Recently I visited a beautiful resort about 100 km from Chiang Mai. The owner is a naturopathic doctor who developed some amazing treatments for serious health challenges. He is committed to running a holistic spa and building a sustainable project. The food is healthy and clean, a lot of it grown on the resort’s own farm.  There is a steam sauna, two swimming ponds, beautiful grounds, horses, deer and other animals, and even a small golf course. Read the rest of this entry

Is traditional better than non-traditional?

Thai massage has almost a certain mystique about it. It sounds exotic and it looks quite amazing with all those stretches and yoga-like positions. It is the only massage system that I am familiar with which is branded as “traditional”. Whoever heard of ‘traditional’ Swedish massage or ‘traditional’  sports massage? But Thai massage is promoted as ‘traditional’, implying that this makes it somehow better than non-traditional.

Actually the truth is just the opposite. Some of the very best Thai massage teachers I ever had were all very much non-traditional. They developed their own style, they were very creative, came up with modifications and significantly diverged from the ‘traditional’ style that is taught in most schools in Thailand. Read the rest of this entry

Thai massage is very popular nowadays. It is being offered in spas around the world. Here in Thailand massage schools are popping up everywhere, and students come from all over the world.  Many books and DVDs are available for home study. However little is written about the challenges  that therapists can encounter.

The positive side of a Thai massage business

There are two sides to being a Thai massage therapist. New practitioners see mostly one side: Meaningful work with decent income, holistic, positive, and beneficial healing work, interaction with many interesting and wonderful people (clients and fellow therapists), the ability to have one’s own business, set one’s own working hours, and contribute something of value to the world. Read the rest of this entry

The answer that comes to mind most easily is “money” – massage therapists can make $60.-, $70.- or even more more per hour. But the focus of this article is everything except money. After having done massage therapy for many years, I know that money alone is not a good enough reason to be in this profession.

Thai massage happens to be my specialty but the concepts in this article really apply to any massage therapist. Every therapist knows the rewards and challenges of this work, and I intentionally choose to highlight only positive aspects in this context. Read the rest of this entry

Massage therapists have a fairly high burn out rate. Why? Massage is very different from most other kinds of work. You are physically exchanging energy with another person. If you only know technique, but you don’t know how to manage, protect, conserve and rebuild  your energy, you are a burnout candidate waiting to happen.

Energy is always being exchanged, if we know it or not

There is an invisible energy exchange happening whenever people get close to each other. You feel uncomfortable when “the air is thick” in a room, and you feel at ease in the presence of happy and inspired people. When you touch people this energy exchange becomes magnified. That is why a heartfelt hug feels so good, and a heavy hand on your shoulder can feel very intimidating or threatening. Read the rest of this entry

I live in the center of the universe as fas as Thai massage is concerned – Chiang Mai, Thailand. There are hundreds of Thai massage shops and schools all over town, and tens of thousands of people come from all over the world to study here. So the question is: Is Thailand the best place to study Thai massage? Here are the pros and cons.

Pros of studying in Thailand

Some good reasons to study here is that it is cheaper than in the west. The cost of  living is low, the country is beautyful and the people are friendly. If you combine a vacation with the study of Thai massage, you have a really attractive combination. You easily meet like-minded students and there are many opportunities for networking and making friends. Another advantage is that you can choose from many schools and even study in several of them. Read the rest of this entry

How can yoga teachers benefit from the practice of Thai massage? Here are eight good reasons:

1. Since many Thai massage moves are very similar to yoga postures, it can help students if their yoga teacher can gently loosen them up and maneuver them into a position through the help of Thai massage techniques. For a picture gallery of Thai massage and related yoga postures please click here.

2. Generally in Yoga teacher trainings there is not much focus on the quality of touch. Since yoga teachers often need to touch their students to adjust a posture, it can be helpful to have more knowledge about the quality of touch that is derived from massage training. Read the rest of this entry

Thai massage has its origins in India’s yoga system. According to legend, an Indian physician came to Thailand and introduced what is now called “Thai massage”. His name is a tongue breaker – Shivaka Komarpaj -and nobody agrees on the spelling. I always called him “Dr. Shivago” for simplicity’s sake which is fairly close to how his first name is actually pronounced. He is still revered as the founder of Thai massage and many massage schools display his picture or statue. He was a contemporary of Buddha, which makes Thai massage about 2500 years old.  Many Thai therapists begin their sessions with a prayer to him. Read the rest of this entry

Whenever I travel somewhere in Asia I always try out a local massage for better or for worse. Sometimes it was definitely for the worse, and here are some of my more bizarre experiences.

Bangkok massage trauma:

I went to the tourist district on Kao San Road in Bangkok and went to a typical Thai massage shop. Many floor mats were lined up in a big room with many sessions going on simultaneously. I ended up with a male therapist. The first thing he did was turn on a fan that blew cold air on me in a room that was already air conditioned to arctic temperatures. When I told him that the fan made me cold, he insisted that he needed it  since he felt hot. Read the rest of this entry

Thai massage - 1 hr costs about $3.50

Most people who visit Thailand are impressed by Thai massage because it is so different. Western massage generally does not use much stretching, whereas Thai massage is sometimes called “lazy man’s yoga”. Some of the positions can be quite challenging, and they are  often similar to yoga positions. There are forward bends, back stretches, spinal twists, traction moves, and leg stretches, all in many variations.

Foot Massage next to sidewalk in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Massage in Thailand is a very different experience from the west where massage is done behind closed doors in a private room, with clean sheets, soothing music, and a professional and licensed therapist. In Thailand most massage shops look very different. Some are out in the open with just a roof over the area or even on the beach. In many shops you can see the massage happening through a window while you are walking by on the street. Since Thai massage is done fully dressed, there is nothing revealing to be seen. Massage in Thailand is not a very private affair.

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