Deerfield Spa
Put a new massage on your "to do" list. Thai bodywork is an ancient healing art that has been practiced for over 2000 years. Despite its antiquity, Thai massage is fairly new to the West.
As a massage lover, I was intrigued by the reactions people were having to the Thai healing experience. The massage left them feeling fluid, flexible and loose beyond their expectations. After the massage, some felt taller, with the ability to breathe deeper, more expansive breaths. Many expressed feeling a great sense of peace, good will and well being. With a raised eyebrow, I decided to investigate.
Good health, Thai practitioners say, is a matter of restoring balance. This is attained by freeing the flow of vital energies through the body's tissues along the Sen channels (which are known to the Chinese as the Qi meridians). Thai massage philosophy is that physical, emotional and spiritual health can be restored when this flow of energy is unhindered. By releasing blockages and freeing up energy along the Sen, Thai bodywork is an effective way to restore balance. It is also a way to achieve freedom from pain. With this balance comes a sense of wholeness of body, mind and spirit. It is this wholeness that the Thai use as the ultimate measure of good health.
For many of us, the pursuit of what is necessary to achieve good health, e.g. proper diet, exercise, meditation, etc. is limited by time. Caring for our bodies as a whole can be a daunting challenge; we eat right when we can, we exercise sporadically, and we often put our human needs of reflection, contemplation and personal interaction at the bottom of our list. Thai healing massage is not only effective; it is an efficient way toward healing our whole selves.
Prior to my massage, I was told to wear loose fitting, comfortable clothes - nothing restrictive. The room was softly lit and decorated in subtle earth tones. Thai massage takes place on a large soft mat on the floor, so there is plenty of room. Pillows are placed for added comfort. The massage began with a meditation where Thai massage therapist, Nancy Olivieri, asked to be guided in alleviating any pain I might have. With this objective in mind, Nancy later explained that the energy flows between both of us so the massage becomes a mutually healing experience. At first, Nancy used a light touch when pressing along my Sen channels. The pressure then gradually, easily increased. This stimulates the movement of energy. Nancy repositioned me at a leisurely pace as she applied pressure, stretching away knots of tension I once thought were mine forever. Working with my whole body, my Thai practitioner then performed a series of connected motions, twists and stretches that have earned Thai massage the nickname of "the lazy person's yoga." It was as if every move had been choreographed. The person giving the massage stretches the muscles and joints ever so slightly past the point one could without the aid of another person, even if you are experienced at yoga (which I am not). Pressure, manipulation and stretching of my muscles yielded amazing flexibility. The Thai massage left me feeling that my spine had less weight to support and showed me that I am more flexible than I ever dreamed possible. My experience with Nancy Olivieri left me feeling loose, buoyant and at ease.
When you think about it, so much of feeling "old" can be attributed to stiffness. Left untreated, constricted muscles wind even tighter, blocking the flow of energy along the Sen channels. Thai massage changed my conception that my lack of mobility was a result of genetics and being over 40. It also left me the empowering realization that I can achieve the sense of balance so necessary to a whole sense of self.
