What is Thai massage? pt.3

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Thai massage is bodywork designed for those who meditate or have the desire to do so. The bodywork has immense capability to help the human body heal but one of its additional long term the long term benefits is that it allows the receiver to drop in and tune into their own biorhythms.

Everyone develops muscle tension, small misalignments and imbalances which Thai massage helps unwind. Having your brain stop telling muscles to contract, you can then relax, ground and move more deeply into a meditative space. I’ve seen it time and again with clients who report surprisingly that they weren’t tired at all after a session and even had some trouble sleeping. Usually they report they felt so good they wanted to keep going and doing things. That same energy, can be channeled into meditation.

Instead of feeling lethargic after Thai massage most report feeling light, unencumbered and having increased feelings of mental well being. Insight would be a strong word but clearing muscle tension in the body allows one to see more clearly the issues at hand to focus and deal with them. As I write this I realize the depth and scope of the bodywork I’ve chosen to focus my career on. It’s got great depth.

What is Thai massage? pt.2

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Thai massage is bodywork that’s designed for those who do yoga. I’m consistently amazed that Thai massage hasn’t taken the yoga community by storm but I believe modern yoga is slowly starting to catch up.

Thai massage puts one through a series of poses similar to yoga poses and stretches many of the same muscle groups, like the hamstrings, glutes and calves. The difference is that a good Thai therapist can get about 10% extra stretch out of muscle and you as a receiver can just relax and let go. Typically in yoga you’re working many muscles to release a few. There’s no substitute for a regular yoga practice but Thai massage can help those who do yoga pin point problem areas to work on and excel in their practice.

The compressions in Thai massage on some areas like the glutes and hamstrings is something that’s difficult to achieve on your own. Bringing fresh, highly oxygenated blood into the area is good and generally refreshing. The letting go that happens during Thai massage allows the spine to stabilize and balance while the hips to open so you can sit and meditate, which is what yoga is designed to help your body do to begin with.

“Thai massage is to yoga as chocolate is to peanut butter.”~~Robert Gardner

Myofascial Pain Trigger Points

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As we continue the series on trigger points for self care we wind up in the hand and the thenar eminence. If you have carpal tunnel issues I suggest you take a look at these points and in addition any job that has you working with your hands is likely to make this area tender.

We’re working two different muscles in this area. Abductor pollicis brevis and opponens pollicis are the primary culprits. Long term, I just call the area the thenar eminence. The muscles are small, close together and can be treated in a short time period. Hold pressure in the lump of muscle between your thumb and wrist and you’re good to go. As long as you feel muscle tissue and tenderness hang out and treat the trigger points.

What is Thai massage?

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I’m often asked what Thai massage is. The answer is simple, for most people in the west, it’s the best bodywork you’ve never had. I stumbled onto the work 8 or more years ago and little has changed my life so fundamentally other than yoga. The two practices are the most healing regimens I’ve discovered in the past ten years of scouring the planet. Healing comes from within and both practices help you cultivate, increase and channel your own healing potential.

Swedish and deep tissue are the most common forms of bodywork in the US currently. In 20 years or less I believe Thai massage will be as ubiquitous as what you receive at any spa or chiropractors office. As I try to write this blog post I recognize that anything I say about Thai massage, doesn’t even remotely do it justice. It’s the best.

My Thai massage classes start with an Intro. to Thai massage class that’s 14 hours. This introductory class is a solid get to know you but my full training encompasses not just traditional Thai massage as taught in Thailand but a blend of western bodywork like trigger point therapy, rehab exercises and a full gamut of information related to pain management and spine rehabilitation from 8 years as a yoga teacher. Where does the yoga end and the Thai massage begin? Chicken or the egg?

You can study Thai massage in many places. You can only study what I do, with me. I’m helping shift how bodywork is practiced in Austin and the rest of Texas. When I am old, I wish for people to thank me for helping them when no one else could. I want students to cherish what we’ve shared and allows them to help others, build careers as healers and saved their hands all at the same time. I want both to understand that I’ve put humans above profit and healing above all else.

How to mulch your garden

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Learning how to mulch your garden is really simple. If you search online you’ll find many tips, tricks and ways but over time I’ve learned that I’m a lazy gardener. The lazy way of mulching is sheet mulching. I want the most benefit for the least amount of effort. Anyone who gardens around Austin, Texas knows what we’re up against climate wise, geographically and rich alluvial soil isn’t on the agenda. Mulch helps you build soil and building soil is what organic gardeners do.

After a long hot summer this is what my garden looked like.

Supplies you’ll need:
1) Mulch..preferably truck loads of it.
2) Cardboard. No gloss, just brown or white paper that’ll decay
3) Pitchfork and wheelbarrow

This style of mulching applies to various gardens including ornamental plants but I use wood mulch for paths in my garden. Currently my focus is on edibles and I find that wood mulch and cardboard is the easiest way to take care of weeds, build soil long term and as the mulch decays it just makes better soil to be brief. You put down cardboard to smother bermuda grass. We all love bermuda grass as Austin gardeners right? Blech! The stuff is pernicious. Stop weeding it and start smothering it. It’s harder working than we are but it’s definitely not as smart.

So you put down cardboard and cover it completely with mulch 3-6″ deep. If at a later date you have more weeds you can spot mulch. In summer things are dry and hot and I do little gardening. The result is that after two years my garden is full of weeds but have no fear, you can do the same to your garden bed by weedeating heavily, putting down several layers of newspaper and putting compost on top 3″ or more deep. Same style, different result. You can plant directly in the compost. Over time both of these methods, for the paths and the garden, will keep you cool and gardening.

So how does this relate to back pain, spine care and a good life? Mulch provides cushion, meaning less impact, particularly on your lumbar spine. Masanobu Fukuoka used to become frustrated that farmers wouldn’t walk barefoot in their fields to feel the soil underneath them. Create better gardens, create better spines.

Okra…isn’t so bad, looking at least.

Myofascial Pain Trigger Points

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Myofascial pain and trigger points from flexor carpi ulnaris should be the next spot you look at after working with flexor carpi radialis. The referred pain caused by trigger points here will be similar to flexor carpi radialis but in my experience the pain runs down towards the underside of the outer hand and to the middle to pinky fingers. If you believe you’re having carpal tunnel syndrome, check this area.

I find the forearm extensors to be the first stop in dealing with carpal tunnel syndrome but I recommend looking at these two trigger points in addition. Spending time at a computer is something most of us will continue for a long time so regular maintenance is a must. When you work the trigger point, go slow, it can be tender. You’ll find it exquisitely painful then hang out, breath and see if it releases.

Cranialsacral Therapy pt.6

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Hugh Milne was Rajneesh’s (also known as Osho) bodyguard for years. I didn’t find this out until recently and hadn’t realized he’d written a book on it. As Milne described in this video he had to watch people as Osho’s bodyguard.

Many of the things that stood out from Milne’s book had to do with listening. The listening wasn’t with your ears alone, it was all of you. Pay attention. He encouraged watching body stance, posture, physical expression. Watching the video it became clear that he’d practice deep observation as Osho’s bodyguard.

In meetings and organized talks he’d watch for signs of agitation in the audience. Those were the people he’d approach and make light chat with. Depending on how they reacted he acted as bodyguard. I found it remarkable to see two of my teachers had worked so closely together, something that intrigues me forever. Here they were Rajneesh and Milne in close contact, a fact I’d never realized before.

I encourage my students to practice this observational skill in their bodywork practice. It cuts our work when we can observe posture in particular to figure out what people are doing to hold themselves in positions that hurt more than they help. If we can educate, it makes a huge difference. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Being devoid of attachment to particular outcomes is ideal as a bodyworker. We want to help but being too fixated on outcomes leads to stress, strain and burn out. Relax. Enjoy your work with people and watch them, assist them, make them aware of their own patterns and practice, practice, practice.

Jesus didn’t become a healer over night.

Being able to sit and deeply listen is the core of cranialsacral therapy. Just making contact is more than doing anything. In that deep stillness, the client’s healing can come out. When we’re not trying to do anything is where most of the healing seems to happen.

Myofascial Pain Trigger Points

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Pain due to carpal tunnel syndrome and myofascial pain from trigger points is all too common. In our previous blog posts we went over chest and shoulder girdle pain and we’re slowly working out way down the arm. This is pt. 4 and the muscle I want to cover is flexor carpi radialis.

Trigger points in this muscle will send pain down the hand near the wrist. It’s an easy to reach spot and if you spend your time at a keyboard doing computer work try this out. Even if you’ve no debilitating issues it will probably be tight as mine is, from doing manual labor. Use slow continuous pressure from your implement of choice. I show using finger pressure then a steady elbow in the video.

Flexor carpi radialis is a good starting point for forearm and hand pain. Check out the anatomy of the muscle and also keep in mind that you may compress and remove blood supply to the hand temporarily. This flush of fresh blood is a good thing and to be encouraged, we’re cleaning you out from the inside out.

If you can use a tool like your elbow or a small knob feel free to be creative. Any small amount of work you do is cumulative. Good luck and keep carpal tunnel syndrome at bay.