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Three Essential Parts of
Thai Bodywork
Robert
Wootton, PhD, LMBT
Nuat
Boran [noo-ut bo-rahn] is the name of an ancient bodywork practiced in
Thailand. In America it is variously called "Thai Massage," "Thai
Yoga Massage," and "Thai Bodywork." The Thai people call it Nuat
Boran. Boran means "ancient," in the sense of “classic,”
not just “old,” and Nuat is often unfortunately translated as
"massage". But Nuat Boran is so different from what we think
of as "massage" that I prefer to call it “bodywork" or by its real name
Nuat Boran.
The
physical part is done on the floor on a mat with the client fully clothed.
It combines stretches with work on meridians called
sen. Practitioners use their whole body in leverage and
interactive work as they move and rock the client into various positions and apply rhythmic pressure up and down the
meridians.
Thais interpret stiffness in muscles and joints as stagnation or blockage
which leads to disease. So they have developed some very
“persuasive” techniques to loosen one up, which includes stretching every
part of the body and taking all joints through their full range of
motion. Other techniques are also strategically employed,
especially compression, cross-fiber, plucking, and pressure point and may
be applied with the practitioner's hands, knuckles, elbows, knees, and
feet.
People
sometimes say Thai Massage is harsh and painful because of these
aggressive techniques. Indeed it can be harsh, if one is not mindful
and combining all the other elements that make a real Nuat Boran
treatment. The practitioner’s body mechanics on the floor can give
powerful leverage, but it can also give one the control to adjust the
amount of pressure and movement to fit the client’s condition and needs:
from very gentle to vigorous.
So in
my workshops I not only teach a sequence of movements for loosening the
whole body but I also show how to be in control and sensitive to the
effects.
Besides the physical movements, the
complete Nuat Boran combines what we would call “energy work” on
meridians which Thais call sen. Thais think of these
sen as wind channels. In many ways they are similar to the
meridians used in Chinese medicine and Shiatsu, but the origin of Nuat
Boran goes back to ancient India in the Ayurvedic tradition
rather than to Chinese tradition. Accordingly Thais speak of
replacing “bad air” with “good air” in these channels, and there are
specific ways the practitioner can breath while treating the sen
that facilitate this exchange. Working the sen gives as much
therapeutic benefit as the stretches. The two techniques go
together.
I show the basic principles for
working the sen in my Level 1 course and go more into the technique
and identification of the sen and their uses in the Level 2
course.
This combination
of extensive stretching and movement with meridian work is
unique among modalities of bodywork: the best of yoga and energy work in
one treatment! Also unique is the protocol that the treatment be
done in four positions: supine, side-lying, prone, and sitting and that a
session takes around two hours. The combination of stretching and
meridian work and the treatment in all four positions gives the client an
experience of a complete workout. I often hear comments from clients
about how they feel their whole being has been treated and they feel
taller, expanded, balanced, and looser and the treatment put them in a
new and different place.
Besides
being therapeutic for most common complaints of muscular pain in low back,
shoulders, and legs, receiving Nuat Boran is (re-)educational for
the client. Experiencing most of one’s joints and muscles being
mobilized makes one more aware of ones whole body, especially where one is
tense or holding. Then it teaches one about letting go, which one
must do to fully allow passive movement of one’s limbs. Letting go
sounds easy, but most people have a natural tendency to hold, protect,
resist, tense, and assist. Clients often discover that the pain they
are used to lessens or doesn’t happen when they fully let
go.
On the
practitioner's side, working on the floor with the client clothed, using
one's whole body in leverage feels more interactive and intimate.
The client feels the close contact as supportive. Furthermore, the
practitioner's thumbs get a relief with the Thai techniques using elbows,
knees, feet, stretching and range of motion.
In the
villages in Thailand, the maw nuat, the "bodywork doctor," was the
main healer: the medical doctor, chiropractor, and herbalist all in one,
functioning more like a doctor of acupuncture or osteopath - doing much
more than we massage therapists are licensed to do here. The
complete Nuat Boran treatment would include herbal compresses
during the bodywork session and herbal concoctions to ingest afterward and
possibly an herbal sauna.
This
was the way it was when I was first living and working in Thailand as a
school teacher over 30 years ago. My first treatments, which were in
a temple in Chiang Mai, included herbs that were as effective as the
bodywork at alleviating my ailments. I was so impressed that I
begged to study. They were skeptical that a westerner could learn or
do Nuat Boran, but since I spoke Thai and knew the temple customs
they agreed. The man showed me his herb garden and how he made some
concoctions, and the woman showed me the bodywork and let me watch her
treat people. I got the bodywork but unfortunately not the herbal
part.
The attitude or spirit
in which Nuat Boran is done is all important, and elevates
it from being a mechanical, technical treatment. This spiritual
aspect which underlies or permeates true Nuat Boran developed
during the centuries it was practiced in the Buddhist monasteries and
temples. This aspect is also evident in the Thai cultural virtues of
generosity, compassion, and respect. Giving Nuat Boran is
considered an act of compassion, not just a business, or technical
exercise. So before each session practitioners pause and make a
gesture of respect (called wai) to teachers and
client.
There
are specific meditation practices that develop the attitudes of generosity
and compassion called Metta. One does not have to be a
Buddhist or even religious to do this practice, but it does help to open
one’s heart. It simply involves wishing that others be well and
happy and does not require or conflict with any other religious
beliefs. But Metta meditation is not just used for training;
it is actually practiced during the entire time of giving Nuat
Boran. Thus the giving of Nuat Boran is truly a
meditation for the practitioner.
From my
years of studying and living in Thai monasteries I bring an understanding
of this spiritual foundation of Nuat Boran and I use various
techniques to introduce it in my workshops.
The whole is an art
form. The Thais are graceful people, and their art forms are
flowing. I consider Nuat Boran an art form – a graceful,
smooth-flowing interactive dance. I noticed how the elders I was
privileged to live and work with have an economy and efficiency of
movement in whatever they do. This too is at work in Nuat
Boran as each movement does several things at once – more than one
gets at first. In fact, after 20 years of practice I still discover
new aspects of the genius of the form.
As with
any true art, the effect of the whole is greater than its parts.
Thus Nuat Boran always treats the entire body in all positions,
never just the one place that may hurt, though of course adjustments are
made in emphasis and the specific movements chosen to address the specific
needs of the client. But the full effect comes from the whole
process, the whole choreography. Americans are naturally attracted
to the stretching and range of motion movements and see that as defining
Thai Massage. But to me that is only part of it. There must
also be the treatment of sen, the treatment of the whole body, and
the attitude of Metta. Then the whole is noticeably a
different and more beneficial experience.
Treating the whole body in four positions allows one to treat the
same area several times from different angles. On the other hand, if
for some reason a client is restricted and is only comfortable in one
position then a whole treatment can be given in that one position.
For example, a pregnant woman can be given a whole treatment in side-lying
position. Likewise, all the treatments for sitting position can be
given to someone sitting in a chair. So once one learns the whole
Nuat Boran treatment in all positions – and is also used to working
through clothing - one is better able to adapt to many
situations.
My
courses give students enough to get started practicing Nuat
Boran. But I believe everyone can benefit from exposure to
Nuat Boran whether they want to actually practice it or just take a
few elements from it to enhance their own work. Accordingly I show
how the individual movements and the whole treatment can be done on a
table and even applied to a chair. I only ask that one be honest
about whether one is giving a full Nuat Boran treatment or just
taking some parts of it.
Nuat Boran
is an inspired and inspiring form of Bodywork and I look forward to
sharing it with you.
For more about this work,
see Robert's article
Varieties of Thai Massage.
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