Tags
Ajarn Sinchai, blind master, Chiang Mai, Lar Thanakrit, master, safe massage, temple massage, Thai Yoga Massage
MASSAGE WITH THE BLIND MASTER
During my stay in Chiang Mai- the world’s capital of Thai Massage – I was very eager not only to study this technique but also to receive massages from the masters. Learning that a 2- hours massage with my teacher Ajarn Sinchai would cost me the same as a single class (and a fraction of a price of a regular massage in the UK), I didn’t hesitate a second.
I must admit the massage looked very different from what I was expecting. I started seated on a chair while Sinchai was skillfully removing all the tension from the clavicle and shoulder area. Then I moved onto a table (instead of a more traditional futon spread on the floor). Sinchai sat on a chair by the table, probably in order to preserve his energy. He was fully justified to do that since at the age of 75 he’d still massage from morning till evening 7 days a week!
The pressure applied by him wasn’t really strong and he mostly worked along the energy lines. He also had no problem with skipping huge sections of my body just because he didn’t think they needed any work. That was a novelty as I was taught one should always go along the lines throughout the body, without missing any part. Despite the massage being quite untypical and very gentle, it felt really good.
ANOTHER WONDERFUL TREATMENT
I was still very curious about receiving a treatment from a very good therapist so I took a friend’s recommendation and booked a 2 hour session with Lar Thanakrit Khamtanong who was a very popular therapist in Chiang Mai.
Lar’s massage felt wonderful. He didn’t need to ask me any questions- he would just get straight to the areas which required attention, sometimes skipping other parts altogether. He always applied the perfect pressure: neither too strong, nor too light. The massage wasn’t painful at any point but I definitely felt it was working. Lar did make a few stronger moves ending with a cracking sound effect but in general I didn’t receive that many stretches. It totally made sense – I was flexible enough so there was not much to ‘open’.
THE DIRTY SIDE OF THE THAI MASSAGE WORLD
Lar was a very cheerful, friendly and extremely talkative guy. I could have just shut up and enjoy the treatment but the conversation was too interesting to give it up. Lar gave me an insight into the world of Thai Massage business in Chiang Mai. It was quite shocking to hear that big schools would hire people who speak English well but have very little idea about Thai Massage. This could result in mechanical teaching, strictly following the manual.
Lar believed one should always adapt the treatment to a particular person rather than follow a sequence and that logic totally resonated with me. On the other hand, I could also understand that most Western students needed some structure to start with. Over time, drawing on that basics and a growing in experience they’d learn how to tailor the massage to individual needs.
Lar also told me that massage brings such good money that many people simply buy their certificates or do the short courses and start massaging without having enough experience.
I’ve heard from a few people in Chiang Mai about recent cases of serious injuries which happened during or shortly after receiving a Thai massage including a pregnant woman who lost her baby. I also saw a video of a Thai masseur from another town who broke a hip bone of a woman with an extremely brutal kick (it is disturbing but you can see it on YouTube). Some of those cases were clearly fault of an inexperienced or reckless therapist but Lar defended others, saying people who didn’t warn the therapists about their injuries or conditions were also partially responsible.
A TEMPLE MASSAGE
I was very curious but also a bit scared to try a massage at one of city’s numerous temples. I could not resist the temptation though so I tried the cheapest massage I could find: a one-hour long massage offered at Wat Mahawan, a short walk from the Tha Phae Gate. It cost roughly one third of Lars’s treatment but was also half shorter.
After paying upfront, I was led by a lady therapist to a large hall full of massage futons. At first, I was the only client in the room (no wonder- it was 1 pm and 39 degrees) but then someone else started receiving massage at the other end of the room. Apart from the futons, there was a large altar. My therapist chose a futon right next to it. She bowed to the altar reverently before starting the massage.
She did not ask me any questions regarding my current health condition before starting which would be unthinkable in the UK. From the moment she touched me it was clear that there was a chasm between a random masseuse treatment and the one of the masters. She was correct with most of the moves and it really wasn’t a bad massage but it simply didn’t flow in the same way.
I was glad she started quite gently as I was still scared of the famously painful Thai massages. During the session, I noticed only a few tiny glitches which probably would get unnoticed by any non-therapist: sometimes the alignment of the joints wasn’t optimal, causing unnecessary discomfort during the stretches. I felt that some of the stretches were too fast or too jerky.
The lady massaging me was fully confident with her bold ‘cracking’ moves but I was slightly less so. There were moments I felt I was pushed too far, too fast and I thought I could get away with it due to my flexibility and the fact I remained as relaxed as possible. However, it would’t be necessarily the case with everybody. At one point my hip joint made a loud pop. It was completely natural to me and didn’t bother me at all but my masseuse seemed a bit scared and asked me if I was OK.
Altogether, it was an enjoyable massage and definitely worth 150 baht. I’d recommend it to a generally healthy person with some level of flexibility. If you are more fragile or are in need of a special, therapeutic approach, do yourself a favour and pay more for a renown practitioner.