Overview

Thai Yoga Massage is an ancient healing system combining acupressure, Indian Ayurvedic principles, and assisted yoga postures which opens and invigorates the body on many levels. It's effective for healing specific injuries as well as for increasing general health and vitality. It can help people relax, relieve aching muscles, and temporarily boost a person's mood.  It increases circulation, gives temporary relief of pain, provides a sense of well-being, and promotes relaxation.

Technique

Traditional Thai Yoga Massage uses no oils or lotions. The recipient remains clothed during a treatment. In contrast to some other types of massage there is minimal rubbing on muscles. Instead  the body is compressed, pulled, stretched and rocked. The receiver will be positioned in a variety of yoga-like positions during the course of the massage, that is also combined with deep static and rhythmic pressures. The massage generally follows designated lines ("sen") in the body. The legs and feet of the giver can be used to position the body or limbs of the recipient. In other positions, hands fix the body, while the feet do the massaging. A full Thai massage session may last two hours and includes rhythmic pressing and stretching of the entire body. This may include pulling fingers, toes, ears, cracking knuckles, walking on the recipient's back, and moving the recipient's body into many different positions. There is a standard procedure and rhythm to the massage, which the giver will adjust to fit the receiver.

History

The founder of Thai Yoga Massage is said to have been Shivago Komarpaj, who according to the Pāli Buddhist canon was the Buddha's physician over 2,500 years ago. He is noted in ancient documents for his extraordinary medical skills, his knowledge of herbal medicine, and for having treated important people of his day, including the Buddha himself.
Thai massage, like Thai traditional medicine (TTM) more generally, is a combination of influences from Indian, Chinese, Southeast Asian cultural spheres, and traditions of medicine, and the art as it is practised today is the product of a synthesis of various healing traditions from all over the Thai kingdom. There is considerable variation from region to region across Thailand, and there is no universal single routine or theoretical framework.