Traditional Thai massage has been around for over a thousand years, and it integrates the healing techniques of various Asian cultures. It is generally considered a practice invented by dr. Jivaka Komarabhaccha, who served as a physiotherapist for King Bimbisara some 2,500 years ago. Professional Thai masseuses pray to him before exercising their healing practices. The basics of Thai massage were written on palm leaves in the Pali language; some of these are still safeguarded in Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand. Thai massage has been influenced in particular by Chinese and Indian medicine. Ancient Chinese acupressure has a history of over five thousand years. It holds that the unobstructed flow of energy (qi) is indispensable for human health. Any obstruction of that flow of energy might cause disharmony and illness. Expertise in and techniques of massage have been passed on from generation to generation, becoming more and more sophisticated over the years. From among all the forms of traditional Thai massage, we practice Chaleeysak massage, which integrates various techniques and may be performed on the human body in four different positions. A treatment may last from 30 to 90 minutes.
In our experiences, the mental and medical combination of traditional Thai massage with modern physiotherapeutic equipment unleash synergies the benefits of which go beyond the mere sum of the two forms of treatment.
The philosophy of traditional Thai massage suggests that the human body is healthy when its energies are in balance with the energies of the Universe. The human body includes various energy paths and focus points, and your health and energy balance may be affected if such a path or focus point is blocked. Western medicine usually works with blood flow, capillary vessels, lacteals, nerve tracts, and, more recently, myofascial pathways. Professional Thai masseuses “re-start” such energy pathways using pressure, stretching, and other techniques. They also release energy blocks and bundles of muscle, and relax muscles.