That's quite a common reaction to that first technique. The good news is that there are so many techniques available to you that you just do the ones that are easy on you and your physical capabilities. I present many different ways of doing things, but don't think that you have to perfect every technique in the entire course.

Some of us have limitations that we have to live with and work with, or we might have preferences, or we just like or dislike certain techniques. That's one really good thing about Thai Massage. There is such a variety of techniques available to us that we can always choose what works best for us. This is not a rigid system where you have to use every single technique even if it kills you:)

That's one angle to look at it. The second angle is that it is highly likely that over time you get more used to some positions like squatting or opening your legs wider. In the beginning those ways to use our body will naturally feel strange if we have never done it before. The first time is always the hardest, and then we find our groove gradually.

The third angle to see this is that initially when you learn a complex technique, you have to focus so much on how to do it right, (and of course it won't be quite right the first time around), that you don't feel comfortable in your body. I can assure you that once you know the techniques well enough that you don't have to think about how to execute them all the time, you can develop a much better feeling for ease and grace and comfort. After a while you will feel more in 'flow', and you will be amazed how much easier it will all feel then.

Actually, here is a trade secret of mine:) When I teach live classes, I always dread the first day, because that's the hardest for all the students. It all feels so difficult and new or even impossible. Towards the end of the course, nobody can even understand anymore what the big problem seemed to be on the first day.

Regarding starting on the left or right side, I have heard this also, and some schools may propose this. However others don't mention it at all. To me, quite honestly, it is a nice theory which in actual practice has no effect on the quality of a massage. If someone feels good about following this concept, fine. But if you don't, your massage will not be negatively affected, I can assure you. Personally I don't worry about it and I don't pay attention to it.

You can get into pretty complicated territory with those ideas. What about gay clients? Do they count as male or female?

Here in Thailand there are many 'ladyboys', men who change their sex to become women. Actually when I originally studied Thai Massage, in one of the best known schools here in Chiang Mai, Old Medicine Hospital, there were three assistant teachers who were 'ladyboys". How do you classify them?

What is the actual yin/yang balance in people? Bottom line is, you don't have to worry about it. I am sure there are some people who don't agree with me and turn this issue into a kind of a massage religion. And that's everyone's right too...

Regarding your question about the circular movement: In actual practice I don't follow any set routine or protocol. I just flow with the session, and I combine and mix and match and innovate and create. Now admittedly you cannot do that when you just start out learning a massage system. But when the techniques have become second nature and you don't have to think about them anymore, you will be able to do all kinds of things that are "not in the book".

I have been doing massage work for a long time, and I still come up with new ways of doing things, new techniques, even more effective modifications etc. There is really no limit as to what you can do. The basic technique, the basic structure is just the beginning. Then at some point it all becomes part of you and you are in a 'flow' state.

Then intuition and creativity can unfold when you don't have to think about the techniques anymore. This is also the point where massage can be like a meditation, an exchange of energy or a moving of energy. This may sound a bit esoteric, but it has always been the way how my massage has evolved.

Re: which oil do I recommend? I did not discuss this since therapists from many different countries purchase this course and I don't know what oils or lotions are available in their locations. Personally I only use oil on three body parts: neck, hands and feet. For neck and hands I use Jojoba oil. I like it because it does not smell, it does not leave a greasy residue and it gets absorbed very quickly.

For the feet Jojoba oil does not work well since it gets absorbed too quickly, so you need a heavier oil or lotion that stays on the skin longer. Here in Thailand coconut oil is commonly used for massage. It works very well for the feet and it is what I used in the actual video demonstration.

What works even better is a cream or lotion which can be easily scooped up with the fingertips repeatedly during the session. Pouring oil can be a bit messy whereas cream or lotion does not spill as easily as oil.

Here in Thailand many foot massage therapists use creams like Nivea. I don't use it since I prefer all natural chemical free products which are harder to find in Thailand. However in the US or Europe they should be easy to find.

Re: herbal compress work. This is used for Thai Massage but not for foot massage. It could theoretically be done for foot massage, but this is not within the scope of this course. Preparing herbal compresses depends on local availability of herbs, it is time consuming and requires the heating up of the compresses. This is not practical for your typical foot massage session. Personally I have never seen it done here in Thailand. It would be an unusual specialty that is maybe offered in a fancy resort where people don't mind paying a lot more for a session.

Re: percussion. I know one reflexology place in Chiang Mai where they use a rubber mallet to do percussion on the feet. In most other places the therapists just hit the soles of the feet a few times with their fists. Personally I don't find this to be very effective, and it is a bit awkward to do. I use a lot of percussion work in my Thai Massage where it is easy to do, but foot massage does not lend itself to good percussion work in my opinion. That's why I don't include it in the course.

Aside from that, there are two mechanical means that do work on the feet. One is the rubber mallet as mentioned above, and the other one is an electric massage hammer which I use quite a bit in my sessions. For an example of the massage hammer you can watch the video in this post:
https://thaihealingmassage.com.....ks-part-6/

Actually I use the massage hammer on my own feet quite a bit.

Re: contraindications. There are some common sense ones like skin lesions or skin diseases. The only area where you need to be careful is if someone has a very weak ankle and you hear a lot of cracking noise when you rotate the foot in the ankle joint. Then you need to ask the client if there is any pain or discomfort and you need to adjust the intensity of your work accordingly.

Good questions, Peter. I might include some of this post in an updated version of the course manual.

I agree with you, the human touch is the best. I use the massage hammer in two cases:

1. If I cannot get the human touch but reallly need some work on my self

2. If have a really big and stiff client, and it is just too stressful for my hands to work out knots in big muscles. Actually a couple of my clients request the massage hammer because of the infrared heat effect (not for the entire session of course).

Coconut oil works well, but I am sure there are many other good massage oils and lotions available in western countries.

Thanks so much for your detailed email response. You made some very valid and useful suggestions.