Level 1 manual lists each of the WBB Moves and the muscles they address.
Lets add to this knowledge:
Where does this muscle begin? ORIGIN
Where does each muscle attach? INSERTION
What is the thickest part of the muscle? BELLY
The origin of the muscle is the most stationary end of muscle. We can consider the origin of the muscle as the anchor. It is situated on the mainly fixed bones in the body, such as the vertebrae or scapula. The origin of a muscle is proximal, closest to the body.
Insertion is the end of the muscle attached to bone, undergoing greatest movement. The insertion is distal, furthest from the body and is attached to moveable bones.
The belly of muscle is between origin and insertion.
Over stress in the origin of the muscle will eventually produce its effect at the moveable joint served by that muscle.
For most hands on techniques such as massage there is a very large focus on muscles and movement.
As ABT Practitioners it is wise to have an understanding of how muscles work and how they are attached, however the bigger focus in Bowen is the connective element of what wraps around the muscles ~ FASCIA!
Pam Foley, one of your fellow ABT Practitioners did a thorough job in researching each of the WBB muscles along with their adjoining muscle.
Please print the below PDF and add it to your binder for future reference! (if you haven't already done so)
The Nervous System
When we think of how the body works and in particular how Animal Bowen Therapy (ABT) relates to the body, we become curious as to how the Moves correspond to nerves.
The achievement of ABT is the ability to restore the impairment of nerves (amongst many other things), which in turn restores movement.
When you think of the enormously complicated body systems and the light touch simplicity of Animal Bowen Therapy, it's no wonder that we are in awe of the results!
The dog’s central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. Its peripheral nervous system includes 12 pairs of nerves that originate in the brain and supply the head and neck region. Further pairs of spinal nerves leave each opening between vertebrae and supply the entire body.
The peripheral nervous system consists of millions of individual nerve fibers, which conduct messages or signals from the brain to the muscle fibers.
Whether the dog is asleep or awake, vast amounts of information from nerve receptors in the skin, muscles, and joints travel through the peripheral nerves to the spinal cord and on to the brain.
12 pairs of Cranial Nerves- Some are sensory nerves such as smell and taste, others are motor nerves controlling movement such as eyes and tongue. Others are mixed nerves that do a combination of both.
The 10th pair of the cranial nerves is called the Vagus Nerve (or the wanderer) The term "vagus" (Latin for "wandering") is apt because the vagus nerve wanders all the way down from the brainstem to the colon, a long wandering trek. It is the nerve that is responsible for the condition Laryngeal Paralysis: a condition in dogs that you will come across.
Spinal Nerves have dorsal and ventral roots. The dorsal root enters the dorsal portion of the spinal cord and carries afferent (towards) or sensory impulses from the periphery to the spinal cord. The ventral root emerges from the ventral portion of the spinal cord and carries efferent (away) or motor impulses from the spinal cord to the muscle fibers or glands.
Spinal nerves supply sensory and motor fibers to the body region with their emergence from the spinal cord. After spinal nerves exit the spinal cord, they branch to form the peripheral nerves of the trunk and limbs. Several spinal nerves may join together to form a single peripheral nerve. This braiding of branches is called a plexus. Each appendage is innervated by a plexus. Each forelimb is supplied from nerves that arise from the brachial plexus (C6-T2) , and each hind limb is supplied from nerves that arise from the lumbosacral plexus (L4-S3). Brachial means the arm and lumbosacral means the loin and sacrum.
Pam Foley, one of your fellow ABT Practitioners did a thorough job in researching the Nervous System.
Please print the below PDF and add it to your binder for future reference! (if you haven't already done so)
Fascia
Animal Bowen Therapy (ABT) vastly concentrates on connective tissue known as Fascia.
Fascia is a huge scientific subject, much of it being explored in this decade!
Science no longer sees the body as individual components, but rather as a whole working system…thanks to the fascinating discovery of FASCIA!
Fascia is much like plastic wrap that covers every organ, every nerve, every muscle and every bone.
Unlike muscles that have a beginning and an end, Fascia is continuous through out the whole body.
Fascia connects Everything to Everything!
I highly encourage you to continue to explore the world of FASCIA.
( it's actually part of your assignments ! )
Pam Foley, one of your fellow ABT Practitioners researched Fascia.
Please print the below PDF and add it to your binder for future reference! (if you haven't already done so)
Fascia.pdf