In an article about post-exercise routines, Marla Arndt mentions why it’s important to prevent injuries after working out and help your body to recover quickly.

Among other things, she recommends a traditional Thai massage:

Massage is very helpful in flushing lactic acid from the body. It also removes tension and promotes relaxation. Massage feels good and improves circulation while allowing you to fully relax. A great option is having a Thai yoga massage. This type of massage is one that involves stretching and deep massage. This form of bodywork is usually performed on the floor, and you wear comfortable clothing that allows for movement. No oils are used in Thai massage.

You can read the full article with more advice on post-exercise routines here.

There’s an article in livestrong.com that shares some tips when you plan to get a traditional Thai massage.

Clothing

Thai massage is not generally performed on naked people, so make sure to wear lightweight and loose clothing to help facilitate joint movements such as flexion and extension, rotations and bending moves. In some ways, Thai massage can be like having yoga done to you, rather than you performing yoga movements on your own. To make this type of massage most beneficial, the therapist must be able to fully manipulate your knees, hips, back and shoulders. according to My Massage Tips. Opt for loose linen or cotton rather than jeans, and a loose t-shirt instead of button- down tops. Many Thai massage therapists or facilities offer a change of pajama-like cotton clothing for customers.

That’s very true. Trying to perform a Thai massage while wearing jeans is next to impossible.

You can read the whole article here.

Here’s a nice picture of how Thai massage finds it’s way into different cultures and is being adapted to different places in the world. Just the environment and surroundings already seem quiet relaxing, the masseur has a kind of meditative look and the woman receiving the massage looks both alert and joyful.

The surrounding definitely is most pleasant. I’d like to have a room like that too :-)

There’s an interesting article about Thai massage in Bangkok, suggesting some Thai massage studios where you can get a treatment.

Thai massage is a highly interactive massage where the practitioner aims to rejuvenate your energy levels by applying pressure to your network of Sen energy lines. It is thought to have been developed by a yogi named Jivaka Kumarabhacca from yoga practice in about 500BC.

The information that is contained within it is pretty much a rough overview. For example, it should be noted that Jivaka was a personal friend of the Buddha, and even treated the Sangha – the community of monks that followed the Buddha, on occasion.

They do offer some good advice how to get more pleasure and enjoyment out of your Thai massage treatment in Bangkok:

1. It’s pretty obvious but relax, man. The more relaxed you are, the more you will get out of it.
2. Say “bao noi” if you want a lighter massage and “jep” for pain.  
3. Don’t have too many preconceptions. There is considerable variation throughout the regions with no single routine that is universally accepted.
4. Do tell your therapist where you have aches and pains.

The UK-newspaper “The Telegraph” recently wrote a review about a spa in Spain that offers Thai massage treatments:

the non-sporting centrepiece of InterContinental’s golf resort is a world away from the Spanish costas – a heady mix of Chinese silk, Asian antique furniture and Indian lanterns. The treatment list, however, is decidedly Thai-inspired. All therapists were trained at the Temple Pho, a specialist holistic Thai massage centre in Bangkok.

You can read more about it here.

Anna Pasternak wrote a short article where she described her experience with a traditional Thai hair treatment that also involved a bit of Thai massage.

I vaguely recall my hair being steamed with hot towels before an application of honey, bergamot (which uplifts and de-stresses) and sesame oil, to nourish and restore. Apparently, this sticky gunk acts as a detoxifying shampoo.

While it nourished my hair, my arms were skilfully massaged. After a hot shower, in which I almost had to be propped up because I was like a ragdoll, I had a sealing post wash, infused with coconut and yeast to strengthen the hair follicles.

Finally, a serum containing seaweed and olive oil was combed through, leaving my hair feeling super silky. even bet ter, when I blow dried it afterwards, it had that glossy sheen that only a professional stylist can achieve  -  and it lasted days longer than a salon blow dry.

It’s quiet interesting that this happens in the uk, where they charge 48 pounds for it. A couple of those hair treatments, and you can afford to fly to Thailand and get it for a fraction of the price.

The Hindu features a story about traditional Thai massage.

The simplest yet an effective curative massage is the traditional Thai massage. As this massage doesn’t include any applications, it may cause disappointment to your pre-notions of aromatic oils, flower-pool bath and other stereotype spa dreams, but the results might impress you.

This is in fact quiet a good description of Thai massage for people who have never experienced it and are not familiar with it.

“This is a traditional therapeutic method to release your knotted muscles, relax the nerve endings and it enhances blood circulation. The technique is applying pressure by the thumb, elbows and feet to make the muscles more flexible. It is a strong massage type and more like an exercise”, explains, Ms. Ning.

She didn’t mentioned that in traditional Thai medicine it is believed that there are energy lines and points that can be stimulated through Thai massage, which is what it all is based upon.

you may feel the ‘thumps’ and ‘Thuds’ of being beaten up like a ‘parotta’, kneaded like dough and pounded like the clay… you might also undergo a washing machine drive or a trapeze ride swinging to and fro…and towards the end you may wonder if the masseur has any old grudges against you, walking and dancing on your back.

This in fact describes the experience of Thai massage for many quiet well too.

Thai-yoga is not well known outside of Thailand – most people think of Thai massage when they hear Thai yoga, which is also due to the fact that many Western practitioners of traditional Thai massage refer to their practice as “Thai Yoga massage”. But that is not what this is about.

Thai-Yoga is a form of yoga  – it is  not a massage or bodywork. It used to be practiced by hermits in Thailand to cure certain ailments. There were certain postures that were used to treat lower back pain, headaches, and so on.

Unfortunately, the knowledge of Thai hermit yoga, as it’s also sometimes called, was only passed on orally, and most of the things that have been written down about it where destroyed when the Burmese armies invaded the former capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya, in 1767 and destroyed the city.

Thai’s refer to it as Rusie Dotton, or ruessie datton.

The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has published a report that shows that not all forms of massage can help to relieve backpain, but Thai massage is among the ones where even scientific evidence supports the statement that it can help with backpain.

If you know anything about how scientists measure the effectivity of back pain treatments, that’s quiet a major accomplishment, because in general it is very difficult for any “alternative” treatment for to get scientific approval.

In Thailand for example, Thai massage is often used in hospitals and clinics together with Western medical methods to improve painful conditions of the back. I am very confident that a skilled Thai massage therapist can help to relieve backpain, however, it is also important to note that most Thai masseurs and masseuses are not highly trained and qualified, but rather provide a pleasant massage that has general health benefits, but when it comes to treating specific ailments, it’s worth to take the time to locate a really good practitioner.

You can read more about this here.

Lucy Chabot Reed wrote on her first Thai massage experience. It was an awkward thing, because to her, it was painful and discomfortable, and she was glad when it was over. However, after the second massage, she liked it more, even though at first she didn’t like the idea of going through that kind of experience again – but her sister made her… read more.