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Traditional Thai Massage is an ancient
form of bodywork practiced in Thailand for over 2500 years, and little known
to the west until recently. It's ancient origins are linked to Yoga, Ayurvedic
and Chinese Medicine, as well as the local indigenous healing practices of ancient
Siam. It is still used in Thailand today as part of the healing regime for many
different ailments of the body.
Thai Massage is a combination of gentle
rocking, range of motion, acupressure, refloxology, energy work and stretching,
a form of passive yoga. Joints are loosened and opened through manipulation
and peripheral stimulation, muscles are stretched, internal organs are toned,
vitality is increased and a deep state of relaxation can be achieved. The work
is very rhythmical and meditative, enabling both the client and practitioner
to voyage together into deeper realms of consciousness.
The massage is done on a floor mat with the receiver wearing loose, comfortable clothing. This gives the practitioner a lot of leverage and the ability to use their body very effectively, it also allows for movements that are not as effective, or impossible on a table. Therapists are trained to respect everyone's varied amount of flexibility and can therefore benefit the limber athlete, as well as the those who are not very limber, by stretching everyone to their own personal limits.
There are four positions in Thai Massage.
The "front" or prone position, "side" position, "back" or supine, and "seated"
position. The majority of the treatment is in the front position, with a lot
of the treatment on the legs. Taking the legs through a complete range of motion
and working on the energy lines of the legs has a very beneficial effect on
people with low back problems. The back neck and shoulders, which seem to be
the area most westerners have problems with, can be worked in all the positions.
Thai Massage is concerned with the whole body, the stretching movements open
the joints, increase flexibility and release body tension. The Thai's believe
in long treatments, they say one hour is good, two hours is better, three hours
is best. Time seems to go quickly in these sessions and a three hour treatment
never seems to last that long whether I am the therapist or the client. The
work can be very effective even in short sessions. Thai Massage
is based on system of energy lines called Sen, which follows
energy as it flows through the form of the body. There are said to be 72,000
Sen which cover the entire body 10 of which are the major ones that are used
in actual practice. The Sen are closely associated with the Nadis of Ayurvedic
medicine and the Meridians of Chinese acupuncture, all of which can produce
internal effects from stimulation of external points on the body.
In the 1690's the French liason to
the Thai court in Ayutthia wrote, "When any person is sick in Siam, he begins
by causing his whole body to be moulded by one who is skilled herein."
The tradition has been mostly an oral one and handed down from teacher to student
quite often within the family. The little written texts of medicine and massage
were inscribed in stone by King Rama III in 1832 and set into the walls around
Wat Pho, which continues to be a center for education in Traditional Thai massage
and medicine.
The origins of Thai Massage are believed to have come to us 2500 years ago through Jivaka Komarbhacca, who is still revered as the "Father Doctor." He was a physician, friend and contemporary of the Buddha and a well known figure in the Pali canon (Buddist religious documents). A prayer to father Doctor begins and ends the day in the schools I have studied at, and all or part of the prayer is said before a massage.
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A translation of this Pali prayer
is: "We invite the spirit of our Founder, the Father Doctor Shivago,
who comes to us though his saintly life. Please bring to us the knowledge
of all nature, that this prayer will show us the true medicine of the universe.
In the name of this mantra, we respect your help and pray that through our
bodies you will bring wholeness and health to the body of our client. |
"Massaging is a way of treating sickness,
it started from body twisting and self massage when tired and weak............Moreover,
Thais love the arts of fighting like boxing and fencing, so when some injure
or accident occurred, they learned how to cure themselves from pain and later
developing to traditional massage until it became a theory. Massage is one of
the precious arts of Thai Medication, it is the custom of taking care of each
other when getting sick, " Dr Pennapa Subcharoen, Director of the National Institute
of Thai Traditional Medicine, Department of Medical Service, Ministry of Public
Health.
"Thai Massage has seen a great increase in popularity in the last decade of the 20th century, both in Thailand and through out the rest of the World. The Thai people are returning to some of there ancient medical ways as an alternative to modern Western Medicine. The rest of the world has been discovering Thai Massage since Thailand has been getting so many visitors from many different countries. Many people like Michael have enjoyed Thai Massage and have been bringing the knowledge back to their homes.