Traditional Thai Massage Therapy
Traditional Thai yoga massage has a lengthy past of therapeutic healing. The founder of the art is thought to have been a doctor from northern India. Known as Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, he was a contemporary of Buddha and personal physician of 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.
Thai massage is a type of massage in Thai style that involves a combination of stretching and deep massage. Like most Asian methods, is a technique used to give mankind an experience of "feeling" the body. It is similar to acupressure and Shiatsu combined with stretches and yogic asanas. This form of bodywork is usually performed on the floor, and the client wears comfortable clothes that allow for movement. No massage oils are used in Thai massage therapy. It is known in Thailand as "nuat phaen boran" literally, the ancient-manner massage.
Its nickname is "yoga for the lazy". The theoretical foundation of Thai massage is based on the concept of invisible energy lines running throughout 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 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. Thai Massage aims at achieving harmony of constitution and soul, to loosen blocks, and to recoup deficiencies along the energy lines.
It is said that practitioners of modern Thai massage operate on the theory that the body is permeated with air, which is inhaled into the lungs and then subsequently travels throughout the body along 72,000 pathways. A significant part of the practice of Thai massage also includes yoga-like stretches which are intended to stimulate the vessels and move air through the body via a pumping action which is connected with the patient's breathing.