Thai Massage employs the principles of Yoga and Acupressure and is meant to induce deep relaxation and increased energy flow through the body. Its origins go back to the days of the Buddha, when a doctor aquainted with the spiritual figure began treating his clients with a slow, stretching kind of massage. According to popular lore, instruction of the technique was then handed down orally from generation to generation until at last it was written on palm leaves and regarded as sacred text.

I thought the class was amazing. I love a fun learning atmosphere and that's exactly what it was-it soared above any hopes or expectations I could have had. Patrick was wonderful and I feel that I have learned more powerful things in the past week about bodywork that will really help me and my massage skills.

The spiritual atmosphere surrounding the practice remains intact today. Before each session, the practitioner centers his/herself to quiet the mind, focus energy on the task at hand, and ask for help from the universe. The practitioner then rubs his/her hands together to induce heat and begins applying pressure to the recipient’s feet, eventually moving upward to the head.

In watching the technique, one gets the sense that “massage” is somewhat of a misnomer. Unlike the scooping and continuous strokes of Swedish massage, the Thai method uses mainly point pressure and muscle stretching. And it is not just the hands that are used to free tension stored in the recipient’s body, but the feet and elbows as well.

Some have called it “yoga for lazy people,” says one American student. “Instead of doing yoga they do it for you.” It is also sometimes referred to as “medical massage” going back to its origin as a traditional medical technique. Experts say the method is suitable for building flexibility and healing long term injuries.

Thank you Patrick, I learned a lot and I was able to already add some of those techniques within my treatment plan. I loved being able to flow from one modality to the other with ease.

John Setthakorn, a recognized master in Thai Massage, refers to Thai Massage as a form of play. When children are young their mothers play with them physically, he says, stretching and bending and interacting in a playful manner. In this way they share their love and kindness towards each other. Thai massage is an extension of this will to play and share with others in a physical but platonic way. And when the massage is over, says Setthakorn, both the giver and the receiver should feel refreshed, happy, and energetic.

The stretching at times looks intense and uncomfortable, but Setthakorn assures us it is measured carefully against the capacity of the recipient. Some are more limber than others are, but the technique does not inflict pain. Asked how he is able to control the amount of stretching, Setthakorn says he simply “feels how much the client can take.”

This reliance on “feeling” is inherent in Thai Massage. Almost totally ignorant of the western science of anatomy, Thai practitioners have learned the craft largely through feeling and intuition. Even in the more enlightened modern society, the teachings of Thai manipulative medicine are completely without regard to anatomical references. The practice is tied to the theory that the body consists of 72,000 energy lines, called SEN, roughly equivalent to the meridians of Chinese acupuncture. Diagrams of the SEN lines show the relationship between the energy points and their potential effects.

Adapted from: Nuad Bo-Rarn, The Traditional Massage of Thailand, by Arthur Lambert with Chongkol Setthakorn.