Table Thai massage helps therapists use new tools. I tell students in class that much like a mechanic I want them to have a wall full of tools at their disposal and when someone comes in they use the ones most appropriate for the work they’re doing. This simple jostling shown is deceptively effective.
Table Thai massage classes are coming up soon. Stay tuned for the videos from the Table Thai Workbook.
I spent 6 years in central Texas without ever receiving another Thai massage from a practitioner. I decided to teach because the work wasn’t available anywhere and the community desperately needed it. Along the way things have grown and changed, developed in ways that even I couldn’t have foreseen. Class this weekend in Houston will be the last of the spring and every class has been fun, eventful and fortunately profitable as well.
I’ve gathered critics. I’ll continue to gather more. A trusted friend had a phone conversation with me and what I heard was a complete mirror. His only true feedback was, “keep going.”
There are more classes coming soon. Table Thai classes will start in several months and I’m working on the pain clinic in my home studio again. Stay tuned and if you have not, please subscribe to my email list. You get a free Thai massage workbook and it gives me direct access unlike social media which is increasingly filtering posts and information.
Much more to come. Stay tuned.
<3 Metta
Those are the famous words of an MBA student when I spoke with him years ago. As a struggling upstart that consists of a staff of one, I needed business help. A client referred me to someone who said they could chat with me about business to help me figure out how to improve things. When all the cards were out on the table and I explained what I did he said, “Don’t teach Thai massage.” I asked why and he explained that if I taught students they would steal my clients. I sat, pondered, thought and then concluded our meeting. I’ve never taken or heeded his advice. In my own respectful way, I think he’s an idiot.
Currently if I had 40 clients who saw me twice a month at 2 hours a session I’d have 80 sessions a month at $160.00 a piece which is $6,400 a month. In a year working 20 hours a week I’d make $76,800.00 I can Live on $76,800.00 a year. More than 40 people need Thai massage. Austin and Round Rock area current population is 1,862,549. I need 40 of you to commit to getting regular work.
If I don’t teach Thai massage no one can receive the best bodywork I’ve ever had. I have a moral and ethical obligation to Teach Thai Massage. My family will be provided for and the public won’t be honking their horns at me in Austin traffic because they’re stressed. I won’t have to hear about another person who’s sitting in an office neglecting their body because they work 60 hours a week at a tech firm. You need Thai massage. I need Thai massage. The US needs Thai massage and the Planet needs it.
There Is No Scarcity. Illusion is the root of all suffering.
I wanted to update you on the goings on in my business and labor of <3. I want my dealings to be transparent, it's important to me that my customers, clients and students understand that I'm giving you all I'm capable of. Things are growing rapidly and as things develop my schedule tightens and my responsibility to myself and to you grows. Here are some things to keep in mind:
1) My business grows because of you. When you like and share my posts, photos and events on social media that helps my business grow. When you refer clients/students that's a Huge boost for the healing work we do. Your reviews on yelp, google and the like are 21st century word of mouth and I appreciate your time. Thank you for your continued support.
2) My fees for Thai massage sessions go to $160.00/session on March 1st. These sessions are 2 hours minimum.
3) Classes for Thai massage are growing and I will be traveling in coming months to work with students in other cities in TX so my availability is limited.
4) I’m working on numerous projects to allow you to get work at a reduced fee. I have general pain clinics coming and also some for specific issues like migraines and chronic headaches. In addition I’m having short weekly classes teaching Thai massage at Blue Honey Yoga in addition to the Free Thai massage jam.
5) If you need inexpensive education there’s the previously mentioned Thai massage jam, a Free Intro. to Thai massage workbook, a soon to be 140+ page Table Thai workbook and videos of the Intro. to Thai massage class available for download for $29.99 My youtube videos are full of info and are also free.
6) Yoga classes 1.5 hours and cost $10.00/class. 😀
My utmost concern is serving the public and making sure you can get the bodywork you need. I cannot provide that if I’m overworked. I need time to rest, time for yoga and time with my family. I’m my own boss so any healthcare (no Real health insurance at the moment), retirement, mortgage, debt etc. falls on me. I can only honestly and impeccably provide 20 hours or so of hands on Thai massage sessions in a week. It’s unreasonable to ask my body for more than that and that’s why session fees must go up.
I communicate extensively though social media. If you have questions related to health and bodywork issues let me know. I provide information for free constantly. I love educating people but must charge for my labor.
Breathe!
I use lots of facebook groups like MassageNerd group to gather information and insight on my profession. Over time it gives me a chance to see various themes and perspectives on the massage industry. Here are some of the topics that massage brings up again and again: sexuality, intimacy, communication, hygiene and homophobia.
The following is the best video I’ve ever seen on the subject. Keep in mind this is Not Safe For Work. NSFW
It’s got it all, teasing homoeroticism between Vincent and Jules while touching on the intimacy and nurturing touch given to Jules grandmother. Jules expresses his physical mastery by not tickling during his masterly foot massage and the anger involved in perceived infidelity by someone else touching Marsellus Wallace’s wife is mentioned. I see the concepts so often it grows old and tired but at least Tarantino exists in a realm where he can express the reality through drama and wonderful dialogue.
Massage and bodywork is not what you think it is. Thai massage is above and beyond, a completely different beast. In our culture it does not exist. Not yet.
As I’m finishing writing the Table Thai workbook I’m amazed at all that’s going on. Classes in different cities, community classes at Blue Honey Yoga, private practice is booming and all the while I feel less like a massage therapist every day. I suppose these changes are normal growth, small turbulence in an active practice.
I love massage therapists and the public and I’m doing everything I can to show them there’s a better way. If you don’t know what Thai massage is yet, get ready for the rest of 2014.
Disc bulges and herniations are horrible to deal with. Having worked with clients with chronic back pain I feel the utmost compassion for those in pain. Typically there are soft tissue components to disc herniations and those are the ones I help with as a bodyworker. By stretching and helping align the soft tissues we help the spine come back to normal movement and mobility and hopefully take pressure off of that herniated disc or bulge.
In the above short video I discuss spine care with my friend slim. Long term the key is to lengthen the spinal column and backbend gently.
I’ve worked for 13 years and butted my head up against many an issue in an attempt to try to help people. One of the things I’ve seen over the years that I’ve had almost no success with have been migraines. Chronic headaches I’d get some improvement from neck muscle work but migraines are the oddest thing.
Running across an article in a magazine I found out that there were lawsuits related to doctors using botox to treat migraines. The FDA hadn’t given approval for that use specifically and a patient had a horrible adverse response. I nearly blew a fuse reading the article because I know enough to know that in most people all botox does is stop a muscle from contracting. I’ve Never heard a doctor say that muscle tension or spasm can cause or contribute to a migraine. I just let the information percolate.
To make a long story short I’ve kept working, kept reading and studying and in the last 2 months I’ve seen around 5 clients and found muscle patterns that repeatedly reflect muscle tension patterns with chronic headaches. I’m getting ready to run a small migraine and chronic headache clinic so stay tuned. In one client her headaches went away almost completely and in the other 4 their frequency and intensity decreased. That’s not bad for a massage therapist who doesn’t diagnose or treat anything. See you in clinic soon.
I’ve spent lots of time over the years giving Thai massage and it’s as good for the receiver as much as the giver. As a receiver you get deeper consistent pressure and the range of motion involved in unparalleled. Those aches and pains you get in your back and neck go away and stay away longer than table massage.
As someone who gives the work I get a chance to move, breathe, stretch and exert muscles. I burn more calories than giving table massage and have a broader range of motion while using my whole body not just my arms and hands. This full bodied practice reminds me of moving meditation again and again.
Someone asked me the other day what I do in a 2 hour session. A 2 hour massage seems unfathomable to people. In a country where the average massage is a standard hour people wonder what secrets you must pull out for a longer session. I politely told the client that I do the same but I take more time, slowly work my way through each limb and do more detailed work.
Over time I’ve grown to appreciate a 2 hour session and the feel it gives me the most time to adequately deal with client concerns and complaints while at the same time providing space so that I don’t feel like I have to rush. Going to a movie that was almost 3 hours the other night made me wonder why so many therapists and clients seem guffawed at receiving bodywork for that length of time.
I saw an interview with Mickey Hart where he described the Grateful Dead and their music and how they were never a studio band. As I’ve been writing and codifying Thai massage in videos and workbooks lately I completely understood his meaning. A 2 hour session with me is akin to the Grateful Dead’s 2 sets or more of music. If you cut them in half and only give them a first set when do they improvise? That first hour of massage is just warm up. Much like the music I love my bodywork is also performed in the moment with no formal container. Life much like bodywork is best done when you realize you’re performing without a net.
Here’s a teaser video from the new Intro to Thai Massage Video- Coming Soon!
Hey, Robert, I have a problem that you might be able to help with, given your therapeutic expertise. (in all actuality, I suffer from a variety of physical problems, as you may or may not be aware of, so by way of caveat here let me just state plainly that I am not seeking “medical” advice).
It appears that I have some sort of autoimmune condition which is affecting my soft tissue and joints; basically I’m quick to injury and slow to heal, and no one can figure out why. At this point, I don’t even care anymore; I’ve taken matters into my own hands and am focusing mind-body-soul on my recovery, which means proper diet, proper exercise, sleeping, and a positive attitude, yadda yadda yadda… My wrists and ankles have it the worst, but I’m slowly building up long-atrophied muscle mass and getting very weak tendons acclimated to daily activity. It’s been a very long and grueling process, but I am seeing slow progress.
Here is the specific problem I’m having right now in my rehab. After about two years of being sidelined by a pretty persistent achilles strain, I’ve been able to work my way up to walking a good mile three times a week. However, I recently began to notice that my glutes were not firing correctly, and this was causing undue strain on my lower back. I quickly realized I could not even hinge properly at the hips in order to do a proper deadlift, etc. And the reason seemed to be that my hamstrings were just insanely tight. So for the past month or so I’ve been working on building up my glutes, making sure that they are firing properly when I walk, etc. And also I’ve been attempting to stretch out my hamstrings. However, almost as soon as I began this workout plan, I mysteriously developed this severe tail bone pain that will simply not go away! I never hit my tailbone or injured it in anyway (that I know of), but it hurts unbearably if I sit on it wrong, and even sometimes when I’m just walking. I can’t make heads or tails of it, except that it is undeniably worse on the days after I stretch out my hamstrings.
Have you ever came across anything like this? Are there any specific stretches or techniques that might help to alleviate this pain? I realize that without an examination there’s probably very little that you could tell me definitively about what is going on here, but maybe you could point me in the right direction. You see, in my experience doctors are not very much help with this sort of thing, and every time I go to a physical therapist they just make things worse with their over-zealous recommendations; they just don’t seem to have the tools to deal with a patient in my reduced state of physical fitness.
Respectfully,
Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
You’re correct in not seeking medical advice from a massage therapist but based on the info you gave me, we can try some things out and see if it helps. I’ve had a 12 year career helping people with odd pain no one else seemed to understand so I’ll walk you through a few things that may help.
My guess based on what you describe is that you’re having some sort of trigger point dysfunction in your glutes. Most people are Very tight around their sacrum which makes up the S or the Sacroiliac joint. The musculature on most people I work with is taught, tense and gets very little stretching. This muscular tension alone will cause pain in the low back around the legs, possibly down the legs and so on. With the information you’ve given me you could have latent issues that wake up from regular exercise etc. In addition, muscles on one side of your sacrum may be tighter than say the left and imbalance your hips as you’re trying to open things up.
In short, I think everything you’re doing is great! I’ll give you a few things to try out and we’ll see if this helps.
Hamstrings are rough to deal with and I recommend you stretch your hamstrings as I show in this video. Remember to keep the leg bent, whether standing in a forward bend or sitting in a chair. This puts pressure on the hamstrings but protects your low back. Slow and steady is the way to go.
I think the other best thing for your glutes, other than what we’ve already covered, is to find a tennis ball and lay down on it. Put the tennis ball smack dab in your glutes and you can press on anything fleshy. You’ll be anywhere from the greater trochanter of your femur to right along the sacrum. Don’t put pressure directly on the tailbone! As long as you’re in flesh, you’re fine. The intensity should be something that you can breathe into through your nose. If you find it hard to breathe, if it’s too much pressure back off or maybe fold a towel over the tennis ball. You’re looking for tender spots that you can use the tennis ball to massage slowly. Try this for 5 minutes a day and see if there’s any improvement. The chart below shows some of the referred pain we’re talking about.
Trigger Point Pain in the Gluteus Maximus
Make sure to work both sides, if one is more tender work that side a little more but do both to find out.
I hope this information helps. Get back to me when you’ve done this so we can update. If that doesn’t we’ll move on to something else until you get some relief.