What is Thai Massage?
Thai Massage, known as “nuat phaen boran” in Thailand, is a massage style that involves stretching and deep massage, it is sometimes referred to as “facilitated yoga”. This form of bodywork is usually performed on the floor and the client wears comfortable clothes that allow for movement. No oils are used in Thai Massage.
What to expect from a treatment
The client lies on a mat on the floor and the receiver is put into many yoga-like positions during the course of the massage. The massage practitioner leans on the recipient’s body using hands and usually straight forearms locked at the elbow to apply firm rhythmic pressure.
Legs and feet of the giver can be used to fixate the body or limbs of the recipient. In other positions, hands fixate the body, while the feet do the massaging action. A full Thai Massage session typically lasts two hours or more, and includes rhythmic pressing and stretching of the entire body; this may include pulling fingers, toes, ears, cracking the knuckles, walking on the recipient’s back, and arching the recipient’s into bhujangasana or (cobra position). There is a standard procedure and rhythm to this massage.
Prevalence
In Thailand, Thai Massage is one of the branches of Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM), now recognized and regulated by the Thai government and is widely considered to be a medical discipline used for the treatment of a wide variety of ailments. On the other hand, Thai Massage is also practiced and taught by a number of non-medical massage technicians in the spa and tourism industries.
In North America and Europe, an increasing number of practitioners and teachers of Thai Massage have emerged since the 1990s. Thai Massage is a popular and fast growing choice among clients of massage clinics, and of massage therapists seeking continuing education.
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