stancheung75
11-23-2009, 12:20 PM
Thai Yoga Massage is a powerful form of energy rebalancing and physical massage. A fusion of buddhist spiritual practice and indian ayurvedic bodywork, it combines hatha yoga techniques and the spiritual commitment of working with the "loving kindness", or metta.
Exercise will make your body supple and flexible so that you can move smoothly through the routine, and a gegular meditation practice will help quieten your thoughts, allowing you to approach the massage session in a state of mindfulness and with an open heart.
Preparing your body
The Feet
Since thai massage is given on the floor, you need to develop flexibility in your feet in order to feel comfortable in your working postures. Try to do these exercises daily.
1. Circling the feet
2. Waking up the insteps
3. Knee Lifts
The Hands
You will mostly be using your hands to apply pressure to the energy lines. Use these exercises to release and tension in your hands before or after giving a massage.
1. Wrist Circles
2. Shaking the Wrists
3. Strengthening the fingers
The Spine
When giving massage, aim to work with a sense of ease and freedom throughout your spine. This keeps you grounded in your own body and aware of your posture. These exercises help to free up the spine, from the pelvis all the way up to the base of the skull.
1. Standing
2. Loosening the neck
3. Forward fold
4. Cat tilt
5. Dog tilt (calf)
Self-Massage
Massaging yourself is a wonderful way to re-energize the body. Notice how your body feels in differnt areas. Work gently or deeply depending on what feels good for you, but make contact only with the soft fleshy areas of the body; avoid tapping over bones.
Listening to your body
Take time to be still and listen to the sensations in your body0it is suprising how much it will reveal to you. Notice where you feel any aches or pains, which parts feel relaxed and which feel "held", and where you let go and hold on to tension.
Prana egg (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.waithai.it%2Ffiles%2Fpizzichi%2 Fpizzico_prana_egg.htm)
This visualization exercise aims to build a protective shield of prana around your body, creating stronger energetic boundaries for yourself before you give a massage. It is especially valuable for beginners, who often take on too much of other people's energy.
Meditations of Mindfulness
This exercise introduces you to the practice of vipassana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipassan%C4%81), or observation meditation. This practice can be expanded to include and open observation of all sensations in the body- hearing, smell, thought or touch. But begin here simply, by just observing your breath.
Metta Meditation (http://info.med.yale.edu/psych/3s/metta.html)
Metta is the word, from the ancient Indian Pali language, that means "loving kindness". Cultivating a compassionate and non-judgemental attitude is the foundation of Buddhist spiritual practice and is and important aspect of the spiritual practice of the Thai Massage.
Mantra:
May all beings be happy
May all beings be at peace
May all beings be well
Om Mani Padme hum
"May the jewel of the lotus flower send out a light of love and compassion to unite all existence as one."
Receiving a massage
Part of the learning process is to know what it feels like to surrender to the flow of the treatment. If you only ever give massage, and never receive it, you can become very unbalanced. A good practitioner is able to receive as well as they can give. It may sound obvious but it is surprising how many massage therapists don't take the time to receive massage and so never fully realize what helps them to relax.
Sticky Hands
This exercise is a playful way to develop your sense of touch. One person leads the other by suggesting a movement with their hand. Try to tune into where your partner wants to go and to move with them, keeping your eyes closed and working by touch alone.
Exercise will make your body supple and flexible so that you can move smoothly through the routine, and a gegular meditation practice will help quieten your thoughts, allowing you to approach the massage session in a state of mindfulness and with an open heart.
Preparing your body
The Feet
Since thai massage is given on the floor, you need to develop flexibility in your feet in order to feel comfortable in your working postures. Try to do these exercises daily.
1. Circling the feet
2. Waking up the insteps
3. Knee Lifts
The Hands
You will mostly be using your hands to apply pressure to the energy lines. Use these exercises to release and tension in your hands before or after giving a massage.
1. Wrist Circles
2. Shaking the Wrists
3. Strengthening the fingers
The Spine
When giving massage, aim to work with a sense of ease and freedom throughout your spine. This keeps you grounded in your own body and aware of your posture. These exercises help to free up the spine, from the pelvis all the way up to the base of the skull.
1. Standing
2. Loosening the neck
3. Forward fold
4. Cat tilt
5. Dog tilt (calf)
Self-Massage
Massaging yourself is a wonderful way to re-energize the body. Notice how your body feels in differnt areas. Work gently or deeply depending on what feels good for you, but make contact only with the soft fleshy areas of the body; avoid tapping over bones.
Listening to your body
Take time to be still and listen to the sensations in your body0it is suprising how much it will reveal to you. Notice where you feel any aches or pains, which parts feel relaxed and which feel "held", and where you let go and hold on to tension.
Prana egg (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.waithai.it%2Ffiles%2Fpizzichi%2 Fpizzico_prana_egg.htm)
This visualization exercise aims to build a protective shield of prana around your body, creating stronger energetic boundaries for yourself before you give a massage. It is especially valuable for beginners, who often take on too much of other people's energy.
Meditations of Mindfulness
This exercise introduces you to the practice of vipassana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipassan%C4%81), or observation meditation. This practice can be expanded to include and open observation of all sensations in the body- hearing, smell, thought or touch. But begin here simply, by just observing your breath.
Metta Meditation (http://info.med.yale.edu/psych/3s/metta.html)
Metta is the word, from the ancient Indian Pali language, that means "loving kindness". Cultivating a compassionate and non-judgemental attitude is the foundation of Buddhist spiritual practice and is and important aspect of the spiritual practice of the Thai Massage.
Mantra:
May all beings be happy
May all beings be at peace
May all beings be well
Om Mani Padme hum
"May the jewel of the lotus flower send out a light of love and compassion to unite all existence as one."
Receiving a massage
Part of the learning process is to know what it feels like to surrender to the flow of the treatment. If you only ever give massage, and never receive it, you can become very unbalanced. A good practitioner is able to receive as well as they can give. It may sound obvious but it is surprising how many massage therapists don't take the time to receive massage and so never fully realize what helps them to relax.
Sticky Hands
This exercise is a playful way to develop your sense of touch. One person leads the other by suggesting a movement with their hand. Try to tune into where your partner wants to go and to move with them, keeping your eyes closed and working by touch alone.