What Is Thai Massage?
What is Thai Massage? Thai massage is a traditional form of healing system that involves interactive manipulation of the body by using gentle pressure and passive stretching. These techniques help in adjusting the skeletal structure, in increasing flexibility, in relieving muscular and joint tension, in stimulating internal organs, and in balancing the energy system of the body. Additionally, it combines other natural therapies like shiatsu, yoga and acupressure. How Does Thai Massage Work? Thai massage is typically performed in a quiet and meditative atmosphere, allowing the client to let go of their physical and emotional restrictions. It encourages a sense of unity, balance and wholeness. In addition, a dynamic physical experience is created that integrates the mind, body, emotions and spirit. Also dubbed as "the lazy man's yoga" as it involves a lot of stretching and rocking techniques to relieve tension and increase flexibility, Thai massage employs massage strokes that are not typically used in other forms of massage. In addition to their hands, the therapist also uses their knees, legs and feet when applying muscle compression and joint mobilisation to the client's body.
What are the Benefits of Thai Massage? People from all walks of life can benefit loads from a Thai massage session. What Can You Expect From Thai Massage? A session of Thai massage usually lasts an hour or two and is performed on a padded mat instead of a treatment table. The reason it's done on the floor is that the massage therapist uses their body weight to apply pressure to the client's body. This type of massage does not use oils or lotions, nor are clients required to disrobe. Instead, [Redirect Only] they are encouraged to wear loose, comfortable clothing for ease of movement. Before the massage proper begins, the therapist will ask the client about their health history as this form of massage is a contraindication for some medical conditions. It's important not to eat a heavy meal before the session, but do drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration and support the elimination of metabolic waste following treatment. After receiving a Thai massage, you will feel relaxed but a bit sore. Don't let it worry you because the soreness is your body's natural response to the detoxification process, which is an important part of the treatment. Getting a Thai massage at least once a week for one month will improve your overall health.
I avoided adding Spot 14 to this series for many years, because it’s a bit tricky to find. But precision is not required: although there is one specific spot that’s especially good, nearly anywhere under the ridge of bone on the shoulder blade is worthwhile, and often a surprising key to pain and stiffness everywhere else in the shoulder, especially all the way around on the other side, facing forward. Spot 14 is the site of my best treatment success stories in a decade of professional massage. I tell the whole thing in another article.1 Here’s the short version: my wife’s uncle, tough as an old boot, was laid low by a toothache-like misery in the front of his shoulder, but after just a couple minutes of rubbing Spot 14 on the back of his shoulder, he was completely fixed … He spent that weekend swinging his arm around, chuckling, and saying, "Well, damn, ain’t that something! " He never had that problem again.
For most people, Spot 14 is a just pleasant surprise: a "secret" way to ease shoulder tension that almost no one has a clue about until they feel it, but after that it seems obvious. Learning about Spot 14 is a great way to get a reputation for magic hands. How do you find Perfect Spot No. 14? To qualify for "perfection," a satisfying spot for massage should be both easy to get to and worthwhile. It is easy to get to the neighbourhood where Spot 14 lives. It’s just hard to find the exact address, which is the most worthwhile. The neighbourhood is the triangular shoulder blade. Finding the infraspinatus muscle is basically as easy as touching the shoulder blade. That bone is mostly covered by the infraspinatus muscle, which is under (infra) the ridge (spine) of bone. The Vital Shoulder Massager Heat blade’s ridge of bone is roughly horizontal and spans the full width - it’s an easy bony feature to find.
This schematic shows how the fibres of the infraspinatus fill the space below the spine of the scapula, and converge on a point on the upper arm. When they contract, they spin the arm in its socket (arrow). The entire muscle really is worth massaging, more satisfying than many other muscles, "good" for massage. But the top edge is "better" for massage. And "best"? Perfect even? Spot 14 tends to be quite a small, specific patch of muscle at one end of that strip, closest to the middle of the back: the upper, inner "corner" of the shoulder blade, just under the ridge. There really is one spot here that is particularly, profoundly sensitive in many people, but you can be right beside it and no one is the wiser - it usually takes some fairly detailed fingertip and thumbtip exploration to "nail it." On the bright side, I think it’s a noteworthy spot in easily 90% of the population, so the search probably won’t be in vain.
