History
Nuad Bo Rarn is the original name for the technique known in the European countries as Thai Massage. Its approximate translation from the original language is “traditional massage”.
Father Doctor Shivago Komarpaj is considered the father of the Thai medicine and the founder of Nuad as spiritual art. He was an ayurvedic doctor from India, contemporaneous with Buddha. History says he really was Buddha’s personal doctor and he treated him of several health problems.
There are many things about the Master’s life and the origins of the technique which are not known. Initially it was developed in India and afterwards it was spread in other Asian countries, like the Buddhism was. The strange thing is that it disappeared almost completely from India, finding a new “homeland” in Thailand where it became national technique. Some of the Nuad’s variants can still be found in the neighboring countries like Laos or Burma.
Unfortunately, in the 18th century, Siam (ancient name for Thailand) was invaded by the Burmeses who destroyed many values, among which the manuscripts about Nuad. One century later, the king of Siam ordered that all the manuals about Nuad which had lived through should be put together and they were engraved in the walls of a temple near by Bangkok, Phra Chetaphon (Wat Pro). The visitors of the temple could still see them nowadays.
Styles
We cannot say that this classification of styles is very precise; its role is rather informative because practice can easily transform one type of massage into another.
The most usual classification used by the Thai people divides Nuad into:
south style - focusing more on the pressopuncture points and strong, powerful movements, sometimes extended to the limit of the mobility of the body.
north style - the accent falls on the energetic lines and work along them, movements are slower and more continuous, giving often the impression of a choreography.
Another classification divides it into:
royal style - there are a few restrictions in terms of application, this one being dedicated to the royal families: the practitioner approaches the client on his bended knees, he always has to keep a distance of at least one arm from the client, he is allowed to use only his arms during the massage, especially the thumb and the palm of the hand, his contact with the client’s body has to be reduced at minimum, the client cannot lie his face on the ground etc.
commun style- nothing but the Nuad we know
There is another style of Nuad, especially practiced in the rural areas; it is done only with the soles of the feet, the practitioner usually steps on the back of the client holding on two bars in order to keep his equilibrium, he makes different movements with the soles, the heels or the toes (the most experienced practitioners are able to stand without any support on the back of the client and to massage him in this position for 1-2 hours!!).
Energetic lines
In the Thai tradition, there are registered almost 75.000 energetic lines. This is as huge number and I don't think there are lot of persons who could remember or recognize them all.
For obvious reasons, their number was restricted to 10 only, covering the most important energetic flows of the body. These are: Sen Sumana, Sen Itta, Sen Pingkala, Sen Kalathari, Sen Sahatharangsi, Sen Thawari, Sen Lawusang, Sen Ulanga, Sen Nanthakrawat, Sen Kitchana.
There is a great similarity between the Thai system and other Asian systems (Chinese, Indian etc.). An important characteristic of the energetic lines in the Thai system is that the starting point, the origin, is the center of the belly, somewhere behind the navel.
In the regular practice of the Nuad, there have been developed specific movements in order to work on every energetic line individually. Some of the movements are among those of level 1 and 2, but working effectively in the energetic points is a little bit different, by pressing in some specific lines, along the body.
The main goal is to relieve the static energies and, implicitly, removing some problems either physical or mental.
Effects
Nuad Bo Rarn is a fascinating combination of several traditional therapies:
yoga – many of the movements performed during the massage are very much like classical asanas in yoga
reflexotherapy – during the massage, specific points in the sole, palm and ear are very much worked on; these points match those in reflexology and the organs they represent
pressopuncture – in this case the practitioner works very much along the energetic lines, by pressing certain areas with the help of the fingers; moreover, he uses points corresponding to those known in the occidental medicine as “trigger points”, specific points where tensions are accumulated, affecting thus muscles, articulations or organs of the body
meditation – this massage is done under a mood of concentration and deep interiorization, like in the meditation techniques practiced in different spiritual disciplines
exercise – in order to be able to do the movements correctly during a massage meeting, as some of them are quite difficult, the practitioner needs a good physical condition; we could say that Nuad is partially what we call today fitness or aerobics
As a conclusion, the effects of this kind of massage are very profound, moving gradually from the physical level to the energetic and the spiritual ones.
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