What is Thai Yoga Massage?

What happens during a session?

You wear loose, comfortable clothing and lie on a soft mat on the floor. I come into the present moment and become fully attentive. Mindfully I enter the touch and tune in to you and your needs.

I bring your body into a gentle rhythm of movements. This releases tension, including in the joints. It is a play between slow and fast movements — very subtle, deep touch alternates with clear, strong movements. I notice where you follow along and what your body needs in order to let go.

In Thai medicine, there are energy pathways in the body — the so-called nadis. I touch gently, feel, and then shift my weight so that you feel pressure. This is very pleasant. You feel and breathe. I breathe. Then I slowly withdraw, and a little further on there is pressure again.

I work with my hands, forearms, knees and feet — depending on what you need. Everything alternates: slow, precise pressure, rhythmic movements and stretches that resemble yoga positions.

Perhaps you have done yoga before and know how good it feels for the body to stretch. That is exactly what happens in Thai Yoga Massage — but you can relax completely. You do not have to do anything.

Why work with the whole body?

Much in the body is connected — tension in one place often shows up somewhere else.

A tilted pelvis, for example, can go hand in hand with teeth grinding and tension in the jaw muscles. Traction and stretches in the pelvic area can often ease that noticeably. Work on the iliotibial tract (IT band / outer thigh) — where the gallbladder meridian also runs, continuing across the shoulders — often loosens shoulder tension as well.

A tradition thousands of years old

The roots of this healing art go back more than 2,500 years to northern India. The legendary physician Jivakar Kumar Bhaccha, also known as Shivago — a contemporary of the Buddha — is considered its founder. With Buddhist monks, this art travelled from India to Southeast Asia, where it was preserved in temples and passed down orally for centuries. In Thailand it is called Nuad Phaen Boran — traditional Thai massage according to ancient patterns. In the West it is known mainly as Thai Yoga Massage.

To this day, Thai Yoga Massage carries the philosophy of Buddhism within it: metta (loving kindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy) and upeksha (equanimity). The masters practise it in a state of deep presence and inner calm.

Thai Yoga Massage in the West

Since the 1990s, Thai Yoga Massage has also been taught and practised in the West. Pioneers such as Asokananda made it known here and gave it a distinctive character. In the West, gentle, compassionate work takes centre stage — without hurry, without force.

This sometimes differs from traditional treatments in Thailand, where things can occasionally be rougher. In the West we work with gravity, take our time and mindfully sense what your body needs right now. We stay within the comfort zone — because only when you feel safe and can let go can your body truly unfold its self-healing powers.

What makes the treatment special:

• Deep, slow pressure brings you into relaxation
• Rhythmic movements release tension and blockages
• Stretches and extensions — like yoga, but you are moved and can simply let go
• Your body lets go. Your thoughts let go. You feel deeply relaxed on every level
• You are fully present in feeling — and in the next moment far away, deep within yourself, in the vastness of your being. Then present again, feeling your body.

What the massage can do:

The effects of Thai Yoga Massage are wide-ranging and now scientifically recognised:

• Your muscles relax and tension eases
• Pain is relieved
• Your mind settles through mindful touch
• Your mobility improves as the fascia are worked
• Your breathing becomes deeper and calmer
• Digestion, circulation and lymph flow are stimulated, strengthening your immune system
• Your body feels loosened, invigorated and present

An invitation to let go

A Thai Yoga Massage can last an hour and a half and, on request, up to three hours — time that belongs only to you. Time when you need do nothing except receive. Old tensions release, and with them often themes you have carried for a long time and that may now simply go. You find your centre.

It is an experience that touches body and soul alike. An invitation, for a moment, to let go of everything you — often unconsciously — hold on to.

Looking for support with back or neck tension? Go to the Back & neck page.

Would you like to learn more about Thai Yoga Massage? At thai-yoga-massage-bielefeld.de you will find information about this restorative bodywork — how it works, energy lines, effects and much more.