Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72312
MISUNDERSTOOD MODALITY MYTH: THAI MASSAGE IS HARD ON THE PRACTITIONER'S BODY Would-be practitioners often fear that Thai massage will be taxing to perform because the work is done on the floor and involves moving clients' limbs. In fact, Thai massage actually saves wear and tear on practitioner joints and muscles—sometimes even reviving the professional lives of massage therapists who otherwise would be driven out of work by repetitive motion injuries. The reasons for this have to do with fundamental principles of Thai massage: ALL WORK IS PERFORMED WITH A NEUTRAL SPINE. A practitioner's body is positioned either directly above or at roughly 90 degrees to the client's body. This eliminates the spinal torque created when standing next to the client to give a table massage. Working for hours with a torqued spine creates back pain. THE POWER BEHIND THAI MASSAGE IS GRAVITY, NOT MUSCLE EXERTION. For example, when standing upright the bones of your legs are aligned and gravity is working for you. However, as soon as you begin to bend your knees toward a sitting or squatting position, your muscles have to work hard to hold you up. It's the same when performing massage. Working with bent arms means using muscle. By contrast, working with extended limbs is almost effortless. Thai massage actually saves wear and tear on practitioner joints and muscles. THE ACTIONS OF THAI MASSAGE INVOLVE PUSHING AND ROCKING MORE THAN STROKING AND KNEADING. This eliminates continual exertion of the vulnerable tissues of arms, wrists, and fingers—a prime culprit behind the repetitive motion injuries too common among massage practitioners. To see how this all comes together, consider the example of a common massage action: rotating the client's leg in its hip socket. In a traditional massage, you stand next to the client and support the leg with the contracting muscles of bent arms; if your client weighs two hundred pounds or more, that's a lot of work. With Thai massage, you're in a lunge on the floor and simply holding the client's heel. Gravity is doing most of the work; you merely rock into the client's body. It's deceptively easy. Plus as practitioner, you are receiving the rejuvenating effects of doing a yoga pose. MYTH: YOU HAVE TO BE IN TIP-TOP SHAPE TO PRACTICE THAI MASSAGE I hear this often from potential practitioners. Usually, they have received a Thai massage and because the experience was so powerful—and because their eyes were closed—they assume the giver was working very hard. Not so. The power behind Thai massage isn't muscular strength. The power behind Thai massage is excellent body mechanics and conscious breathing. 64 massage & bodywork january/february 2008