History of Thai Massage
« What is Thai Massage? | Posted on 04/10/2009 03:13 pm by Julia RymutThe Long and Ancient History of Thai Massage
The purpose of Thai massage is to promote the free and unrestricted circulation of “Life Energy” (Chi, Prana, or Ki) throughout the whole body by stretching and opening the joints, the muscles and the Sen lines. This intent dates back to the time of Buddha, some 2500 years ago.
The old story is that a doctor from Northern Indian named Dr. Shivago Komarpah who was the personal physician to the Buddha, traveled to Thailand. There he combined his knowledge of Ayurvedic medicine with Traditional Thai philosophies and began Thai Massage. He was renamed Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha and became known as the “Father Doctor”.
Thai massage is interesting for several reasons:
- It shares a lot of similarities with Chinese medicine or Japanese Shiatsu in that it has Sen lines, which are similar to Chinese meridians.
- Certain points along these lines are pressed to promote healing and good health. In this way it can be used therapeutically to help alleviate medical problems.
- It also has similarities to Indian yoga and uses particular stretches to open and relax the body.
But even deeper, Thai Massage developed as a spiritual practice and was originally only offered at temples (Wats) by the monks.
Illness was seen as an imbalance between body, mind and spirit and one sought help at the temples.
As a religious rite as well as a medical treatment, balance was restored with the four elements of Traditional Thai Medicine:
- diet
- herbs
- spiritual counseling and meditation
- massage
These practices are to develop “The Four Divine States of Consciousness”:
- Metta, the desire to make others happy and the ability to show loving kindness
- Karuna, compassion for all who suffer and a desire to ease their sufferings
- Mudita, rejoicing with those who have good fortune and never feeling envy
- Upekkha, equanimity or regarding one’s fellows without prejudice or preference