Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/121374
reader FOrUM KUdOs! Your magazine and staff truly have your fi ngers on the pulse of what massage therapists need to know. Every article in your March/April edition covered some topic that had been floating around for me lately, and it was by far one of your best. I have been an LMT for more than eight years and your magazine continues to bring insight on important topics and techniques. Keep up the great work! ErIca kEaYs GLens FaLLs, new YOrK CLassrOOM tO CLient I just read the section on Thai massage in the article "Journey to the East: Asian Bodywork Therapy" [by Anne Williams] in the March/April issue of Massage & Bodywork [page 100], and I am writing to say that I am very disappointed. As a practitioner of traditional Thai massage, I constantly encounter misrepresentations, both in theory and practice, of my chosen style of bodywork. The Thai word for "wind" is lom, not vata. Vata is an ayurvedic/yogic term, and despite the desire of many to simply overlay ayurveda or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) onto Thai medicine, they are not interchangeable. Though Thai medicine has been influenced by other systems over time, the traditional medical system of Thailand is distinctly its own. Prana is also an ayurvedic/ yogic term. Yes, it does mean "life-force," but Thai medicine uses the terms lom or kwan to describe various energies of body and spirit. Finally, the 10 primary sen are not actually that closely related to the meridians of TCM, which have distinct pathways related to the elements and organ systems. The organs of the body are connected to the 10 sen and elements, but not as directly as in TCM. I understand that available information on Thai massage is limited, and what is out there can be confusing, but as a professional and passionate practitioner, I felt it necessary to write. JEssIca dafnI seattLe, washinGtOn aUthOr resPOnse Thank you so much for taking the time to write and for sharing your views in such a respectful and considerate manner. I can understand your feelings and sense of disappointment. In my own area of expertise—the use of essential oils for healing—I am constantly triggered by information I view as misleading or incorrect, or not detailed enough to be accurate. It sounds as if you are a true expert in your field, and I can understand that the very general discussion of it in the article is disturbing, especially as I was basing information on the form that I learned, which is, as you point out, heavily influenced by ayurveda. I should have been clearer about this in the article. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts. I will do my best to improve my communication in the future and to remember to frame topics appropriately to identify the limits of my knowledge and information. annE WILLIams I fi nally dipped into my January/February 2013 Massage & Bodywork magazine and just read Anne Williams's article, page 102. Wow! Wonderfully written with carefully chosen words—I loved it! Thanks for the care and attention to explaining "the big words." Her writing style is wonderful! tEra thrEEWIt sOQUeL, CaLiFOrnia BOdY-Mind MeChaniCs Kudos to Massage & Bodywork for running "Body-Mind Mechanics: A Holistic View," by Marty Morales (March/ April 2013, page 86). As we address the whole person on the table, we can forget there's another whole person in the Body-Mind Mechanics room: ourselves! Keen bodyworkers are always on the lookout for good information about body mechanics. The way the author educates readers as A Holistic View to our emotional/ psychological state while working— emp and the impact it c ont has on us, and our client—is highly illuminative and something I'm already incorporating into my sessions. Terrific, important article. We often focus only on the physical aspect of what this means, and forget that cultural, psychological, and physiological factors come into play for each one of us. Here is a way to look at traditional ergonomics through an alternate paradigm, all while becoming a more productive (and healthier) therapist. By Marty Morales 86 EMAIL YouR LETTERS To EDIToR@ABMP.CoM. INCLuDE YouR FuLL NAME AND THE CITY AND STATE IN WHICH massage & bodywork march/april 2013 krIstEn burkhoLdEr nOrthPOrt, Maine You RESIDE. WE RESERVE THE RIgHT To EDIT LETTERS FoR LENgTH AND CLARITY. www.abmp.com. See what benefits await you. 11 www.abmp.com. See what bene