The primary reason for Marissa and I coming to Thailand was to further our study of Thai massage. We’ve both learned some through AcroYoga, and I’ve studied with teachers both in the US and abroad. But this is the mecca, the homeland. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we chose to do the majority of our studies with Pichest, who is a master among masters. It was amazing that EVERYONE we talked to in Chiang Mai who was studying massage knew of him, and he is the teacher of many teachers.
If Pichest is the soul of Thai massage teachings, I’d give the rhythm to Amnat, who is graceful and fluid and teaches you how to flow. We studied foot reflexology with him, and it was amazing to concentrate so much time and energy on just one part of the body. So if you need a 90min foot rub, give me a hollar! Amnat used to be a Buddhist monk, then got married, had a kid, got divorced, and now spends most of his time in NY so he can be near his son, and a few months in Chiang Mai teaching what he learned from his grandmother, who in turn learned from her grandmother before. His sister teaches as well, keeping up the family tradition. If you are in NY and desiring an amazing treatment, look him up (thaiyogajourney.com)—I think he charges about $100USD for 90min, which is still a bargain given his skill and lineage in the practice. ALSO, he may be coming to SF in May. . .anyone interested in doing a workshop with him? I’m going to help him set something up as I’m anxious to learn more from him!
We also spent time just receiving massages, to feel what ‘amazing’ is like from a master teacher, and to contrast that with ‘meh’, from the local beauty parlors on the street. But massage, like pizza and sex, even when it’s bad, it’s not THAT bad, especially at the rate of $4/hour. We spent one afternoon at Hom Prang’s retreat. She owns a beautiful school outside of the city where she lives and teaches. It’s like being on a farm, a nice respite from the city. She is known for her herbal compress treatments. She picks fresh herbs from her garden, makes them into compresses, then steams them before applying them with pressure on the body. Divine. We had a 2-hr treatment here with traditional Thai massage and herbal compresses, followed by lunch with her students in her beautiful garden.
Another teacher that was recommended to us was Master Sinchai. He is a sweet, old, blind man who still teaches classes Monday through Friday. And while he melted my heart with how cute he was, I was totally distracted during the massage because he kept nodding off! He would lean in to give pressure on my leg, then I could feel him just sinking in/falling over, then he’d jerk awake, press another point, then the same thing happened again! But he did make some progress on my neck which was stiff, so maybe I’d just try to go back earlier in the day versus at the end of the evening after he’s just taught a class. And last but not least was a guy named Trayle who is from South Africa and does mostly oil massages vs traditional Thai. It kind of reminded me of Esalen massages, very fluid and continuous strokes, almost hypnotic. Then there was the part when he only covers you from waist down, which was a little surprising to have exposed boobies, but I guess anywhere outside of the US, it’s no big thang.
So all in all, Chiang Mai is a storehouse for amazing bodywork, with deep roots in the healing arts that were once performed on the Buddha, and now have been passed down through generations. All the while retaining the reverence for the Buddha (the original teacher, the Enlightened One, the teacher in each of us), the dharma (the teachings, the practice, the calling), and the sangha (the community, the connection, the shared spirit). I feel blessed to have come closer to the roots of this lineage and to have experienced transmission of more art than science, more feeling than thinking, more gentle healing than quick fixes, and more intuition than technique. Excited to be able to teach from this experience in our Therapeutic Acro workshops, and to offer this to friends, family, and clients!
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