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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
Wonderfully clear, great manual for Thai massage therapists, 16 Dec 2002
Previously, the only really thorough book on Thai massage was written by Kira's teacher, Asokananda, which is currently only availabe in Thailand, or through his registered teachers. However, now Kira Balaskas carefully steps you through each of the main postures, explaining not only the physical manouvres, but also giving clues to the feelings and aims behind each one. For instance, "bringing a smile to the chest" on one of the upper arm/body stretches is a strong visual image that helps the practitioner to really understand what's happening inside the stretch, which is invaluable when learning how to perform it accurately and with meaning.The images too, are very clear, and I'm left in no doubt at all how the postures should be performed, how they should feel from the recipient's viewpoint, and how I, as a practitioner, should be executing them. There are also useful highlight points on each page, with suggestions for indications such as "good for low blood pressure". There are cautions too, like "not for hernia" or "avoid in women when menstruating". There's also a brief but interesting section on the use of oils in Thai massage. A lovely touch is including some self care techniques, too. You may be taught how to care for your body during a Thai massage course, but I've never seen Kaya Kriya explained, and it's great to be reminded that self massage is an important part of your own preparation and care. Obviously no book can take the place of a teacher when learning massage, especially such a technical and demanding massage technique as Thai, but for those of us who've been studying, or who want to study further, this is a fantastic book, gathering together all Asokananda's wisdom, and adding some other valuable thoughts and pointers. Highly recommended for therapists and everyone studying or practising Thai massage.
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