Entries about tmc

It's amazing how quickly 5 weeks of your life can pass you by. It seems like just yesterday that I was whisked away to the bus station on the back of motorbike, streaming tears as I waved good-bye to Micah. Now, I'm excitedly awaiting our reunion in India! There has been a bit of a problem getting my visa so I'm actually meeting him a week later than originally planned. In the meantime, I'm spending my time in Chiang Mai with a completely open schedule and nothing but rejuvenating, "me" time to kill. I woke up this morning and proclaimed to my roommates that I think I'll go meditate with the monks today. Chiang Mai is a "Pink Granola" girls dream. (The alternative is brown, dirty, hippy granola. Micah is borderline brown, I'm pink...with a few sparkles.) The city has a surplus of yoga studios, body and energy workers, temples to meditate in, vegetarian restaurants, and an endless number of shops to fully stock your fisherman pant wardrobe. I now own 3 pairs when I swore to Micah that I would NOT become that traveler! It's seriously like living in a dream world. I can fully understand how people pick up their entire lives and thrive on the expat energy here. It's magical.

I officially graduated from the 150hr Thai Massage course at TMC last Friday. Our last few days were spent practicing for our final exam and completing an internship at the Children with Special Needs Center. The experience at the children's center is one I'll forever hold in my heart. We started the morning studying different types of cases and discussing what massage techniques would be most beneficial. All the while, the children were peaking their heads in and out of the doorway, peering at us with excited anticipation. We were each assigned a child and informed of their specific conditions. I was given a 7yr old boy with Autism and ADHD. He was by far the most active and rambunctious child of the group- the karmic repercussion of the endless amount of energy I had at his age, I'm certain. He didn't stay on the mat for more than 30 seconds at a time. I had the help of an aid to keep his curious mind occupied while I worked on his restless feet and legs. Her novelty soon wore off and he was wanting to run all over the center. I attempted to pour as much love and calming energy as possible into his body's perpetual state of fidgety motion. At one point, we both became frustrated as the aid was practically holding his squirming body down. I felt so much sadness for his tireless, agitated spirit. I asked her to let him go for a few moments and he quickly scooted to the front of the mat with his back facing away from us. I watched as he sat completely still for 2 min and then suddenly crawled into my lap with the most loving hug I've ever received. As he sat nestled in my lap with his head on my shoulder, I worked down the energy lines on his back. In all, I probably only got in about 10 minutes of massage, but it's amazing what 10 minutes of having love poured into your body can do for the soul. I knew it made a difference when his tiny hand wouldn't let go of mine as he led me around the center to curiously gaze at the rest of the relaxed children as they received body work from my classmates.

Lunch time brought on a new world of excitement. We returned from the cafeteria to discover the children all dancing to popular Thai songs. My "Miss Joanie" instincts took over and I soon had a small group off followers. It felt amazing to be dancing in a group of children with such a wide range of mental and physical disabilities. We're all human and share the same love of body movement. It's so deeply ingrained and instinctual. It becomes therapeutic when we're able to turn off our sensors and let it out. Our frustrations, stress and worries manifest themselves into our posture, gestures and daily movements. It shows up in the form of tight muscles, tension, headaches, diseases, etc. You can visibly see the healing transformation of movement when you witness a child with a disability dancing. It's as if their troubled, earthly body is able to match their loving, soaring spirit for a brief moment in time. It's a shame we can't all let our self consciousness go and cut lose. It would save $1000's of dollars in therapy!

The entire day was full of successes for my classmates, the children and myself. I went home and was forced to have good cry because my heart was exploding with so much love and happiness.

I'm making the most of my last few days in Chiang Mai. I've had many wonderful, life changing experiences here. I'm excited to carry them with me and see how it enhances and changes the rest of this bucket bath.

To book your discounted "Pink Granola" Thai Massage click the Pay Pal link below.

$30/ 30min, $50/1hr, $75/1.5hrs

My TMC diploma at graduation!

Some new friends at the Children with Special Needs Center

Lunch time dance party!

This week, I completed week 4 of my 5 week Thai massage course at TMC in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was the most challenging week yet! Learning Thai massage is much more involved than I ever imagined.

Every day, we're exposed to new techniques, new information, and new ways of adapting a massage to meet a client's specific needs. I have accumulated 4 textbooks and have a long list of others that I am going to purchase when I get settled back home. In addition to practicing daily, 2 hr massages on one another at the school, we completed an internship at the Piyamal Elderly Service Center.

My thumbs started swelling on Wednesday and I had to muscle through the rest of the week. Thai Massage isn't always done for relaxation. It's about using pressure points to release energy blockages in order to generate a healthy flow through the Sen Sib, or energy lines, in the body. That requires quite a lot of body weight and pressure. There is a different way to sit for every position in order to save your thumbs and have the maximum effect. I haven't yet mastered these techniques and sometimes forget if I should be: sitting up, sitting down, kneeling, working with one leg over the body, pressing with straight arms, keeping my back straight, pressing my weight over the recipients body, or simply just relaxing and focusing calm energy into a gentle massage.

As if the technique alone isn't enough to remember, we spent numerous lecture hours studying anatomy, pathology and learning how to locate and clear blockages within the body. I imagine this is a mini taste of what med school must be like. I had to learn the major Sen Sib lines that flow throughout the body, including their pathways, exit points and the body symptoms that occur when there is a blockage. There are 72,000 lines in all, but they are (thankfully) contained within 10 needed for Thai Massage purposes.

The internship was the highlight of the week and made the near mental breakdown worth it. We offered free massages at the Piyamal Elderly Center. When the clients arrived, they first received a mandatory health screening. In Thai Massage, it's important to know the client's blood pressure, temperature and body ailments or conditions. If someone has high blood pressure, it's necessary to eliminate many of the positions. The temperature is important because receiving, or giving a massage while running a fever can inhibit the body's natural healing process and also disrupt the energy flow. It's also important to know about ailments such as back problems, varicose veins, pregnancy, etc. I can't remember the last time I had a massage and was asked all of these important questions. At TMC, the giver and the receiver both weigh in before and after the massage because there is an ongoing study in the field of Thai massage and weight loss. On average, the receivers consistently lose weight following a Thai massage. I've seen the results, it's incredible!

After the screening was done, we were each given a clip board with an informational sheet written in Thai. We had to wait for our teachers to translate the ailments and precautionary sites of the body and then we were given a few minutes to consult our textbooks and plan for a 2 hr massage.

My first client was 62 and had high blood pressure along with chronic knee and leg pain. I surprised myself by remembering the knee pressure points and sequences for the massage. She spent a majority of the time snoring as the 82 yr old man beside her laughed and imitated her. I took it all as a compliment. Anyone that knows me, knows I have a love for the elderly and very young. I was in all my glory sitting in a room full of 60+'ers as they snored, moaned, farted and burped with sheer pleasure. To think of it, I may just have a soft spot for anyone that will shamelessly fart in public. (Don't get any ideas, Micah! This doesn't apply to you.) Upon taking her blood pressure at the end of the massage, she was estaic to discover that it had dropped from 154 down to 123. My healing hands had done their magic!

My second client of the day was only 32 and just wanted a general, relaxing massage. Our teachers informed us that the afternoon crowd would be much younger as the older people stay home in the afternoon to watch the Thai soap operas. While she didn't snore, she was very appreciative and lingered around to pay me numerous thanks afterwards.

After such a busy week, I've been thankful for a lazy weekend. Today, I had breakfast and watched the Chang Mai Flower festival parade with my adopted "grandfather"- a 74 yr old man that rode the bus with me from Cambodia when I arrived a month ago. My roommate, Elyse, returned from a week long stay in Cambodia. I happily awoke to her smiling face this morning. I enjoyed a fun, girls night dinner this evening at a local vegetarian restaurant and also forced myself to pick up a book for pleasure and not touch my Thai Massage textbooks!

It's back to work on Monday to finish off my final week, but for now, my brain and thumbs are on vacation.

To book your discounted Thai Massage click the Pay Pal link below.

$30/ 30min, $50/1hr, $75/1.5hrs