Oil

If Thai Massage is executed the traditional way – as it is at the Nuad Thai Academy – one of the most significant differences between a standard remedial or relaxation massage and a Thai Yoga Massage is that the latter is performed in comfortable clothes, without any oil.

In contrast to a ‘normal’ massage, where therapists work on one body part at a time, Nuad Thai almost always involves the whole body, or at least a big proportion of it. The receiver being wrapped up in a towel would interrupt the flow and make it difficult to perform the massage smoothly.

Being clothed also ensures the professional integrity for the practitioner and the receiver, especially when some of the more ‘intimate’ Yoga positions are performed.

Working with oil is therefore not only not necessary, but also inappropriate.

There is however the Traditional Thai Aroma Oil Massage, which is for those who want to combine the benefits of the Thai Massage with the advantages of Aroma Oil therapy.

Diagnoses

Generally, a remedial massage is perceived to be a treatment that helps to get rid of that pain in the butt, the neck or another specific body part. While a good remedial massage therapist will still have a look at the whole person and explore the root cause of the pain (which most often results from a  relieving posture,stress or tension in another body part than the painful one), the less experienced or skilled ones often simply treat the area where the pain occurs.

Nuad Thai also looks at the whole person, and even goes one step further.

A good Nuad Thai therapist will not give any kind of diagnose, where the pain may come from. He or she will rather “feel Thai”, which means treating the whole person and ‘listening’ to or feeling the clues that the receiver’s body gives them.

The Nuad Thai therapist will then choose to work on the energy lines or choose the techniques or positions that seem appropriate  in order to help the receiver’s body heal itself and get rid of the blockages that prevent the life force Chi/Ki/Prana to flow freely through the body.

Techniques

Nuad Thai uses a combination of very powerful techniques, including stretching, acupressure and Yoga.

Nuad Thai is ‘Yoga for lazy people’, because in actual fact Yoga is done on the receiver.
Instead of constantly being aware of the posture, listening to the teacher, correcting positions or – if doing Yoga for yourself – thinking of the sequence, the receiver’s mind is free to wander and explore any sensations, limiting beliefs or emotions that come up during the massage.

Results

It often happens that the receiver of a Thai Massage has an insight, feels more connected with him- or herself, finally gives him- or herself the permission to let go of emotions or recognises an issue they have been avoiding to deal with.

It is very common that after a Thai Massage people find solutions they have not been able to realise before.

The feeling of lightness, clarity and even focus is a result of the stimulation of body, mind & spirit as a whole, which makes Nuad Thai the perfect tool to de-stress on a holistic level.

Tradition

Most ‘modern’ remedial or relaxation massages have their roots in traditional massages like Shiatsu (Japanese acupressure massage), Tui Na (Chinese Massage) or Ayurveda (Indian Health system that includes oil massages).

While many modern massages mostly take just one good part of these massage and deepens that (like Reflexology, Swedish massage or Hot Stone massage), Nuad Thai takes the opposite approach and combines the best of those traditions to a treatment that offers even more benefits for the receiver.