THAI MASSAGE MANUAL

Thai body work, massage and medicine, herbal medicine and spiritual meditation has been in the process of constant evolution for over 1,000 years. Thai massage at its most basic is a complex sequence of soft tissue pressing, stretching, twisting and joint manipulations and the techniques presented here are essentially a pot pourri of those taken from various regions of Thailand. Beginners will find them flowing and harmonious and very similar to what you could expect to receive at the hands of a Thai master. Ayurvedic and Thai massage historically refer to 72,000 theoretical lines, called Sen, based on drawings from the Wat Pho tablets. There are 60 carved epigraphs that depict the ten Sen lines and pressure points and in this book sections of the Chinese Meridians are used where they correspond to similar positions of the Thai Sen lines. This is where the body's vital life energy flows - physical, mental and emotional processes where any imbalance or blockage in the distribution of this energy can cause pain and disease. The book shows lessons with dots and arrows superimposed over photographs to show the techniques and clear direction and the range of movement involved in all the manipulations. The tenet is that ageing is often more to do with how we feel than with the passage of time. Organised by muscles, the mechanics, the Thai body work programme explains with big clear step-by-step colour photographs and bullet points and fact boxes the feet, legs, both legs and back, chest and abdomen, arms, hands, neck and face, lying on either side, lying face down and the sitting position, followed by tailormade treatments and massage routines to ease chronic pain. Thai massage can help maintain health and useful vitality and improve sports performance with powerful healing forces. Large softback, 160pp, colour.