Yoga and Thai Massage are members of the same family. About 2500 years ago Thai massage was introduced in Thailand by an Indian physician, a contemporary of Buddha. He brought with him his knowledge of yoga and yoga therapy. The term Thai Yoga Massage is actually more appropriate, but it is only used by western therapists.

Yoga as a self practice never made it in Thailand. There is a Thai version of yoga, but it is an obscure knowledge that is known only by very few. The Indian doctor taught the Thais yoga and yoga therapy, but only the yoga therapy developed into Thai massage, whereas the self practice yoga never caught on. In the last decade Westerners have set up many flourishing yoga schools in Thailand, but the students are all from outside of Thailand. It is a very recent phenomenon that the Thais have discovered the benefits of Indian yoga, and now you will find yoga schools for Thais in some big cities.

The Thais and the foreigners don't usually study in the same yoga schools. Why is that? The language barrier is one reason, and another reason is that the Thai's approach to yoga and life in general is more easy going in comparison to westerners who often take their yoga very seriously. The Thais feel that western yoga classes are more competitive than relaxed, social events.

Who is responsible for popularizing Thai massage in the last 15 years? Before the advent of modern medicine, Thais addressed their illnesses for centuries with massage and herbal cures. Gradually western medicine started to replace Thai massage. The ones who resurrected Thai massage from gradual oblivion were foreigners who were fascinated by it. They began to write books about it, they produced Thai massage videos, and started Thai massage schools.

The decoupling of Thai yoga massage from yoga had led to a degeneration of the quality of this healing art. Originally it had been practiced by monks in temples. When it moved out into mainstream society in the last few decades, it often turned into a come-on for the sex industry. But this was counteracted to some degree by western therapists who began to take a lot of interest in this new and exotic healing art. They reintroduced yoga principles, and created a huge demand by westerners for Thai massage education and treatments in Thailand. There are countless Thai massage schools in Thailand, almost all of them catering exclusively to foreigners.

The newfound popularity of Thai massage benefited the Thai tourism industry, and because of this the government took steps to raise standards, license therapists and schools, and establish training requirements for Thai massage therapists.

Thai massage can be used as a purely physical system of stretches, manipulations and pressure points. But by adding yoga principles to the massage, it can be elevated to a true healing art. Mindfulness, awareness of one’s own body and the client’s body, working from one’s "hara", the energetic center right behind the navel, awareness of one’s breath, conscious channeling of healing energy, and an increased sensitivity of touch all greatly increase the quality and effectiveness of the treatment.

Thai massage can be so much more than a technique. When yoga principles are combined with Thai massage, it connects this ancient healing art with its roots. It is a perfect combination. After all, they share the same origins and are therefore members of the same family.