SOPA THAI MASSAGE

-POLIGNANO-

THAI TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

The Thai Medicine like the rest of Eastern traditional medicine has a holistic approach, encompassing the

human being as a whole.

According to the Thai medicine, the human being is the conjunction of body, mind y spirit.

These three aspects must always be taken into account when treating the person.

This holistic view of the individual, covering its internal, external and psycho-spiritual state, is based on the four elements of the body:

Earth or din: Bone, muscle, blood vessels, nerves, tendons and ligaments.

Water or naam: Body fluids, blood and secretions.

Fire or fai: Regulator body temperature, digestion and metabolism.

Air or lom: Psychosomatic balances body functions, circulation and respiration. Regulates the vitality of the body and mind.

When these four elements work in harmony, the body maintains balance, health and wellness. The alteration in the function of any of these elements causes an energy imbalance or blockage, which can manifest as disease. For healing of these imbalances, Thai Traditional Medicine uses three therapeutic categories: Massage, Herbal Medicines and psycho-therapy.

Massage

Traditional Thai massage is one of the best known and respected worldwide massage techniques. Its effectiveness is more than demonstrated, not only physically but also energy level. In Thailand, the practice of traditional massage is the essence of an ancestral knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation. At present there are many teachers and schools around the world, and more and more centers massage therapists have this discipline. Within Thai territory there are two main schools clearly defined: Chiang Mai, North school with a technique more focused on stretching and yoga postures. Y Wat PoThe school of the south with a technique more focused on unlocking energy points and energy lines stimulating Sen.

Energy theories of traditional Thai medicine are based on the theory of energy channels that circulate throughout the body, called Sen lines ó Sen SibAnd stimulation energy points are distributed along these channels. In the same way that the veins and arteries supply blood to the body, Sen energy lines power the body. If, due to an energy blockade, the flow of energy does not flow properly, it can cause a disease, whether physical, mental or emotional. Through Thai massage, these energy lines and points are stimulated, reactivating the energy flow and promoting health.

This medicine has received a great influence of buddhism, Being the first to practice Buddhist monks. Thai massage techniques are considered a form of meditation for both the giver as to the receiver.

Sen Sib translates to “10 Energy Lines” in the Thai language. In the Thai healing system energy lines are known as “sen”.

The sen lines are conduits-they are able to connect and move substances and sensations from one place to another.

The sen are pathways for prana to flow. Prana is a Sanskrit word for “life force” or “vital energy”. In Thai, “Prana” translates to “Lom Pran”, or “the wind of life”.

The sen can also be viewed as rivers of energy, with the major and minor chakras, or energy centers, acting like whirlpools in the river.

The 7 major chakras are situated along the centerline or Sen Sumana, while minor chakras are all over the body.

Thai massage pressure points are minor chakras. Acupressure and acupuncture points can also be viewed as minor chakras. The Indian system calls these minor chakras, marma or varma points. In the Chinese tradition about 2,000 points are now known, of which 365 are described as classical. Most acupuncturists use 60 to 150 of those points in their daily practice. With the Indian system there are 108 marma points. In Thai massage, point work is done as an addition to line work, and the emphasis is always on the lines.

In Thai Massage we thoroughly open and remove blocks along these sen lines so the lom can flow more consistently and vibrantly through the whole body. We open and remove blocks through focused and thorough work on the sen lines by palm, thumb, forearm, elbow, knee, and foot pressure, along with stretching.

Each sen line has an orifice in the body with which it connects. Some schools teach that the orifice is the origin point and other schools teach that most of the points start near or above the navel and pass through that orifice.

Thai sen lines closely resemble Chinese meridian lines and Indian Prana Nadi lines. The 10 sen lines, Sen Sib, are considered invisible because they do not have a specific, anatomical base, though you can generally follow them by anatomical markers. Since Thai Massage has been passed orally, from teacher to student, until the twentieth-century, there are differences between Thai schools and lineages regarding the sen sib.

Herbal medicines

Traditional Thai herbal medicine uses a variety of medicinal plants, which are classified according to their properties and effects on the body's energy. The use of medicinal plants in Thailand is not limited to pharmacies and herbalists, but extends to the kitchen, not only to enrich the dishes, but also to maintain health and balance the body. Some of these plants are also used in massage sessions, taking advantage of its healing power through skin absorption and inhalation.

Therapy psicospiritual

Known as ráksaa thaang nai (inner healing), this form of therapy based on the principle that every person has a self-healing inner strength, able to work for their own health. To do this, techniques are used meditation and visualization.

Jivaka KUMAR Bhaccha -Father of Traditional Thai Medicine

Account the legend more than 2500 years ago Dr. Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, accompanied Buddha on his travels and pilgrimages, sharing their knowledge Ayurveda medicine and medicinal plants with other doctors from different cultures. Based on treating monks, who suffered muscle and joint pain, due to static positions during his long hours of meditation, Dr. Jivaka debugged technique massage and herbal treatments, creating what is known today as traditional Thai medicine .

These techniques were spread orally for centuries, monks of others, with temples and monasteries as the only places where these practices were made. It is in 1292, with the establishment of Buddhism as the official religion of Thailand, when these techniques out of the temples and monasteries mingling with the country's own medicine.

The vast majority of texts on Thai massage and medicine were destroyed during the Burmese invasions. In 1832, King Rama III makes a collection of fragments of medical texts that were saved, and had engraved in stone walls Wat Po templeIn Bangkok.

These 60 prints, describing a complex system of energy lines and pressure points are the primary source of technical information on Thai medicine, and the main theoretical basis of Thai massage.