Thai yoga massage is an ancient practice with many benefits backed by modern science. It can reduce the severity of headaches, decrease lower back and joint pain, increase flexibility, calm anxiety, and energize the mind and body. Yoga and massage therapy are listed as alternative approaches to mental health care, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. By manipulating the muscles in a Thai yoga massage, emotional and mental stress is released.
This type of massage also includes meditation, which helps you relax and better manage stress. The benefits of Thai yoga massage are numerous. Increased flexibility, relief from muscle pain and tension, improved range of motion, deep relaxation and stress relief, improved circulation and lymph flow, reduced headaches, and increased energy levels are just some of the advantages. In addition, the poses in which you are placed during a session can increase your flexibility limits, which is why it is sometimes called yoga for lazy people.
In a traditional Thai massage, practitioners use their hands, thumbs, elbows, forearms, and sometimes even feet to reduce muscle tension. This type of massage works on the body's meridians called sen to replace stagnant wind with fresh, healthy wind. In one study involving 60 patients with knee arthrosis, researchers found that 3 weeks of Thai massage provided the same pain relief as 3 weeks of ibuprofen. In another study, researchers compared the effects of Thai massage and Swedish massage on fatigued people.
The results showed that Thai massage was more effective in reducing fatigue than Swedish massage. In several small studies involving patients with chronic headaches, researchers found that Thai massage reduced the intensity of both migraine and tension headaches. Thai yoga massage can help you relax and relieve stress, which will help you in several fields. For athletes, staff working at the desk, and people who could benefit from stretching and movement, this particular massage is ideal.
It can also help you deal with your headaches by reducing their intensity or eliminating them completely. Like traditional Chinese medicine or Ayurveda, Thai massage is part of one of the oldest healing systems in Asia. To release muscle tension, the Thai therapist presses your feet, hands, thumbs, knuckles and fingers at certain points while keeping you stretched. A certain number of CEUs are required per year to maintain your Yoga Alliance registration status.
As with any yoga asana, take normal and appropriate precautions and adjustments with pillows, reinforcements or blocks to keep you in a comfortable position while you practice your self-massage.
