Thai massage
What is Thai massage?
For me:
Thai massage is a way to teach the client's body to relax and become more flexible by moving it while the client is passive. After studying Thai massage in Thailand many times -- at place like The Old Medical School, with Master Teacher Pichette, and at The Loi Kroi school in Chang Mai -- I find it hard to say that Thai massage is one thing, done one way. The more I explore bodywork, the more I am convinced that it's all about attention to my own body, and being fully present to the client's process.
For the client:
This unique bodywork is a way for you to be more flexible. It will calm the mind, increase blood flow, release blocks in the body (blocks are muscle areas that struggle to release, and impede body flexibility).
Most Thai massage is done on the floor, but I often work on the table. You will find, when looking online, many ads about Thai massage that show the movements -- Thia massage is beautiful, like a dance. The dance is the shell, the intention is the time. The outcome is the pearl, and that is you.
Another way to put it is: Thia massage is a series of movements, positions, intention and presence.
Traditional Thai massage is a unique form of bodywork that incorporates Yoga, acupressure and reflexology and has origins dating back about 2500 years.
What does Thai massage feel like?
For some of my clients, it feels like "lazy man yoga", because I am putting them in positions that are like yoga positions. For others, Thai massage is the process releasing unconscious holdings in the body.
Because I am a big man I hold a lot of body pattern beliefs of what I can and can't do. I have found though my teachers in Thailand, a new way of moving and seeing patterns. They held me in challenging positions for long periods of time, sometimes 10 minutes or so, and my muscle memory was able to change its patterns.
Thai massage is sometimes called Thai Yoga massage, because the therapist uses his or her hands, knees, legs, and feet to move you into a series of yoga-like stretches. Many people say Thai massage is like doing yoga without any work.
Muscle compression, joint mobilization, and Sen lines (which are different from acupressure lines) are also used during treatment.
Who benefits from Thai massage?
People who are having a problem with flexibility, people who are having a problem with mobility, people who want more energy and more range of motion, people who want to feel the movements of their bodies more......
Runners, body builders, computer geeks, teachers, lawyers, bartenders, candlestickmakers, mothers, fathers, and other human beings.
Many people find that Thai massage has the following benefits:
- relaxes
- reduces stress
- improves circulation
- increases energy
- increases flexibility
- improves range of motion
- centers the mind and body
Massage Modalities
