Traditional Thai Massage or “Nuad Boran”

Rasidaton and Nuad Boran!

Greetings from Chang Mai, Thailand! What a place I’m writing you from. I have been
studying Thai Reflexology and Traditional Thai Massage or “Nuad Boran” for the past three weeks. Our day begins with Rasidaton, a warm-up stretching routine to increase our energy and prepare ourselves for giving body work. It is an old self-healing practice in the Thai healing arts that includes chants in Pali, the sacred language of Theravada Buddhism, related to Sanskrit.
Another purpose of these chants is to express gratitude to the physician of Buddha, Jivaka Komarabhacca, the “father” of Nuad Boran (Thai massage) and Thai traditional medicine. Dr. Jivaka spread the practice of massage to monasteries to help ease monks’ pain after long hours of meditation. There is a shrine to him with pineapples, water and fresh flowers as offerings of our gratitude in our meditation hall classroom.

Nuad Boran is an ancient healing system combining acupressure, Indian Ayurvedic principles, and assisted yoga postures. It is often called the ‘expression of loving kindness’, because at the heart, of the practice is the compassionate intent of the healer.
The most significant difference between this ancient healing art and Swedish massage, and the deep tissue massage techniques I have practiced over the past ten years, is that you are on the ground instead of a table. You are also fully clothed in this massage and very little oil is used. Your whole body is receiving energy from the Earth by being flat on the ground, and according to my teacher, this is significant.

Some people may have the impression that Thai Massage is painful. My Lonely Planet travel book even has a short paragraph in it titled, “Mean Massages”. However, my Teacher explains that you must put some effort into researching a competent practitioner that isn’t rushing through the work just to get more people to line up for the day, just like anywhere else. She also says it’s worth finding out where the local people go to get their massages. We spend a lot of time in every class to learn the correct way of applying deep pressure with the whole body so that it won’t be painful.
I am drawn more and more each day to this holistic approach of bodywork because it is fun, effective and when receiving, your body returns to feeling whole again. It is also wonderful receiving this treatment because your whole body gets stretched and moved, almost like someone is exercising for you. It is a much more active way of unwinding and relaxing compared to lying on the table when getting a massage.

Though distinguished differences exist between Chinese Medicine and traditional Thai Medicine, there are enough similarities between these two practices to suggest trying 30 minutes of Acupuncture before 60-90 minutes of a Thai Massage session to increase further the benefits of this art.

I hope to be able to offer herbal compresses that will be applied for a minimum of 30 minutes after 60, 90 or longer minute Thai Massage sessions. The herbal compresses are applied in a slow, rocking motion over and the combination of heat and herbs help erase any pain leftover after the massage.

In addition to the 80 hour Nuad Boran, traditional Thai massage, course that I took for two weeks in Chiang Mai, I took a week long course in Thai Reflexology. I will be offering Reflexology sessions for 60-120 minutes. This treatment has been around for over 2,000 years. Reflex action in another part of the body is stimulated by the manipulation of each specific point
in the foot. I believe reflexology is a wonderful treatment for anyone to experience for relaxation and giving quality attention to an area of the body that literally hold us up all day long.

Originally, my hope in taking a Thai massage course was to develop a better skill level in Thai Massage techniques. I never imagined to leave school with these new techniques and the feeling of beginning a new practice altogether. I look forward to continuing my education in Thai Massage, but also look forward to taking additional courses in Thai herbology and “Womblifting”. I have been so very grateful and humbled to learn from a culture that has such history in this field of massage and bodywork and look forward to practicing these new techniques beginning this winter after I return from one of the best “off seasons” so far!

For further information or to schedule an appointment, please contact Ambrosia Brown at Alison Palmer Physical Therapy and Wellness Center at 435-260-1122, a​mbrosiabrown@gmail.com www.ambrosiabrownmassage.com , www.telluridethaimassage.com. We are located in the Cimarron Lodge at the bottom of Lift 7, next to Carhenge Parking Lot. Wellness is the full integration of mind, body and spirit. We look forward to helping you towards a healthier life.