tension – Thai Massage Glasgow

18/07/201213/08/2023

Hamstring stretches benefit desk workers too

Hamstring stretches are favourites for sportspeople and people very active in the outdoors. Indeed, Thai Yoga Massage can be helpful to such people pre and post event and I’ve often worked on members of Glasgow University’s Thai boxing club. But it’s not just the very active that can benefit from this posture; office workers and students, service sector workers standing up all day and the generally sedentary all can too, perhaps even more so. Whether sitting or standing, if we’re inactive for most of the day, the muscles and tendons at the back of the thigh become rigid and shortened. In this hamstring stretch, I don’t simply pull on the client’s foot and push their thigh away with my own foot to allow a strong stretch, I’ve actually placed my foot along one of the major energy channels or Sen lines in the body.

Much Asian traditional medicine and bodywork is based on the idea that there is a system of energy channels in the body. If they are blocked, health problems develop. Unblocking this energy flow results in improved health. In Chinese medicine and Japanese Shiatsu massage, these lines are known as meridians, in Ayurveda they’re known as nadis and in Thailand these channels are called Sen lines. It’s thought that stimulating these lines helps the smooth, effective passage of energy around the body and in Thai Yoga Massage we focus on the ten principal Sen lines in the body, but it’s thought there are many more – even thousands!

18/07/201213/08/2023

Tension? Get in a (spinal) twist!

Generally in modern life, we do everything in a rather rigid, very forward focused way. Especially if we work at a desk all day, we push our heads forward on our necks, causing strain. We often slump and hunch over our desks too, causing compaction of the spine. This spinal twist is similar to the yoga asana “Ardha Matsyendrasana” and is used for opening up the spine laterally. Many asanas bend the spine forward or backward, but to keep the spine truly flexible, it needs to move from side-to-side too, something we very rarely do in our daily lives. Most bend the spinal column either backward or forward, but to become truly flexible it must be twisted laterally as well.

In Thai Yoga Massage, because the client is fully relaxed, a powerful stretch is attained without force or strain, allowing the release of deep-seated tension. The theory in Thai Yoga Massage is that tension, aches and ‘knots’ in the body are essentially energy blockages and by helping to allow a smoother energy flow through the body, these blockages can be alieviating before they cause more problematic ailments.

17/07/201213/08/2023

What’s going on here? The Cobra

Thai Yoga Massage is often referred to as “lazy person’s yoga” because the therapist does all the work instead of the client sweating and straining away at a yoga class!

Usually, when a person practices yoga postures or asanas, they can’t help but tense their muscles. Though yoga itself emphasises that it’s a personal practise with nothing to do with competition, it’s also common to have a mindset of pushing yourself when attempting yoga postures. In Thai Yoga Massage, because the client is completely relaxed and the therapist supports them into various positions, stretches can be deeper without discomfort. This helps to release tension by opening up the body.

This particular position is similar to the cobra posture or ‘Bhujangasana’ which is often used to open up the chest, shoulders, and abdomen. I usually perform this posture around about half way into the treatment time and it’s a good one for helping to identify aches and blockages that perhaps the client wasn’t even aware of at first. In it, the knees of the practitioner lean on the bottom of the glutes of the client, helping to release tension which is very common here in people who suffer lower back pain.