Thai Massage Training with David Roma of ROMA Thai Yoga

David of ROMA Thai Yoga and I

Being a massage therapist, like any other profession, requires us to engage in lifelong learning. You go to school to become a massage therapist, and you continue to learn more throughout your career to make sure you broaden and deepen your techniques while also furthering education on understanding of the human body and the effects of massage. As a massage business owner, I am hungry to learn more to make sure that I can provide the best service to my clients and also to be able to answer my own questions that pop into my head while working with people!

To update my techniques, I attended The Healing Touch of Thai Massage course taught by an expert in the field of Thai Massage, David Roma! To those who are unaware of what Thai Massage is: Thai Massage is a form of massage traditionally done while clothed on a mattress on the floor. Unlike western forms of massage, it uses no oils. Thai massage consists of stretches and compressions that works along the energy lines. David is a veteran being a practitioner since the mid 1990’s and he has been teaching Thai massage in various countries over the years.

David of ROMA Thai Yoga and I

Having studied at Denver Integrative Massage School, I was already practicing Thai massage, but there were 5 key takeaways from my experience with David:

Pressing down theThai energy lines down the leg in side-lying position

1)       Slowness: Moving slow is something I have been actively working on throughout my massage career. It is an essential part of a great massage as it really helps the receiver relax and I could never have too many reminders to slow down!

2)       Stillness: Similar to slowness, stillness helps calm the nervous system of the receiver. It can be helpful to hold a tissue still as it helps tense tissues release.

3)       Be present: In Thai massage, it is critical for the giver to remain in contact with the body of the receiver at all times. This allows the receiver to know that you are present and that they are in safe hands as receivers will not have to zone back in to see what the giver is doing.

Thai massage folded leg stretch while pressing down the IT bands

4)       Breathing: This is something I started to work on more after this course. I utilize this on clients already to help cue the receivers to relax, but it’s something I forget to do myself. Synchronizing my breathing to my work helps the flow feel more natural and it also allows me to let go of tensions in my body.

5)       New ideas of techniques: As well as learning new tricks directly from David, the class allowed me to revise some of the techniques I have been using on the massage table as well. Thai Massage allows me to think outside of the box (or the massage table, in this case) and provide a different angle to a massage therapist’s never-ending question of “how do I exert more while exerting less?” You can experience this in my Reset Massage!

Seated position working into the upper traps (shoulder) using the receiver’s arm as leverage

As with any learning opportunities, the Healing Touch of Thai Massage course allowed me the chance to revisit the basics as well as add a whole new perspective to the way I work. Learning to refine what I do is rewarding, especially when clients enjoy it and when I can feel the benefit for myself. (Also, it never hurts to have others practice massage on me.) If you have never received Thai or if you’re long overdue for one, book a Thai Massage with me at my office by 6th Ave and Union today!

Thanks for reading!

Me falling asleep during training as my partner works on me in side-lying position

-Yuzuki