Thai massage is known by many names (Thai Yoga, Thai traditional massage, and NUAD BORARN ), but they are all analogous for this profound bodywork. It originated over 2,500years ago -- not in Thailand, but India. A Yogi, Ayurvedic Doctor and a contemporary of the Lord Buddha, Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha founded this healing art. He was greatly respected in his time and is still known as the "The Father of Medicine" to this day in Thailand.
With roots in Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicines, Hatha Yoga and the Theravada Buddhism, Thai massage offers a versatile approach to bodywork. Cultural influences during the centuries of the silk road had a tremendous impact on the development of Thai massage. | |  |
Much of the history remains obscure, however; this medical knowledge was handed down orally for centuries, and written records that had been kept were destroyed in times of war.
In recent history, Thai Massage had been overshadowed in a push by Western Medicine. But a quote from Asakonanda's book Thai Traditional Massage for Advanced Practitioners he states, "The Western medical approach slowly lost its aura of "offering miracle cures." The high cost of most chemical drugs and the often impersonal treatment by doctors trapped in technology made people look back to ways of treatment that were distinctly different, holistic and more humane." Today, Thai massage is taught and practiced all over the world. An ancient healing art has been rediscovered.
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