Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Let’s Talk…Thai Massage. And why I love it.

I had big plans for this week’s Talk To Us Tuesday, the new “no rules – just talk” linky party hosted by Impulsive Addict and Shawn

Talk2Us

I was going to share some pictures of some cool stuff I recently received.  But that post is going to have to wait, as those pictures are still on my camera and not on my computer.

BUT!  don’t worry.  I still have things to talk about.  I mean, I’m a girl.  I always have things to talk about.

This week’s topic:  Thai Massage.

Don’t know what that is?  I didn’t either, until recently.  But I had my first Thai massage on Sunday and ohmygahhhhhhh  it was good.

The best part?  It happened on a complete whim, on my parent’s living room floor, while I was lying on my favourite blanket, wearing a pair of oversized pj pants and a sweatshirt. 

Can you say COMFY?!?

See, my brother’s girlfriend, Amanda, has recently changed her career path.  She is now teaching Yoga, and she is starting into Thai Massage as well.  Given that I have taken an interest lately in Holistic Health (inspired by reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, as well as by Steph at Newleaf Wellness, and my own attempt to lose weight and become a healthier ‘me’), Amanda’s passion for Yoga & Thai Massage has me intrigued.

I’m not ready to jump on the Yoga bandwagon just yet.  As I explained to Amanda, I played around with a few of the ‘moves’ (what do you call them?  poses?  whatever, you know what I mean) on my Wii Fit, and I am far too large and off-balanced to do Yoga.   I tried out two of them, and not only did it hurt, I was also apparently very bad at it.  My computer-animated trainer told me so.

EXIF_JPEG_T422 

Amanda asked which ones I tried.   One was just deep breathing.  The other was leaning over to the side as far as you can go.  So basically I suck at breathing and stretching.  Go me.

I think I need to get skinnier before I tackle Yoga any further.

But the Thai Massage??  Now that’s  something I can totally get on-board with.

Amanda put a call out to her Facebook friends last week to let them know she was looking for “guinea pigs” after taking the Intro to Thai Massage course.  She needed some people to practice on.   Before long, she had 30+ comments from people willing to “help out”.  I was one of them.

So on Sunday, when she & Luke were at my parents’ place, I volunteered to let her practice.  I’ve had massages before, but I think what I loved about the Thai Massage was that I got to wear comfy clothes.  That’s right, no stripping down to nothing but a towel.  You get to wear your comfiest sweats.  Sweet, right?

According to Wikipedia, Thai Massage is explained as follows:

The massage recipient changes into loose, comfortable clothes and lies on a mat or firm mattress on the floor. It can be done solo or in a group of a dozen or so patients in the same large room. The receiver is put into many yoga-like positions during the course of the massage.

The massage practitioner leans on the recipient's body using hands and usually straight forearms locked at the elbow to apply firm rhythmic pressure.

I’m not going to lie.  There were parts of it that were painful.  Luke was watching from the couch and he was taking quite a kick out of some of the faces I was making.  It was the part when she worked on my inner thighs that hurt the most, but she explained that many people carry their emotional baggage there.

Apparently I had a lot of emotional baggage stored up there.  Yeeesh.

Otherwise, though, it was very relaxing and it sure worked out the kinks and pains I had in my neck and back that day.  My legs also felt so good when the 45-minute massage was over.  When she was done, I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep.

Thai Massage = awesome.  I highly recommend it.

So that’s what I’m talkin’ about this Tuesday!  Be sure to go visit Impulsive Addict and Shawn, grab their cute little button, and tell them whatever your little heart desires!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really love yoga but couldn't get into the Wii Fit one. Really, i only like it if I go to a studio. I need the direction.

Stacy said...

I would like to give it a try, but I am guessing I sorta have to wait until I have the baby - but by then, she will be a PRO!

VandyJ said...

I think I'm asking for a Wii fit for Christmas. I might try yoga then.
There's no one around here who gives Thai Massage.

Mindy said...

I always feel uncomfortable during regular massages, because you have to undress. I must google and find who gives a Thai Massage in my area!

Anonymous said...

That actually sounds like the best thing ever!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh, girl, this is HILARIOUS! I wish I knew someone I could be a massage guinea pig for. Lucky you!! Can't say I've ever heard someone say we carry our emotional baggage in our thighs though - that cracks me up!

BTW-I get the SAME response from my Wii Fit trainer when I even try the balance test before you start the other exercises. That board is too small. I ended up kicking it across the room during one of those running ones. I think I'll stick to non-virtual exercise for now. ;o)

Nicole said...

I want one and it looks/sounds better than the massage I had in Hawaii. That was ruined though b/c Hubby didn't like , well whatever....

Shawn said...

I've never had a Thai massage but that sounds incredible! I love getting rubbed on!

I love yoga, it's so relaxing. I don't understand how it works but it does. A friend does hot yoga and swears by it, I've yet to try it but would love to.

Thanks for linking up!

Leslie Lavigne said...

You had me at "massage".

Impulsive Addict said...

I've always heard of a Thai massage but never knew what one was. Wow! It sounds interesting and I can see where it could be painful. I work out but I have ZERO flexibility. I would probably suck at getting one but I am interested. I'll have to see if my craptastic town even offers that.

Thanks Jilly Jill for linking up with us! xoxo

Robin said...

I would love to do yoga but I don't think I'm all that limber anymore. well. I know I not. It's hard to trim the business area without a lot of straining!

Kristine said...

Massage of any kind sounds awesome right now...

Stacie said...

Hate yoga, love Pilates.

and I'd take any massage right now..Mexican, Thai, american, whatever...

Unknown said...

That sounds like all kinds of amazing. I so need a massage! Lucky you, being a guinea pig. Do you get to lend yourself to more practice? :D

Amber said...

Sounds amazing! I always love learning about holistic care and trying new things. I haven't heard of Thai massage before, but it looks lovely. I've always wondered why you couldn't have nice pillows and stuff during massage because well, wouldn't it make you more relaxed??

Yoga is tough, I'm not a fan. My head is always spinning so I get bored with it. However, I know someone who lost 100 pounds doing yoga, so maybe the key is to just stick with it, you're not going to get flexibility overnight!

Mrs. Match said...

I've never had a Thai massage but it sounds wonderful. Love the idea of not having to strip all nekkid. I usually tense up from a stranger touching me during a traditional massage and it takes awhile to relax. I must try this!

Candy Rowe said...

Awesome, indeed. It's great that you got a good first experience out of it. And yeah, there's a few parts that make the body ache. Call it a learning curve, if you will. Anyway, it's all about being open to the idea. If you're too nervous your body will be too tense and thus be unreceptive of the massage.

Sienna Christie said...

Oh, I love Thai massage too! It’s part of physical therapy in which physicians recommend their patients as an efficient way to recover from injury. I started it during the time when I needed to improve my posture. My doctor said that it will help to realign my muscles, and it’s really did! From then on, I see to it that I get a massage at least once a week.

Andre Adams said...

Impressive post really, thanks for sharing.

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