Thai massage is a holistic bodywork addressing all inbalances in the body whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. It is one of the five branches of Traditional Thai medicine. It is a healing technique that was practiced before western allopathic medicine was ever created. The massage involves deep massage and stretching, it happens on the floor on a firm mattress or a mat. It is a therapeutic procedure that provides relaxation and restores healthy blood circulation. It also treats energy blockages, weak, dysfunctional organs, aches and pains, stress and tension, flexibility, paralysis, nerve problems and postural alignments. Thai massage differs from traditional massage by its use of body's energy line system, known as Sen lines. The Sen lines are not the same as Chinese meridians. When open, the Sen channels allow the wind element to circulate freely in the body. When blocked, disease can take over the natural healthy functions of the body. Hence all the focus in Thai massage is to open any blockages in the Sen channels. A session typically last around two hours and the massage works to open the entire body. The massage may include the pulling of toes, fingers and ears. Thai Massage is ideal for everyone as the sessions are customized for each individual with their body type and age.
The history of Thai massage is quite complex subject. What is known as "modern" Thai massage in the west is fairly new form, authentic traditional Thai massage is part of the Thai medicine system and was never taught as a separate subject before the western influence. In traditional Thai medicine, there are 5 roots: 1.medical sciences (for example herbal medicine) 2.physical therapies (massage is just one part of this root) 3.spirit medicine (prayers, chanting) 4.divinatory sciences (astrology) 5.Buddhism
So as you can see to learn or teach Thai massage as a separate subject from other roots of the traditional Thai medicine is not a very holistic approach.
First we can consider the history of Traditional Thai medicine. According to the legends, the biggest influence on Thai medicine was a herbalist doctor who lived in India around 2500 years ago called Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, also known as Shivago Komarpaj. He was from northern India at the time of the Buddha, they met and he became a friend and a personal physician of the Buddha. He also worked with the Magadha King Bimbasara and the Buddhist nuns and monks called the Sangha. Because he was an important person in Buddhism, his teachings about medicine went to Thailand with the teachings of the Buddha. Though there are a combination of influences for Thai medicine from Chinese, Indian and Southeast Asian culture, credit is giving mostly to Mr. Komarpaj.
Most of the recorded history of Thai medicine was lost in 1767 during the Burmese attack in Ayutthia. Then later in 1915, traditional Thai medicine was made illegal in favor of allopathic western medicine. Only in 1970s the government of Thailand started once again to favor Thai medicine and tried to resurrect the lost practice. It is from 1970s onwards when the tourists first started to come to Thailand that the practice known as Thai massage started to form.
