Traditional Thai massage is found on practically every street corner here. I'm not kidding, there are massage places everywhere. Thai massage, foot massage & spa treatments which include aroma oil massages & herbal hot compress and then there's the seedy side as well, perhaps you've heard the phrase "happy ending?" Not that I know from experience, but I've heard they exist.
The setting is different than we think of in a Western style massage business, for Thai massage you wear very loose fitting & comfortable clothes and you may get rubbed in a large room along with several other people or you may have slightly more privacy with a curtain that draws around the bed.
There are foot massage places where you're just out in the open getting your feet rubbed. At the Sunday walking market in Chiang Mai there are practically 100 chairs lined up along one of the roads with the ladies ready to give you your massage. I've never been around a culture of people so open & willing to relax so freely in public, it still makes me smile. One of the best parts all this rubbing & relaxing...most of the services are the equivalent of $10 or less! Whoa!
The catch is this...I really think Thai massage is an acquired taste. Rather than rubbing along the length of your muscles, searching for knots & kinks, it's more like a pressing, sometimes painfully hard along the subtle energy lines of the body. In America, most people prefer to have their backs & shoulders worked on, but here they spend a large portion of the time on your legs and only spend a short amount of time working on the back.
I've found a place close to our mooban that I really like, the price is right, it's clean, you can walk right in...I've built a rapport with a lady there, her name Suenee. If Suenee is not available, I almost feel bad for the whoever gets me, I'm holding Suenee at the top, the standard to which all others are compared. Interestingly, part of what I love about her technique was her rhythm, (something I'm finely tuned into) her touch is so steady and does not vary for the entire process, it has an incredibly grounding effect on both my body & mind. I've been going once or twice a week for about a month. I wanted to see if I could tell a difference in my body. One thing I've learned is that it really depends on who is working on me and what I bring into the room with you from my day. Honestly, I've had a few massages where it feels like I'm pressing back against her as she presses into me, those are the painful ones. When I'm able to relax and breathe, the massage can be incredibly relaxing and I feel that it's a perfect compliment to a regular yoga practice. I'm working on some of the same things while getting a massage as I am during my yoga practice, breathing & whatever the sensations I'm feeling in my body, staying present.
I feel so blessed to be in a position to experience this healing art as a a regular part of my life here.
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