Thai massage - Wikimedia Commons - Original author: Zdeněk Kvíz (www.thaimassage.cz)
Thai massage is best learned at the hands of a real Thai massage instructor (pardon the pun). Books can only supplement actual training in a massage school. If you want to study Thai massage, you need to look for a school and instructor who can best serve your needs. So first consider what it is exactly that you want to do with massage and how far you are willing to go to get it.
Considerations Before You Study Massage
Some considerations are:
- Where do you live? Is there a real Thai massage school near you?
- What level of practice do you want? Do you want to be, or are you, a professional massage therapist? Or do you want to learn the techniques only for personal use?
- How much can you afford to pay for your training? (Learning massage isn’t cheap.)
- Is travel an option? (Many aspiring students prefer to train in Thailand.)
- How much time do you have to study at a massage school?
A Personal Note on Thai Massage Training
As far as actual massage schooling goes, I can only tell you about my own experience at Wat Pho, the home of traditional Thai massage in Bangkok. Tuition fees there are comparatively cheaper than in the U.S. or Canada. You have to cope with the language barrier though. While most of it is hands-on training, teachers do need to explain medical theory to their students. With the lack of fluent English speakers among the instructors, you just might miss out on key concepts that they try to teach you (I know I did).
The Wat Pho school is a great place to learn Thai medicine. Their instructors are very good. The atmosphere is lively and inspiring. And the school is located in the area where the famous temples are at. My teachers included Somchit and Tua, two excellent masters who were as kind as they were competent.
Learning massage is fun but challenging. I highly recommend you get into shape before joining a class. These are intensive, action-packed courses. And not everyone who gets paired with you will be gentle. For the same reason, talk to the teacher if you have a special health condition that could be an issue. Make sure your partner knows about it too.
To get back to Thai massage training: I studied massage chiefly for personal benefit, for meditation and for family. So I didn’t need to take the certification courses, which have many more hours than the crash courses, and cost more. But just because you take a crash course geared at tourists doesn’t mean you should take it lightly. Take what you learn to heart and practice it often. Otherwise you’ll forget it. I know that too. Which is why a refresher course or a Thai massage video or DVD might be a good idea.
One more thing: Thai yoga massage is an investment. You’ll pay big money to go to massage school. And you’ll spend many hours learning it. Your teachers will be dedicated masters who teach in the spirit of metta (often translated as loving-kindness). So make sure it’s what you really want to do.
Finding a Thai Massage School Near You
It would certainly be more convenient for you if you could join a Thai massage school or class near where you live. Not everyone can afford the opportunity to travel to Thailand to study there. In the United States, there seem to be a few good Thai massage schools to date. I can’t comment on their curriculum personally since I’ve never been able to enroll in one. But you can learn much about these schools through their websites.
Some of what I’ve seen around are the Thai Bodywork School of Thai Massage founded by instructor Chuck Duff (who also made Thai massage DVDs that I want to check out) and Lotus Palm, based in Montreal. For those who do not live in Quebec, the Lotus Palm teachers also hold “on the road” classes at other institutes throughout North America and other areas.
These courses aren’t cheap. Basic 20-hour training with Mr. Duff’s school is $450.00; at Lotus Palm, the 40-hour level 1 Thai massage course costs $595.00. (What did I tell you? It takes money to get show on the road, so to speak. Seriously, you must really want it to pay that much. *lol*)
One school I was very interested in at one time was the Thai Institute of Healing Arts based in Arlington, VA. I made inquiries about their school years ago, and was answered by one of their instructors, David Roylance, who’s also the executive director. He seemed like a really nice man. I learned from him that they didn’t offer some courses I wanted to study (which were available in Thailand) but that I could study at their school and get free lifetime study membership. What that means is when you take any of their classes, you can come back to their school to go through the same material again–and again– at no additional charge. This program is also valid with their affiliate school, the Old Medicine Hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand. So if you do a course in one school, you can return to study it again at the other, free.
Unfortunately for my plans to study Thai massage, my life direction changed, and I didn’t get to see the school. But if circumstances allow it, and I find myself heading to the east coast, I will definitely consider the Thai Institute of Healing Arts. By the way, one of their instructors is author Pierce Salguero, who has written several excellent books on Thai healing practices.