Encyclopedia of Thai Massage

A Complete Guide to Traditional Thai Massage Therapy and Acupressure

C. Pierce Salguero, David Roylance

• Publisher: Findhorn Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781844095636
• eBook ISBN: 9781844093939
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Alternative & Complementary Medicine

Drawing from Thai history, cultural studies, Buddhist religion, and yogic practices, as well as a modern understanding of anatomy and physiology, this guidebook bridges the gap between theory and practice while presenting bodywork as it is understood in Thailand--as a therapeutic medical science. Presenting detailed analysis of each step in a Thai massage routine, the history, spiritual traditions, and ethical codes are offered in an engaging, informal style. Numerous photographs and diagrams illustrate the variety of techniques used, and examples of routines for treating specific disorders are discussed. Updated with new layout, photos, and expanded text, this exhaustive handbook is complete with a section on the main energy meridians and diagrams of acupressure points, making it the perfect tool to accompany anyone studying this popular healing modality.

Part 1

The Basics of Thai Massage

CHAPTER 1

Introduction to
the Tradition

What is Thai Massage?

Thai Massage, Thai yoga massage, and Thai yoga therapy are names commonly used in the West to refer to a traditional massage modality that is native to Thailand. It is known in the country of its origin as nuat phaen boran (“traditional style massage”) or nuat thai (“Thai Massage”). Based on a combination of influences from India, China, and indigenous Thai traditions, this art form has been handed down through the generations mostly via oral tradition, and is practiced today across Thailand in various forms. Thai Massage has now become extremely popular in the West, and has been among the fastest growing massage modalities in America over the past decade. Massage Magazine, Yoga Journal, and other industry-leading consumer and professional magazines have frequently featured Thai Massage in their pages.

A COMPLETE THAI MASSAGE incorporates a combination of acupressure and yoga-like stretching. Thai Massage is different from many Western forms of massage in that there is no oil used, the therapist uses a mattress on the floor (instead of a massage table), and the client remains completely clothed throughout the session. It is so different from what we typically think of as “massage” that it is often instead described as having someone “do yoga to you.”

In modern Thailand, traditional massage is both a complex theoretical science, and an informal art form practiced by men and women throughout all levels of society. At one end of the spectrum, Thai Massage is a medical discipline, part of a four-year traditional medical degree program. At the other, it is practiced in many villages by healers who have learned orally without much theoretical background, or informally among family members.

Thai Massage is directly related to yogic principles originating in India. It is also in many ways similar to Chinese massage techniques such as shiatsu and reflexology insofar as it is based on the theory of the flow of energy along lines or channels that run throughout the body. Thus, even when treating a disease or injury associated with a particular area, a therapist will typically work on acupressure points throughout the body.

Some sen and acupressure points on the back side of the body.

In Thailand, Thai Massage is considered to be energy work rather than bodywork. This is because the traditional Thai Massage therapist is guided not by anatomical structures or physiological principles but by following an intricate network of 72,000 sen (a Thai word meaning “pathways” or “lines”) throughout the body. Acupressure points are found along these sen, which are used by the Thai Massage therapist to stimulate or relax the body’s energy (lorn), affecting the patient’s mind and body and promoting the natural healing process. The sen are of central importance to Thai Massage theory: even the yoga-like postures and other stretching that are an integral part of Thai Massage are considered primarily for their effects on the energy lines, and only secondarily for their ability to improve flexibility and strength.

Thai Massage can be varied to suit a wide range of physical needs, is suitable for clients of all ages and abilities, and can complement any level of exercise or activity. Although this art form was not developed with modern medical influence, scientific research on Thai Massage has begun to demonstrate that this form of massage has measurable physiological benefits. Clinical trials have shown that Thai Massage can prevent bone degeneration, decrease stress, treat back pain, and contribute to psychological well-being. (See the current state of medical research on Thai therapies in the Thai Institute of Healing Arts’ interactive forum www.thai-institute.net.) In Thailand today, Thai Massage is used as a form of physical therapy to aid in the increase of range of motion and muscular strength. Areas of ongoing research include Thai Massage’s ability to improve circulation, flexibility, and muscle tone. This blend of acupressure and stretching is also said by its advocates to be especially beneficial for those who find themselves stiff, sore, and tired from overexertion in work or sports, or from arthritis or other disorders affecting mobility.

Of course, therapists must recognize the limitations of Thai Massage, as well. In such cases as disease of the internal organs, chronic injuries, and degenerative conditions, the effects of the massage are difficult to gauge. Within the Traditional Thai Medical approach to healing, the most important function of Thai Massage is to stimulate the body’s energy and natural healing process; thus, it may be a valuable complementary therapy alongside virtually any other form of treatment. It is unrealistic, however, to expect any massage to be a panacea, and even in Thailand, it is acknowledged that it is dangerous to rely on massage in lieu of proper medical attention. Although the benefits of Thai Massage are wonderful indeed, under no circumstances should massage clients with serious physical problems forego consultation and treatment by a qualified medical professional before embarking on a course of therapy involving Thai Massage.

History ofThai Massage

Much progress has been made in research on the history of Thai medicine since the first edition of this book was published, and I have published an entire book on this called Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Ayurveda.¹ The history of Thai Massage, like that of Traditional Thai Medicine, is complicated by the fact that few historical sources remain from prior to the 1800s. Due both to willful destruction by invading armies and the damaging effects of the tropical climate on perishable materials, Thai medical texts from the premodern period are virtually nonexistent. Nevertheless, from a close examination of the modern practice of Thai Massage, we can determine that it combines at least five important layers of historical influence:

A temple guardian, Wat Phra Kaew (Bangkok).

LAYER 1: Buddhism

Many Thai medical texts incorporate doctrines about the body, disease, and healing from Theravada Buddhist texts that date to the last few centuries BC. In the modern practice of Thai Massage, influential Buddhist ideas include a concern with ethics, an emphasis on compassion, the practitioner’s attention to breath and body sensations, and the celebration of the role of Jivaka Komarabhacca as the forefather of the art form. These are all discussed further later in this chapter.

LAYER 2: Ayurveda

Closely related to Buddhism, Ayurvedic medical ideas travelled alongside the religion as it spread from India to all parts of Asia. Traditional Thai Medical texts frequently contain references to principles such as the doshas and the Four Elements (Earth, Water, Fire, and Air). Discussed in more detail later in this book, the idea of the body being animated and mobilized by lom (which is usually translated as “energy,” but which literally means the Air Element) draws from a traditional Indian model of physiology.

Statues of luesii performing yoga-like exercises adorn the grounds of Wat Pho (Bangkok).

LAYER 3: Yoga

The form of yoga most familiar to Western students is hatha yoga, an energy-based physical and spiritual practice originating in India. Now found in many Western health clubs and private studios, this system of postures and breathing exercises was formalized in the first half of the second millennium AD, primarily as a spiritual practice. A similar system of individual postures exists in Thailand that is called luesii dat ton (“self-stretching exercises of the rishis”). This form of yoga seems to have exerted a profound influence on Thai medical arts, particularly in the realm of Thai Massage. The connections between Thai Massage postures and yoga postures are explored in detail in Chapter 4 of this book. Additionally, while there is no system of chakras in Thai Massage, several of the Thai energy lines, or sen, have clear parallels with the nadi channels from the Indian yogic tradition, sometimes even sharing the same names.

LAYER 4: Chinese and other external cultural influences

In some of my other books, I have explored in detail other cultural influences on Thai medicine, ranging from Chinese medicine to Khmer magical practices. In terms of Thai Massage, the most significant of these is the influence of Chinese medicine. Many Thai Massage schools today teach modified forms of foot reflexology, tuina abdominal massage, and other Chinese bodywork practices. While some of these are relatively late introductions to the Thai sphere, Chinese communities have been flourishing in Southeast Asia for many centuries and have introduced many aspects of Chinese culture to Thailand. Some of the similarities between the Thai sen and the Chinese meridians, as well as some acupressure techniques, may be due to this prolonged cultural contact and exchange.

LAYER 5: Indigenous Thai medicine

This is by far the most pervasive layer of cultural influence in Thai healing practices of all sorts, and Thai Massage is no exception. The practice of Thai Massage as we know it today clearly incorporates a wide variety of indigenous Thai healing arts — from a practice of walking on the back known as yam kaeng, to bone-setting (an indigenous form of chiro-practics), to tok sen (tapping specific points on the body with a wooden mallet). Of course, it is also through the indigenous culture that all external influences have been received and interpreted.

A healer’s altar in Chiang Mai combines most of the cultural influences on Thailand, including images of Jivaka, the Chinese Buddhist deity Guanyin, and an assortment of amulets and magic charms.

While there have been many foreign inputs, the Thai healing arts are distinctly Thai and a unique part of Thailand’s cultural heritage. If these five layers of cultural influence form the building blocks of Thai Massage therapy, different schools and teachers all over the country have put them together in highly individualized ways. Some teachers emphasize one “layer” over the other, omitting or including aspects as they see fit. In actuality, each practitioner draws from the available menu of options to create his/her own unique style of Thai Massage.

Outside the major cities, Thai Massage tends to be nonscholarly and to rely on informal methods of education. Local practices tend to vary considerably from village to village, and are offered by healers who are more akin to shamans, astrologers, or magicians than to learned physicians. Their medical knowledge is handed down largely orally or through secret manuscripts passed from teacher to pupil, and is usually not shared with outsiders — especially not with Westerners. According to the few anthropologists who have been able to research these rural traditions, local village medicine is typically composed of indigenous Thai traditions. ² These aspects of healing were in existence prior to the arrival of ideas from India, depend almost entirely on pre-Buddhist animist beliefs, and are very different from the system discussed in this book.

In contrast, a more formalized medical tr...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Part 1: The Basics of Thai Massage
• Part 2: The Classic Thai Massage Routine
• Part 3: Thai Massage as a Therapeutic Practice
• Part 4
• Endnotes
• Index