Sandra has been a Bowenwork practitioner since 1992, having the pleasure and honor of being trained by Ossie Rentsch (who learned Bowenwork directly from Tom Bowen) and his wife, Elaine Renstch. It has led to a very rich and satisfying career in clinical practice and teaching Bowenwork in many countries since 1994.
In her practice, Sandra specializes in helping clients navigate options for maintaining wellness and recovery from health challenges, both acute and chronic. Her long-time experiences of being a clinical registered nurse along with her deep knowledge of complementary medicine, enable her to support clients in making choices and engaging in supportive, therapeutic pathways to optimize their health. In addition to offering herbal medicine, nutritional support and careful listening to each client’s story, Bowenwork allows Sandra to provide compassionate, hands-on-care, gently connecting with her clients’ bodies and their sense of self, a valuable component of the healing experience.
One of the greatest rewards of teaching Bowenwork is seeing the transformation it often leads to for students to experience their own healing after receiving the technique, even in a classroom situation. Another is the satisfaction of mentoring students in offering Bowenwork to their families, friends and clients, often with profound healing outcomes. Some people have discovered a whole new career for themselves as successful Professional Bowenwork Practitioners, after initially signing up for “only a few Bowenwork classes, just to get a feel for the work”!
Teaching allows Sandra to combine her extensive experience in nursing and holistic medicine when explaining the application of Bowenwork procedures and their effects on the body. Sharing her many years of clinical practice helps students develop skills to evaluate and assess clients’ health needs and ways to offer individualized Bowenwork sessions. Sandra’s passion for developing deeper knowledge and understanding of what “makes Bowenwork work” is continuous as she thrives on trying to stay current with evidence-based practice, new research in fascia, neurology, lymph and the immune system, all of which is shared in the classroom.
Sandra has developed several continuing education classes to help expand Bowenwork practitioners’ clinical knowledge:
• Bowenwork for Women’s Wellness
• Bowenwork For People Living with Cancer
• Bowenwork and the Vagus Nerve
• Bowenwork for Persistent Pain
• Business Skills for a Successful Bowenwork Practice
• Workplace Hygiene, Health and Safety
Once the skill of learning to perform Bowenwork procedures safely and accurately has been achieved, Sandra helps students develop the art of being a Bowenwork practitioner by refining tissue tension sensitivity in their hands and approaching each client with a compassionate heart.
Learning is a collaborative experience, and in the process of teaching Sandra enjoys gleaning new information from her students that enrich her understanding of Bowenwork. She brings a warm sense of humor to her classes to enhance the learning process, and as a result, her classes are fun!
Bowenwork Practitioner-1992 – to current
Bowenwork Instructor 1994 – current
2013 Master of Health Science-University of New England, Australia
2008 Bachelor of Nursing Science-James Cook University, Australia
2001 Women’s Health Studies Certificate–Sonoma State University, CA
1992 Diploma-Natural Therapies-Cairns College of Natural Therapies, Australia
1984 Diploma-Registered Nursing-Grey’s Hospital, South Africa