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London Thai Yoga Massage Therapy

Thai Yoga Massage is a traditional oriental therapy.
The objective is for your Thai Yoga massage therapist to relax and release, using acupressure massage along meridians along the body ("sen") and facilitated stretches into yoga asanas. It is a kind of facilitated yoga and as both participants are gently encouraged into greater awareness, it is a moving meditation for therapist & client.

A clothed massage: the treatment takes place on a mat on the floor, and your thai yoga masseur will ask you to wear loose clothing. Oil is not used. It is a perfect treatment for people wanting to take time out in a busy schedule.

Thai Yoga Massage Therapist in London

Martin Kingston is accredited by Westminster University to practice as a Thai Yoga Masseur. He considers it an excellent way to destress from the cares of the world, and finds it helps free up constrictions in the body, leaving you refreshed and revived.

History of Thai Yoga Massage Therapy

Nuad Bo’Rarn is practiced as a therapy in temples (called Wats) across Thailand. It traces its origins to a contemporary of the Buddha, Shivago Komparaj (‘Father Doctor’). Buddhist monks brought teachings to what is now Thailand in the 2nd century BC. Monks and nuns there still practice traditional medicine as a practical application of Metta (loving kindness).

Many medical documents were lost in the turbulent 17th century, but when the famous Wat Pho was rebuilt in the 1830s, the King commissioned medical carvings, to preserve the unique knowledge.

Recent research is beginning to recognise the indigenous nature of Thai teachings: related but quite distinct from chinese and indian philosophies.

Nowadays, because of the world-wide interest in Thai Yoga massage, foreigners are taught to be thai yoga masseurs in the wats in Thailand, including the Royal Wat. This training is also available at Westminster University, where Martin trained to be a thai yoga masseur.

Physical Benefits of Thai Yoga Massage Therapy

Massage soothes and relaxes tired muscles
Stretching increases flexibility and range of movement
Weak muscles are toned up
Blood is redirected to nourish the body
Energy is restored to tired neglected areas.
Your body is cleansed with lymphatic drainage

Mental Benefits of Thai Yoga Massage Therapy

Caring for yourself encourages contentment
Rebalancing energy flows restores vitality and zest
Pain recedes and becomes unimportant
A healthy emotional flow restores optimism

Spiritual Benefits of Thai Yoga Massage Therapy

You will collaborate with your therapist in a meditation to offer improved awareness of your body, to encourage it to better health
A renewed sense of proportion and a calmer attitude will help with the challenges of life

A thai yoga masseur will work in the spirit of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, which encourages people to act in a dispassionate but helpful way. However, no dogma or religious restrictions are expected, and you will not be encouraged into any particular way of belief.

Philosophy of your Thai Yoga Massage Therapist

Thai medicine is influenced by Theravada Buddist thought, and assumes energy meridians (sen - similar to chinese meridians) channel life-force (lom) around the body, but it also has adopted Indian yogic teachings of the chakras - centres of energy which govern the ebb and flow of life-forces. Poor health and disease are believed to be caused when the lom energies are out of balance.

Thai medicine includes teachings on nutrition & herbalism for the body, spiritual practices for the mind/heart (citta) and massage for the energy body which links the two. It aims to help balance lom, to ensure all systems of the body are in harmony, including mind and spirit.

The Sen lines link the abdomen (vata) with the extremities, and a thai yoga masseur focuses on unblocking these lines of force, to free up or redirect the lom. Each sen is associated with a specific energy and function, and so a consultation to check on your health is important before the massage begins.

A thai yoga masseur treats the physical body. However, the aim is to refresh the mind by re-balancing energy flows in the ‘energy body’.

Martin focuses on treating the physical body. He is trained in the western anatomy model of physiology, and holds this picture in his mind while treating. However, he will intuitively follow where he feels tension or blockages. While he practices medititation regularly, both alone and when treating, he is not a practicing buddhist. He believes the refreshement and renewal that people experience is derived from the para-sympathetic respose of the autonomous nervous system - a valuable altered state of consiousness that is frequently actively invoked in traditional medicines.

Having said this, he welcomes people of all faiths and of none to experience the benefits of this form of massage.