Toronto’s Best Thai Massage | Alpha Health Services

Thai Massage

A Look at One of My Favourite Ways to Practice Massage

So, what is this Thai massage you’ve heard so much about?

Well, I like to describe it as someone else doing yoga to you. It’s not typically the first thing we think of when thinking of getting a massage, but it’s a unique and invigorating way to experience the benefits of massage therapy.

Thai massage typically takes place lying on a floor mat, wearing loose, comfortable clothing. The practitioner takes the patient through a series of yoga-based postures, emphasizing full body movement, and uses their thumbs, palms, elbows, knees, and feet to perform shearing compressions, stretches and acupressure along the body’s energy pathways, known as Sen in the Thai tradition.

This style of manual therapy has been practiced for thousands of years, appearing in the temples of Thailand around the same time as Buddhism, and was shaped by the influences of Traditional Chinese and Aryuvedic Medicine. It has a holistic approach to creating wellness, considering the entire body in its interconnectedness, as well as seeking to balance the mind and spirit.

Why is Thai Massage One of my Favourite Ways to Practice?

Firstly, I love the way it incorporates movement and rhythm, working the body in multiple positions. Movement nurtures our bodies and helps to settle our minds, and when made a part of the massage, it can help the body learn to relax more deeply, showing us where we are holding on. I have also found that working muscles in different positions and at different lengths can influence how those muscles respond to touch and acclimate them to the dynamic changes required of them.

Secondly, no oil is used. All the techniques used to engage muscle and joints also as well as shear and drag the surrounding fascia, provide what I believe to be a more comprehensive engagement. Furthermore, the stretches included in the treatment postures allow for muscle and connective tissue to align to functional lines of pull in the body.

Thai massage is comprehensive, and it’s always done as a full-body massage treatment. Although the practitioner may linger in some places more than others depending on the patient’s needs that day, they will always incorporate the whole body, making sure areas of compensation are found and addressed.

It’s a great way to explore the full expression of our body’s range of motion in a relaxing environment. Often, I find people are surprised that they could get farther into a posture than they first believed possible, allowing an opportunity to build confidence in motion and help dispel some of the apprehension we can feel around movement, especially after an injury.

Lastly, it can be safely adapted for everyone. Just because Thai massage is focused on a full range of motion doesn’t mean that the practitioner will have to push farther than what your body is able to do safely. I’ve worked with patients from all ages, walks of life and levels of mobility and have found that that treatment can be adapted for anyone and everyone to benefit from.

Now, it’s important to note that other forms of massage are equally capable of addressing movement, engaging fascia, aligning tissues to functional lines of pull and all the wonderful things I’ve just expressed. Massage Therapy is remarkably flexible as a form of therapy, and therapists can choose the best approach for each situation they encounter.

The reason I fell in love with Thai massage is because it takes so many of the things I strive to include in a comprehensive treatment and brings them right to the forefront. You don’t need to take my word for it, though; the best way to learn more about Thai Massage is to come try one out for yourself – Book an appointment today!

Trey Bendo, Registered Massage Therapist

Trey-Bendo-Alpha-Health-Services-Registered-Massage-Therapist

Click here to book with Trey at our Midtown location, and here for our East location!

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