A Touch of Bliss
from the Far East
By Jennifer Minar
Today’s typical American is constantly on the
go. All too often,
rejuvenation is synonymous with powering up with venti lattes. And
relaxation is relegated to those few precious hours between midnight and
dawn. But we’re becoming more health conscious, which is why a growing
number of Americans, with overall well-being on their minds, are now
flocking to an ancient form of bodywork most Westerners have never heard
about: Thai massage.
Visualize
This
You enter a
sparse, dimly-lit room outfitted with a single mat. The space is serene
with only soft music emanating from a sound system. You are lying on the
mat, dressed in loose clothing, while the practitioner kneels in front of
you and begins to carefully stretch your body. Over the course of the
session, your body is strategically stretched, lengthened, and molded into
several positions. All you have to do is breathe. Sound relaxing? It is,
but relaxation is just one of the many benefits clients reap.
What
It Is
Thai
massage is a centuries-old practice that is only now beginning to gain
popularity in the United States. In fact, Thai massage therapists only
began practicing here in 1984. The typical session runs anywhere from
90-120 minutes and is priced comparably to—or sometimes less than—a
Western massage.
Where
the typical Western massage focuses mostly on the external physical body,
the goal of Thai massage is to treat the whole person in his entirety and
restore the client to a state of balance.
Through acupressure, Hatha yoga and Ayurvedic medicine, Thai
massage combines gentle, yoga-like stretching with massage of the muscles,
tendons, pressure points and energy lines—also known as sen.
The
method is based on the philosophy that each human has an infinite number
of energy channels running through the body. If these lines become blocked
or broken, you are more susceptible to disease or injury and will
experience various other symptoms because your body is not functioning
properly.
“With
Western massage, practitioners are mainly concerned with kneading muscle
tissue or stripping muscle tissue for it to become relaxed,” says David
Roylance, co-founder of Sterling, Virginia-based Touch of Asia, which has
seen a whopping 1500% business growth in the two years it’s been open. “Thai
massage does have an effect on the muscle and body,” he explains, “but
is more concerned with restoring the flow of energy to the body.”
The
Benefits
The
benefits can be significant and wide-ranging. Not only do you feel instant
relaxation and relief from stress, over time, practitioners claim, you can
expect enhanced immunity, improved mood, a general increase in energy, and
detoxification of the internal organs. Thai massage may also help with
high blood pressure and other chronic conditions.
The
therapeutic effects are also believed to last longer than the effects of a
traditional Western massage. “We hear from our clients that the effects
of a Thai massage last 3-4 days for a first session versus a Western
massage which may last 1-3 hours,” says Roylance, who reports seeing
clients with conditions from high blood pressure and depression to the
common back, neck, and shoulder issues. After the session is over, his
clients say they feel more balanced and have a sense of peace they did not
have prior to the massage. Some
even say they feel taller!
If
flexibility is an issue, Thai massage may be just what the doctor ordered.
“Through Thai massage, the client is stretched and ends up with much
more mobility than he would get with Western massage,” explains Ananda
Apfelbaum, owner of New York City-based Traditional Thai Yoga Massage.
Robert
Zanger, co-founder of Los Angeles-based Thai Sabai which sees over 500
clients for massage on a monthly basis, says that the treatment, over
time, enhances immunity. His practice, regarded as the premiere Thai
massage provider in Los Angeles, treats clients who suffer from sports
injuries, high blood pressure, and other chronic conditions, as well as
those who only seek relaxation and overall well-being.
Master masseuse Sasivipa of Thai Sabai also tells us that skin
ailments can be indirectly helped by the direct benefit of organ
detoxification.
And
still another benefit, for the oil-adverse, is that in traditional Thai
massage, no body oils are used. So there’s no sticky residue to wash off
of your body—or your clothing—when you get home. You need only to
relax.
Though
Thai massage won’t give you the quick jolt you’d get from an espresso,
clients say that the lift it brings is much more sustained. Combine that
with a heightened sense of relaxation, the benefits of muscle lengthening,
and an overall more peaceful mental state, and it sounds like Thai massage
may be worth looking into. And it comes with a built-in bonus: unlike with
Western massage, you get to keep your clothes on.
Resources
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