THAI MASSAGE:
a 65-hour course (taught on the floor without oil)
This 65-hour course teaches the myofascial approach to Thai Massage developed by Howard Evans during fifteen years of practice and teaching. This is described in his book, ‘A Myofascial Approach to Thai Massage‘, published in January 2009 by Churchill Livingstone.
Traditional Thai medicine is based on the concept of a system of 72,000 channels called ’sen’ through which, it is said, energy is transformed and distributed in the human body. In Thailand much of the theory of this system has been lost. Of the little that remains there is a series of diagrams outlining the ten major sen used in Traditional Thai Massage. In the West these are often likened to the meridians used in Chinese acupuncture or shiatsu.
The myofascial approach to Thai Massage teaches the sen as myofascial pathways similar to those used in Structural Integration (or Rolfing). This approach brings clarity and simplicity of action to the massage allowing the practitioner to relax into the practice, and invite ever-deeper levels of relaxation in the receiver.
Thai Massage is practiced on the floor. There is no need for oil so the receiver can remain lightly clothed. This makes it one of the most versatile and portable massage techniques available. Many of the techniques can also be incorporated into couch based massage routines.
This course is suited to experienced massage practitioners and bodyworkers who want to extend their repertoire as well as to complete beginners exploring massage with a view to work or simply to practice with family and friends.
Students will learn a complete one and a half hour routine suited to general practice with healthy patients. They will also learn variations for working with pregnant women and a sitting massage which works extremely well for ‘on-site massage’ work without the need for any special equipment.
The course also includes work on practitioner posture, breathing, rhythm, self-awareness, attention and concentration. The aim is to develop a style of massage as beneficial to the giver as to the receiver.
This Thai Massage course teaches:
a safe, simple and relaxing system of bodywork suited to general massage practice with average healthy bodies;
an appreciation of the body as a fluid/tissue/energy matrix;
a ‘sen line’ system based on the myofascial and lymphatic systems;
the importance of and development of practitioner presence and attention;
an understanding of the therapeutic ‘relational field’ and the means to create a safe and respectful space in which the client can deeply relax;
massage as a relaxing and embodying process for both client and practitioner.
This course specifically avoids some of the more dangerous techniques found in Thailand. These include techniques such as stopping the blood and some of the more assertive stretches, adjustments and applied yoga asanas.
This course does not teach:
chants, prayers, meditation or spiritual techniques;
any system of diagnosis or healing;
stomach points or visceral work;
spinal adjustments of any kind;
a meridian system or ‘energy’ work;
use of herbs, steam baths or compresses.
On successful completion of the course the student will be capable of giving a full massage of one and a half hours duration as well as variations for shorter routines and for working with pregnancy. The syllabus covers:
- An introduction to the myofascial approach to Thai Massage
- Working with the feet
- Working with the legs
- Working with the hands and arms
- Working with the shoulders, chest and diaphragm
- Working with the abdomen
- Working on the shoulders and back
- Application of a safe spinal twist
- Working on the neck, face and head
- Practice, review of techniques and fine-tuning and variations
- Practice and variations to techniques for working with pregnancy, back pain and obesity
- Practice and variations for working in sitting position
- Practice, review and assessment
The course will be taught as 10 days of six hours each giving a total tutor/student contact time of 60 hours. It is recommended that students commit at least 30 hours to home study and practice. There is no requirement for written case studies although practice observations are always welcomed for discussion within the group. There will be a final practical assessment day of five hours duration one month after completion of the course.
On successful completion of the course and practical assessment you will receive a certificate issued by The School of Therapeutic Bodywork in London. Successful completion requires attendance of all teaching hours unless otherwise agreed with the school.
CRANIOSACRAL SKILLS
Many masseurs and bodyworkers have experienced curious changes in consciousness or fluctuations in time during sessions. Many have sensed rhythms, pulsations and energetic streamings that are not described in classical physiology books. The aim of these courses is to clarify these experiences and to teach the skills that make them therapeutically useful and reproducible. Although these skills are drawn from craniosacral work they are taught within a context framed by bodywork pioneers such as Wilhelm Reich, Alexander Lowen, Stanley Keleman, Arnold Mindell, Ron Kurtz and many others.
These craniosacral courses are suited to practicing therapists of all pursuasions, not only those using physical touch. They are for people who want to incorporate craniosacral concepts into their existing therapeutic practice without retraining as craniosacral therapists. They are not intended to constitute a craniosacral therapy training.
Although craniosacral work offers techniques aplenty, the key to the work lies in the constant deepening of the practitioner’s relationship and perceptual skills. Without this deepening process the techniques are just techniques. With a willingness to enter this process of deepening the work begins to sing. The courses are designed to offer the student ample practice and feedback in order to encourage the development of each student’s unique style of work.
CRANIOSACRAL SKILLS - Level 1
This 30-hour course is taught over six days. It is structured around the theme of stillness and the physical body.
The specific craniosacral techniques covered in this course relate to
the organisation of experience in the transverse structures of the body
and the softening of these structures. Throughout the course we will search
for a movement towards holism – not as an idea but as a shift in perception.
This shift allows us to discover the stillness within our own and within
our patient’s physical organisation. Out of this stillness the intentions
of the healing process can manifest unbounded.
The syllabus will cover:
- The history and development of craniosacral therapy
- An exploration of inherent health, breath of life and primary respiration
- An exploration of the neutral, the relational field and levels of stillness
- An exploration of the mid-tide, long-tide, and still-points
- Palpating and perceiving tides and rhythms
- The transverse diaphragms and their role in organising experience
- Practitioner and patient resources
- Working at the cranial dome and the sphenobasilar junction
- Working at the cranial base and the tentorium
- Working at the thoracic inlet and the respiratory diaphragm
- Working at the feet and the pelvis
CRANIOSACRAL SKILLS - Level 2
This 30-hour course is taught over six days. It is structured around the theme of stillness and the emotional body.
The specific craniosacral techniques covered in this course relate to the movement of fluids throughout the connective tissue web. The course is structured around a specific craniosacral protocol called ‘venous sinus drainage’. This protocol is used to encourage fluid movement and lymphatic drainage, thus bringing softness and flow to the body and an equivalent softness and flow to the emotional life.
The syllabus will cover:
- The primary respiratory system
- The expression of primary respiration as motion in fluids and tissues
- Cell and tissue memory
- The dreambody
- The membranes of the reciprocal tension mechanism (RTM)
- Perceiving the membranes of the reciprocal tension mechanism
- Mid-tide and cranial rhythmic impulse
- Exploration of the cranial bones as ‘handles’ into the membranes of the RTM
- Engaging with the RTM through the occiput, temporal, parietal and frontal bones
- Perceiving the relationship between the sphenoid and occiput
- Trauma and resources
Photos by Lola Gomez
Sculpture by Pedro Parga and Photo by Lola Gomez