Thai Table Massage Reasons to practice on a table: Easy to adapt traditional mat poses to the table Approximately 80-85% of mat poses can be adapted to the table Thai Table poses are based on the same principles as traditional Thai Yoga Massage Receiving massage on a table may feel more familiar and comfortable for clients Easy way to introduce Thai Yoga Massage to clients Integrate several appropriate poses or add the whole sequence into your existing table routine 14
Massage Table Basics Working Weight The amount of moving weight that can safely be applied on the table without breaking it Use a table that is strong enough to support the combined weight of both you and your client Table Width Standard table width is 30, but can range from 27-35 The width you choose depends on the body dimensions of you and your clients A wider table gives you a larger working area 15
Massage Table Basics Table Height Position the table height slightly lower than when giving westernstyle table massage Adjust the height so you can comfortably raise and lower your knee from the table Table Length Standard is 73. If you and your clients are both tall, consider 77 16
Massage Table Basics moderate strongest weakest 17
Preparing to Offer a Thai Yoga Massage Stand quietly Take a few moments to stand quietly in order to ground yourself Use your senses to take inventory of how you feel Breathe Breathe deeply and slowly Listen to your breath and follow it as you inhale and exhale Clear away physical clutter Create a space with space" to reduce visual cutter and to allow ease in moving yourself and your clients 18
Preparing to Offer a Thai Yoga Massage 19
1. Wai/Meditation Stand in hand prayer position at the foot of the table. Take a deep breath, calm your mind and be still. Give thanks and ask that your client be released from pain. Calms the mind, grounds the body, brings awareness to the breath, and begins the session 20
2. Foot Palming + Elephant Walk Slide your hands beneath your client s ankles and gently widen their legs. Gently lock your elbows and Palm Press Walk along the soles of their feet. Palm Press Walk the medial aspect of their lower legs. Palm Circle the knees. Reverse the sequence. Assesses flexibility in ankles, knees, and hips, opens leg sen lines, brings Qi and blood to the lower extremities, and prepares for subsequent poses 21
3. Five Lines Soles of Both Feet Place your thumbs on the point superior to the center of the heels. Simultaneously Thumb Press the big toe line and squeeze the tip of the toe. Repeat on the other four lines, always moving in the direction towards the toes. Grounds the client and opens the feet sen lines 22
4. Feet to Belly Traction Kneel on the massage table and place your client's feet gently against your belly. Exhale and lean forward. Inhale and lean back into a gentle traction. Repeat several times. Variation: Stand beside the table and cup your client's heel. On the exhale, press your forearm into their sole as you lunge to the side. Connects the client with the practitioner s hara (energy center), dorsiflexes the feet, and tractions the spine 23
5. Vrksasana - Tree Pose Place your client s leg in Tree Pose position. Sit next to them and rest their bent leg upon your quadricep. Place your inside forearm near their medial knee. Lean forward, compress and roll your forearm along their inner thigh. Reverse direction. Compress along the medial aspect of their lower leg. Reverse direction. Releases adductor and gastrocnemius tension, increases knee and hip flexibility, and opens the leg sen lines 24
6. Leg Opener & Knee to Elbow Stand on the floor in lunge position. Bend your client s lower leg and rest their foot on your outer ASIS. Place your outside hand on their knee while your inside hand palms the adductors. Lunge forward with each stretch. Variation: Palm the quadriceps of the opposite leg with each stretch. Increases hip flexion, stretches hamstrings and eases tension in the hip, low back and adductors 25
7. Bicycling Sit on the table. Place your feet on your client's adductors (nearest their knee) and bicycle your feet along their thigh. Hold the toes of your client s bent leg and place your other hand beneath their extended knee. Internally rotate your inside leg as you near their groin. Use the arch of your foot for a broad compression. Use your heel for deeper, specific pressure. Relaxes the adductors and hamstrings and reduces knee and low back pain 26
8. Knee Pull Bend your client's knee and rest the sole of their foot on the table. Sit beside them with your inside ankle bracing theirs. Extend your outside leg. Interlace your fingers near their hip and lean back on the exhale. On each inhale, reposition your hands closer to the knee. Exhale and lean back. Reverse direction. Variations: Use your inside elbow or Achilles. Releases the quadriceps/psoas, opens the hip/low back, and decompresses the S-I joint and cervical spine 27