Key Points

• Thai massage is steeped in the rich history and tradition of Thailand, offering modalities that can color your massage practice in positive ways.

• Three techniques that can grow your metta (“loving kindness”) are back walking, triceps stretch and squeeze, and Thai wooden stick reflexology.

Author note: This article is a brief look at the transformative impact Thai massage and the people of Thailand have made and continue to make on our professional and personal lives. We humbly offer our experience from a place of heartfelt gratitude and tremendous respect for the Thai way. If the reader ever has an opportunity to explore Thailand and her infinite splendor and preeminent healers, we strongly recommend you act.

After traversing the Pacific in over 35 hours of flight time and layovers, we finally arrived in Bangkok, Thailand. We had just been married two days earlier and were eager for our six-week honeymoon, to be punctuated with a two-week course of traditional Thai massage.

Jetlagged and disoriented, we made our way out of our hotel and onto the bustling streets of Bangkok on our first day in Thailand. We walked miles in balmy weather, amazed by the smiling nature of the locals, and were intoxicated by mixtures of some of the most beautiful (think never-ending expanses of flower markets) and unusual (sun-dried squid and durian, anyone?) scents we had never smelled. Our taste buds were bombarded by a magical synergy of herbs and spices we had no idea how to describe. We toured grounds of kings and queens, climbed temples, and floated down a river. And finally, after passing a multitude of storefronts with handwritten signs inviting “Thai Foot Massage,” our feet could no longer be denied. 

Heath is a foot massage junkie, and this was an experience unlike any other. We were seated next to one another in pedicure-style fashion, and our therapists began whispering in what sounded like their native language. We later learned that this is how most Thai bodywork begins, with a Pali prayer at the beginning of a session; a request to be guided by the healing power of Jivaka Komarabhacca, a.k.a. Dr. Shivago. Shivago, affectionately referred to as “Father Doctor,” was a historical doctor in Northern India, and it is often taught that his medicinal approach informed the origination of Thai massage. Though we don’t use this traditional invocation before we practice Thai bodywork, we and our clients derive great value from setting healing intentions at the beginning and recommitting to these throughout our time together. 

Following this invocation, our feet were submerged in an aromatic warm-water foot bath of lemongrass, kaffir lime, turmeric, and camphor to cleanse and relax. In Thailand, the human body, from head to toe, symbolizes our relationship to the holy or the desecrated, respectively. Since the head occupies a position closest to the heavens, it is considered godly, whereas the feet are closest to the ground, and are considered dirty. In Thailand, it is culturally inappropriate to casually touch someone’s head (like tapping a child’s head), and it’s considered an insult to point one’s feet at another person. Hence, beginning a Thai foot massage with a foot bath relieves the practicality of washing feet that have been walking (sweating) in a tropical climate, as well as beginning to metaphorically cleanse that which is considered base. After our feet were cleaned, we were surprised and delighted by the assortment of tools and approaches used. 

A rattan serving tray with a multitude of uniquely scented oils, lotions, and salves, as well as a bevy of wooden sticks and other unusual looking equipment, was placed by our feet and at the sides of our therapists. They began to massage with their hands, fingers, and thumbs, but also used their knuckles, soft fists, and a variety of those strange wooden instruments to press, stretch, mobilize, and basically tenderize our feet, toes, ankles, shins, and calves. The pressure got to be so intense—and Nicole attests to the various color changes reflected on Heath’s face (careful what you wish for, Heath!)—that he started to express his discomfort by flinching, a bit of squirming, and saying “Ow!” His therapist benevolently smiled as she looked up and said, “Good for you. The pain come out!” 

Well yes, something came out. And the heavy, swollen, tired feet we walked in with were now alight, free, and tingling—this is bliss! Still unsure if we felt ecstatic from the therapeutic aspects of the bodywork or because our feet were no longer subject to such intense and wise contact, we were both hooked. We had to know, feel, see, and try more!

Both of us spurred to experience and learn more of Thailand’s magic, we swiftly made our way to our first traditional Thai massage course, in the northern capital of Chiang Mai, at the foothills of the Himalayas.

Living Metta

Thailand is steeped in rich Buddhist traditions, with a prevalence of temples (wats) as plentiful as coffee shops, and visitors may be surprised to receive the prolific local greeting of the wai (pronounced “why”). To perform the wai, bring your hands into prayer position and bow your head to your heart. This is the ubiquitous hello, a friendly bow performed not only in sacred sites but whenever you enter a Thai restaurant, when you check in at a hotel, or even when you ride in a tuk-tuk (some powered by engines, some fueled by human exertion, akin to the Flintstones’ legwork). The prayer hands are often accompanied with the Thai greeting sawadee, which loosely translates as “May the Buddha bless you.” Though we are not practicing Buddhists, this everyday act of surrendering the head to the heart and attesting to the divinity in all is perfectly aligned with our own values, and we feel at home in this honorific exchange. 

We have been blessed by the opportunity to study at the feet and under the hands (and sometimes under the feet, knees, and seats) of some of the greatest healers in Thailand, especially those in the north, near and around the healing mecca of Chiang Mai. Our first teacher more than 20 years ago was Ajahn Wasan at the Old Medicine Hospital, and since we’ve been inspired and impacted by the deep wisdom of Ajahn Pichest Bonnthumme, Kam Thye Chow, Mr. Nat, friends at the Sunshine Network, and many, many more. These teachers taught us more than a bodywork style. They helped us find the inspiration for a lifestyle that most aligns us with our passion and purpose: metta, the Thai expression for loving kindness. 

One of Buddhism’s main goals is to release the world (and oneself) of suffering. Thai bodywork indeed goes a long way in achieving this goal, and we were especially inspired by what our teacher Kam Thye Chow, founder of the Lotus Palm school, reinforced in his practical application of metta. He helped us discover how to use metta as a guiding principle for practicing, learning, and teaching Thai massage. Indeed, relieving suffering with Thai massage alone is powerful and possible. When you add in the bonus feature of metta, the healing potential is exponentiated! Focusing on metta both in and out of sessions allows us to grow the capacity of our nervous system to give and receive larger amounts of loving kindness for longer, sustained periods of time. This has been so central to our lives that several years ago we changed our continuing education business name and our personal life intention to “Living Metta.” 

Living metta or embodying loving kindness is practiced when we can answer yes to these two questions: Does it feel good to receive (metta for your client)? And does it feel good to give (metta for you)? According to Living Metta, if it feels good to give and good to receive, you’re doing it right. With that in mind, we want to share a few of our favorite Thai approaches to practice and grow your metta. 

Back Walking

This technique can be practiced traditionally on the floor or on a massage table and is easiest to perform with your clients clothed. Begin with your client sitting in a comfortable position in the center of the mat or table (be sure they are not sitting in the center crack of a table). Sitting behind your client, ask them to reach their hands behind them and interlace wrist to wrist or palm to palm. On your client’s exhale, begin to gently press one foot alongside the spine as you very gently stretch their arms back. On their inhale, release the intensity of the stretch and move your foot to another position anywhere from the ilium to the scapula on the erectors. Exhale, stretch, and press. After a handful of repetitions on one side, repeat on the other. Then practice pressing both feet on both sides of the erectors on your client’s exhale. Once received, back walking might be the best way to let a person “walk all over you.” 

Triceps Stretch and Squeeze

This is another technique that can be practiced traditionally on the floor or on a massage table on clothed or draped clients. Begin by bending an elbow, then brush open a palm to flex the fingers back. Now lift the bent elbow and guide the open palm to rest palm down (if possible) next to their head. Stack elbow over wrist and support their bent elbow with your outside hand and begin to stretch the elbow superiorly—and then squeeze the triceps away from the bone. Alternate between stretching and squeezing. As you stretch, be sure not to press the elbow down into the table; rather, stretch the elbow to the wall in front of you (go for a curved-arc stretch directionality). Create the quintessential traditional Thai rhythmic, rocking sensation as you alternate from the stretch and squeeze. Traditionally, there is not much petrissage or squeezing in Thai massage, but we use creative license as we follow the Thai adage “same-same, but different.” 

Stick it to ’Em

For therapists who have a tendency to overuse their thumbs, the Thai wooden stick provides a respite for repetitive strain. Believe it or not, with practice, this wooden tool can act as an extension of your own hand, and clients won’t even know you’re not using your thumbs. The Thai stick has a narrow and broader tip to powerfully release adhesions or pressure points in the feet. It can also be used like a gua-sha (or scraping) tool. Play with holding the stick in comfortable ways without over-gripping. This is a powerful modality and can beneficially impact the entire mind, body, and heart. 

Hearts Full of Thanks

Our many travels to Thailand and being immersed in her various healing approaches has transformed us and allowed us to evolve beyond our American roots. We discovered a loving kindness lifestyle that focuses on relieving the suffering of others, and, just as importantly, reminds us to include ourselves in the therapeutic relationship. We learned how to leverage our bodies to give the most impact in every session with the least amount of effort: also known as living metta. We discovered that traditional Thai massage was not complete without setting intentions and developing a meditation practice—also growing metta. And we realized we do not have to give until it hurts. 

Our times in Thailand continue to influence who we are and what we do. It has come to be the place where we go to refresh, restore, and heal. We are eternally grateful for Thailand and the opportunity to continue to study and share the rich history, culture, and ancient healing art of Thai massage in all its many forms. 

May you be blessed and filled with good energy (or as they say in Thailand, lom). With hearts full of thanks,