Thailand 2025 – Teaching, Training, Hula-hooping, Reading
For those who have been asking about my trip here is a a little about what I got up to. As most of you know every year I take time out from the UK’s dark wintery months to immerse myself in the warmth and wisdom of Thailand. These months are not just an escape from the cold, they are also a vital part of my ongoing journey as holistic based massage therapist. This is time for deep, uninterrupted learning, teaching, exploring holistic health and delving into the nature of being human. Beyond formal studying and assisting in the classroom I use this time to expand my understanding of my work with a view to returning with renewed energy to share with my clients. In which case the mission is accomplished because I am renewed, rejuvenated and inspired and hugely grateful to be back at work.
Study:
This year I took a weekend course at a school called ITM in Chiang Mai. The course title: Thai Chair Massage. Thai massage is a true art form and a very useful skill to have as a therapist as it allows for effective and accessible treatments in a variety of settings. Incorporating acupressure, stretching and compression Thai Chair massage has a huge variety of benefits for both the client and therapist; it is essentially yoga done for you, it is completely delicious. A large part of it for the receiver, is relaxing into the stretches which, is much easier for some then others as you can see from the pictures below. I very much enjoyed being the teacher’s model and relaxing into being stretched. Our teacher made it all look effortless which, of course, it is not. When you’re in the classroom translating the pictures in the book into reality one’s brain sure can go into knots. This is why I find experiencing the techniques in the role of the model/body so helpful because then you get a physical understanding of the sensations that you’re aiming to achieve for your client.
Teaching:
This year I was back again at Sunshine Massage School assisting teacher Doris Kolling in Chi Neitsang abdominal massage. In the classroom we had 12 students, all experienced bodyworkers in some discipline, come to learn with us. We represented a whole host of countries: Ukraine, Isreal, Switzerland, Australia, France, USA, South Africa, Germany, India and the UK. English is the working language of the course which for some of the students is a huge challenge. I have a deep respect for their experience. It is not easy to learn so much new information over 2 weeks especially when not delivered in your mother tongue. Doris is from Germany and is able to speak a multitude of language and this must be a real help for some of the students.
Unfortunately, I got food poisoning on Monday evening, the first day of the two-week course. I was very sick and weak but not wanting to miss the second day I made it in to school (I have had a lot of food poisoning in my life and when on a scale this was manageable!) I was quite still and slow, nothing would stay down. One student had recently undergone surgery consequently, they could not receive any treatment, only practise. I was needed as a ‘body’ as we say in massage classroom settings. That afternoon I gave my withered self over to Lorenzo from Switzerland and told him to be very gentle. Lorenzo is an experience bodyworker so I felt safe in his hands, and we agreed that if it was too much to receive abdominal massage in my weak state we would stop. Quite the contrary, the massage healed me; where I had been repeated vomiting my body was tense and twitchy and the gentle and soothing abdominal massage calmed the nerves in my guts dramatically. After the session, I was feeling far better - my body much more relaxed and was able to keep down some water and fruit – PHEW! It was New Year’s Eve that day and as much as I wanted to go out that evening and see all the beautiful fireworks, I had to put myself into bed very early and have a big sleep to recover my strength. Have you ever had food poisoning? If you have, you’ll know that it really knocks your system down and even once the ejection phase is over one really needs to go slow and steady with the digestive system. Recovery was slow as my guts were upset and depleted. I was much helped by basic easy to digest small meals plus a dose of Oregano Oil which when ingested acts as a natural anti-biotic, bentonite clay, which is a miraculous substance if you’ve got bad guts in addition to psyllium husk and chia seeds with water for hydration. These for me are important natural products to have in your first aid box when away. Disclaimer – I am not offering professional medical advice here!
Each day ended with the option Thai Herbal Ball Therapy, Luk Pra Kob as you say in Thai. Rooted in Ayurvadic and Thai Medicine these cotton bound balls are filled with a blend of dried herbs and are activated by steaming and are used like a hot compress on the body. They have an incredible smell and are known to have a multitude of benefits from improving circulation, nourishing the skin, reducing stress, pain relief, muscle relaxation and improving respiratory function. You’ll see my with one of my tummy in a picture below. A lovely treatment in Thailand is a Herbal Ball Massage especially if you enjoy heat. I’ve got some of these Herbal Balls here and use them when I can at the end of an abdominal massage session. They smell sensational.
To be a teaching assistant is an incredibly rewarding experience that not only enhances my growth as a practitioner but also supports my future goal of being a teacher. It is very hard to conceptually imagine the organs beneath the surface of the skin and it takes a lot of time and practise (like with any new skills) to grasp the movements and cultivate the focus that this work requires. The mystery with the treatment is that people want to know why and how and all the answers but, a lot of it, whether one likes it or not is energetic and requires a deep listening and to hone that skills takes time. This is both hard to measure and impossible to justify. Chi Neitsnag is not a replacement for medical care but it has an innate ability to boost the body’s ability to heal. The practise is incredible for emotional blockages and healing scar tissue, shifting postural discomfort, impacting a number of issues relating to mood. Having been a student I understand the challenges faced by the students along with their excitement which I hope allows me to support them with encouragement and empathy. Teaching has always been a path I have wanted to be on and this experience reaffirms my passion for sharing wisdom and knowledge and empowering others - something I see as an integral part of my future.
See the photos below for a glimpse of my time at Sunshine:
Treatments:
I went for 2 Chi Neitsang sessions with another Chiang Mai based practitioner called Om. Om was once a student of my teacher Doris and now has her own school in Chiang Mai. Her work is hard to put into words but, since my two sessions my abdomen has been transformed. I had some bothersome scar tissue that has caused an adhesion and numbness which is now no more. Om works very deeply and is highly skilled in removing blockages in the circulatory system, sometimes when she works you literally feel the rush of blood within you as she is manipulating tissues. I experienced some very deep work in my lower abdomen and hips which isn’t always comfortable. After both treatments my energy levels were elevated and I felt so light and joyous. Last year when I had a session with Om this was not the feeling! At that time I had one session and after I felt like I had been punched in the tummy for 3 days and it took quite a while to settle. This year, things were very different.
As I am documenting treatments let me also share two more quite incredible experiences – I had a session with my teacher Doris. Doris combines traditional CNT with structural alignment work and she had noticed that my shoulders had gone out of kilter. Her mission – to sort this. Woweeee was it a mission; during the session I had to relieve the discomfort with swearing and had to dig deep to get through at times. Doris knew the challenge and held me, unflinchingly though it. Doris knows that what she is doing is necessary, she isn’t afraid of the discomfort because her experience has taught her the transformative power of the work. Transformative it was, relaxing it was not! See the before and after pictures below. The left side is hitched and there is shortening in the neck which is my postural tendency. This can be problematic for both my shoulder and hips and cause discomfort. It is an old what we call ‘holding pattern.’
Doris works on the floor, a lot of the session was focused on the ribs and neck, the ribs protect the spleen, liver, lungs, pancreas and stomach and of course house the diaphragm so, while the work is in theory on the intercostal muscles it is also having a deeper impact on those organs and their encasing fascia. Organs store emotional charges and old, old matter can hide away. This was a clearing out, no hiding, no shying away. Transformative and healing. I have deep respect for her work.
Later in the trip came a very different form of treatment given by Andrea. Andrea, her husband and daughter live on the Island and run a business called Om Tao offering bodywork, yoga, Thai Chi and accommodation. Andrea has a passion for the water and dolphins and I was excited to see that she offered water massage therapy sometimes known as - Watsu or Janzu. The massage takes place in the sea (or can be a pool) and the practitioner guides your body thorough the water. You wear buoyancy aids on your legs and a nose clip on your nose and the session starts with your body being held and rocked on the surface of the water. As you build trust the practitioner will gently give you a signal to tell you they will take you under the water and you take a breath and hold the breath gently without tension as you’re pulled through the water. You get lost in the fluidity, the weightlessness and the sound. I cannot say whether you feel more like a dolphin or a small babe in the womb – maybe a combination of the two. For people who feel comfortable in water this kind of session is remarkable. For a better understanding I recommending an online search of this modality and watching a video. Below are some pictures of this beautiful, remote and nature filled Island that will remain nameless. My hours here were my best - I hula hooped a lot, walked a great deal and listened to the sounds of the jungle. The peace of walking the beach first thing in the morning or late at night with no one to be seen and all the wildlife to be heard is beautiful. May parts of the world stay simple, quiet and free from lights, speakers, and rowdy humans.
On Yoga:
Andrea also teaches Avita yoga which I had never heard of before. A branch of yoga that is designed to focus on bone and joint health. I thoroughly enjoyed adopting this new style. Yoga is a very important aspect of my life. I was introduced to a practise at 22 by my friend and very talented yoga instructor Amy Hughes. Amy gently and compassionately guided my confused and angry body through yoga with enough humour and patience to keep me on track and with this transformed my life. Yoga is space to connect body and mind and quieten the chatter, find the space and learn patience. It teaches endurance, patience, compassion and awareness and really shows what can be acomplished. I am unsure how I would maintain my work without it because it keeps me strong and robust in my life as a massage therapist and before that just as a human! For the past 4 years I have practised Iyengar Yoga with Tanaya DeLeersydner at Stroud Yoga Space. Iyengar yoga is nothing like the Ashtanga or Vinyasa practises that I began with, this unique form of yoga is phenomenal for precision and understanding of body mechanics. I was excited to see that Bangkok has a well establish Iyengar Yoga Studio which I was eager to get to. I made one class, and I was in awe of the well-equipped studio. The studio in Bangkok was so different to the yoga shala on the island where during practise you were complemented by the gentle sounds of the jungle life, you need to shut the door very fast when you came in to keep the mosquitos out.
If you’re interested in Tanya or Amy’s work check out their websites: www.kalyayoga.co.uk & www.amyhughesyoga.com
Reading and Research:
Another wonderful aspect of my time away is that I can lap up lots of wonderful reading. I have spent hours with my nose in books on the brain-gut axis, Taoist Philosophy, somatic healing, anatomy and physiology and of course fictional novels. There is so much incredible research out there on what it is to be human and how we experience our world. I use this information to enhance my abilities as a practitioner, signpost clients to useful information that might help them and to find explanations and understanding for the work that I do.
Leisure
My down time in Thailand looked like beach time; life got simple and blissful. Home was a basic wooden structure which consisted of a bed, mattress, squat toilet and shower and very importantly a mosquito net. I shared it with two massive and pretty stubborn spiders for the first two days. I must say I was relived when they moved out - out of sight, out of mind. After 7 nights here I spent 3 nights in a little home on stilts which at that point felt like the Ritz because a bathroom, electricity a hammock-chair and TOWELS seemed the height of luxury. I relished these wonderful things. My final abode was a beautiful bell tent by the sea with a schedule of morning yoga, evening frisbee and sunset to moonrise hula-hooping. I’d dive into the still and oily sea to refresh before dinner and early bed. I could have gone on with all that for much longer. Time away alone is a unique opportunity to slow down and get in touch with exactly who you are and what nourishes you and escape all the noise of the day-to-day. I spent a lot of time solo, sometimes relishing the quiet and the privilege of free time. Sometimes feeling the weight of human aloneness. It is not always blissful to travel alone but when you do there is a lot to be cultivated. There isn’t really anywhere to hide unless you are naturally seeking company and parties all the time. This for me is not the goal. What is the goal? I am not sure there is one really, I just find winter hard and I would much rather be with the emotional challenge in an environment where I have the opportunity to top-up on things that nourish me that I cannot find in the UK - that would be light and warmth. Also, at heart I am a book worm and academic, no longer a student of hisotry and politics, now a student of health and healing and bodywork. Fascinated by healing I wonder why so many of us suffer when there is so much potential for joy and wellness? Being in another country and meeting people from all over the world is a wonderful reminder that we are a product of our societies, our market forces and our cultural ideals. Humans are shaped culturally by their environment but, fundamentally we are all the same and we all have the same basic need - to survive. Food, shelter, water, community - that is the core of humanness. We aren’t designed to live alone, we can’t function without food and water and shelter protects us from the harshness of nature. How refreshing to remember that on some level there is simplicity. Also, we are designed to survive and so to heal, and to be resilient, incredibly adaptable and capable - wonderful to remember. How we respond to illness and hardship is shaped by our environment, our culture, religion, philosophy and finances. What do we expect from our lives, how much responsibility are we willing to take for our health and how does that make us feel? In the words of Mr Iyengar; “Physical health is not a commodity to be bargained for. Nor can it be swallowed in the form of drugs and pills. It has to be earned through sweat.”
On that note…..
Love, light and good health to you all x
Below are some snap shots of various parts of my journey - where I stayed, my endless games of solitare and a dew delicious sweet treats. I rescued a stick insect from a playful cat in a temple, I’ve not seen one before - it is remarkably stick like!
