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This is an extremely beneficial session with cross between traditional thai massage sport stretches and assisted passive yoga techniques. There is some light tissue manipulation and some times light energy line work. these techniques are great for before and after you active day. This thai yoga massage session will probably be quite different than any other massage session you have experienced. The thai yoga sports massage is performed fully clothed and on a floor mat rather than a massage table.
NUAD BO-RARN Traditional Thai Massage
Thai massage is one of the oldest massage techniques in existence today. Dating back 2,500 years, Thai massage is said to have been developed by Buddhist monks right at the time when Gautama Buddha himself was still alive. These monks handed what they know to their students, who then passed them on to their own students until it spread throughout the east. Thai massage incorporates the philosophies surrounding the Chinese concept of acupuncture and combines these philosophies with the stretching exercises done by yogis in India. The ultimate aim of Thai massage is for the receiver to attain spiritual enlightenment and harmony. On a base level, Thai massage is supposed to activate the capacity of the body to heal itself and to promote better health and well-being.
Thai massage is done with both the giver and the receiver of the massage fully clothed. The massage therapist does not use any tools – only her fingers, hands, knees, legs and feet. She also uses body weight to apply force and pressure to the receiver’s body. The treatment is done with the receiver lying down on her back on a padded massage mat instead of a table. There are four basic stretches that are employed in Thai massage. The first one is aimed towards warming up the body and making it more receptive to the manipulation of the therapist. It involves extending the hamstrings on the leg and pressing the back of the thighs on points along the energy lines of the leg. The second stretch is called the plough stretch. What is done here is that the therapist pulls at the client’s legs and, with the client’s knees straight, pushes them forward and inward towards the patient’s face, compressing the abdomen. The aim here is to elongate the spine. The third stretch is also meant to lengthen the spine. Here, the client is made to lie face down on the mat. With her knees bent and her feet up and her hands gripping the therapist’s thighs, the client is pulled upward by the shoulders to stretch her back. The fourth stretch is another exercise that is supposed to lengthen the spine, as well as to release the tension on the shoulders and back. The client once again lies down on her back with her feet propped up against the therapist’s thighs. The therapist then pulls her up by the arms. To a casual observer, Thai massage appears to be painful and strenuous. If properly done, however, the receiver of a Thai massage treatment would not feel any pain afterwards. In fact, the treatment should leave him or her calm, relaxed, more centered and more alert. |
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Traditional Thai yoga massage can look back at a long history of therapeutic healing. If one traces the evolution of the techniques of healing-massage practiced in Thailand, one discovers the astonishing fact that the earliest roots of Thai massage lie not in Thailand but in India. The legendary founder of the art is believed to have been a doctor from northern India. Known as Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, he was a contemporary of the Buddha and personal physician to the Magadha King Bimbisara over 2,500 years ago. The teachings of Kumar Bhaccha probably reached what is now Thailand at the same time as Buddhism – as early as the 3rd or 2nd century B.C. The theoretical foundation of Thai massage is based on the concept of invisible energy lines running through the body. The Indian origin and influence is obvious here since the background of this theory clearly lies in Yoga philosophy. Yoga philosophy states that life energy (called Prana) is absorbed with the air we breathe and with the food we eat. Along a network of energy lines, the Prana Nadis, the human being is then supplied with this vital energy. Out of these energy lines Thai massage has selected 10 mainlines on which there are especially important acupressure points. Massaging these lines and points makes it possible to treat a whole range of diseases or to relieve pain. The 10 mainlines are sufficient to conduct practical treatment for the whole body and its internal organs. Disturbances in the flow of energy result in an insufficient supply of Prana, which will in turn lead to sickness. Working on the energy lines with massage can break the blockades, stimulate the free flow of Prana, and help to restore general well-being. Looking back at the tradition of Thai massage it is very clear that it was never seen as a mere job. Massage was always considered to be a spiritual practice closely connected with the teachings of the Buddha. Until fairly recently it was the Buddhist temple, where massage was taught and practiced. The establishment of legitimate massage facilities outside of the temples is a recent development. The giving of massage was understood to be a physical application of Metta, the Pali (and Thai) word used in Theravada Buddhism to denote 'loving kindness' - and devoted masseurs still work in such a spirit today. A truly good masseur performs his art in a meditative mood. He starts with a Puja, a meditative prayer, to fully center himself on the work, on the healing he is about to perform. And he works with full awareness, mindfulness and concentration. There is a world of a difference between a massage performed in a meditative mood and a massage just done as a job. Only a masseur working in a meditative mood can develop an intuition for the energy flow in the body and for the Prana lines. Contrary to Western style massage, traditional Thai massage does not primarily work with the physical body but rather with the energy body of man. The kneading of muscles, which dominates in Western style massage, is absent from Thai massage: energy points are pressed or general pressure is used instead. There is a lot of stretching involved and many exercises might well be described as 'applied Hatha Yoga' or 'applied physical Yoga'. Rather than using the term 'Thai massage', it wouldn't be a bad idea to actually call it 'Yoga massage' since that's what this art essentially is.
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