in short
About Mama Lek Chaiya
Lek Chaiya, known as 'Mama Lek', was a master healer from Chiang Mai and the founder of Jap Sen (Nerve Touch) herbal Thai massage. She learned Thai massage, midwifery and herbal medicine from her mother in the village of Jom Thong, north of Chiang Mai, and continued her herbal studies across Northern Thailand. She learned the Jap Sen style from her teacher MaNee, became head of the massage clinic at Wat Suan Dok, and was made the lineage holder of Jap Sen. She developed special Jap Sen herbal massage protocols for painful and debilitating conditions, including paralysis. She later opened her own school and clinic in central Chiang Mai, won many awards, and was chosen by the Traditional Thai Medicine Association in Bangkok to teach prenatal and postnatal Thai massage. According to several sources she died on 19 April 2013, aged 74. Her son Jack Chaiya and Western students such as Janice Gagnon (Spirit Winds) continue to teach her style.