Massage Styles: Glossary of Massage Terms: Part V
Thai Massage: As in yoga, balancing the flow of energy in the body is key to Thai massage, which came to Thailand from India thousands of years ago. The theory is that the body is composed of 72,000 Sen (energy lines) of which ten are the most critical; many of these Sen correspond to Chinese meridians whereas others are rooted in Indian Ayurvedic medical science. Traditional Thai massage takes place with the client on a mat on the floor. No oil is used and the person is fully clothed. In Thailand, a "short session" is two hours; a normal one is three hours! The massage combines assisted yoga postures, gentle rocking and rhythmic compressions with targeted point pressure and a variety of stretching movements. Some practitioners have adapted certain essential moves to a massage table practice they call Thai acupressure or Thai-on-Table; however, in this form, the huge stretches and lifts characteristic of Thai massage are necessarily missing. Besides removing blockages to one's vitality, the use of stretching movements opens the joints and purportedly balances the body's major muscle groups. The gentle rocking and rhythmic compressions induce a deeply relaxed state that assists the client to become more flexible. Dancers and athletes, in particular, enjoy the increased range of motion they feel after this form of massage.
The Trager® Approach: Developed by Milton Trager, MD, more than half a century ago, the Trager Approach uses light, gentle, nonintrusive movements to facilitate the release of deep-seated physical and mental patterns that can inhibit, block or distort free-flowing motion and full self-expression. A Trager session is from one to one-and-a-half hours long. No oils are used. The client lies on a padded table while the practitioner works on the body using gentle, rhythmic movements that do not involve any force or pressure. The practitioner works in a meditative state of consciousness that Dr. Trager calls "hook-up." Critical to the accomplishment of the work, this state of mind permits the practitioner to connect deeply and sensitively with the client without experiencing fatigue. A series of sessions are recommended because the benefits appear to be cumulative. For Trager, the transformation clients experience comes from the practitioner's success in having reached the client's unconscious mind and having brought to the surface an experiential awareness of what being well (graceful, light, etc.) feels like. Training in the Trager Approach is strictly governed by The Trager Institute.
Watsu®: An underwater massage where you are cradled in the arms of a massage therapist who gently stretches and massages your body using shiatsu and yoga-like movements. It began at Harbin Hot Springs in the 1980s when Harold Dull at Harbin's School of Shiatsu and Massage started floating people in the pool and applying the Zen shiatsu techniques he had studied in Japan. Watsu therapy is registered, and use of the designation demands completion of an extensive training program. You will find many styles of water therapy derived from Watsu making their way to spa menus. Most spas continue to send their practitioners to Harbin for training.
©Courtesy of Laurel Olson Cook, author of Spas of California (2002) and Wine Country Spas of California (2003). Visit www.LaurelCook.com
