Massage and Bodywork is More Than You Think!

I've been doing Tui Na and Thai Massage for going on 15 years, and tutoring and teaching it for about just as long.

I've thought for a long time that eastern therapies don't get enough credit. Ask most Americans what they think of when you say massage therapy they'll usually paint 2 different pictures. One of walking into a relaxing spa type of environment where you get undressed, have some other person rub oil on you while you relax, smell some flowers or incense etc. and spend time with your significant other... or Two they'll think of walking into a side room of a gym, chiropractic, or physical therapist office where the therapist will have you dress down and then grind their elbow deeply into whatever tight area that's bothering them.

... Well there is a third picture, but whenever an officer comes in for a "session" this sort of picture quickly relocates clandestinely... You can fill in the blanks, so... I digress...

The picture of a Tui Na and Thai session is quite different than these. When you walk in to your session, you're greeted by a clean space and a therapist who pays attention to every aspect of your being. Asking how you're doing, and testing this information with your body we find out what you need help with. No need for excess oils, getting undressed or breaking contact you then sit down on a table covered by a fresh fitted sheet and we get to work. Using acupressure, stretching, vibration, impact, heat or cold, communication and care we work together to bring balance into your movement and your life.

In recent years I find that these views are starting to change. Now a days you'll find stretch clinics popping up in shopping centers, alternative therapies, reflexology and Chiropractic care is quite more widespread than in the past. It also seems like the word about Thai Massage, Acupuncture, Acupressure, Tai Chi and Qigong is starting to get out there. Although sadly way fewer people have heard of Tui Na, but it's good to see a change in the right direction.

Thai massage and Tui Na is much more than you may think it is, if you've heard of it at all. In this post I want to shed some light on what makes these therapies so different from other forms of massage, what we hold their foundations to be and how these ancient methods can unlock so much potential for healing as many practitioners have updated them with a modern blending of eastern traditional medicine and western anatomical knowledge.

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