Your practitioner will sense this resistance immediately and what is meant to be experienced like a dance, becomes more like a fight or a matter of power struggle, which is unpleasant for both sides.

So what you want to do instead is…

Relax

The problem with that is that some people find it very hard to relax their muscles.

This can have either mental or physical causes or a combination of both:

Mental:
Relaxation is a matter of trust. If you had reason to become a ‘control freak’, you will be facing a challenge here. Remember that what you put in is what you get out. Give yourself permission to be open for the experience.

If you can’t seem to allow yourself to let go, talk to your practitioner who will help you to find a way to become comfortable with her or him.

You can ask yourself beforehand what your intention is to have the treatment. If the outcome you are looking for is more appealing than your need for control or fear to trust, it will be much easier for your ‘ego’ to allow trust as a necessary presupposition.

Physical:
Have you ever really learned how to relax your muscles? Dualism is an interesting thing. We can only experience one thing through when the opposite is also present. Sometimes we get stuck in one side and as a result of that we forget what the other side feels like – we even forget that there is another side. Like when we are really sad, we forget what happiness and joyfulness feels like.

The Nuad Thai Academy has seen people who thought they were relaxed, while most of the muscles below the hips were tight as concrete.

In that case, there is almost only one way out: make it worse! Tauten every muscle you can feel, try to get stiff as a rafter, clench your fists, press your teeth together, tighten everything from head to toe, your eyes even, try to make yourself so tight as if you would condense yourself to the size of an atom. When you feel you can’t hold it no longer, let go. Feel the difference?

A combination:
If you are injured or have a weak spot, like your knees, hips, shoulders or your neck, you might be fighting a dual battle.

In order to spare yourself pain, you are trying to find ways to somehow protect that area. This could mean you put more weight on one leg than the other, you avoid bending your knees or carry your bag on one shoulder only.

When you are about to be massaged at or around that spot, you are almost expecting pain to come – and in a normal massage it probably would, because there is that ‘no pain-no gain’ mentality, which probably has its place too. It is normal that you feel like you have to protect that spot, which will usually result in more tenseness, hence more pain.

As your Thai treatment therapist will explain, there is no room for pain in a Nuad Thai, at least not as it is practised at the Nuad Thai Academy. A traditional Thai Yoga Massage treatment has your health as much as your well-being in mind.

Our approach is holistic, which means it considers the powers that are active when body, mind and spirit work in unity. We also believe that you have everything you need to heal from within and the treatment provides you the support and the space to re-connect with these resources.

In a space of trust, connectedness and revitalisation there is no room for pain, so you don’t need to expect it. If anything is out of your comfort zone or goes beyond a comfortable stretch, let your practitioner know. She or he will adjust the pressure, firmness or even the sequence to suit your preferences.

Through the combination of stretching, acupressure and Yoga being done on you, your body receives signals that trigger this process. If you are open for the experience, you may observe the following effects:

Body

You may start to feel longer or taller, less tense, more flexible and overall ‘lighter’.

When you sweat or go to the toilet, it may smell differently, stronger perhaps. This is part of the detoxification process, where your body gets rid of toxins from nutrition or the environment.

Symptoms like a running nose are indicators for a cleansing process as well; they show that your body is responding well to the triggers, so please embrace them.

If you don’t observe a detox effect, it could mean that you either don’t have many toxins in you or that your body is healing something else first.

Mind

Are you familiar with that merry-go-round that some people have in their head? All those thoughts, racing in a circle like seats of a carousel, too fast to catch one.
Nuad Thai helps to slow that merry-go-round down, so that you can focus on one thing more easily.

Sometimes this can be experienced like a scratch in a record: a specific issue, idea or concept keeps popping up. This often indicates that there is something that needs a bit more attention and focus, something that is unresolved or something that is important to reflect on.

Take it as a sign from your unconscious mind, a hint what you need to focus on to heal from within.

Spirit

Male or female, we have learned to suppress emotions that are publicly labelled as ‘negative emotions’: anger, sadness, fear, grief, anxiety…

Unfortunately emotions that are not accepted have the tendency to come back and bite us in the back. We burst in tears at the most unexpected and sometimes seemingly extremely inappropriate moments or the smallest incident is the last drop that makes us explode.

As long as there is no valve through which this energy can get out, it starts to build up blockages in our energy lines, which manifest in tension or even internal or external physical lumps or bulges.

The space at the Nuad Thai Academy is safe, confidential and non-judgemental. What happens here stays here. There is no right or wrong, there ‘only’ is. Your therapist is trained to deal with emotions that come up and you are invited to let them flow freely. Let go of whatever needs to go, leave it with us and we will take care of it.

In order to provide you that peaceful and meditative space, where you can meet yourself, your therapist will not be making conversation during the treatment. You are asked and invited to be silent as well, which can be challenging for some people.

It takes a lot of courage to face ourselves, even more if we are not used to it or have a successful record of avoiding to look inside or to dig deep. Again, this space is designed to provide all the support you need to start your journey of self-discovery, to re-connect with yourself and heal from within.

What about: “No Pain – No Gain!” ? – Read our thoughts on that here

Some people experience a deep sense of calmness, tranquillity or even peace at the end of the Thai massage, while others feel more alive, energised and ‘light’.

Whatever happens for you is a result of your openness, the intention you give the treatment and what your body needs most at that moment.

The listing below gives you an overview how you can best sustain the process of  cleansing, rejuvenating and healing from within.

Refresh

In order to support the detoxification process it is important to drink a lot, so that your body can easily flush any toxins from nutrition or the environment out of the system.

Purified, filtered and mineralised water is the first choice. High quality filters that preserve the water quality, help maintain a balanced range of minerals and regulate pH, which are easy to install, convenient and highly economical are available from NIKKEN PiMag Water Systems.

Feel free to ask for a representative referral at your next appointment.

Reflect

You may have experienced that the usual merry-go-round has slowed down during your Nuad Thai experience or that a specific thought has popped into your head, making you wonder where that came from.

Some clients have happened to remember certain events from early or late childhood, others feel wrapped or surrounded by certain colours, while those who have a strong link to the spiritual world find it even easier to connect to their Trusted Source during a Thai massage.

Maybe your observations are more subtle, like realising that you are much more flexible than you thought.

You might also be fortunate to have your mind going blank or in a state of deep relaxation or meditation.

Whatever happens is a great opportunity for reflection.

Could you maybe go to the Yoga class you avoided because you thought you were too stiff?
Have you got a history of suppressed emotions that haunt you at the most inconvenient times?
Do you recognise any patterns that you’d rather exchange for more resourceful rituals?
Was being silent a challenge? What would you have wanted to distract yourself from? What do you fear or hide from?
Where you able to relax your muscles and entrust your body to your practitioner’s hands?
Did you give yourself permission to enjoy the treatment free of guilt?

As one client so appositely said: Thai massage is magic.

What you put in is what you get out:
If you are open to embrace what’s coming up, you will get a hint what might be an important topic of life to face and deal with at the moment.
If you are willing to let go of suppressed emotions, they will (literally) leave you at peace.
If you allow the wisdom of nature to come through your practitioner’s hands and bring you health and well-being, your healing can begin or continue.

Resist

Avoid heavy meals for the rest of the day.

Your body is now working hard to repair itself, as in getting rid of toxins – physical, mental and emotional. Heavy meals would take a lot of that power away for digestion.

Instead enjoy a light meal, consisting of raw or lightly cooked vegetables, fresh fruit and maybe steamed fish.

Relax

This can be a big one, especially if you have to go back to work after your treatment or you have many appointments or a long to-do-list of task that need attention.

Still, allow yourself at least 30 minutes (or as long as you can) of mentally low or non-challenging work afterwards if you can’t afford to have a rest for as long as your body signals you.

As mentioned before, your body is going in detoxification mode and starts to repair itself. So even if you feel very energised and full of power after your Thai massage, which is just as normal as feeling totally calm and relaxed, not wanting to go back to ‘the world out there’, allow a bit of time to settle in your renewing body. This is a great time to re-connect with your resources and observe what is happening in your body, mind or spirit, so that you can fully and most effectively utilise your new energy.

Bonus Suggestion:

Resign

You have now entered the ‘Thai-Way Highway’, a road that will support you on your journey to relaxation and balance, an accelerator for empowerment, an elevator to new heights of peace and ‘lightness’.

I’d like to take the opportunity to invite you to break with conventions,  explore who you really are, face your fears and resign from un-resourceful patterns of behaviour, beliefs or emotions.

Learn how you can sustain or even increase your own level of Qi, your personal life force/energy in a Qi Moving or Chakra Balancing term workshop or condensed weekend and become part of a community of  ‘Qi Movers’!

Read more about Qi Moving, Chakra Balancing or call for more info.

an experiential journey

a transforming experience

a shift in perceptions and consciousness

a path towards oneness & happiness

a life-changing event

Where do you get that?

In a Oneness Awakening Intensive and Initiation on the 27th and 28th of November 2010 at the premises of Transition Guidance!

If you would like immerse yourself in a weekend of profound and life-changing teachings for personal growth and want to experience the culminating energy of a  powerful Oneness Blessing (Deeksha) or even become a Oneness Blessing Giver yourself, this is a MUST-ATTEND workshop.

What is so special about a Oneness workshop?

Oneness Awakening is about facilitating a shift in perceptions and initiating consciousness – consciousness about our thoughts, emotions and who we really are.
As a result you will experience a positive change in your actions and re-actions, your decision-making process and the general quality of your perception of life, your relationships and yourself.

What you will learn:

- How to implement the formula for personal growth and happiness

- Ancient teachings to help you

• establish an intimate, personal relationship between yourself and your Divine entity of your choice
• improve your relationships with those around you
• release deep-seated emotional charges
• remove negative patterns caused by childhood experiences
• heal relationships with your parents, children, partner and yourself
• move into higher states of consciousness
• get more clarity about your purpose in life

- How to become a Blessing Giver for others

Join us in this powerful, life-changing event

Saturday 27th of November 2010 9am – 7pm &
Sunday 28th of November 2010 9am – 6pm

at Transition Guidanca, 12/203 Kings Road, Pimlico

Investment: $250, $120 for Blessing Givers

Please bring water, a light lunch to share, a mat to lie on.

This is a limited places event and already more than half full – bookings are essential! First in, best dressed

Your local contact is Dulcie Speed from Speedytan 0417 842 860 or directly with Isha Jaeger, our Oneness Trainer, on 0415 125 908 or openheart@aapt.net.au

Please feel free to ring if you are interested to find out more or have a quick look at the official Oneness website to see what this is about.

‘Nuad Thai’ is a treatment that goes beyond usual massage techniques like kneading, stroking or rubbing.

It combines three remedies that are powerful within themselves:

1. Stretching

Often disrespected as a ‘warm-up’, a good stretching routine is a …exercise program in its own rights. It’s one of the first movements we do automatically when we wake up, feel sore after sitting in the same position for a long time or whenever we need that we are getting tense or need better blood flow.

A good stretch can sometimes be all you need in order to refresh your muscles. While neglected in most other relaxation treatments, it is a crucial element of any good Thai Massage due to its many benefits for the receiver.

2. Acupressure

Shiatsu, the Japanese pressure point ‘massage’ is only one example of how efficient and effective working on certain acupressure points can be.

Reflexology is another methodology that uses pressure points to ease pain in any body part by massaging the reflex zones in the feet or the hands.

The underlying common idea is not to work on the painful areas directly, but rather to remove blockages in the energy lines (‘Sen-lines’ in Thai massage, ‘Meridians’ in Japanese and Chinese Medicine and ‘Nadis’ in Ayurveda – the Indian ‘knowledge of life’) so that the life force ‘Chi’/'Ki’/'Prana’ can flow freely again.

3. Yoga

Here is how Kerry Spina from Kids In Harmony describes what Yoga does:

Yoga is an exercise system that synergizes the body,  the mind and the spirit.  Children feel stronger, more flexible and an over all sense of joy and peace when participating in Yoga classes.

Yoga moves, bends, releases, and empowers bodies of all ages.  It also stretches, and empowers the mind.  It can assist children to have more self control and to let go and feel confident and wise in situations that they may have found challenging.  Yoga brings about a greater sense of purpose and understanding in all relationships – with themselves, their friends, family, community and world.  It can motivate the sporty child to become a better athlete and also give a greater sense of acceptance and confidence to the child that may be perceived or labelled clumsy.

Yoga isn’t about changing the child, it is about refining and nourishing what is all ready there.  It is about bringing to flower the natural beauty and essence of each individual child through the gift and opportunity of having Yoga in their life.

Of course those benefits are in no way restricted to children.

On the contrary, Thai Yoga massage specifically uses the ‘Asanas’ – Yoga positions – to support the relaxation process. This might have been the main reason for Shivago Kumarpaj, the founder of the Thai massage, to incorporate this therapy in his body work, when he put together a treatment that would help the monks around Buddha to increase and maintain their flexibility after long hours of sitting still and meditating.

Putting it together

Each of those methodologies are very beneficial within  themselves. Combined to Nuad Thai Paen Bo Rarn, they make the treatment much more than just massage:

Nuad Thai is Relaxation for BODY, MIND & SPIRIT

On the 14th of June, the Nuad Thai Academy as part of Transition Guidance has moved to Shop 1/91 Bundock Street in Belgian Gardens.

Although I am now easy to find, have much more traffic passing by (well, it really could not have been less!) and am now besides Naturally Healthy, who offer complementary natural therapies, it turned out that this is not an ideal location.

And although sub-leasing and sharing otherwise unused space seemed like a good idea initially, it became quite quickly clear that it won’t work for any of  Transition Guidance’s branches.

My intention as a holistic health and wellbeing facilitator is to provide

• a space with a “Wow”-effect when you come in,
• a feeling that you have entered not just another room, but a space that welcomes you,where you feel ‘safe’ and all your senses are stimulated,
• a place that honours your uniqueness and where you can be who you truly are,
• a mini-cosmos that offers you to enter a world where you (re-)connect with your true spirit,
• a window to your mind and soul.

I am looking forward to providing that space to you and I would appreciate your feedback about what you expect from a place where you go to relax your body, mind & soul and reload your energy. Thanks in advance.

What a beautiful day in Belgian Gardens, when over one hundred people came together to spend a day practising different aspects of yoga, enjoying a nice cup of tea, re-connecting with their friends, family and with themselves and supporting fair trade, gorgeously surrounded by a wonderful garden on the grounds of the Townsville Senior Centre in Ryan Street.

I certainly enjoyed myself when I had the opportunity to demonstrate Nuad Thai and explain why it is more than just massage, how Traditional Thai massage is different from a normal treatment and what makes it so special and beneficial for the body, mind and the spirit.

Lots of people participated in the draw to win an introductory offer, which includes three different ‘massage’ treatments like Nuad Thai, Head Over Heels (feet, hand and head massage) and Aroma Oil Massage as well as a personal energy assessment. Of course there can only be one winner and I am happy to announce that …. drum role please….

the winner is…

Cathy Chapman from Belgian Gardens

Congratulations Cathy. I am looking forward to introducing you to wellbeing the Thai way!

To those who missed out, there is always the next Sundalah, where you could even be the volunteer to experience some Nuad Thai during the demonstration or of course go in the draw again.

There will also be lots of  attractive offers and specials, some new and exciting add-ons like our partnership workshop ‘From Zero To Hero – how to build, maintain and strengthen the bond with your partner through Nuad Thai‘ or interesting products that will support you in finding, maintaining or increasing your balance and wellbeing, so stay tuned and sign up for the Wellbeing Wednesday, the free weekly online magazine for stress relief, stress management and stress prevention.

• inform pro-active people about ways how to release, decrease, manage and prevent stress,
• inspire the overwhelmed ones to add more harmony and balance to their life and
• empower you to make choices that positively effect your overall standard of living and wellbeing.

For two days, Transition Guidance has presented its newest branch, the Nuad Thai Academy, at the Townsville Home and Lifestyle Show 2009.

Introducing our Special Offer, the visitors of the show could not only find great ideas to improve their homes and  lifestyle, but also hands-on experience the immediate benefits of Nuad Thai, Indian Head Massage and Nuad Tao, the traditional Thai Foot Massage – for free.

If you got one, please feel free to comment below how you liked it.

Many people took the opportunity to feel how the combination of acupressure, stretching and energy work combines to a sensation that leaves you relaxed and light and that enables you to re-connect with your inner self.

As a “Thank-You” to all the interested visitors, the Nuad Thai Academy has issued six vouchers for a lucky draw at the end of the show.

And the lucky winners are:

Chris Gilbert, Deeragun
Linda Maroney
Karen Lillie, Rosslea
Jennifer Fink, Kirwan
John Ravizza, Kirwan
Julia Webster, Pimlico

Congratulations to all who won. If you have put down your name but were not among the lucky ones, we invite you to try again at one of our next events, which will be a Wellbeing Info Night in January.
We will be talking about finding, maintaining and improving your wellbeing and the event will be free.
To register your interest for an invitation, you can contact us here.

For more information, inspiration and empowerment visit www.transitionguidance.com to receive the FREE Simply Balancing ezine, which will keep you up-to-date with tips and strategies to live a healthy, happy and balanced life with harmony and wellbeing.