Thai Massage

Written by Lovelyn on February 12, 2008 – 9:46 pm -

“I hope you brought a change of clothes,” my therapist said.

I glanced down at my restrictive blue jeans and apologetically told her that I didn’t. I’d been running late all day. In my rush to get to my appointment on time, I forgot to change.

“Don’t worry. I think I have something you can put on.” She disappeared into the back.

Thai massage is believed to have originated more than two thousand years ago in India. Eventually the practice found its way to Thailand where it was influenced by aspects of Chinese medicine. It combines assited stretching with acupressure style massage. Anyone who is familiar with yoga will recognize the poses.

During Thai massage you stay fully clothed and lay on a mat on the floor. It is important that you wear loose comfortable clothing so that you can be stretched without restrictions.

“You can wear these,” she said. She handed me a pair of navy sweat pants. Then she led me back to the treatment room. The room smelled of orange blossoms. Vaulted candles flickered on the shelf. A wood flute played softly in the background. A futon-style mat laid on the floor covered in a white sheet. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She left me alone in the room to change.

The sweat pants were a little too big. Sitting there in the middle of the mat in someone’s oversized sweat pants, I finally began to calm down. I was getting ready for my first Thai massage. I wondered whether I should do some stretching before she came back into the room.

I’d first heard of Thai massage when I was attending massage school. Even though the pictures of people being pulled and stretched into what seemed to be very uncomfortable positions frightened me, I found the idea of it appealing. That’s why when I found out that a massage therapist I knew specialized in Thai massage I decided to try it.

My therapist came back into the room before I had the chance to do any preparatory stretching. If I had known her better, I would have joked with her about that. She had me lay in the center of the mat. She compressed my legs rhythmically with her palms. I relaxed and followed her instructions. The stretches I’d wanted to do before the massage started weren’t necessary. Every position I was put into gave me a comfortable and relaxing stretch. There was no reason for me to be worried. The hour floated by and my session was over.

When I left the spa my limbs felt loose. It was a little easier to walk around. Most of the time I want to curl up and take a nap after I get a massage, but after m Thai massage I felt energized.

A Thai massage can take one to two hours. Here’s a video to show you an example of a Thai massage: