The kneeling is something which everybody has to get used to initially. Just make sure that you have something soft under your knees. The mat should not be so soft that your knee sinks right through it to the floor, and is should not be so hard that it is uncomfortable. One workaround in the beginning is to have a firm flat cushion that you can reposition during the sessions so that you have a little extra support for your knees. In some of the techniques which involve kneeling you can use either knee, but in others you have to use one specific knee.

So far everyone got used to the kneeling after a while, even students with knee issues, so chances are that the same thing will happen in your case. 

Yes, there are. You will find out more about them later in the course. If someone has very stiff hips and the feet don't turn out much at all, then it is easy to stress the knee when you bend the feet out.

Regarding your question if I sometimes find it hard to get the whole body to move when I do the Chi Machine... the answer is that I can always get the client's hip to move without any problem. However if someone tenses up in the neck habitually, you sometimes can't get the head to move, i.e the movement stops at the neck level.

A good way to get the Chi Machine to work is if you imagine that your own hip is filled with water and you are shaking it sideways so that it kind of sloshes up against the sides of your hip from the inside. 

I think you will get a better understanding of how the bending out of the foot works when you get to module 7. There is a whole section about that in this video.

James, I have never done a Thai Massage less than two hours. I never gave clients a choice. I just told them that it takes two hours, and nobody ever argued with that or wanted a shorter session.

The butterfly technique can put a strain on the wrist. It depends where you do it. For example if you do it on the thigh, then the angle of your wrist will be about 45 degrees. However if you do it on the back, the angle of the wrists will be closer to 90 degrees. That's something to be aware of. 

There are so many techniques to choose from - so if you feel strain on the wrist, switch to a different technique, like a rocking move which is much easier on the wrist. Some therapists never develop any wrist issues, and some get carpal tunnel. So it is up to the individual therapist to decide how much stress the wrist can handle. In Thai Massage that's easy since there are so many different techniques available.

Let's say your hands feel stressed. In that case you can work more with your forearms, knees of feet. That takes a little more training and experience, but you will get there in this course.

There are many factors that come into play, like how strong are your wrists, how big or small are you, and how big is your client, and how strongly do you work etc.

Regarding the forearms - it again depends. If you turn the palms down, you will work with the softer area of the forearm. If you turn the palms up, you will have more power since the ergonomics allow for more power. 

The question is not how much pressure is too much. The question is how is the quality of your touch. If you sink in softly, you can use a lot more pressure than if you press with muscle power. Sinking in softly does not mean less power, it refers to the quality of the touch, the way how it is done and how it feels to the client. 

Little pressure done by muscle power can feel like way too much, and a lot of pressure which is done with body weight, breathing and a feeling of softly sinking in can feel easy for the client.

The next thing is to work with the client by getting feedback via the one-to-ten method. That's the best way to learn how much pressure is right. I don't know if this has been explained in the course already. If not, it will come up soon.

If someone has knee issues, this can definitely effect your work on the calf and on the thigh. If someone has a serious knee issue I totally switch my method of working. That's a little hard to explain in one forum post. Knee work is a specialty - I have an entire course just about knee work.

For now, if someone has knee issues, avoid getting too close to the knee, and avoid any moves which stress or twist the knee.

Regarding the direction of the hip circling: You could theoretically do it the other way. I just have found that it works better for me in the direction which I show in the video. But this is no hard and fast rule.

Regarding the question about module 9: Never tell a client to keep their hip down. It's ok if the hip rises a bit. The more you relax the hip, the less the hip will rise.

Regarding the ham string stretch and the leg straightening out: This is an interplay between your one hand on the heel and your other hand on the hamstrings. You can control the amount of bending by adjusting the amount of pressure between your two hands. 

People with tight hamstrings won't be able to straighten their leg out no matter what. This is a strong stretch and for people with very tight hamstrings it is better in general to first spend quite some time doing muscle work on the hamstrings in the prone position before you do such a strong stretch. Or at least do the stretch very slowly and gently since this one can easily feel painful and stressful to clients if done too quickly or too strongly.

Regarding the "blood stop" - many people are nervous about that one, but the fact is that it is a totally harmless technique and it feels very nice if done right. The only time when I would not do it is when someone has massive varicose veins or big circulatory issues.

Regarding the calf stretch: The main stretch is to pull the foot down. The leaning on the quads is mainly to keep the leg straight and to provide good ergonomics for yourself. No need for very strong pressure there.