Description
Traditional Thai massage, or nuat phaen boran (Thai: นวดแผนโบราณ, “ancient massage style”), is one of the world’s oldest healing methods. Thai people viewed illness as an imbalance in the body or mind and sought help at their local temple. They were treated with the four elements of traditional medicine: spiritual support, nutritional support, herbs, and massage. Thai massage is over 2,500 years old. Originating in India, this form of massage came to Thailand with Buddhist monks. Not only the body, but also the mind feels liberated. This holistic concept—the unbreakable connection of body and mind—has its roots in Buddhism. Thai massage is part of the Thai medical and spiritual tradition. Much of the knowledge of massage, however, was lost with the destruction of the old Thai capital, Ayuthaya, in 1767. King Rama III ordered the remains of this tradition to be enshrined in stone in 1832. These friezes can still be admired today in the Wat Pho temple in Bangkok. Anyone visiting the Wat Pho temple in the Thai capital, Bangkok, will find the remains of an 18th-century school of traditional Thai medicine in the shadow of the enormous reclining golden Buddha, 15 meters high and 46 meters wide. Instructions for the students are still painted on the walls; anatomical illustrations show the locations of the energy points of the human body. The students memorized the precepts from the walls. Statues in yoga poses are everywhere. The centuries-old tradition is still continued in the temple. Although massage was traditionally practiced by monks in Buddhist temples, the practice is no longer limited to the temple environment. Thai massage is now practiced throughout Thailand, in massage schools, hospitals, hotels, and on beaches.
