How Thai Massage Can Change Your Life

My own personal journey with Thai Massage has been one of profound transformation, so I think it’s important to share that because this practice is far more than something I do for a living – it’s truly become a way of living and a core part of who I am and who I aspire to be.

When I speak with people about the Navina™ trainings, I think it’s pretty common to perceive them as something you’d take on for professional development and/or the broadening of current skills in order to offer more services to others. And yes, that’s certainly true. At the same time though the study and practice of compassionate touch is something that I consider to be more of a life-skill than strictly a professional one.

Initially diving into this, all I wanted was to find a hobby that was fun and something I could do on the side. Quickly it became much more than this and within a very short amount of time I was writing curriculum and running trainings in order to share this profound thing that I had been shown.

For me it was kind of like an amalgamation of all my prior study, university degree and informal life-long fascination with human movement and overall holistic wellbeing.

Having walked this path, I wanted to share a list of the most significant impacts Thai Massage has had on my life, which can be applicable to everyone who studies this art:

Fast & Profound Connection

Touch is something that bypasses our more superficial modes of communication (like words) and takes us to a place where we cannot lie. A simple hand on the shoulder can and does articulate far more information than any amount of words ever could. Diving into such a truthful space sets us up for immediate friendship with others. I can’t even tell you the amazing people I have in my life as a result of this practice (in fact, it’s probably YOU, reading this!).

Community

As an extension of Fast & Profound Connection, with a tribe of people who are connected so deeply, I feel so supported and uplifted by you guys, in ways that I never imagined possible.

Mindfulness Practice

As part of the study of Thai Massage, the roots in Vedic and Buddhist philosophies encourage a consistent mindfulness practice – not just in the treatment room, but outwards into everything that you do. Having an awareness of where you are in space, where others are and the innumerable things that are constantly happening around and within you, as well as an awareness of your role in the world is such a broadening and consistently humbling experience.

Health

I honestly do feel incredibly healthy, and considering I work about 70 hours a week, it’s an amazing thing to be able to say that I haven’t been sick in over 2 years. I think it’s a result of the above 3 points as well as the fact that touch, and more importantly compassionate touch is hard-wired into our biology and it induces biochemical changes within our bodies to uplift and support our immune system. This has been demonstrated in a number of studies that have looked at things like Cortisol decreases, Oxytocin release, improved Natural Killer Cell function and so on.

The main message that I want to convey with this personal account is that Thai Massage has really swept through my entire life and changed it irrevocably, for the better. Without a doubt it’s made me a better person, and it continues to encourage positive change.

It is truly a practice that has something to offer us all – whether we want to provide treatments, or whether we just want to improve our touch-literacy. If nothing else it’ll convert you into a hugger, which is something this world greatly needs.