Thai Massage

If you have ever had or seen a massage, it was almost certainly a Swedish massage, which is the most common kind given in the Developed World. However, there is another kind called Thai massage which is catching on. In fact, Thai massage is one of the oldest forms of massage and could well be the oldest.

Thai massage is said in some Buddhist scripts to have been invented 2,500 years ago by Jivaka Komarabhacca, who was medical doctor to Lord Buddha himself. There could well be a lot of truth in that, but the Thai massage we see today is also likely to be a an amalgamation of styles from several areas including China and India.

Thai massage is quite strenuous, which makes it rather different from other variations of massage and makes it seem to be related to Yoga, although all the bending and stretching is forced upon the receiver by the massage therapist. Besides Yoga-like poses, Thai massage makes use of muscle compression, joint mobilization and acupressure.

Thai massage can be performed out on a firm massage bed, but in Thailand it is usually carried out on a thin mattress on the floor. The room might be private or there may be more than one customer in there at a time.

Thai massage is not normally performed in the nude, but loose fitting clothes are recommended. No oil is used in this form of massage, but many masseurs will use a type of 'deep heat' cream.

A typical Thai massage session will last one or two hours, but can go on for three or more and there may be one or two masseurs working on a patient together. The masseur starts with the feet and is comparable to radiology. The masseur will bend and twist one foot at a time, stretch the toes and apply sustained pressure to certain points on the sole of the foot.

The masseur then moves up the legs working from the front and the back. Thai masseurs use their hands like most massage therapists, but when they would like to apply more pressure, they will also use their elbows, knees and heels. It is simpler to give deep therapy to large muscles like those on the back of the thighs with the heels of the feet than with the hands.

The knees and elbows are utilized to massage the spine and the back in general and lots of masseurs walk on their client's back to make full use of their weight. A good masseur can massage you with their toes as they are standing on bones and pressure points in your spine and back. Occasionally they will walk up the backs of the legs too if the muscles are too tight.

Thai massage works with 'sen', which resemble but not the same as Chinese meridians. It is known to boost circulation, lower stress and lower blood pressure and may even reduce weight.

The masseur also works on the arteries stopping and impeding the flow of blood for short spells of time in order to manipulate the heart 'from the inside' so to speak.

Thai massage is very much a therapeutic massage rather than one for light relaxation like Swedish massage, but once you are fit, it can be relaxing as well.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on numerous subjects, but is at present concerned with a Thai massage parlor video. If you have an interest in massage, please go over to our website now at Classes For Massage Therapy