21 Aug Your Guide to Thai Yoga Massage
YOUR GUIDE TO THAI YOGA MASSAGE
Lie back, close your eyes and start the healing process. Massage is a way to soothe muscle tension, induce a sense of calm and relaxation, improve circulation and boost the body’s internal systems.
These days, there are so many different types of massage on offer that it can be difficult to choose what is best for you and your body. At Yoga Revolution, we offer Thai yoga massage. Different to traditional Thai massage or Swedish massage, this is an intensive holistic practice steeped in history.
WHAT IS IT?
Quite simply, the practitioner will guide your body through a series of yoga postures, while applying pressure and working along the body’s energy lines using their palms, feet and even their elbows. Known as ‘lazy man’s yoga’, your body will be put through a series of stretches and poses to help release tension and create a sense of lightness and calm.
A traditional Thai yoga massage will always focus on the stomach, which is different to many western massage treatments. The focus on this area is to do with a number of energy lines running through the stomach area.
The treatment is all about balancing the body’s energy to create a sense of harmony and release.
TELL ME MORE….
A full and all-encompassing Thai massage treatment can take up to two hours. This is the recommended time to receive the full benefits of the treatments, howeve we understand
that sometimes it’s just not possible to take out that length of time from your busy day. That’s why we offer shorter treatments to suit your needs.
You will be fully clothed throughout our session, so make sure you wear comfortable clothes such as leggings and a loose top for women, or shorts and a t-shirt for men. You will lie on a futon on the floor.
Treatment starts at the feet and works upwards. The practitioner will apply a strong pressure using their palms, this can be quite intense, but is ultimately quite soothing. You will be helped into various yogic postures to release the tension stored in the body. These stretches can be quite rigorous, but we will work at your pace and try to release the tightness that regular stretching just can’t reach.
DO I NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE?
No! You just need to be you, no matter your shape or level of fitness. Thai yoga massage is used on athletes as well as office workers, so it really doesn’t matter how flexible you are.
Each treatment is different and depends on the person receiving it.
WHAT CAN THAI MASSAGE YOGA TREAT?
You don’t have to have aches and pains or feel unwell to benefit from a treatment. The massage will leave you feeling, lighter, more flexible and calm. Thai Yoga Massage has been known to successfully treat and soothe anxiety and stress insomnia, muscular and pains, IBS, migraines.
It’s meditative quality and roots in Buddhism, make it a treatment specifically for you. To focus on your body’s physical and emotional needs.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Thai yoga massage originates from Northern India and is around 2,500 years old. It was practiced in Buddhist temples as a form of healing and an extension of Theravada Buddhist practice, specifically meditation.
When the Buddhists left India and traveled to Thailand they took this practice with them. When a practitioner gives a Thai yoga massage they are focused solely on the receiver and what they need the therapist. It is a way of practicing a form of physical mindfulness as well as “Metta” or “loving kindness” meditation.
The treatment works on “Sen” lines or energy lines in the body. When these energetic pathways become blocked, they can cause physical or mental illness or pain. Thai yoga massage has been traditionally used to heal and prevent illness. The energetic pathways in Thai yoga massage are very different to those in traditional Chinese and Japanese practices such as Acupuncture and Shiatsu. Thai yoga massage has much more in common with the yogic energetic system.