Thai massage or “yoga massage” is a kind of holistic medicine, which is extremely beneficial to human body. It is basically passive exercise, with yoga body movements, postures and stretching.
THE CLASSIC HISTORY OF THAI MASSAGE:
Thai massage is deeply steeped by Buddhist worldview. This knowledge is hidden from the Europeans. Western doctors are traveling to Thailand to acquire this knowledge, but it cannot be compared with the original trade. The real tradition descends from generation to generation.
Thai massage, Ayurveda (an ancient Indian healing system) and Chinese medicine are the most ancient healing methods in the world. The history of this massage is about 2500 years old. The founder is said to have been an Indian doctor, called Jiva Bhikku Kumar, also known as Jiva Komarpadzh, or as many mentioned: “Dr. Shivaka”, “Doctor-father”. Every Thai masseur using the last phrase as a mantra.
In times past, no records were made of traditions and the techniques of massage, all information was transferred orally from generation to generation, but description of the power lines and treatment methods was put down in sacred Buddhist texts, in the ancient capital of Siam, Ayyuthaya. In 1776 the city was invaded by the Burmese. In 1832, King Rama III ordered that the remaining texts had to be taken to the monastery of Wat Po in Bangkok.
Wat Po is now the best known and most respected Thai massage school. The other school in the region is known as the “Southern School”. Another city, Chiang Mai also became a popular center, which is often called the capital of northern Thailand. The southern-school focuses on a hard and often painful finger technique. The method of the nordic-school consists of twisting and stretching exercises, similar movements as yoga asanas. Thanks to this tradition, today’s “yoga massage” has developed in West.
Thai massage is not less popular as it was centuries ago, it is famous all over the world, including Hungary. Traditional Thai massage is a holistic healing method, uses a variety of physical effects on the human body. It includes reflexology, stretching and deep massage.
The healers assume that energy circulates via channels in the human body, and similar principles are applied in the Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. It is believed that the root cause of all physical and mental illness is in the disharmonic energy flow. Thus the balance stops, and that’s how the disease develops. During treatment the aim is to steer energy in the right direction, to restore the balance in which the problem can be eliminated.
As in the whole universe the human body also needs the harmony, and the lack of this balance causes diseases. This massage helps to restore the body back to a harmonious state of equilibrium.