Naga Think

Healing the Healer with Thai Massage

I began my study of massage 17 years ago, when I was 21 years old. My first love was Swedish deep tissue and I quickly became adept at the art of penetrating down into the knots of flesh and stress. For the first handful of years, being young and indestructible, I paid little if any attention to my own body mechanics. But when my hands began to ache, I took notice and began to take care. I paid attention to my stance, leverage and angles. I employed my elbows and forearms. I applied to my wrists a procession of ice packs, hot packs, moxa, liniments and oils. But no matter how good my body mechanics, no matter what I smeared on my wrists, no matter how I visualized peace in my carpal tunnels, the pain worsened. Eventually it was so bad my screaming wrists would wake me up in the middle of the night to sob, yes for the pain, but more for the grief of an injured body and the paradox of how healing can hurt the healer.
And then came Thai massage. My first trainings in it did nothing to help my wrists, and to be honest I did not expect it to. But as I continued down the path of this ancient modality I found a teacher, a master, for whom the healing of the practitioner is of utmost importance. In broken smiling english he reprimands his students for only giving and “doing” without being themselves taken care of. He shows us new ways to work, using our feet, knees, arms and even hands to heal without hurting ourselves. He laughs as he demonstrates techniques that work deeper than anything I have ever seen before, yet are effortless, truly effortless for the therapist. “Work?” he says, “what work”? Again laughing.
Back on my home side of the planet, I have found that in my private massage practice I can do Thai massage as much as I want without pain. But it goes beyond this. I actually find that Thai massage is healing for the therapist. On those days when I am tired, my immune system fighting something, those days when I just don’t want to go to work, I find that in doing Thai massage I do not have to push myself so hard as I feared to make it through. And more, I find at the end of the session, most times, I feel better than when I started. There is a healing quality to the focused nature of the modality. Doing Thai massage has a nature that is similar to doing Tai Chi, or yoga, or meditation. It becomes a practice in the way of those other physical spiritual practices. And like them, it takes us inward to a peaceful place of well being.
These days I rarely do more than one Swedish massage session in a month. When I do, I immediately feel the shadows of old pain in my wrists. Even though about 40% of my work on the table is now made of Thai techniques, and despite a continued attention to body mechanics, I find the table unforgiving. A friend who is an excellent massage therapist herself, recently asked me if I would work on her hurt leg while I was visiting. Then seeing how tired I was she said “no, you should not work on me”. I assured her that it was no problem to which she replied “oh that’s right, massage is easy the way you work”. Work? What work? Again laughing.

What's in a Name - Thai "yoga" Massage

Thai massage is the most comprehensive bodywork modality that I know of. In it’s full glory it encompasses elements of acupressure, bone setting*, structural integration, herbalism, energy work, deep compression, myofascial release and spiritual healing. But of all the ingredients that make up Thai massage, it is the intensive stretching that captivates the western audience. So much so that we give it new names to reflect our love of the stretches. So much so that many if not most western practitioners of Thai massage do not even know all of the other ingredients.
Thai massage, with it’s beautiful and complex stretches is frequently referred to as “Thai yoga massage” or “the lazy man’s yoga”. These names however, are a misnomer that limits a multifaceted art form to just one of it’s many component parts. It is understandable of course that westerners would fall so in love, be so enthralled with the dramatic and dynamic stretches of Thai massage as to fail to truly notice the subtler yet often more penetrating aspects of the modality. Who can blame us for calling it “yoga”, when we have, in our passion, stripped it down to this one stunning part. Understandable, yet incorrect.
I would remind the western world that Thai massage pared down to little more than intensive stretching is a small and naked thing when held next to all of it’s glorious potential. And of course, “yoga” is an Indian creation, and Thai massage is, well, Thai. It even has a Thai name, “nuad boran”, which translates as “traditional massage”. Not, one might notice, “traditional stretching” or “traditional yoga”. In respect for Thailand, calling it either Thai massage, or nuad boran, seems less the cultural theft.
I know there are those who have stated that the stretching in Thai massage stems from India, and that the theory behind traditional Thai medicine is in actuality ayurvedic. However it is the argument of my teachers in Thailand that in fact the hunan body only stretches in so many ways and that regardless of your geography, work with stretching will result in positions that look the same the world over. The stretches in Thai massage, I am told, have been in the region of Thailand pre-dating Indian influence. Unfortunately, this comes from an oral history not likely to be discovered by westerners who do not speak Thai. Which of course, makes up the bulk of those writing about the subject.
As for the idea that Thai medical theory is in truth ayurvedic theory with a Thai veneer, I am taught that medicine goes with the land and that the medicine of Thailand is strongly rooted there. Evidence shows us that there were hospitals in the region one thousand years ago and common sense tells us that by the time one finds a hospital, there must be a long history of medical practice leading up to it’s creation. Work with an elder Thai massage master from outside the modern city limits and you will see an ancient art that is clearly connected to the dust of the bones of the local ancestors and not merely an import from a distant neighbor.
Then again, it would be false to deny the similarities between Thai and Indian medical theory. They are not complete, but they do exist. Thai medicine is not ayurveda, but the two do share common blood. Not siblings, but more like distant cousins, or half siblings. The beginnings of traditional Thai medicine pre-date ayurvedic medicine it is true, but that is not to say that there is no connection. It’s just an older connection, with the blood lines mingling when Indian medical theory was in a pre-ayurvedic state. Whatever marriage took place brought with it the genes of it’s own country, and the offspring, while now related to one another, grew into different beings. The resulting medical practice in Thailand is then, strongly based in traditional medicine from the region, yet does carry in it some traits from it’s Indian blood. But just as I would not call you by the name of your third cousin, I will not call traditional Thai medicine “ayurveda”, and I will not call Thai massage, “yoga” or any derivative thereof.
My hope is that in encouraging people to use the correct name for the modality, they will begin to see it in a more holistic sense and not focus purely on the stretches, which limits not only the scope of healing possible, but also the range of people capable of receiving Thai bodywork. I frequently work with clients who do not need, or cannot have dramatic stretches. Some of my most exciting and therapeutic sessions have not included a single noticeable stretch while other times they are the primary focus. One of the things that I love the most about Thai massage is how incredibly well rounded and multi-faceted it is. The toolbox inherent in it never ceases to amaze me. As a teacher of it, I strive to help my students to see the seemingly endless path of study and practice that Thai massage offers while at the same time giving respect always to the country of origin. I don’t wish to “Indianize” it any more than I would wish to “Westernize” it. Thailand is a thick deep rich country and it is enough for me to know that this is where this modality that I love so much comes from.

* bone setting refers to what westerners call chiropractic. It is a traditional medical skill practiced in many cultures. Of course, it’s use in Thai massage in the U.S. is subject to state laws.