This is good for people with upper back and neck pain. It’s an easy way to help someone open their chest and allow their shoulder blades to begin the process of coming off of their upper back. You’ll want to avoid this movement on people with herniated discs or any sort of spine surgery like fusions but otherwise go slow and communicate with whoever you’re working on. When in doubt, don’t.
Enjoy!
Here is another technique for accessing the levator scapulae and muscles along either side of the neck. You minimize hand work and effectively stretch the cervical musculature. This combined with the previous video make for a solid Thai massage for the neck.
People with headaches, neck pain, upper back pain and excess tension in their neck and shoulders can benefit from these techniques. Share them with family and friends.
This is a simple, easy to use Thai massage technique for family and friends. Those who just took my Thai massage class around Austin will notice that this is done seated. We learn the seated series in the Thai massage certification track. You’re pressing into the posterior neck muscles and those with headaches, TMJ dysfunction or chronic neck pain will love you for doing this to them. Try it at a party around Austin, you’ll make many friends.
I was interviewed yesterday on Awakening in Austin. Listen when you get a chance. My interview is specifically about Thai massage and my work in Austin, Texas. We cover some basics about yoga and yoga therapy as well.
Equanimity is defined as a state of mental or emotional stability or composure arising from a deep awareness and acceptance of the present moment. In the middle of Thai massage, yoga or meditation this can come up from time to time. Personally it arises and goes away as quickly as it comes in. Others can be sometimes confused by my behavior in those moments because things that some consider disturbing, saddening or incendiary just are. I don’t resist or fight them.
The most difficult are certainly things in my personal life. Conflicts, fights and things that make me sad are difficult to process and be at peace about. When you want something and can’t have it it’s not easy to sit back and say, “the world is perfect just as it is.” Thich Nhat Hanh is famous for this phrase. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize by MLK Jr. and sitting at Thich’s feet trying to absorb this in a book I read led me to a funny space. I wanted to punch him.
Here was this Zen Buddhist, engaged Buddhist monk who was saying, “the world is perfect just as it is.” I knew he could see, not just with the first two eyes but his third. This is the message he sent me. I wanted to spar with him and fight. Not only could I not see it but I was so angry that he could even jest with that phrase that I wanted to physically engage with him. A small man who’d dedicated himself to peace was my target. A man who would not side with the north Vietnamese or the south Vietnamese and who was hated by both for it was the guy I wanted to punch.
No one ever said developing equanimity is easy. Life will throw you curves. The goal is to ebb and flow as life does. Embracing constant flux with grace and poise is most easily done for me personally in my yoga practice. The longer time goes on I let go. Pain, discomfort, tension and release are all part of the game. What I learn on the mat is taken with me in the midst of turmoil and upset.
Thank you to all my teachers, even those I want to punch. Namaste’
I’ve worked in Thai massage and bodywork for ten years. In relative obscurity I’ve continued my work. People often ask me what I do. If I say bodywork they say, “Oh, you work on cars.” I dislike saying massage. Massage has preconceived notions for westerners in the US. Massage means a table, cream and a whole lot of glide. On a typical day at work I do none of this. A typical day is spent clothed, on a mat on the floor while pushing, kneading and opening a persons body so their nervous system can be free.
Austin, Texas is no different than any other American city when it comes to body awareness. People are slowly trapped by their physical form. Thai massage and yoga allow one to soften their shell and be born anew. Doesn’t matter how old, doesn’t matter how out of shape. The posture slumps, life takes it toll and people slouch. Aches and pains develop and people get so used to them that they’re not even aware they can go away except from pain medication. Thai massage and yoga work together to harness your breath, your body and everything You are to heal yourself from the inside out. You can do it, I’m just a guide.
Doesn’t sound like massage does it? Cause it’s not, not really. Thai bodywork is just what’s done in Thailand and has been done since time immemorial. Its history goes back so far it’s just what the ancestors did.
My days are spent breathing, stretching, pushing, leaning into my own body to heal it. It’s continual work but the benefit is I notice others around me get sick but I don’t. Others around me have back pain but mine doesn’t have the same duration. My health is good, yours can be too. It’s what I teach. It’s what I do to myself.
If you want six pack abs go find a personal trainer. If you want a nice car go see a car salesman. If you want to heal and run at optimal health, come see me.
I leave you with a quote from Siddartha, by Herman Hesse.
“Everyone gives what he has. The warrior gives strength, the merchant
gives merchandise, the teacher teachings, the farmer rice, the fisher
fish.”
“Yes indeed. And what is it now what you’ve got to give? What is it
that you’ve learned, what you’re able to do?”
“I can think. I can wait. I can fast.”
“That’s everything?”
“I believe, that’s everything!”
I went to Yogagroove for Bikram yoga last night and had a good class. I felt fairly strong and limber throughout. In the last 6 years my body has opened more and due to the recent master cleanse there’s less to push against. Having lost body fat I feel stronger, having burned off anything that was bogging me down.
When I arrived home my wife teased me about waking before she does the following morning. It’s not uncommon for my sleep to be deep but I’ll wake early. This could be due to extra blood flow to my thyroid and parathyroid or just due to exertion in a hot sweaty room. It’s frequent enough for Andrea to notice whatever the cause.
Sure as rain I woke at 6am and could see Bikram Choudhury driving his Rolls Royce around Beverly Hills giggling at me. If you’ve never tried Bikram hydrate well and remember that the first obstacle is the heat. Yoga is a good practice and regular Thai massage adds to its effect.
If you’re in north Austin, I practice at Yogagroove.
I wanted to settle back into a normal eating pattern and discuss any changes from the cleanse this time around. I lost about 10lbs on the cleanse, 2-4 of which I’ve gained back now that I’m eating again. Overall there was no epiphany this time around, no huge mental changes. I do notice that my yoga practice is more nuanced and due to the decreased size of my belly I could go more deeply into some yoga poses, particularly twists.
The overall benefits of the cleanse still far outweigh any negatives. I’m eating smaller portions, have more of a sense of when I’m full and am focusing on eating higher quality food. All good things.
My family and I have joined Johnson’s Backyard Garden as CSA subscribers. Look for recipes using their produce in the future. The last several days dinner has just been large salads. Drought in Tx meant that my gardening went to nothing so it’s nice to have fresh produce again.
The cleanse is good, go slow and at your own pace. Listen to your body.
In this video I discuss chickens and the symbiosis that we’ve formed between our species and theirs. I briefly discuss Joel Salatin, Michael Pollan and here mention Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I recommend checking into the work of all three and I’ll have later posts discussing each.
Chickens form a larger portion of the worlds meat consumption. I don’t demand you stop eating fast food chicken but begin to consider where your food comes from. Just acknowledging is the first step. If you like chicken, explore. Free range, organic, pastured, well fed birds are wonderful.
Special thanks to Kevin Roberts for showing me what real chicken is about. Fresh grilled liver and hearts will always remind me of days on the farm.
More variations on downward facing dog pose using a wall. The change of gravity and position helps open the spine and allows one to build strength in the arms and hands while working on stretching through the upper spine and finally into the neck. Play with these they’re great fun.
I highly recommend these if you work in an office, have slouched upper back posture or upper back/neck pain. Do it several times a day for 5-10 minutes for a week. It’s one thing to read about the benefits of a pose. It’s another to have your body integrate the pose into your nervous system. Breathe.
Downward facing dog pose is difficult for beginners. Hamstrings are tight, the low back isn’t aligned well and the backs of the legs are tense enough to prevent much movement of the heels towards the floor. This version takes the lower body out of the equation.
Working on the arms, upper back and cervical spine alone allows for more precise alignment and exploration without worry. The weight is lessened due to our positioning in gravity and nuances are noticed while being in the pose longer than you can hold the traditional pose. Try it out.
Most days I do a little yoga. I may not make it to a class or teach a class but there are usually back bends over the couch while playing poker online. Getting up I lean against the wall and do 1/2 downward dog and work on my bad left shoulder. My alignment continues to improve and my body seems almost miraculous. I practice yoga, practice Thai massage on clients and keep going.
I get little aches, irritations, mental disturbances and even touches of you should do more but I keep at it. Slow and steady wins the race but over time at 34 I see myself getting better, not worse. My body changes, my responses more sharp and my nervous system quickens. I can process information more clearly, make decisions founded in logic while allowing my intuition to flow. Trying to work on marketing for Thai massage in Austin and Round Rock I find the space that feels there is integrity, ethics and financial stability. Logic and emotions in balance.
When there is no time for a yoga pose, I’m still breathing. Working with my breath I’ve just gotten used to the ebb and flow. You increase the inhale, relax the exhale, reverse…repeat ad infinitum. Like the ocean waves crashing against the beach the breath goes on forever, unceasing. In a yoga class I remind students to breathe, alignment instructions are given and I encourage the students to continue exploring their breath. How does an inhale make the pose feel different than an exhale?
Over time the rhythm is changed. The musculature is strengthened and full breaths are taken with less effort and strain. What you work on on the mat goes with you. Slowly over time and with practice your rhythm evolves. Your breathing takes you where you need to go, a place with better posture, better alignment and the ability to calm yourself consciously. Yoga doesn’t just happen on a mat. When you practice long enough you take it with you.
Breathe.
This recipe always makes me feel like home. It’s wonderful party food and a great way to use leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. Follow the instructions about how to cook the rice, that’s the most important part of the meal that people seem to mess up. Don’t pull a Bobby Flay.
Eat well. Winter is coming.
