I envision my forum and my blog as a place where people can openly share their ideas and opinions. They don’t have to agree with my take on things. I like to discuss concepts that might be a bit unconventional and I really love hearing from other therapists like you.

Living in Thailand I feel that I have the freedom to look at massage from both the western and eastern view points. I think this adds to the depth of the subject, although it sometimes diverges from the commonly accepted western model of professional massage.

There are a lot of interesting and thought provoking comments on the various articles of my blog, including yours, and I really value that. And thank you for your kind comment in your last paragraph.

Thanks for the response.
Just wanted to let you know that I absolutely appreciate your willingness and courage to put your thoughts forward and allow others to join the dialogue. I did not for a moment feel you were writing from a judgmental point-of-view and I apologize if I gave you that impression.

And to your point of one gifted soul assisting another to open, or tune, the gift within themselves I would offer that that is precisely the experience I enjoyed at our meeting and for this I am eternally grateful.

David

Some therapists have the gift of a great touch, just like some musicians have the magic touch with their instrument or their voice. I think this can be learned and enhanced to some degree at least, especially if it is taught by someone who does have this “touch”.

In the US we have the tendency to equate licensing and professionalism with a quality of massage, but that is really not so. Quality of massage runs on a different track.

Who gets to decide what “professionalism” is? I don’t know, it depends a lot on which part of the world you are in, but I do know the order of importance for me when I want a good massage:
1. a great touch
2. professionalism
3. licensing

My most important Thai Massage teacher here in Thailand smokes a lot during his teaching sessions and takes regular naps and sometimes disappears altogether – decidedly non professional from our point of view. But he is still one of the best teachers and students have been coming to him from all over the world for 15 years or so. And they get results. I would call him “excentric” rather than “non professional”. The latter is a western label which just does not fit here in the same way as it does in the West.

The point of my article is to stimulate thinking, encourage an open mind and show different ways of thinking and perception. I am not trying to draw lines or set up definitions or make make judgments about what is right or wrong.

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it. I love hearing from you. Please feel free to share your experience and observations on my blog or in the forum any time. It brings a lot of value to the table.

‘Licensed’ is easy because it refers to a legal requirement based on some set of predetermined criteria for said profession, in this case massage. One is either licensed or not though that in itself does not make them professional, or skilled. And unfortunately, at least in the US, the licensing process makes little room for experience in lieu of formal education.

‘Professional’, as you have used it, feels as though it sets up a ‘licensed vs skilled’ scenario. For me, the term ‘professional’ refers to a Code-of-Conduct relevant to the context of the situation. It seems important to have a Set-of-Standards that are generally accepted by members of that profession. What is professional conduct in one part of the world may not be in another i.e. talking on a phone during a massage as is common in my experience in Thailand. Still, one can be professional and yet not very skilled, or licensed and not entirely professional. Now who gets to decide those standards and what happens to those that deviate from them?

When I think back to massage school I remember having a massage from a woman the first week that made me ask she had been doing this her whole life. And, I had a massage at the end from a man that made me question whether he had been asleep for the entire program. The skill of the practitioner, or as some would call it ‘the gift’, is what we look for in a body-worker but is quite often ‘in the body of the beholder’. Sometimes what is therapeutic for one is useless, or damaging, to another. Even in my own experience I know that my massage or my yoga classes do not reach everyone that comes to me though some have found it to be very powerful.

So on a personal level it comes down to mutual respect. Trust flowing in both directions opens the doors to discover true healing.