During two decades of practicing and teaching Thai Massage, I have learned quite a lot about the magic of touch. I know it is there, I have seen it, felt it, and experienced it, and I don’t need any more proof other than my experience.
Let’s look at the element of experiential proof compared to scientific proof in the context of Thai Massage.
This is not meant to discount science, but to offer an alternative way of perception – one that is more often the norm in Asia than in the Western world.
The Thai Massage Perspective in Thailand
I am writing this from my perspective of living in Thailand. Here people are less intellectually inclined and much less obsessed with scientific proof for everything.
No therapist or client discusses the scientific validity of Thai Massage.
I am not claiming that my point of view is the only correct one – I am just offering a perspective from an angle that is quite different from prominent Western thinking.
There are plenty of articles and studies that all try to prove the validity and the benefits of massage and touch. For me, it is a strange Western phenomenon to demand that everything needs to be proven to the satisfaction of the scientific community.
Prove your love to me (A bizarre story)!
Imagine this scenario: Girlfriend tells boyfriend: “I love you”. Boyfriend responds: “That sounds great, but first I need to know if there are any scientific studies that validate the concept of love!”
Girlfriend is bewildered: “But darling, I feel it in my heart!” Boyfriend replies: “That is all good and well, but I need specific proof that this ‘love thing’ is really working all the time.
If you can show me some double-blind studies verifying and documenting the concept, backed up by some scientific authorities from high-level universities, I will go for it.”
Girlfriend says: “You are crazy, you have a heart of stone and the feelings of a robot. I will find myself a man with a heart.”
Common sense and the value of personal experience
This might sound like a weird story to you since nobody in their right mind would even think of doing something that ridiculous. But it’s really not so different from demanding scientific proof that touch and massage are beneficial.
Anyone who ever had a good Thai Massage session knows that it feels great, it relaxes you, and it makes you feel so much better (if you have a therapist who believes in the magic of touch).
Eastern and Western definitions of Thai Massage benefits
If you ask any therapist in Thailand what the benefits of Thai Massage are, you will get an answer along these lines: “Massage is very good, it is relaxing, good for your energy, good for your health.”
And that would already be an elaborate explanation. The short answer might be: “Thai Massage makes you feel better”.
In contrast, if you ask a Western therapist about the benefits of Thai Massage, chances are he or she will launch into a scientific explanation, cite all kinds of studies and verifiable research, tell you about muscle tone, heart rate, chemical changes, immune system reactions, and lymph flow, just to name a few.
How much proof do you really need?
Does it really add anything to your Thai Massage experience if you know how much seratonin and dopamine levels change, or how much of a particular chemical is produced in your body?
Is your massage experience affected by what some white-coated researchers found out in their labs, and what a number of double-blind studies revealed? Most likely not.
There is nothing wrong with knowing about those studies.
But there is something wrong with demanding scientific evidence for very obvious things like feelings of love, the experience of a good Thai Massage, or the delicious taste of a juicy ripe mango.
These are all examples where personal experience and common sense should be good enough to substantiate the experience without additional proof.
Some things in life can only be experienced
There is a magic in our minds when we have an intense beautiful feeling. Do you remember really being in love? Do you remember holding your newborn baby? Do you remember biting into that delicious apple pie? Do you remember having this amazing massage?
Do you really need anyone’s approval for your feelings? Would you let anyone talk you out of your feelings or experiences?
We often think too much and feel too little, and often use our brains when we should use our feelings and intuition.
Some things in life are magical, sacred, and precious, and they do not need to be validated or dissected with our intellect.
The magic of touch is one of the most wonderful experiences in life. When and how can you experience it? Think of these scenarios:
There is more to Thai Massage than techniques
Techniques are of course necessary for good therapy. But that’s not all. Therapists have to have other elements in their repertoire like quality of touch, intuition, feeling, energy, and a desire to help clients to heal.
You cannot experience a good Thai Massage in your mind. You cannot just process it rationally. You cannot just prove the benefits scientifically.
Actually, all these processes stop you from the actual experience. So how do you experience it ideally?
The magical prescription for enjoying a good Thai Massage
The magic of touch can only be experienced through relaxation, shutting off the mind, and surrendering to the magic of the moment. If you try to process it with your mind and rationalize it scientifically, it will definitely elude you.
You could know all the reasons and benefits of Thai Massage, but the only thing that really matters, the actual magical experience, will be filtered out by the activity of your mind.
While science might be a good method to explain some benefits, the focus on this science during a session will prevent you from experiencing the essence of it. This focus will block the bliss, the healing energy, and the magic of touch of a skilled therapist.
Or you could say that as a therapist you need to help your clients get out of their minds and into their bodies and feelings.
Luckily living in Thailand and being exposed to a culture that embraces Thai Massage without constant demands for scientific validation has helped me to open my mind to a different way of thinking about massage therapy.
Here is my personal not-so-scientific prescription for benefiting from Thai Massage: Feel more and think less.
The author, Shama Kern, is the founder of Thai Healing Massage Academy. He has been practicing and teaching Thai Massage for over two decades, and he is the creator of 20 Thai Massage online training courses.
Related Reading:
Massage And Healing
How Massage Can Touch Bodies, Hearts And Minds
How Do You Really Feel About Massage?
I like this explanation Shama, the magic of touch, you either have it or you don’t, if you can share it with others they will understand it, and will not ask for a scientific explanation I hope, have a great day,
Thanks Shama! Very simple, down-to-earth,description.
Feel More…Just F E E L
Nice informative article…Thanks….
Boy is that true! Shama your perspective entertains me! I wish that I could get all of my clients out of their heads and trust what the body is telling them. Thanks for another good article.
Bethany
Hello There Shama,
Yes. Touch is about FEELING, and not THINKING. Here’s a little poem I wrote about what Thai Massage can feel like – almost a decade and a half ago when I started doing Thai Massage:
The Feeling
by Deon de Wet
Do you remember
When it felt so good to experience your body?
When you were really feeling it
From the inside … outwards …
When your thoughts were about running, jumping and diving
And when you went to sleep,
That delicious exhaustion
After a long day’s play…
And as you stretched out under the covers,
The last thought …
About the rest of a glorious summer lying ahead,
Still waiting to be experienced …
As you blissfully float away,
Quietly anticipating the adventure of tomorrow …
Come … let’s remember.
Deon, as usual we are seeing eye-to-eye. Thanks for sharing your beautiful poem.