Nancy Bittinger, a licensed massage therapist of 30 years and owner of Carlisle Bowen Works, in Mechanicsburg, since 2012, has helped myriad people regain their mobility and wellness using a combination of bodywork therapies and energy work. Because she knows there is even more she can do on emotional and subconscious levels to help clients overcome the causes of their physical pain, she has purchase property in Ecuador to establish Moringa Sagrada, a multifaceted wellness center and retreat to help people heal and discover more about their true selves.

 

Carlisle Bowen Works will remain open to serve local residents after Bittinger moves to Ecuador on April 29 with specialized bodywork services. Her team in Pennsylvania will continue to offer BowenWork, craniosacral therapy, therapeutic massage, integrative manual therapy and relaxation techniques such as qigong, hypnotherapy and PSYCH-K. She will stay involved with the center, returning occasionally to visit and work.

 

The Bowen Method, developed in the 1950s in Australia by the late Thomas A. Bowen, blends osteopathic principles with acupuncture, acupressure and craniosacral therapies to get to the root causes of aches and pain. “With Bowen therapy, we’re looking for patterns of tension that happen in the body,” Bittinger explains. “With shoulder pain, often the shoulder is actually fine—something else in the body is creating the tension and causing pain in the shoulder. I’m looking for the causes of the symptoms.”

 

She notes that other therapies focus on individual parts of the body such as the neck or shoulder, sharing, “The body doesn’t work that way. It’s almost impossible for pain to occur in the hip, for example, without the rest of the body trying to compensate for it.”

 

Moringa Sagrada Wellness Retreat

 

The move to Ecuador allows Bittinger to satisfy a longtime desire to take her wellness services to the next level without the time constraints of an appointment-based business model. The Moringa Sagrada retreat, located in the town of Sinchal, six miles from the coast, occupies properties on a 12-acre organic fruit farm with 400 moringa trees. The lush, tropical landscape features hammocks where guests can relax to the sound of singing birds.

 

“I want people to come to a place where they can eat real food, inhale fresh air and be active in beautiful, natural surroundings,” Bittinger explains. She will lead personal retreats for those that need to get away from it all and focus on healing some aspect of their lives. Guests may stay for as long as they need.

 

Bittinger is also assembling a team of wellness practitioners to offer services at Moringa Sagrada that include hypnotherapy and various types of energetic healing. As a member the Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple board of directors, Bittinger will host Buddhist retreats, as well as group retreats focused on meditation techniques or targeted toward specific populations such as those in recovery. Other educational retreats will host homeschool families and youth groups, or focus on organic farming and Ecuadorian culture.

 

In addition, Moringa Sagrada can be used as a hostel or Airbnb. She says, “There are different levels of stay, and all will include breakfast, lunch and dinner. We will also work with volunteer programs such as Workaway (Workaway.info), which is an inexpensive way for people to travel. Volunteers stay for free in exchange for four hours of work each day. All meals are included. My goal is to help people find themselves and discover who they were meant to be before life and traumas happened.”

 

U.S. location: 616 W. Main St., Mechanicsburg. For more information, call 717-386-8279, email [email protected] or visit carlislebowenworkpa.com. Those interested in learning more about retreat options can visit MoringaSagrada.com and sign up for the newsletter, which features updates and ways to get involved.