Traditional Thai Massage

Trista fell in love with Traditional Thai massage while taking an intro to Asian Healing Arts class at the International Professional School of Bodywork in 2005. After getting a small taste of Thai Massage, as well as other forms of eastern healing techniques, she knew she had found her niche’. With Thai massage, Trista found the perfect marriage of yoga, bodywork and energetic healing.

Trista was certified in Thai Massage in June 2006 and went on to become the lead Thai Massage Therapist at Urbána CitySpa & Teabar, a trendy new spa in Charlotte, North Carolina. After just a few short months, she helped to build awareness of the benefits of Thai massage in Charlotte and generated her own steady clientele. Being a California girl at heart, Trista soon returned to the sunny seaside of San Diego where she now works at the Golden Door, practicing the art of Thai massage and Reiki, a Japanese form of energetic healing.

Trista is also certified in Table Thai® and Thai Foot Massage.

Thai Foot Massage

Thai Foot Massage is very similar to Foot Reflexology in the sense that it is grounded in the belief system that specific points on the feet reflect back to the body’s organs and muscles via the body’s lines of energy known as ‘Sen’ in Thai. Thai Foot Massage uses similar techniques as Foot Reflexology, but adds more relaxation techniques, leg massage, the use of lotion or crème and also adds the use of a folk instrument known as a wooden dowel. Thai Foot Massage is not as painful as Foot Reflexology. It’s more “sabai” (Thai for “relaxed” or “comfortable”) than “jep” (Thai for “pain”), but the goals are similar: to promote optimum health. So, is Thai Foot Massage the same as Foot Reflexology? As they say in Thailand, it’s “same, same, but different”.

Brief history about Thai Massage

Thai massage is a sacred form of bodywork widely practiced in Thailand today. For centuries it was done in Thai temples and homes. In Thailand, the monks’ knowledge of Ayurveda, Yoga and Buddhism was combined with Thai healing techniques. A powerful massage modality evolved from these. It came to be known as Nuad Bo' Rarn which literally means “ancient healing touch”. For centuries, the Thai people have believed that receiving regular Thai Massage is one of the four essential elements necessary for maintaining health and well-being, along with proper diet, adequate physical activity and spiritual guidance. Today, Thai Massage is quickly gaining popularity and praise as the ‘Western World’ learns of it’s natural healing benefits. Like most forms of Asian bodywork, Thai Massage more completely addresses the total body by combining the physical benefits of a table massage along with the energy balancing benefits that address the body’s energy pathways. With it’s origins deeply rooted in Buddhism, is should come as no surprise that there is also a spiritual connection. Each traditional Thai Massage begins with the therapist offering a silent prayer, inviting the spirit of the founder, The Father Doctor Shivago Komarpaj, and asking that through touch, wholeness and health might be restored to the body of the client. The end result is a blissful state of being that truly addresses Mind, Body & Spirit.

What to Expect During your Thai Massage

Both the giver and receiver are dressed in loose-fitting comfortable clothing and no oils or lotions are used. The client rests on a thick, comfortable mat which has been placed on the floor, and the therapist uses hands, arms, feet and knees to provide gentle, rhythmic compressions and yoga-like stretches to joint and muscle tissue, all while addressing the 10 major energy lines that make up the second body. Almost like a choreographed dance, this therapy moves slowly and effortlessly, using an ingeniously created series of leveraged weight and counter balancing movements that fully support the therapist and the client. Although Traditional Thai Massage is never painful, deep stretching can sometimes be intense and honest communication, whether it is verbal or non-verbal, is essential in order to effectively work through deeply held patterns of muscle tension.

Benefits of Thai Massage

Thai massage, also known as Nuad bo-Rarn in its traditional medical form, is a type of Oriental bodywork therapy that is based on the treatment of the human body, mind, and spirit. The therapy includes treating the electromagnetic or energetic field, which surrounds, infuses and brings the body to life through pressure and/or manipulative massage. Thai massage consists of a technique that uses slow, rhythmic compressions and stretches along the body's energy lines, also called sen in Thai. Over 70,000 sen are said to exist within the body, and Thai massage concentrateson applying pressure along 10 of the most important sen using the palms of the hands, thumbs, elbows, and feet. The effort from the practitioner works to free tension within the body. Practitioners also position the body into yoga-like poses and gently rock the body to more deeply open joints and facilitate limbering.

The benefits of Thai massage are numerous with the most predominant being the maintenance of good health and its ability to treat a wide spectrum of health concerns. Traditional Thai massage is known for its ability to clear the energy pathways.

The following are some of the benefits of traditional Thai massage:

• Increased flexibility
• Increased range of motion
• Decreased muscle fatigue
• Decreased blood pressure
• Improved blood circulation
• Improved breathing
• Increased immunity
• Greater mental clarity
• Decreased anxiety
• Better emotional balance
• Improved feeling of overall well-being

• Thai Foot Massage
• Brief history about Thai Massage
• What to Expect During your Thai Massage
• Benefits of Thai Massage

Testimonial

"Hands down the best massage I've ever experienced! More than just a massage, Thai massage with Trista is truly a unique experience. Not only has my flexibility dramatically increased, mental health and overall well-being has improved, and is a direct result of Thai massage."
-Jason I.

"Thai Massage provides relaxation as well as therapeutic benefits! As Trista worked with me providing this therapy, she created positive changes in my metabolism, my energy level, and my sense of well-being. After several sessions, I was able to reach a state of euphoria I had never experienced...so much so that after one of the sessions I couldn't remember where my car was parked in what was a very small lot! I highly recommend her and her work. Trista is a consummate professional whose healing touch is missed greatly in the Charlotte community. We all may have to move to California! I don't feel nearly the way I did this past summer and I want to get back to that without moving to CA! Miss you!"  - Carolyn Culicerto, Charlotte, NC

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