continuing education for massage & bodywork professionals

This 1-day workshop is a solid stepping stone to deciding if Thai bodywork is a method in which you'd like to study further. Two instructors will guide you through the fundamental techniques of Thai massage along with the who, what, and why of it all. We will practice hands-on techniques for common tension patterns and introduce the Thai energetic system. We’ll touch on Thai yoga for self-care and how to use intention and intuition while working in a relaxed and fun learning environment. 

This is the perfect class if you've been curious about dipping your toes into the versatile world of Thai healing arts but aren't quite ready to make a commitment. All practice is in the traditional style, fully clothed, on a mat on the floor. We will provide you with mats, sheets, and pillows for use during class. ☯

Learn the basics of Thai bodywork in our 3-day continuing education course. This introduction will teach you fundamental hands-on techniques of Thai massage along with some history, theory, cultural aspects, and self-care. By the end of the course, you will be able to perform a unique 1 hour+ Thai massage session using safe body mechanics for you and your client. 

We'll practice several techniques using hands, fingers, thumbs, forearms, elbows, knees, feet, toes, heels, and occasionally your entire body to apply pressure in supine, prone, seated and side-lying positions with a focus on body mechanics to ensure a sustainable practice. Along with these, we’ll practice a little Thai yoga for self-care, verbal and non-verbal communicating, making smooth transitions, and using intention and intuition in a relaxed learning environment. We'll introduce the Thai energetic system, the importance of self-care rituals, acupressure points, and abdominal massage. 

 Practice is in the traditional style, fully clothed, on a mat on the floor. Each student will receive a handbook illustrating instructions for the various techniques we practice. This course will help to lay a solid foundation to build your Thai bodywork skills upon. We will provide you with mats, sheets, and pillows for use during class.☯

Luk pra kob massage or herbal compress massage is a holistic therapy used in Thai Traditional Medicine and to enhance the effects of Thai bodywork. The compress is filled with a blend of chosen medicinal herbs and steam heated, then applied to the body to relieve tension, stress, and inflammation. The combination of therapeutic heat and healing herbs provides deep relaxation, aromatherapy, and restoration of the body and mind. The heat helps to relax the deep layers of tissue to receive the healing properties of the herbs. The compress is used as a massage tool, pressing and kneading tired, achy, sore muscles and joints.

Enhance your Thai bodywork with luk pra kob. In this 1-day workshop, we start the day with Thai yoga for self-care then learn basic luk pra kob massage techniques and their respective benefits, commonly used herbs, and the benefits they provide as well as an overview of the body's major energetic pathways used in Thai Traditional Medicine. We'll practice massage routines with luk pra kob that aid specific ailments such as headaches, low back pain, and more. Luk pra kob is the perfect complement to Thai massage therapy or any other massage modality you may practice. We provide herbal compresses and steamers to use during class. Each student receives a compress to take home for practice, an illustrated handbook of techniques learned, and helpful information on where to acquire herbs, poultices, and steamers to build luk pra kob into your practice. We will provide you with mats/tables, sheets, and pillows for use during class.☯

Thai massage is energy work…applied by physical means. Join us in learning an intuitive approach to the basic foundations of Thai-style bodywork in our 4-day course. We’ll cover fundamental Thai massage techniques along with some history, cultural aspects, and self-care, plus, we’ll dip into commonly used Thai medicinal herbs and learn how to incorporate them into your bodywork. 

To ensure a sustainable practice, we guide you through proper body mechanics and how to relax into position, making your efforts feel quite effortless. An introduction to the Thai energetic system and its connection through the use of Thai poultice work called luk pra kob, round out the course. We practice in the traditional style, on a mat, on the floor. We provide the mats, sheets, pillows, poultices, and steamers. Each student receives a poultice and an illustrated handbook of all techniques and topics covered in class. You’ll finish with a thorough understanding of the foundations of the versatile, compassionate healing art of Thai Massage. We will provide you with mats, sheets, and pillows for use during class.☯

Think of this as a yin style of Thai massage that requires stillness within subtle movement, relaxation and patience, feeling and sensing while providing gentle yet maximum pressure through deep compression to essentially "melt" the tissues underneath. 

Standing, kneeling, sitting, and walking on the body are aspects of Thai bodywork used to deliver very deep pressure to acupressure points and/or compression to the sen. A support system allows you to balance and gracefully master these compression techniques. If you are balanced you can relax and you are open. If you are open, you can listen. If you listen, you can sense; opening a door into working in a truly intuitive way.  Our techniques make it easy to integrate Thai Compression Therapy into your existing Thai massage practice.

We developed a practice using aerial silks to achieve relaxed compression in 2007 and turned it into a Thai bodywork service for Miraval Spas in 2011. Our class tools for compression will vary depending on the location of the workshop. Various tools we may practice with are walking sticks, walkers, bars, ropes, chairs, straps, etc. We've found that you may use any tool effectively as long as the fundamental principles of the compression techniques are practiced. Practicing Thai Compression Therapy can fundamentally improve the way you work with clients, helping you to be a more effective therapist by gaining a deeper connection and deeper understanding about the body you're working with. ☯