thai massage

Back in October, when we visited the lovely Kostecki-Shaw family, Patrick showed me what Thai Massage was. I'd been reading about it here and there in books and online, but hadn't experienced it physically before. And Patrick is a master. He's been practicing and teaching thai for many many years. So during our visit he showed me some of the moves, gifting me with a mini-session in Jenny's little studio area (thai massage surrounded by beautiful art! Blissful!) ... and I was HOOKED! Oh my goodness... it's yummy stuff. Like nothing else I've experienced!

In Patrick's words:

Traditional Thai Massage is an experience of rhythmical movement where the receiver is carried through a flow of passive yoga stretches, deep muscle pressure and joint mobilization.

(Read more about it here on his site.)

So by the time we got home, I was on a mission to find thai massage classes in my area so I could learn to do it, too. I thought it would be such a blessing to offer this beautiful, healing touch to my friends, family, yoga students and community. I immediately stumbled onto a 3 day intensive and signed up. That was back in November. I did the 3 days and have been practicing on family ever since. (Thanks for being my guinea pigs, guys!) :)

Since then, I've made a deal with the yoga studio where I teach to offer thai massage in the afternoons (during Veda's nap) and today was my first appointment. (!) Because I'm just learning, I'm offering hour-long sessions for a super cheap rate and profusely thanking those who sign up for a massage for helping me learn by practicing! I think it's a great deal. :)

It was really fun to do this first session. I was a little nervous beforehand, but by the time I got the room warmed up, my nag champa candle lit and my zenned-out music going, intuition had kicked in and I gave a really good massage. I'm pretty sure that my first client walked away happy and more in tune with her body. yay!

So now I gotta keep practicing and also find some more training! I'm just so in-love with this new art... I am hungry to learn more!