Archive
I’ve done deep tissue Swedish massage for 17 years. I mean really deep, no fluff and buff stuff here. But it doesn’t come close to Thai massage. Nothing I’ve seen does. It’s yoga and Rolfing® and acupressure and tapotement and chiropractics and Reiki and deep compression work and myofascial release and hydrotherapy with herbs and the power of spirit, all rolled into one. (more…)
Some oh, fifteen or twenty odd years ago I read a line in a book that I never forgot; it said “with cultural appropriation comes responsibility”. That sentence wedged itself inside of me such that when I began to study Thai massage it was there to whisper to me and help guide my approach to the study, practice, and eventually the teaching of Traditional Thai Massage/Medicine. (more…)
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. (more…)
This is a long and detailed article about the Thai healing arts Wai Khru ceremony.
“It is considered of utmost importance in the Thai tradition to have a teacher and to be initiated into the tradition,” says my teacher. “And to always honor and bring to mind our teachers, and those who have come before us, when studying or using our knowledge practically.” (more…)
Dana is a gift joyfully given. It is the art of voluntary donation. In Buddhism it is in Dana that we find the heart of the symbiotic relationship between the Sangha and the layperson. The Sangha cannot exist without the support of the householders; through donations of food, clothing and other necessities; and the householder’s spiritual growth is accelerated through hearing the dhamma that is taught by the community of renunciates that makes up the Sangha. (more…)
The old man from the Village must be somewhere in his late eighties. He is made of seventy-two thousand wrinkles. After the bowing, the offerings and the request, I become the first western student he has ever accepted. His massage style is rough and loving at the same time. He says things like “this cures paralysis”, as his knee goes through my leg into the mat below. This through the interpreter, direct communication is saved for smiles and nods and pained yelps. He tells me that you must be very brave to heal people because to heal people you must hurt them. I begin to understand something about my own limitations as a healer. (more…)
I was vegetarian by the time I was nine years old, and a massage therapist by the time I was twenty-one. I don’t even remember choosing organic, organic just is. So when I was in my late twenties and a friend watching me clean my house said “Nephyr, why are you using all that toxic [...]
Dana Dana is a gift joyfully given. It is the art of voluntary donation. In Buddhism it is in Dana that we find the heart of the symbiotic relationship between the Sangha and the layperson. The Sangha cannot exist without the support of the householders; through donations of food, clothing and other necessities; and the householder’s [...]
My first massage table was handmade by a guy named Perry. I know his name was Perry because on the bottom of the table there is a picture of a pear followed by the letter E. The hunters green vinyl is covered in cracks now, and I gave up table work years ago, but still [...]
I find people frequently saying that Thai massage either has no medical theory behind it, or that the theory is all Indian or Chinese. While it is true that India and China share some theory with Thailand, it is not correct to simply say that Thai theory is in fact Chinese, or Indian. Thailand has [...]