Ancient Way “Yoga” Massage is the single most effective form of bodywork for pain relief, relaxation and improving range of motion.

Ancient Way Massage is a therapeutic form of bodywork, and yoga therapy, that has its roots in Indian Ayurvedic Medicine. It is said to have first been developed the Buddha’s Ayurvedic physician named Jivaka Kumar Bhacca, over 2,500 years ago. Doctor Jivaka traveled to Thailand where he spread the teachings of Buddha as well as Ayurveda, and yogic therapies. in Thailand it is called “Nuad Boran”, or “Ancient Way Massage”. Today, Chiang Mai in northern Thailand is the main center for studying this traditional therapeutic yoga massage.

Diagrams found on the walls at the famous Wat Po Temple show one of the fundamental principles of traditional Thai-Ayurvedic medicine.   10 energy lines are depicted throughout the body known as the Sen Sib (10 lines) in Thai.  These lines are believe to be 10 of the 72,000 nadis of the yoga/tantra traditions.  It is believed that pain or disease results if a blockage or stagnation of prana (life force) occurs in any of these channels.  In modern Yoga massage the Sen Sib theory is integrated into a much more comprehensive theoretical system, which understands the five body layers (skin, tissue, channels, bones, organs) and the relationship of muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels.    

Ancient Way Massage is truly an art.  Traditional massage therapists understand that the flowing transitions between positions and the state of mind of the therapist are as important as the techniques themselves.  It is said that a session is similar to the flow of a dance.   Ancient Way massage is a deep, focused and meditative full body treatment.  Ancient Way Massage includes therapeutic stretching, rhythmic deep tissue compression (using mostly palms,  forearms, knees and feet) as well as acupressure on Ayurvedic marma points (vital energy points). It is often called “lazy man’s yoga” because the client is passive and completely supported in all positions by the therapist.  

Ancient Way Massage is done in 4 positions (supine, prone, side and seated) and the client is fully clothed on a soft floor mattress.   Usually the session starts with the client on their back (supine).  The practitioner will often begin at the feet and spend a lot of time working on the clients legs.  Many people are used to western bench massage where there is a lot of emphasis on the back.  However, in this traditional form of massage it is understood that leg work results in opening of the hips and activating the energy of the spine (through connected energy lines).  This then makes the later back work much more effective. It has been said that the legs are like the roots, the spine like the trunk and the arms and head like branches.  The spine is “rooted” in the pelvis.  Working with the legs, we try to balance the bring the proper alignment and flexibility to the hip area, and indirectly to the spine.  The condition of the spine is so crucial for ones health.  In the west it is seen as the home of the central nervous system.  In the Ayurvedic traditions it is the home of Sushumna Nadi and the 7 Chakras.

In the west, many people think of “yoga” massage as a massage with assisted yoga therapy.  While stretching is an important part of Ancient Way Massage, it is an auxiliary part of the session and by no means at the core of traditional yoga massage.  The most important aspect of this massage, is that it is based on promoting the smooth flow of life force energy (known as prana/qi) through the 10 major energy channels.  As your muscles are massaged and stretched, this life force energy can flow freely where it was once stagnant or blocked.  Our prana gets constricted by holding tension in our bodies caused by physical and emotional stress.  The body, mind and emotions are all connected and affect one another.  This is the essence of traditional yoga massage. Deep rhythmic compressions are done to access the 10 energy lines and promote the free flowing movement of prana. 

Sessions usually last 90 minutes to 3 hours and can be a profoundly relaxing and transformative experience for the client.  Ancient Way Massage can help with stress, pain,  range of motion limitations, poor circulation, respiratory problems, sleep issues, anxiety, immune system problems and adrenal burnout.  My clients have benefited greatly from these sessions, and have had improvements with their muscular pain/tightness, joint problems and range-of-motion issues.

“The ancient art of yoga massage can help individuals that are experiencing joint pain that ranges from mild to debilitating. In a nutshell, yoga massage is a combination of a gentle massage with healing intention with stretches that are applied passively to the client’s body”.

The combination of energy movement and stretches will open the joints, elongate the muscles, as it create more space in painful areas, bringing relief. Yoga massages have positive impacts on all systems of the body and mind. The meditative qualities soothe the mind and calm the nervous system. The muscular flexibility that is gained from a yoga massage will allow for a larger range of motion for the affected joints. The stretching used in the massage creates openings that relieve the stress on the skeleton including the spine. The space that is created from stretches allows fluids to circulate which effectively greases the joints, which increases mobility and reduce healing time.

Because this technique is similar to yoga, it helps to realigning the body, which will in turn improve posture. It can also correct skeletal problems and sometimes even reverse degenerative spinal diseases like scoliosis, kyphosis, and lordosis”

-Sasha Brown, certified herbalist and naturopath