Thai massage is part of the orthopaedic root of Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) - “all physical therapies applied to the external body, including: point therapy, application of oils and herbs, bone setting (indigenous chiropractics), cupping, scraping, stretching, tok sên, blood letting and much more (all therapies found in modern Thai massage fall into this category)” (quote: N. Jacobsen, my teacher). In my own practice, I regularly use point therapy, oils and herbs, cupping, scraping and stretching. In the West, Thai massage has gotten popular as “Thai Yoga Massage” because of the element of stretching, and fewer people are aware of its place within the larger TTM framework.
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