
June 3, 2021

Thank you teach on a clear and easy to follow along video class. Your advice about not focusing on the muscles as much as the energy flow really struck a chord with me. I've found that in practice, when I'm too focused on what muscle or tendon or whatever structure I'm working on, I tend to have terrible body mechanics, crazy breathing, and I can sense that the client ain't into what is happening at the moment. But, many clients ask about what structures are involved, or tell me what structures they want worked on. What do you advise in terms of encouraging them to think not just about the muscles or tendons or ligaments or etc., but also think about energy? Like, what is a good what to introduce these seemingly "foreign" concepts?
Also, thank you for encouraging me to get back into yoga more consistently and practicing my breathing on a regular basis. It's easy to know technique, and just as easy to forget about my ergonomics and breathing while doing so. I'm looking forward to the next module!
With Love
Danny
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.

June 3, 2021

Just realizing, I titlled this thread as "Module 1 Section 1" as though I'm planning to create a new thread for each section as I go. And that could get ridiculous, as opposed to just using this thread for all of my notes. How do I edit the title? If I can't, no worries, I'm gonna use this thread to write all my notes for the course, unless you prefer differently. Thank you.
With Love
Danny
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.
Hi Daniel, welcome to the Complete Thai Massage certification program. As you can see, I fixed the topic title of your thread.
Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our certification checklist to make sure that it is all correctly organized:
Regarding introducing Thai Massage to clients in a way so that they don't get stuck on only physical components of the body, there is an entire module about that in the course. It is actually the last module of the main training modules.
If you get to the point where you use the course material on actual clients who would ask such questions, let me know and I can give you access to this module earlier so that you know how to deal with this issue.
And I think that while working with the course material you will pick up a lot of ideas on how to present it to clients.

June 3, 2021

MODULE 2
Thank you Sharma Ken. So, in module two, I'm grateful that the concepts of ergonomics, mindfulness, and breathing are not too challenging for me to understand and incorporate into my practice. I've been practicing yoga and meditation for a couple years, and they seem to be helping me in those areas. In terms of the "Chi Machine", I really enjoy this technique, as I always incorporate rocking into my massages. One thing, as I was practicing on my fiancee, she complains of pain in her right ankle, regardless of where I'm holding her foot and placing her legs. Any suggestions on how to minimize the pain for her?
With Love,
Danny
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.
There are ways to reduce the pain in her ankle, but this goes beyond the training in this course as this is a quite specialized therapeutic application which is not part of regular Thai Massage. We have a course which does deal with this kind of situation, our Thai Foot Massage And Reflexology course which is really a separate modality and focuses on all kinds of foot problems.
In the meantime, if any technique causes considerable pain, don't force it. There is nothing wrong with skipping a technique on a particular person. Not every technique works for everyone. The motto is this: The techniques are options to choose from, not mandatory sequences.

June 3, 2021

MODULE 3
This module was a doozy, took me a few days to get comfortable with just hand position in some of the techniques. For example, the first technique, pretty simple at first sight, but I realized I as I'd transition from foot to foot, I'd forget to allow the foot return to it's natural position. Noticing that, helped me slow down, which is what I need when I'm working. I still don't feel like I have a good flow with moving my body, squeezing, and moving the feet techniques, but as you say in the video, it'll take time, and I'm good with that. Took me a bit to do that transition move where we place our leg under our client's knee, but I love it now, so cool. Again, my partner (my fiancee) complained of left hip pain upon doing the full leg push and pull technique, but as I asked her more questions, slowed down, and even stopped doing the technique, it seems her pain is more related to pre-existing issues in her hips and thighs. She was complaining of pain in the area of the tensor fascia latae, for what it's worth. Thank you for this teaching, and I look forward to the next module.
With Love
Danny
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.
That's to be expected, that your body feels uncomfortable in the beginning - and this will resolve itself over time.
After learning the various sequences in Thai Massage, you will get to the point where you can identify problems and conditions, isolate them in your treatments, and work on them specifically. That will take some time to develop, of course, but it will happen.

June 3, 2021

SECTION 1 MODULE 4
Thank you for this review, and your reminder to be kind to myself in learning at my pace. I tend to get too attached to perfecting each technique, and I forget about the flow of the routine. As much as doing Thai very much resonates with how I move in the world and during massage sessions, I still have to slow down and be real mindful of staying connected to my partner and myself and the energy between and around us. I am on a break until next week as my partner is out of town helping other veterans heal from their PTSD. Here's a link to what she's doing if you or anyone is interested. https://www.veteranrites.org/projects I myself have been fortunate enough to go through the ceremony, and even help at another one.
Thanks again for your teaching
With Love
Danny
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.
It seems you had some good realizations about not trying to be a perfectionist and slowing down. There is no such thing as perfection in Thai Massage, only a gradual and constant improvement and refinement that will never stop.
It seems that your partner has a worthwhile and very beneficial project going on. Yes, we all need a calling, something that touches our inner selves and makes life worthwhile.

June 3, 2021

SECTION 1 MODULE 5
Thank you Shama for those words of wisdom, and for my latest class in the program, warming up the legs. Your advice on warming up the legs before getting into the stretching, made me think of how I was taught to warm up the body before doing deeper work in the Swedish style. The tissues tend to resist if I try to dive deep right away, and that's something I've had to practice and remind myself constantly. My hands tend to want to apply that deep pressure right away. I really like practicing keeping the leg stable in a good anatomical position, as opposed to letting it flail about while working. I'm gonna keep practicing this section for a bit more, as my body is still getting used to these positions.
With Love
Danny
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.

June 3, 2021

SECTION 1 MODULE 6
I have had clients who wanted me to dive right in. I like to get to gently walk in to their tissues, before I start drilling if need be. I'm still getting the hang of the traction holds with my legs and feet, again, I can be a bit of an elephant on these maneuvers. But the positioning is really helpful. I get that you're calling this "warm up", but couldn't you also use these moves to go deeper into the tissues? Not all at once, but as I feel the tissues become more welcoming, my forearms tend to go deeper into the thigh and calves. Anywho, thanks again for another class.
With Love
Danny
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.

June 3, 2021

SECTION 1 MODULE 7
Thank you for another lovely session, teach. The body mechanics and balance are coming easier for me now, and remembering to stay with my breath is so helpful. Out of all these moves, I enjoy where I'm using my legs and arms in the stretching/massage technique, just seems to flow more naturally out of me. But it's still helpful to know different ways to work on the thighs, as each individual client will present their unique bodies.
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.

June 3, 2021

SECTION 1 MODULE 8
Thank you for another cool session. The hip pie concept, the concept of different ways to move different parts of the body, makes me think of the daoist line "A way the can be followed is not a constant way." And thank you for reinforcing the idea that paying attention to the clients body is as important as everything else we're doing. I like the technique of working the calf, that's always been a weird place for me to work for some reason. I'm getting more used to the body mechanics. Thank you.
With Love
Danny
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.

June 3, 2021

SECTION 1 MODULE 9
Thank you for this module. I'm really enjoying working on the ground more, it's helpful when our space can be difficult to find space for a table. The holding their leg to my inner thigh is taking getting used to, but it's really so much more effective. Having more control of their leg, and understanding how it moves as you move, it's like a dance. And thank you for the relaxation technique for the adductors; I don't think I've met a client who didn't have tension there.
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.

June 3, 2021

SECTION 1 MODULE 10
Thank you for the class. And thank you again for the encouraging us to remember our breath, body mechanics, and overall awareness of ourselves and the client. As these stretches get deeper and I'm moving my fiancee's legs in ways she's never moved them, remembering to pay attention to her breath, as well as my own, has been helpful in reducing how many times she has to slow me down. Like the hip adductor stretch with pressure on the femoral triangle area; being more mindful has helped her feel ok about trying some of these more stretchy moves.
Shine your light while you ride the wave, be it calm or stormy, and watch out for sharks.
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