Benefits of Thai Massage

Community
Thai massage improves bonding within the family. It has long been a traditional custom that children massage the elders, and the elders help each other when there is need to soothe and relieve of love and caring between giver and recipient. This is an alternate method for showing love to one another as Thais are neither used to, nor comfortable with direct expressions of love and affection by overt touching.

Health Care
Thai massage helps the recipient maintain health and wellness. It is an ancient tool employed to combat common ailments, increase the effectiveness of body movement and benefit the physiological system. Thai massage also helps in longevity due to a strengthening of the body's immune system and balanced life energy.

Prevention
The techniques used in Thai massage prepare the body to ward off bed sores (pressure wounds that occur when a patient lies in one position too long), muscle weakness, headaches, dysmenorrheal (menstrual cramps), constipation, indigestion, stress, and other conditions.

Healing
Thai massage can also relieve pain, sprains and inflammation of the muscles, tendons and joints, as well as reduce stiffness of joints, increase muscle strength and improve mobility.

Rehabilitation
Thai massage is used to stimulate paralyzed muscles. It can help improve circulation and function and maintain muscle strength. It has also been effectively applied in the rehabilitation of handicapped children and is used at the Foundation for Children with Disabilities in Bangkok. The center trains parents of handicapped children to perform Thai massage on them. The children's ability to perform tasks by themselves improves more quickly with Thai massage. This may be due to the therapeutic effects of human touch combined with the effect of massage on life energy. It has been seen that after receiving on-going Thai massage therapy, some children are able to sit up and some are even able to feed themselves.

Benefit to the Body, Mind and Spirit
Body
The application of Thai massage using direct pressure on muscles over most of the body, combined with stretching to further stimulate the musculoskeletal system including joints, bones, nerves, ligaments, and lymphatic system benefits all five physiological body systems.

1. Circulation system : Improves blood circulation, lowers heart rate, increases the temperature in the area being massaged, increases lymphatic circulation, reduces edema (swelling).
2. Musculoskeletal system : Improves muscle strength and effectiveness, relieves muscle tension, removes toxins from muscle mass, relaxes the tendons and enhances elasticity, increases joint mobility and flexibility, and reduces stiffness.
3. Nervous system : Stimulates and improves activity of the nerves and sensations with the effects of reducing pain, enhancing sensation to the skin, and improving the function of the internal organs such as stomach, intestines etc.
4. Respiratory system : Improves depth of breathing and relaxation.
5. Digestive system : Increases elasticity of digestive tract and stomach movement, prevents and relieves indigestion.
   

Mind
Thai massage induces a sense of total relaxation in the recipient, thus reducing the stress of daily chores or a hectic environment. In some recipients, this highly positive stress-relief effect may go beyond the present and penetrate into deep, past emotional scars and help release them.

Spirit
As to the spiritual benefits, Thai massage is based on the elements of life and Sen Sib (life energy). It has a tremendous positive impact on the spirit, particularly when the masseur also concentrates on the energy flow while performing the massage. When pressure is applied to each point to awaken the energy through Sen Sib, coupled with a gentle, smooth movement during the transition of each sequence, combined with the union of breath between giver and the open-minded recipient, such sacred harmonious union will bring the masseur and recipient close to a tranquil meditative state and become one.

by Thai Massage the Thai Way Book