Resources for Thai Massage, Traditional Thai Medicine & Theravada Buddhism
Beginner's Questions on TTM
hello all
my name is aaron jennings. i am a massage therapist in hot springs, ar.as of now i've been a therapist for over 4 years.
i found thai massage when looking at modalities to learn. thai stuck out bc of the obvious differences to sweidsh and traditional european style massage techniques. i have also started experiencing joint pain and cramps in my hands. i read the thai massage encyclopedia by pierce in january 2008 and i have been fascinated about ttm since.
i was messaging pierce and a few teachers about the best way to learn ttm on such a limited budget. i have been very happy with the generous responses i have received. this really is an amazing community and such an amazing resource for information on ttm.
one of the suggestions pierce had was to move to thailand. that raised a lot of logistical questions for me. he suggested that i post the questions here and get feedback from everyone.
basically the questions i have relate to getting established in a community, setting up housing, jobs, finding a teacher of ttm and the like. how do you start when you get there? i am also very interested in making contacts with ppl in thailand. so if someone could lay out a beginner's guide and include timeline of stay, possible costs, and anything that y'all have learned through traveling to thailand, i would appreciate it very much.
also, a question that might be more narrowed to my own experience, how receptive of tattoos are the thai ppl? i am a fairly tattooed person, nothing above my collar but extensive arm work including the tops of my hands and fingers. none of my tattoos are offensive, in fact most are symbols from various religions including hinduism and buddhism. i get enough crap in arkansas for my tattoos, i wouldn't want to travel to a very foreign, distant land and not be welcomed over them. i guess i can ask about earrings as well :)
anyways, i hope everyone is having a wonderful day. i am very thankful to pierce for setting this site up and allowing free access to it. everyone here has been very nice and friendly to me. i just wish we could all meet up together in person. there is so much i am ready to learn and i look forward to learning along with and possibly from you all.
with metta
aaron jennings
my name is aaron jennings. i am a massage therapist in hot springs, ar.as of now i've been a therapist for over 4 years.
i found thai massage when looking at modalities to learn. thai stuck out bc of the obvious differences to sweidsh and traditional european style massage techniques. i have also started experiencing joint pain and cramps in my hands. i read the thai massage encyclopedia by pierce in january 2008 and i have been fascinated about ttm since.
i was messaging pierce and a few teachers about the best way to learn ttm on such a limited budget. i have been very happy with the generous responses i have received. this really is an amazing community and such an amazing resource for information on ttm.
one of the suggestions pierce had was to move to thailand. that raised a lot of logistical questions for me. he suggested that i post the questions here and get feedback from everyone.
basically the questions i have relate to getting established in a community, setting up housing, jobs, finding a teacher of ttm and the like. how do you start when you get there? i am also very interested in making contacts with ppl in thailand. so if someone could lay out a beginner's guide and include timeline of stay, possible costs, and anything that y'all have learned through traveling to thailand, i would appreciate it very much.
also, a question that might be more narrowed to my own experience, how receptive of tattoos are the thai ppl? i am a fairly tattooed person, nothing above my collar but extensive arm work including the tops of my hands and fingers. none of my tattoos are offensive, in fact most are symbols from various religions including hinduism and buddhism. i get enough crap in arkansas for my tattoos, i wouldn't want to travel to a very foreign, distant land and not be welcomed over them. i guess i can ask about earrings as well :)
anyways, i hope everyone is having a wonderful day. i am very thankful to pierce for setting this site up and allowing free access to it. everyone here has been very nice and friendly to me. i just wish we could all meet up together in person. there is so much i am ready to learn and i look forward to learning along with and possibly from you all.
with metta
aaron jennings
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by TaoMountain on -
Hi Aaron,
I think there's a bit of confusion between your question and my answer. When you say TTM, I am assuming you are referring to Traditional Thai Medicine, which is normally abbreviated in that way. My response was to move to Thailand and learn at a TTM school because 1.) you speak some Thai and 2.) there's really no way to get extensive training in TTM in the US.
If, however, what you mean is Thai massage—and it sounds like that that's what you do mean—there are plenty of wonderful places to learn in the US. You should first of all join the beginner's group right here on taomountain.net (click the GROUPS link in the top bar and you'll see it). Then, you should follow up with the great recommendations there for books and teachers.
Not that I'm trying to talk you out of going to Thailand, mind you. If you do have the opportunity to go, it's a wonderful place to live long-term. Don't worry about your tattoos... It's not a very conservative place outside of the monasteries, and even among the monks there are many who I'm sure have more tattoos than you.
Hope that clears up the miscommunication. For future reference, on this website, TTM means "Traditional Thai Medicine."
Best,
Pierce
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Jennings on -
I do mean ttm. I include thai massage in that but I am very interested in the entire practice as a whole. I would want to find a teacher or teachers. I don't think I would stay longer than a year or so and would like to learn as much as I could.
I realize that it wouldnt be enough time to learn everything but I was hoping to get a good deal learned if possible. I am not opposed to learning in the US as well. I suppose right now I am just trying to decide which way to approach ttm.
I apologize for any confusion but I do want to learn as much of the whole art as possible. Thanks for responding :)
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Permalink Reply by TaoMountain on
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OK thanks for the clarification.
To learn TTM extensively in the US is very difficult. You will eventually have to learn Thai and spend time in Thailand to get it done. However, to get started, there are a few opportunities right here at home, though these are not widely advertised. Check out courses at Naga Center and Bodhi Tree, both in the list of recommended schools under the RESOURCES tab.
You should also read as much as you can about the subject to prepare for any coursework you're planning on taking. For example, you can get my books A Thai Herbal and Traditional Thai Medicine available on Amazon.com or in the RECOMMENDED BOOKS tab. If you're going to get serious, you should also get the reading packets Readings in Thai Medicine and Thai Auyurveda available at www.Thai-Herbs.com.
Thanks for starting this thread! If you don't mind, I'd like to change the title of this thread to Beginner's Questions in TTM, so that others can find it and we can get some more input here. Perhaps others in the group have additional suggestions??
p.
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Jennings on
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That sounds great. I actually have all of your books already and started taking thai so I seem to be heading the right direction.
Feel free to change the title as well. How long would one be in Thailand to learn enough to be proficient?
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Permalink Reply by TaoMountain on
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That, of course, is up to how good your Thai is!
;-)
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Permalink Reply by Tevijjo Yogi on -
As Pierce mentioned, it depends on your Thai. You need, not only conversational but also medical and botanical vocabulary and you'd need to read and write proficiently.
If you had all of these, I'd say in 5 years or so you could have a reasonable amount of information and experience and you could start working with that...
Traditionally, they would say to be a doctor takes at least 10 years of study, apprenticeship and practice... An herbalist/pharmacist took about 7 years of that... A massage therapist took about 5 and so on...
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Jennings on
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thank you :) i'm going to have to step my thai up. i found the "old medicine hospital" in chiang mai among the links and think i would like to take the massage courses they have there. i also found a mention of Pichest Boonthumme. since he is an individual teacher how would i know about pricing and how to get in contact with him?
if anyone has any experience with either of these places or more information on chiang mai, please let me know. i guess i am still curious about how to find lodging for the time that i would be in thailand. i am also interested in anything else that may help me get a well rounded experience out of thailand.
thanks for the responses so far. this thread is helping me out considerably :)
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Permalink Reply by TaoMountain on
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Hi. These kinds of questions should go in the Chiang Mai interest group. You'll probably find people willing to share that have been there more recently than I.
Also, I keep getting confused whether we're talking about TTM or massage. Pichest is a well-known massage teacher. He also practices quite a bit of spirit-related healing—not sure how much of this he's teaching.
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Jennings on
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is there a preference for wat po or the old medicine hospital and why?
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Permalink Reply by TaoMountain on
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I'd venture that the decision will be made according to which school will take you as a student. It's actually extremely difficult for a Westerner to be accepted. Also, keep in mind there are many other schools of TTM in addition to those. OMH and WP are simply the most famous in the US because they were among the earliest to develop English-language massage training programs.
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Jennings on
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Ok. To clarify my intentions, I am wanting to learn as much TTM as possible. I don't expect to do a full 10 year program. I am very interested in herbalism already and find that aspect of TTM very intriguing.
The spiritual aspect of TTM also interest me immensely. I would like to learn enough TTM to be comfortable in running a private practice stateside. I would like to run the clinic in a way that would be respectful to it's Thai heritage. I would start mostly with massage I am sure and then hopefully add more aspects such as herbalism and Thai culture courses.
I am very interested in the entire art of Thai medicine and I intend on spending the rest of my life learning about it and helping people through it. I want to keep the integrity of the art as much as I can.
Right now I am exploring my options and trying to establish short and long term goals. I also hope to make some contacts with people who are likewise interested. Massage is my short term goal and the entry point I am using into learning Thai medicine.
Are there any suggestions of schools not listed in the links section of this site? I have basically been combing the information in this site over and asking questions as I go.
I do appreciate everyone's time and patience with me as I try to find my way :)
I welcome any comments or suggestions in pursuing my goals.
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Permalink Reply by sebastiaan bogaarts on -
Hi Aaron,
I've been reading your story, and it seems whe are at the same point of exploring our TTM adventure. I've also been caught with the TTM virus, and it seems many of your questions are the same as mine.
Also want to learn TTM in Thailand. Also on low budged. Also in Chiang Mai, althoug I read you still have interest in What Po. Speak Thai at beginners level, correct me here if your Thai is better. And I assume also the same practical questions that come with living in Thailand Long time.
Maybe whe can help eachother with the questions we both find on our awnsers in the future.
Kind regards,
Sebastiaan
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