This is not meant to be just my site but a community portal for anyone who is taking an interest in Thai massage and similar forms of healing arts. You are invitedto participate: comment on blogs, take part in forum discussions, write a guest post, download the free Thai massage mini course, study in depth through our full Thai Massage video course or a live course. And please feel free to contact me directly any time.
Together we can make this site a place of inspiration, learning, personal growth, healing, and for developing a magical touch. – Shama
I often get questions and comments along the lines of: “How pure is a particular healing arts, massage, or yoga system?” “How close is it to it’s origins?” “How much does it adhere to its tradition?” “How much has it been tampered with or altered?” “How much has it been commercialized?” “How spiritual or conscious is it?”
Enter “Human Nature” and its quirks
Let’s apply a broader perspective to these questions. It’s called human nature. It is full of variety and differences and there is no one right way contained in it. I know, I know, YOUR way is the right way, and of course my way is even more right. But before we get into an argument about what is right or wrong, let’s step back and look at all this from a more neutral perspective. Continue reading
What makes Thai Massage or any other therapy unique? There are countless massage and therapy systems to choose from, and that’s great! But just like not everyone likes to eat the same kind of food, not every type of massage or therapy will work for all of us.
There are big differences. For example, let’s take Rolfing which is a highly physical and intense therapy which can sometimes be quite painful. Now compare that with Cranio Sacral therapy which is very gentle, totally pain free, and hardly involves any physical movement at all.
Or let’s look at Thai Massage which involves lots of physical movements like stretches, twists, traction, and passive yoga moves. Compare that with Swedish massage which in its basic form does not use any of those movements. Continue reading
The following is a guest post written by Jillian McKee.
As more people embrace holistic therapies for improving health and fighting disease, yoga and massage are becoming more common among cancer patients and other chronic sufferers. Yoga and massage therapies combine ancient philosophies with modern techniques to ease symptoms and optimize treatment effectiveness.
While most health practitioners do not endorse these therapies as a cure for cancer or a treatment for disease, they do support them as effective complementary therapies. Many cancer treatment centers now offer yoga classes and massage sessions for cancer patients. And persons with other chronic diseases are utilizing their benefits as well. Yoga and massage offer a courageous touch for the people who need it most. It has proven helpful for even those with the most aggressive cancers such as mesothelioma. Continue reading
1. The first reason is quite simple: Anatomy uses a scientific language which is not understood by most people unless they have studied the subject. My video training courses are purchased by students all over the world. For quite a few of them, English is not their first language.
If I used specific anatomical terms, it would be more difficult for those students to follow the training. Therefore I intentionally keep it simple. In other words, my video courses are not exclusively targeted at massage therapists whose first language is English and who have studied anatomy and physiology. Continue reading
As it turns out, quite a bit. And why is that so? Here are six good reasons.
Thai Massage and the yoga connection
1. Thai Massage therapy has its origins in yoga. Yoga is not just a system that teaches you how to turn yourself into a pretzel or stand on your head. It is a process to reconnect with your higher self, your spiritual nature, your divine essence, or God, or whatever else you might want to call it. It’s not about religion or arguing about which kind of God we are talking about. Yoga is a process that helps you to raise your consciousness to a higher level. Continue reading
Thailand is quite a traditional place and generally not as open to new ideas and influences like the western world. One example is the massage scene. Thai Massage, foot massage and oil massage are the only modalities on offer, and it has been like that for a long time. Compare that to the US or Europe where you can find dozens of healing arts and massage modalities. There are specific reasons for this which I have written about in other places.
However in the last few years Thailand has been experiencing a renaissance in the healing arts arena (see the video below). This happened largely due to the influence of western visitors who brought their knowledge with them and applied it in Thailand.
Thai Massage is mostly known for its work on energy lines, called Sen lines in Thailand, and for its many stretches that often resemble yoga moves. Most Asian bodywork is based on the concept that there is a system of energy lines in the body. If they are blocked, health problems develop. Unblocking this energy flow results in improved health. In Thailand this energy is called Sen, in China Chi, in Japan Ki, and in India prana.
There are various ways of working with those energy lines. Acupuncture uses needles on specific points along the lines. Qigong uses gentle movements combined with breath. Yoga uses a variety of methods to open the energy. The best known in the western world are yoga asanas or postures. Continue reading
Massage therapy is not just about technique. It is also very much about your health, your energy and your attitude.
As a massage therapist we have to protect our bodies and our energy. Our most precious tool is our body. If it malfunctions, our career can stop dead in its tracks. Sometimes we have to know when to say NO.
My first exposure to potential problems in my new career
When I first started learning Thai Massage, we were taught many, actually way too many techniques that required strong pressure with the thumbs on legs, arms and back. It only took me a few months of daily Thai Massage work to develop problems in my thumb joints. I soon realized that I had to use different techniques if I wanted to survive as a massage therapist. Continue reading
I definitely recognize a Thai Yoga Massage move when I see one. After all I have been teaching them for over a decade. Some time ago I met a very interesting fellow and watched him perform. I recognized all the techniques, only they came with a major twist: They were all executed in the air, not on the mat – the client was “flying”.
I was really impressed by the gracefulness and the mindfulness of this healing arts practitioner. His name is Lorenzo Becchi, and he is Italian but lives in Spain. I met him in Chiang Mai, my hometown in Thailand and invited him to come to my studio to record his “Flying Therapeutics.” The result is this video.
Lorenzo’s style looks like a combination of Thai Massage and yoga, but done in the air so that the client experiences a feeling of weightlessness. It is similar to Acro yoga, but with Lorenzo’s very special and unique touch. You really need to see it to appreciate it.
If you would like to find out more about Flying Therapeutics, you can visit Lorenzo’s site at http://flyingtherapeutics.org
Who owns massage? Strange question! But, let’s try to come up with an answer. Do the professional massage therapists own it through their licenses? Or is it the regulatory agencies who pass laws that affect those therapists?
What about the red light districts all over the world who advertise massage in most major cities on the planet – they could not possibly own it?
How about all the billions of mothers who stroke and massage their babies and children lovingly? Do they own it? Or maybe the countless native healers, shamans and medicine people who have used massage in some form or another for thousands of years?
Maybe all the village therapists here in Thailand who learned the craft from their mother, aunt, or grandma, and who have never seen a massage school from the inside. Or could it be that all the couples of the world who stroke and massage their partners lovingly as part of their relationship can stake a claim here? Continue reading
This blog is about Thai massage and other related massage therapies and healing arts. You will find educational content, stories, useful tips, Thai massage videos, and pictures.
My first exposure to potential problems in my new career