Thai Yoga Massage

MASSAGE / BODYWORK "Only a true master of Thai massage could present this profound healing art with such clarity and precision, and make it so accessible." --Swami Ramananda, president of the Integral Yoga Institute of New York "Necessary reading for anyone interested in this indigenous healing art and its contemporary practice. Kam Thye Chow is a sensei of the art and spirit of his work." --Robert Calvert, founder of Massage Magazine and author of The History of Massage "A supremely accessible teacher, Kam Thye is masterful with detail and nuance in the development and transmission of this ancient practice." --Stephen Cope, author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self In the temples of Thailand many centuries ago, a dynamic bodywork therapy based on yoga, ayurveda, and the martial arts was born. In this unique healing system of Thai Yoga Massage, the practitioner guides the recipient through a series of yoga postures while palming and thumbing along the body's energy lines and pressure points. Together these actions result in a treatment that relieves muscular tension, improves circulation, boosts the immune system, and balances the body energetically. Thai Yoga Massage is practiced as a duet. Counterbalancing and levering the recipient's body with his own, the practitioner works with gravity, breath, and directed touch to create a harmonious and therapeutic "dance" with the recipient that imparts physical vibrancy, grace, and spiritual energy. In this fully illustrated guide to Thai Yoga Massage, Kam Thye Chow leads readers through every aspect of this ancient bodywork therapy using more than 125 detailed, step-by-step photographs. He also includes additional information on important contraindications and fundamental anatomy and physiology that integrates Western medical knowledge and theory with this ancient healing tradition. In the accompanying DVD Kam Thye presents techniques for performing a one-hour massage, demonstrating effective body mechanics and methods for moving with a gentle steady flow in real time, as a complement to the points discussed in the text. With this text and DVD set, massage therapists, physical therapists, yoga practitioners, and others in the somatic arts will find Thai Yoga Massage an important and innovative complement to their work. KAM THYE CHOW is one of the world's foremost practitioners and has taught massage in Thailand and throughout Europe and North America. He is the author of Tai Chi Chuan: Mindfulness in Motion and his writings also have been featured in Massage Magazine, Bodywork, and other healing arts journals. He is the founder and director of the Lotus Palm School in Montreal.

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Sudhir Jonathan Foust

Part One: The Philosophy
1. From Temple Art to Healing Art
2. Theoretical Foundations: The Sen Lines, the Doshas, and Western Medical Principles
3. The Dancing Meditation of Thai Yoga Massage
4. The Practitioner/Client Relationship

Part Two: The Practice
5. Introduction
6. Sitting Postures
7. Double- and Single-Foot Postures
8. Sen Work on Legs
9. Single-Leg Postures
10. Side-Lying Postures
11. Back-Position Postures
12. Double-Leg Postures
13. Abdomen, Chest, Arm, and Hand Postures
14. Session Closure
Appendix 1: Personal Health Questionnaire
Appendix 2: Ayurvedic Constitution Questionnaire

Resources
Suggested Reading