
November 22, 2011

Awesome! I completed 15 and 16 again along with the questions. Picked up another technique missed the first go through. I am off next week for a third training with Kimberly Hardick. This will be 2 days of Thai on backs along with anatomy in clay. She is calling hers Assisted Yoga Therapy. I continue to take as many classes as possible close to me and supplement the online training as well. When complete with this test and review, I will continue on with your specialty courses. Do you also have tests put together for those?
So far I have the CE test questions completed for the main Thai Massage course, Heavenly Head Massage and Thai Rocking Massage. These are my biggest courses. I am working on getting it done for all my other courses. It is a huge job and takes time, but soon every single one of my courses will be CE test ready.

November 22, 2011

That is awesome. I have time. With those that are ready, Kimberly and Souri in Houston, I will have my 180 hours completed for my RTT before long. After working in physical therapy for 16 years and my background as an RYT, Thai has become a natural extension for my skills. I also teach stress management at our hospital. Thai weds so many aspects into a nice offering. My biggest struggle has been the belief side. I am Christian although not close minded and also have extensive medical background with a father and brother that are MD's. I have struggled philosophically and theologically with the buddist teachings and energetics. I have learned to harmomize many aspects of both systems although there are still a few points of conflict. Good is good in any language or belief system and I find Thai very therapeutic on many levels. I continue to evolve. Thanks Shama!

November 22, 2011

I have now completed 15-19 and feel like I am becoming fluid with my sessions. As an RYT I am used to the breath work but have learned to incorporate it with my movements and am getting better synching with the client. I see that the more relaxed I am the more relaxed the client is. Flowing movements are very relaxing and it does take time to develop the smooth transitions. I have also completed the test questions through 19.

November 22, 2011

Yes. Training this weekend with Kimberly Hardick at Aledo Yoga "Applied Yoga Therapy" brought in a lot of rocking movements. I like having many different approaches to learn from but feel yours has the most variety and greatest depth. My Thai lady, Souri Sisavath from Thailand was very intuitive and did her sessions with her eyes closed. I was impressed with her sense of feel and awareness. At the same time, I see the importance of watching the breath and facial signs of pain. Kimberly pointed out the visual cues Souri may or may not miss. You use the RPE scale as well for feedback. The differences are perspectives coming from a yogic and a massage therapist mindset. Neither is right or wrong. We must find our own sense of awareness and our own strengths. Most of us use multi sensory inputs in our sessions. Using a multi sensory approach with the addition of the RPE scale will better insure we dion't miss something. We can mis-read our senses sometimes. I am still learning to read things. It requires the experience of doing, of giving and receiving.
Regarding working with eyes closed - I do that quite a lot myself. But I don't do it when I use techniques that are potentially intense. Then of course it is better to watch for clues and client reactions. Here in Thailand there are many blind people doing Thai Massage. It is a government sponsored program. But I have to admit that they tend to be known for working in a painful way.
I like working with eyes closed when I do rocking techniques that will definitely not cause any discomfort. It helps me to tune into the energetic aspect of Thai Massage. But I would never do an entire session with eyes closed.
It also depends on the client. Some clients are the auditory type and they appreciate communication with the therapist. Such a client would probably find it quite strange to see a therapist with eyes closed most of the time. So there are many factors and possibilities which is what makes Thai Massage so versatile and multi-faceted.

November 22, 2011

Completed lesson 20 again today. I use the elbow on several places and find it and the heal effective for those wanting deeper tissue work. I really find the forearm calf stretch useful. With the knee bent, this is great for the soleus and as you know, calves are tough to stretch manually even if you could push hard. The leverage from the forearm technique is awesome.
Do you mean the one where you place the foot on the glutes, and then pull the leg up from around the ankles - or a variation of that? I think if I remember correctly I did not put it in the course because it requires good balance and a bit of strength. In my live classes generally the smaller, female students complained that this one is too difficult for them, especially when working on clients with bigger legs. For a man it is much easier as long you have a good balance. If not, this one can feel very wobbly.

November 22, 2011

Yes, that is it. My balance is pretty good as well as my strength so it works well for me on many folks. I like them all though and will experiment with different folks. I teach yoga as well as many strength and conditioning classes and sometimes just change out of boredom. Thai is no different. Love variety!
Then this technique will be easy for you. I did not put certain techniques in the Thai Massage course that are difficult for many students or that have the potential to be wobbly or unstable, or that cannot be easily controlled. But I did include some of those more exotic techniques in the "7 Ways to Move the Spine" course. This course is mostly meant for yogi types like you:)
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