What is Thai Massage
Thai Massage or Thai Yoga Massage has been practiced for thousands of years in Asia, and has more recently become more common in the United States and Europe. Thai massage, also known as Nuad Bo’ Rarn, is the manual medicine branch in traditional Thai medicine. The other components of Thai medicine are herbal medicine, nutritional medicine, and spiritual practices. Nuad Bo’Rarn comes from the Sanskrit word, “Purana” which is used to acknowledge certain sacred works. Nuad Bo’Rarn is a holy practice and is considered to be a sacred act for both receiver and practitioner.
The historical founder of Thai Massage is Shivago Komparaj, who was a close associate of Siddhartha Gautama and the head physician for the community that surrounded the Buddha in India. The exact time at which Thai Massage moved with the Buddhist monks from India to Thailand is disputed, but the common belief is that it was approximately during the 1200s. The history of Nuad Bo’ Rarn is rich and intriguing, and in its current form, Nuad ‘Bo Rarn is deeply connected to Theravada Buddhism. A central element of Buddhist philosophy is Metta, which means “loving kindness.” Nuad ‘Bo Rarn is the physical demonstration of this concept and is considered to be a healing, meditative practice. Thai Massage focuses on the matter (physical aspects) of the human body, the energy patterns (Sen lines) and the mind (Citta). The belief is that the three elements must be in balance to support optimum health.
How is Thai Massage performed?
The practice of Nuad ‘Bo Rarn itself incorporates compression, stretching, rhythmic thumb pressing, palm presses and yoga poses to create an integrative treatment for the receiver. The practitioners perform this treatment from a place of heightened awareness and work very slowly to ensure that they are connected to the person receiving the treatment. The practitioner is precise regarding intention and healing process. Thai Massage techniques are different from the long strokes typical of Swedish or western massage.
During a Nuad ‘Bo Rarn treatment, the client lies on a mat on the floor and is fully dressed in loose, comfortable clothing. The practitioner works slowly and deliberately using rhythmic compressions. The practitioner moves the client’s body into series of yogic poses and stretches in order to create harmony within the client’s body and to encourage maximal health. Following a Nuad ‘Bo Rarn treatment, both client and practitioner typically experience a relaxed, positive response. Thai Massage is considered to be beneficial for increasing range of motion and enacting the parasympathetic response of the nervous system. It is credited with improving circulation, lessening the pain response, clearing blocked energy paths, and improving mood.
Treatments are either 60 or 90 minutes long and are typically scheduled during the weekends.
