| Herbs for a natural foot bath from the makers of the original Thai herbal stamps.

Traditional Thai massage, or nuat phaen boran (Thai: นวด แผน โบราณ, "antique massage style"), is one of the world's oldest healing methods. The Thai people saw illness as an imbalance in the body or mind and they sought help in the local temple. They were treated with the four elements of traditional medicine: spiritual support, nutritional support, herbs and massage. Thai massage is more than 2,500 years old. Originally Indian, this massage form came to Thailand together with the Buddhist monks. Not only the body, but also the mind feels liberated. This holistic idea - unbreakable connection of body and mind - has its roots in Buddhism. Thai massage is part of the Thai medical and spiritual tradition. However, much of the knowledge of the massage was lost in the destruction of the ancient Thai capital, Ayuthaya in 1767. In 1832, King Rama III ordered the remains of this tradition to be recorded in stone. These friezes can still be admired today in the temple of Wat Pho in Bangkok. Those who visit the Wat Pho temple in the Thai capital Bangkok will find the remains of a school of traditional Thai medicine from the 18th century in the shadow of the giant reclining golden Buddha, 15 meters high and 46 meters wide. The instructions for the students are still painted on the walls; in anatomical images they show where the energy points of the human body are located. The students memorized the regulations from the walls. Everywhere there are statues in a yoga position. The ancient tradition continues in the temple. Although the massage was traditionally practiced by monks in Buddhist temples, the profession is no longer limited to the temple environment. Thai massage is now practiced all over Thailand, in massage schools, in hospitals, in hotels, on the beach.