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Thai Massage versus Thai Yoga Massage – what’s in a name?Thai Yoga Massage is basically another name for Thai Massage. There are variations and adaptations and different styles of therapists, but we are talking about the same family of bodywork. The term ‘Thai Yoga Massage’ has been coined by western practitioners. It is quite an appropriate name since it does reflect the fact that Thai Massage has its roots in the yoga tradition of India. In Thailand this term is never used and Thai therapists are generally not very familiar with yoga. Their western colleagues are often not only more familiar with yoga but are yoga practitioners or teachers as well. The trend in the West is to add more elements of yoga to Thai Massage which is not only a good idea but also brings it back around to its original roots. Continue reading Here is another one of my irreverent massage therapy master pieces, along with my warning message: If you don’t have a sense of humor, stop reading right here! For my part, I’d rather be controversial than boring. There is no one point at which massage turns into massage therapy. It’s a matter of degrees. It is quite difficult for any massage NOT to be therapeutic at least to some degree. How does a non-therapeutic massage feel like? Let’s start close to the zero percentile. I can remember some massages that I would classify as having next to no therapeutic effect. Once I went to the Gellert Spa in Budapest, Hungary. Continue reading 
Thai Healing Massage is not just a fancy name for Thai Massage. It has a very specific meaning, at least in the context of my training school, Thai Healing Massage Academy. I live in the Thai Massage capital of the world, Chiang Mai, Thailand. There are Thai massage schools and shops all over the place, sometimes several within one block. There is no such concentration of Thai Massage anywhere else that I have seen. And I have been all over Thailand. In Massage, Quantity does not equal qualityHowever that does not mean that you also get the best quality of massage compared to anywhere else in the world. Quantity does not necessarily equal quality. It is a very strange phenomenon that it is actually quite difficult to find a good Thai Massage in Chiang Mai, or anywhere else in Thailand, as a matter of fact. Continue reading Why are members of the Healing Arts community not allowed to heal?One thing never ceases to amaze me. Massage is part of the healing arts world, but in quite a few countries, including the USA, massage therapists are not allowed to say that they heal anything. So if Massage is a healing art, but it does not heal anything, what exactly does it do? There are major teaching institutions with ‘healing arts’ right in their name who teach massage therapy. I wonder what they tell their students? A healing arts institution teaches a healing art which is not allowed to heal anything. Sounds pretty strange to me! What does ‘healing’ really mean?Part of the problem is the definition of the word “healing.” What really is healing anyway? Does it mean that a surgeon cuts out a cancerous tumor and now the patient is healed? Or does it mean that an agitated businessman whose mind is racing uncontrollably gets a wonderful massage and now feels peaceful and relaxed? Of does it mean that a judgmental person decides to abandon this negative behavior and instead adopt a kind and loving attitude? Continue reading 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 quirksLet’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 How much Anatomy do Massage Therapists Need to Know?
In my massage video training courses I use very few specific anatomical terms. There are three reasons for this: 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 What does Thai Massage have to do with your life?As it turns out, quite a bit. And why is that so? Here are six good reasons. Thai Massage and the yoga connection1. 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 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 | |
