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Thai massage and back pain

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Every other day someone will find my website with the keywords scoliosis and Thai massage. I’ve been mulling this one over for a while now, because there are so many perspectives from which to write: as a receiver of Thai massage, as a giver of Thai massage, as a teacher, as a person with scoliosis, as a person having had spine surgery (the before- and after-persons), and as a person living with an artificial lumbar disc implant. I am all of these, and in relation to Thai massage there is something to share in regards to each.

Many of us live with back pain and adapt to it constantly, even unconsciously. Although back pain can come from all kinds of sources – muscular, articular, visceral, neurological, just to name a few – all these have one thing in common: muscles in the region feel pain, and relief is a blessing.

The Thai massage receiver

I was born with a mild thoracic scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine at the level of the rib cage. As such, I’ve always had some kind of pain or another, and I remember going to a chiropractor as young as 16. Figure skating and swimming helped me to maintain good posture and muscle strength – because our muscles hold our bones up – so I was lucky never to need a back brace.

And so from a young age, two things became an important means of relief: stretching and massage. I didn’t discover Thai massage until 2007, and up until then, I was a devoted Swedish fan (I’ve never looked back). But, an incredible amount of pressure was needed for me to feel any prolonged sense of pain-free-ness. (And by prolonged I mean more than three or four hours after the session.)

About 6 months after an artificial disc replacement, I received my first Thai massage and it blew me away. I had never felt anything like it. There was no pain during the massage – other than the sweet pain of deep muscles releasing. I was moved and stretched in every direction, exploring range of motion that my body had forgotten was possible. Exquisite traction as the therapist pulled my legs, creating space all along my spine. Not once was I placed on my stomach (which was painful at the time) as my back was massaged in the seated and side-lying positions. My limitations were completely respected, because spinal torsion was forbidden in the first year following surgery. I did get emotional at one point: All the things I tried so hard not to think about (like, pain) rushed in to fill that quiet space created by this nurturing, dynamic experience. It was a release, finally: emotional, physical and I’d have to say, even spiritual.

I knew from that moment it was what I’d been looking for all my life. At 32 I’d finally found “what I want to do when I grow up”.

The Thai massage giver

Thai massage practitioners also practice yoga, to keep our tools of the trade limber and strong. It took me two years of yoga twice a week to finally be comfortable just sitting on the floor to meditate, and I am still working on the meditation & quiet part. (Wherever you’re at, in your practice, keep it up. It takes time and time is all it takes.)

One of the things I love about Thai massage is that it can be as good for the giver as it is for the receiver. The practitioner constantly assumes stable yoga stances for proper body alignment and optimal use of body mechanics, ultimately ensuring the longevity of one’s career. (“It can be” because if you’re doing it wrong, even something as simple as sitting can wreck you.)

Thai massage has taught me to be aware of my body, my breathing, how and where I move, touch, and treat others — both on and off the mat. It has reaffirmed that stretching feels good to me, and if my body is happy, my spirit follows shortly. I always feel better after giving a massage – especially my back.

Thai massage and scoliosis: a case study

Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine, at one or more levels. One of my long-time clients has a marked case of scoliosis. When I first met him, he was a jogger and it’s fair to say that he could not, mechanically speaking, hold his head high above his shoulders for an extended period.

He cut down jogging, practiced yoga and received Thai massage regularly for over a year, when his doctor told him that he had grown 2 inches.

Now, let’s analyze this for a minute, here, because two inches is a big deal.

The stretches and traction of Thai massage lengthens muscle fibers (like yoga) and creates space between the joints (the spine is a huge system of joints) improving articulation, and its passive mobilizations improve range of motion. Yoga strengthens muscles, which hold our bones up and in place. Basically, his muscles lengthened and strengthened, allowing them to do a better job all around of resisting gravity, basically compensating for the structural weakness of the curvature. Cutting out jogging also reduced the impact of gravity, which our spine is constantly fighting.

At one point, he came to my door (and his spine was) holding his head up so properly that you could hardly tell he had scoliosis at all.

As a teacher

Before a Thai massage, for the client who presents with scoliosis, as with anyone else with back pain:
- inquire as to any range of motion limitations
- find out if any movements hurt, to be avoided
- ask them what position(s) they are comfortable sleeping in
- and which ones they avoid
- find out how they spend their day (standing or sitting a lot) to determine what body parts need attention
- note: it is possible to have scoliosis without back pain, but in this line of work, pain is usually a factor

During a Thai massage:
- avoid major spinal twists, the spine is already curved and/or in a spiral. Limit torsions to gentle stretching.
- LOTS of traction, pull on their feet and limbs often, and long holds
- movements that make the entire body move, from head to toe, like the Foot & Ankle Rotation, Knee-to-shoulder, the Mini-AG, the Hip Swing
- hip opening postures: the Tree, Toes-to-nose, Yoga Mudra, the Tree Hug, Wishbone, and Leg Side-Kick.
- the rib cage may be rotated, so side postures are great for back massage
- don’t worry about working both sides identically: there is already an imbalance. If you work both sides exactly the same, they will leave just as imbalanced.
- people with scoliosis often feel tension and/or pain on the side to which the spine is deviated. For example and individual with thoracic scoliosis may feel “stuck” just beneath the rib cage, an impression of not having enough room at waist-level for their organs. An extended back and abdominal massage can help.

After the massage, if the client liked a particular stretch, show them a yoga posture or two to achieve the same effect. I like to assign lazy, relaxing postures, because a person is more likely to do it if it’s simple and it feels good. Hip opening postures are best, for example the prayer pose (like the child’s pose, but with knees open and hands reaching for the floor above the head).

In conclusion

If you’re living with back pain – with our without scoliosis – Thai massage is one of the best things you can do for it. It’s not a miracle (two inches is pretty amazing though), but the effects of Thai massage can be expected to last a week or more, and with regular treatments, even longer. Long term, it can reduce pain and help your posture overall, because a relaxed muscle works better, and if you can sleep without pain, your body can heal itself more efficiently.

Please visit the FAQ page or feel free to write with any questions. I’m always happy to talk Thai massage.

Metta y’all.

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Thai massage : well-being without doing a thing.

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The art of Traditional Thai massage, alco called Nuad Boran, yoga-massage, assisted yoga, and yoga for lazy people (!) has been practiced in Thailand for centuries. It’s a respected form of therapy that is taught across the country in the “Wat” (temple). Its origins date back to over 2500 years, to yoga in India and the founding father of Thai massage, Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, an ayurvedic doctor who is said to have treated, among others, the Buddha. Thai massage flourished as a means to share the benefits of yoga and to honor the practice of compassion and loving-kindness, “metta”.

Thai massage posture

Massage with elbows

But this ain’t yer ordinary massage! It’s a profound, therapeutic treatment that combines passive stretching and pressure points along energy lines. It relieves some of the most common ailments, to name just a few :
- headaches
- painful joints
- muscle tension and cramps
- chronic pain
- back pain, sciatica or piriformis syndrome (“false sciatica”)

On a more subtle level, Thai yoga massage brings our attention to breathing. It calms the thoughts. It balances energy. It improves sleep, digestion, circulation, and range of motion.

Does all this sound to good to be true? Well you haven’t heard the half of it yet, because all these benefits are felt as much by the practitioner as the client!

Thai massage is a system that honours the giver as well as the receiver. While moving the latter through various stretches, the practitioner also assumes stable yoga postures in order to use bodyweight and body-mechanics, rather than strength, to execute techniques (you could call it “applied physics”!). This produces a constant rocking motion – sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle – that calms the nervous system. Often, the receiver doesn’t even notice the rocking until it stops! The entire session is spent in a meditative state : both giver and receiver are conscious of breathing and the present moment.

Thai massage posture

Improves mobility

Yoga is the belief that the body and breath are intrinsically linked to the mind and spirit, and that the discipline of the practice maintains good health.

For those who have never tried it, Thai massage can be an excellent and safe introduction to the benefits of yoga. It’s adaptable to just about anyone, and respects individual limitations. Whether young or old, yogi or stiff as a board, this treasure of Thailand — yoga’s best-kept secret! — has something for everyone.

Joint pain and muscle tension

How does Thai massage help heal commons pains? To understand the magic in action, first, a short anatomy lesson :

Notion 1. Our muscles cross our joints. The work of a muscle is to bring one bone closer to another by contracting. A simplified example is the bicep (upper arm), which is attached in the shoulder and below the elbow. The bicep contracts to bring (the bones of) the forearm closer to (those of) the shoulder.

When a muscle is tense or contracted, it simply doesn’t stop doing its work : one bone is pull towards the other, potentially reducing comfortable articulatory space.

Notion 2. A muscle that crosses a painful joint will feel pain, and will further contract in response to that pain.

That contraction puts more pressure on the joint, and so you have a vicious cycle of pain.

Thai massage relaxes muscles. If a muscle that crosses a painful joint is no longer in pain, then the joint feels better too. If the joint feels better, the muscle can not only relax, but contract more efficiently when called upon to do its work! So if you do sports, you need Thai massage!

Compressions as a massage technique

Imagine a chicken leg : a large chuck of meat on top, but underneath, all along the bone there are tiny filments of tissue, stuck to the bone. We’re kind of made the same way.

Beneath the superficial muscles, we have “deep” muscles, impossible to touch. The only way to get to them, is to compress — squash down — the tissues that cover them. This is one of the reasons the effects of a Thai massage can last a week or more.

The body receives these compressions and basically thinks, “hey, that feels like an injury — all systems GO!”, and launches its healing mechanisms : circulation bringing heat and oxygen. At the same time, because the body is in a state of rest and repain — the parasympathetic system is engaged — the body doesn’t react as though it’s being agressed, but still releases its natural chemical defenses.

Thai massage for everyday cases

Can Thai massage be good for you? The short answer is yes! But, here’s a few examples of the benefits specific to certain activities (list adapted to my hometown!)

- Race-car drivers: the arms and pectoral muscles suffer from prolonged contraction during the activity, often in an uneven manner, one side of the body more than the other. Thai massage can not only restore balance and help muscles repair after an event, but also improve performance. (The car’s not the only thing needing maintenance!)

Thai massage posture

A deeply effective massage

- Hockey players: Intense use of thigh and glute muscles, especially adductors and abductors (inside and outside of thighs) can cause back pain and/or knee pain, in the long term. The passive stretching of Thai massage improve range of motion, and compressions along energy lines relieve tension along the IT band, as well as ankle and foot pain, and calms muscle cramps.

Thai massage posture

Thigh massage & stretching opposite muscles

- Weight-lifters : lifting weights broadens muscle fibers, which can reduce range of motion – for example it becomes impossible to put lotion on one’s own back, or even touch the toes! Thai massage – like yoga – lengthens muscle fibers, restores and improves range of motion.

Thai massage posture

Say goodbye to those knots!

- Construction workers : often require stronger pressure in order to “feel” a massage. The soft caresses of an oil massage do not compare to the deep relief of a Thai yoga massage : Elbow, feet and knees obliterate those stubborn knots! After a Thai massage, you’ll never want to lay still on a table ever again.

Let’s not forget office workers (sitting at a desk all day), factory workers (repetitive movements, long hours standing), tennis players (and their elbows…), swimmers, walkers, runners… the list never ends.

Thai massage is becoming more and more popular, in part because of a growing familiarity with yoga. It’s the best thing you can do for your mind, body and soul… without doing a thing!

The author, Stephanie Golden, practices and teaches Thai massage in Lavaltrie, Québec.

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Massage thaïlandais : le bien-être, sans rien faire!

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Le massage traditionnel thaïlandais, aussi appelé Nuad Boran, massage-yoga, yoga assisté, ou encore le yoga des paresseux, est un art et métier qui se pratique en Thaïlande depuis des siècles. C’est une thérapie respectée qui est enseignée au sein des “wat” (temple) et à travers le pays. Ses origines de plus de 2500 ans peuvent être retracées au yoga de l’Inde et au père fondateur du massage thaï, le docteur Jivaka Kumar Baccha qui, il est dit, soignait le bouddha. Le massage thaïlandais a fleuri comme moyen de partager les bienfaits du yoga et d’honorer la pratique du “metta”, la compassion et l’amour bienveillant.

posture de massage thailandais

Massage aux épaules avec les coudes

Mais ce massage n’est pas “seulement” un massage! C’est un traitement profond, thérapeutique, qui combine les étirements passifs et les acupressions. Il soulage les maux les plus communs, pour en citer quelques uns :
- les maux de têtes
- les articulations douloureuses
- les tensions musculaires et les crampes
- les douleurs chroniques
- les maux de dos, les sciatiques ou syndromes piriforme (“fausse sciatique”)

Sur le plan subtil, le massage yoga thaïlandais apporte l’attention à la respiration. Il calme les pensées. Il ré-équilibre l’énergie. Il améliore le sommeil, la digestion, la circulation sanguine, et l’amplitude du mouvement.

Est-ce que ça vous semble trop beau pour être vrai? Attendez, ce n’est que la moitié! Car tous ces bienfaits sont ressentis autant par le praticien que le client!

Le massage thaïlandais est un système qui honore le donneur autant que le receveur. Tout en manipulant ce dernier à travers des étirements, le praticien aussi assume des positions stables de yoga afin de se servir du poids de son corps pour travailler. Ceci produit un bercerment constant – parfois évident, parfois subtil – qui calme le système nerveux (souvent, on ne se rend compte du bercement que lorsqu’il a cessé!). Tous deux passent la séance dans un état méditatif – c’est-à-dire, conscients de leur respiration et du présent moment.

posture de massage thailandais

Rétablissement de la souplesse

Le yoga, c’est la croyance que le corps et la respiration sont intrinsèquement liés à l’esprit, et que la discipline de la pratique entraîne le bien-être.

Pour ce qui en ont jamais fait, le massage thaïlandais est une excellente introduction sécuritaire aux bienfaits du yoga. Il convient à tout le monde, il s’adapte et respecte les limitations de l’individu. Que vous soyez jeune ou aîné(e), yogini ou raide comme un pic, ce bijoux de la Thaïlande — le meilleur secret du yoga! — à de quoi pour tout le monde.

Douleurs articulaires et tensions musculaires

Comment le massage thaïlandais contribue-t-il à soulager des maux communs? Pour comprendre “la magie” de ce travail corporel dynamique, d’abord, une courte leçon anatomique :

Notion 1. Nos muscles croisent nos articulations. Le travail d’un muscle, c’est de rapprocher un os à l’autre en contractant. Un exemple très simplifié, le bicep (muscle du haut du bras) est attaché dans l’épaule et en bas du coude. Un bicep contracte pour rapprocher (les os de) l’avant-bras à (ceux de) l’épaule.

Quand nos muscles sont tendus, ils ne cessent de faire leur travail : ils tirent les os l’un vers l’autre, potentiellement réduisant l’espace nécessaire à l’articulation confortable.

Notion 2. Un muscle qui croise une articulation en douleur sera, lui aussi, endolori. Et il contractera davantage en réaction à cette douleur.

Cette contraction exercera davantage de pression sur l’articulation et ainsi, un cercle vicieux de douleur existe.

Le massage thaïlandais détend les muscles. Si un muscle qui croise l’articulation n’est plus en douleur, l’articulation elle aussi se sent mieux. Si l’articulation se sent mieux, le muscle peut non seulement se détendre, mais surtout (allô les sportifs!) contracter de manière plus efficace lorsqu’on lui exige son travail!

Les acupressions et compressions comme technique de massage

Imaginez une cuisse de poulet : une grosse masse de viande sur le dessus, mais en dessous, tout le long de l’os il y a aussi des tous petits filaments de tissus, collés après l’os. Nos muscles sont faits de manière comparable.

En dessous des muscles superficiels, nous avons des muscles dites profondes, impossibles à toucher. Le seul moyen de les atteindre, c’est de compresser — écraser — sur eux les tissus qui les recouvrent. C’est une des raisons que les effets d’un massage thaïlandais peuvent durer une semaine ou plus.

Le corps traduit les compressions successives du massage thaï comme petites blessures miscroscopiques, et donc s’empresse à lancer ses propres mécanismes de guérison : la circulation qui amène sa chaleure et son oxygène. Toutefois, parce que le système nerveux est dans un étant de détente et repos – le système parasympathetique est engagé – le corps ne réagit pas comme si c’était des “bobos”, mais relâche quand même ses défenses chimiques naturelles.

Des cas concrets, de tous les jours

Est-ce que le massage thaï pourrait vous convenir? La réponse courte, c’est oui! Mais voici tout de même quelques exemples des bienfaits spécifiques à certaines activités (liste adaptée aux lavaltrois!)

- Pilotes de course : les bras et pectoraux souffrent d’une contraction prolongée pendant l’activité, souvent de manière inégale, soit d’un côté du corps. Le massage thaï peut non seulement restorer l’équilibre et aider aux muscles à se rétablir après un évènement, mais aussi à mieux performer. (Ce n’est pas seulement l’auto qui a besoin d’entretien.)

posture de massage thailandais

Un massage profond et efficace

- Joueurs de hockey : l’usage intense des muscles des jambes et surtout des adducteurs et abducteurs (intérieur et extérieur des cuisses) peuvent entraîner le mal de dos et/ou des genoux à long terme. Les étirements passifs du massage thaï améliorent l’amplitude du mouvement, et les acupressions le long des lignes d’énergie relâche les tensions du tractus iliotibial, soulage les chevilles et les pieds aussi, et calme les crampes musculaires.

posture de massage thailandais

Massage aux jambes avec étirement des muscles opposés

- l’hatérophilie (soulever des poids) : l’hatérophilie élargit les fibres musculaires, ce qui peut à long terms réduire l’amplitude du mouvement – par exemple l’impossibilité d’appliquer de la lotion à son propre dos, ou de toucher ses orteils! Le massage thaïlandais – comme le yoga – ralonge les fibres musculaires, rétablit et améliore l’amplitude de mouvement.

posture de massage thailandais

Enfin! Dites adieux aux noeux!

- Les constructeurs : ont souvent besoin d’un niveau de pression élevé pour ressentir un massage. L’effleurage et les touchers doux d’un massage à l’huile ne comparent en aucun au soulagement profond d’un massage thaïlandais. Coudes, pieds et genoux à l’appui (litéralement), après une séance vous ne voudrez plus jamais vous allonger à poil sur une table à rien faire.

N’oublions pas les travailleurs de bureau (assis devant l’ordi toute la journée), d’usine (mouvements répétitifs, de longues heures debout), joueurs de tennis, nageurs, marcheurs, golfeurs, courreurs… la liste est interminable.

Le massage-yoga thaïlandais devient de plus en plus populaire, grâce en partie à la familiarité croissante du yoga. C’est la meilleure chose que vous pouvez faire pour votre bien-être… sans rien faire!

L’auteure, Stéphanie Golden, est massothérapeute et enseignante du massage-yoga thaïlandais, située à Lavaltrie, dans la région de Lanaudière, Québec.

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L’art de moins faire

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(English version) Je crois que le massage thaï possède le pouvoir de guérir, lorsqu’on apprend à écouter et à bien se servir des bons outils. Dans un cours débutant, l’objectif est d’enseigner aux élèves des techniques de massage, des outils … Read more »

The Art of Leaving Stuff Out (ALSO)

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(version française)

I believe that Thai massage has the power to heal, when one learns to listen and properly use the correct tools.

In a beginner level course, the aim is to teach the student massage techniques, a set of tools, each for the right job. At first, this is taught in a choreographed Thai massage form, because our bodies remember and learn movements more quickly in a fixed series. These are postures and techniques that are suitable for most body types. This method is similar to martial arts: just do it, and the “why” of the thing will become clear in time.

Every mobilization during a Thai massage is meant to explore the range of motion, to tell the practitioner a little more about what is happening in the receiver’s body. Each posture tells a story and when we listen, it guides us where to go next and how to go about getting there. Within each posture, there is so much to learn besides the posture itself.

Learning, retaining, practicing, are not a matter of just going through the motions, but rather of feeling what is going on in the tissues and joints, where motion is restricted or limited, of exploring variations in stance and/or technique to address a given blockage. What’s going on here, what is preventing movement there, why does this not move like the other one?

Once we’ve learned the techniques, postures, stances, the next most important lesson is what I like to call the “Art of Leaving Stuff Out” (ALSO). As in, “I could also do this, but maybe I’ll do it next time”, or “I’d like to do this posture, but I could ALSO do it another way which requires less effort”.

The true art of Thai massage is knowing what *not* to do. What posture(s) or technique(s) to leave out because they’re not good for the receiver and/or the giver. There are physical limitations, height/weight differences, time constraints, equipment, space, stability, suitable clothing, even smelly feet ;-) These are all limitations that can affect the composition of a Thai massage.

So, once students have learned a given set of techniques and postures, the next important lesson is how to not do them. To selectively choose which postures to do or not, in order to honour the needs in the present moment without over-doing it.

To pose an analogy: Let’s say you take a cooking class. You learn to use every known kitchen utensil and implement and then some, and you also learn to expertly prepare an entire cookbook’s worth of recipes. You graduate, you invite your family over for a sumptuous dinner. Are you going to cook everything you’ve learned to make? No way, and they could never eat it all anyway. (And then, would every ingredient be available?) So you prepare just the right dishes, just for them: their favourite spices, flavours, creating the ultimate, individualized experience. This is also ALSO.

In a Thai massage, what you don’t do is often more important that what you do. Once you know what to leave out, the rest is a playground, forever changing from moment to moment.

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Une raison d’être, parmi d’autres

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Je me rends compte, maintenant, que ma première expérience de recevoir le massage thaï n’était pas en faite la séance que j’avais eue.

A 21 ans, j’avais déménagé à New York. Les premiers jours, j’ai marché et marché, explorant la ville. J’ai ensuite eu mal pendant des jours au muscles du tibia (tibialis anterior) et mon copain à l’époque m’a dit, “Va voir ma mère, elle est guérisseur”. Sa mère était en fait professeur de danse, praticienne de yoga, et fondatrice d’une école importante. Mais “guérison”? Le yoga, en 1994, j’y connaissais rien. Je me suis dit, mmmouai, n’importe quoi, mais tant que ça n’implique pas d’aiguilles…

Voici ce qu’elle m’a fait. Alors que j’étais allongée, elle a fait des appuis profonds -et oui, un peu douloureux – le long du muscle du tibia en mobilisant mon pied pour faire fléchir et étendre les muscles du tibia et des mollets (donc, le muscle opposé, à l’arrière). Je me souviens qu’elle veillait à ma respiration en me demandant d’expirer lorsque ça fesait mal. (Puis moi, dans ma tête, “n’importe quoi…”)

Et voilà. Le lendemain ma jambe allait mieux. Mais je me suis rendue compte du lien au massage thaï que tout récemment, j’avais complètement oublié l’expérience. Sa technique, c’était effectivement du massage thaï: étirer les fibres musculaires, les écraser, et conscience de la respiration.

* * * *

Le massage thaï m’a appris que tout le monde vie une douleur ou une autre, en quelque sorte. Que ce soit physique, émotionnelle, ou psychologique, temporaire, soudaine ou chronique, la douleur fait partie intégrale de l’expérience humaine.

Quand une personne a mal, il faut lui croire. Peu importe si le mal peut être diagnostiqué ou pas, si une personne croit avoir mal, elle a mal. Cette douleur est vraie pour cette personne, elle lui est réelle et il ne faut pas nier son existence. C’est en faite une des premières leçons dans les cours de pathologie, et si jamais votre médecin ou autre ne vous croit pas, allez voir un autre.

La deuxième chose que j’ai apprise, c’est la compassion. Plus précisément, le pouvoir de choisir d’avoir de la compassion (ou pas), et de choisir de l’exprimer (ou pas). Quand quelqu’un souffre, de choisir d’être aussi bête avec lui qu’il l’est envers moi, ou pas. Lorsqu’on se rend compte que quelqu’un souffre (aussi) ça change notre façon de les voir et traiter, parce-qu’on est plus en mesure de comprendre “d’ou ils viennent”.

J’ai choisi de croire que les douleurs que j’ai vécues, que je vie et que je vivrai, m’arrivent pour une raison. Lorsque quelqu’un vient me voir pour un massage parce qu’ils ont mal au dos, au genou ou à l’épaule, je sais combien et comment ça fait mal, et je sais aussi qu’est-ce qui pourrait faire du bien – en partie bien entendu grâce à une formation adéquate – mais aussi parce que je l’ai vécu.

Ayant passé à travers mes propres douleurs, j’ai trouvé des moyens qui m’ont aidé à les gérer et/ou guérir. Donc, le traitement de mes clients n’arrête pas à la fin du massage. Si le client est prêt à recevoir l’information, j’offre des conseils, des exercices simples basés sur le yoga, qi gong et le massage thaï, qui exigent peu d’effort et que n’importe qui peut faire. Des choses basées sur ce que j’ai vécu et ce qui m’a aidé (et non pas ce que j’ai pu lire dans un livre).

Et je vous dis clairement : la différence entre les clients qui font et ne font pas les exercises est remarquable et évidente. Une personne a *le choix* par exemple de changer sa posture en quelques semaines, ou simplement de revenir pour des massages ad éternam en se plaignant que rien n’a changé. (Evidemment! Les “choses” ne se changent pas toutes seules, d’eux mêmes – c’est à nous de les changer!)

Mon bût, ce n’est pas de garder mes clients à vie. Je suis là pour vous accompagner qu’un p’tit boût sur votre chemin et peut être vous guider sur quel chemin à suivre, mais je ne connais pas la distance que nous ferons ensemble. Je ne dirai jamais à un client qu’il lui faut x nombre de massages pour se guérir (ni à un élève qu’il faut x nombre de massages pour devenir bon!). Ce qu’il faut, c’est une volonté à long terme de faire ce qu’il faut pour améliorer son sort. A chacun de nous le choix.

Ma raison d’être, et la raison que j’ai vécue mes maux, c’est pour pouvoir aider les autres qui le vivent, qui sont maintenant là ou j’ai été. Puis c’est le choix que je fais tous les jours, parce que c’est un choix assez simple à faire. Le massage thaï m’a trouvée pour une raison: pour pouvoir aider. Je crois profondément en la puissance de guérison du massage thaï.

Ce blog sera un outil dans le bût d’aider: les conseils pratiques que je donne à mes clients et élèves.

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A reason for being, among others

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(Version française)

I realize now that my first Thai massage experience wasn’t that session I received.

When I was 21, I had moved to New York. I spent the first few days walking and walking, exploring the city. Then my lower legs (tibialis anterior) hurt for days. My boyfriend at the time said to me, “Go see my mom, she’s a healer”. His mom’s a dance teacher and yoga practitioner, who founded an important school. But “healer” ? I knew nothing of yoga in 1994. Gimme a break, I said to myself. I figured, as long as it doesn’t involve needles, why not.

Here’s what she did. As I was laying on my back, she stretched and flexed my tibialis anterior and my calf muscles (their opposite muscles, in back) while applying somewhat painful compressions with her thumbs along my tibialis. It hurt, and she said to exhale when it did (and in my head I’m thinking, “breathe, yeah ok, whatever”).

The next day my pain was gone. But I only made the Thai massage connection recently, I had completely forgotten the experience. The technique she used was Thai massage: stretching the fibers, squashing them, and awareness of breath.

* * * *

Thai massage has taught me that everyone is living in some sort of pain or another. Be it physical, emotional, psychological, temporary, sudden or chronic, pain is an integral part of the human experience.

When someone feels pain, their pain is real. It is real to them, and so it exists. Whether the source of the pain can be diagnosed or not, if someone believes they are in pain, then they are in pain. It’s one of the first lessons in a pathology course, and if ever your doctor doesn’t believe you, see someone else.

Another lesson I’ve learned is compassion. More precisely, the power to choose whether to be compassionate (or not) and whether to express it (or not). When someone is suffering, I can either choose to be as aggressive with them as they are with me, or not. When we realize that someone else is suffering (too) it changes how we see them and treat them, because we understand a little more about “where they’re coming from”.

I’ve chosen to believe that the pains I’ve lived with, am living with and will live with, happen for a reason. When someone comes to see me for a massage because their back hurts, or they’ve got tendinitis or muscle cramps, I understand just how and how much it hurts, but also what can help – partly because of proper training, obviously – but also because I’ve been there.

Having been through my own pain, I’ve found ways to either cope or heal. So when I treat a client, the treatment doesn’t stop at the end of the massage. If the person is ready to receive the information, I offer advice, simple exercises based on yoga, qi gong and Thai massage thaï that require little effort and that anyone can do. These are mostly based on what I’ve been through and what has helped me personally (rather than what I may have read in a book).

And I will be clear about this: the difference between the clients who do the exercises and those who don’t is night and day. A person has *the choice* for example to change their posture in just a few weeks, or simply keep coming back eternally for massage and complaining and nothing’s changed. (Of course! “Things” don’t just change on their own, it’s up to you to change them!)

My goal is not to keep my clients for life. I am here to accompany you for a short while on your path, and then maybe offer you guidance as to which path to follow when the time comes for us to part ways. I do not know how far we are meant to travel together. I will never tell a client, you need so many massages to heal (nor a student so many practices to excel). What’s needed is the will to make a long term change in order to improve your lot. The choice belongs to each of us.

My reason for being, and the reason I’ve been through my pain, is to help others who are now going through where I’ve been. It’s a choice I make every day, because it’s an easy enough choice to make. Thai massage found me for a reason: to help others, and I believe deeply in the healing power of Thai massage.

This blog will be a tool to help others: practical advice and exercises that I give to my clients and students.

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What is meditation?

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(version française)

My Thai massage master, Kam Thye Chow, teaches us that “meditation is not the absence of thought, but rather the space in between thoughts”.

To me, meditation is an exercise like any other for a muscle or organ, in this case our brain and mind.

Our mind jumps from one thought to the next in a fraction of a second, so many thoughts per second and so many thoughts at once. But our brain is made to think, how can you ask it not too?

Our lungs were made to breathe, how can you ask them not to?

In general, we don’t rapidly breathe in-out-in-out. There is a… pause… in between inhale… and exhale… and inhale…. Master swimmers don’t learn to hold their breath, but rather with training, can extend each breathe, as well as the pause between them. Because with practice, the lungs’ capacity improves.

Meditation is swimming for the brain :-)

Meditation teaches our brain to expand the spaces in between thoughts, and with practice, we can find that calm space more and more easily when we need it. In the mind’s case, it helps us to calm that internal noise, to improve concentration and to better manage life in general.

But where does one start?

If you’ve never tried meditating before, here’s how in the simplest of methods: Listen to your breathing. That’s all, nothing else. Close your eyes, and listen.

It’s normal that at the beginning (and the beginning can take years…) your brain will keep jumping from thought to thought. It’s normal, that’s what it’s made for. And, when you do start clearing out that calm space, everything you try to not think of in your daily life, all the crap that gets to you or brings you down, all that stuff may rush in to fill that space. And it may make you emotional. That’s normal too. It’s just part of the path and it’s temporary.

And you will surely notice that you’ve stopped listening to your breathing. That’s also part of the path, just like the pain after your first day back at the gym.

It doesn’t matter. Don’t judge yourself for thinking. Just come back again and again to the sound of your breathing. That’s all.

Is it working yet? …Is it working yet? …Is it working yet? …

Be patient with yourself. Whether meditation “is working” or not is something you discover only when you’ve stopped doing it. Then, suddenly, life seems complicated, hard to manage, or depressing, and we wonder why. When the only thing that’s changed is your outlook, your perception, because your mind will miss the practice.

It can take years to learn to be comfortable sitting on the floor, and more to learn to sit still. You get to decide how much practice and/or time you dedicate to making that evolution happen.

metta y’all.

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Qu’est-ce la méditation?

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Mon maître de massage thaï, Kam Thye Chow, nous apprend que “la méditation n’est pas le fait de ne pas penser, mais plutôt d’élargir les espaces entre les pensées”.

Pour moi, la méditation est un exercice qui améliore la santé et capacité d’un muscle (ou organe), soient la cervelle et l’esprit.

Notre cervelle saute d’une pensée à l’autre en une fraction de seconde, plusieurs pensées par seconde et des tonnes de pensées à la fois. Mais elle est faite pour penser, c’est sa raison d’être. Comment peut-on lui demander de ne pas réfléchir?

Nos poumons sont faits pour respirer, comment leur demander de ne pas?

En général nous ne respirons pas successivement “inspirer-expirer-inspirer-expirer”. Il y a une… pause… entre l’inspiration… et l’expiration… Les maître nageurs n’apprènent pas à retenir leur souffle, mais plutôt avec entraînement sont capables de ralonger chaque inspiration et expiration, et surtout la pause entre elles. Parce-qu’avec la pratique, la capacité de des poumons s’améliore.

La méditation, c’est de la natation pour le cerveau :-)

La méditation apprend à la cervelle à ralonger les pauses entre les pensées, et avec la pratique, on peut retrouver cet espace calme de plus en plus facilement. Dans le cas de la cervelle, cet exercice nous permet de calmer cette cacophonie intérieure, de mieux se concentrer et gérer la vie en générale.

Mais par ou commencer? (Le manque d’accent pour le u sur mon clavier m’embête, et pas à peu près…)

Si vous n’avez jamais médité dans votre vie, voici comment, dans sa plus simple des méthodes : écoutez votre respiration. Concentrez-vous sur le son de votre respiration, fermez les yeux et écoutez-là.

C’est tout à fait normal qu’au début (le début peut durer des années…) votre mental saute de pensée à pensée. C’est normal, c’est pour ça qu’elle est conçue. Et peut-être aussi que lorsque vous tentez de clairer l’espace mental, toutes les choses auxquelles vous faites de votre possible, dans votre vie de tous les jours, de ne pas penser, d’éviter, d’ignorer… il se peut que tous ces embêtements ou empêchements surgissent pour tenter de remplir cet espace qui du coup vient de s’en libérer. Il se peut que celà vous rende émotionnel (ou pas).

Et vous allez surement vous rendre compte que vous avez cessé d’écouter votre respiration. Ca fait partie du chemin à faire – comme avoir mal la première fois qu’on retourne à la gyme.

Peu importe, ne jugez pas le fait que vous avez réfléchi. Revenez au son de votre respiration à chaque fois, et c’est tout.

Est-ce que ça marche? … Est-ce que ça marche? … Est-ce que ça marche? …

Soyez patient envers vous-mêmes. Si la méditation fonctionne ou non, c’est une question qui se répond que lorsqu’on arrête de le faire. Puis du coup, la vie devient compliquée et difficile à gérer ou déprimante, puis on se demande pourquoi. Alors que la seule chose qui aura changé, c’est votre regard, votre perception, car la pratique manquera à votre esprit.

Ca peut prendre des années à apprendre à être comfortable assis au sol, puis encore des années à apprendre à cesser de bouger. À vous de décider combien de pratique et/ou temps que vous y dédiez afin d’atteindre cette évolution.

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