There was a time when I would give about two to three Thai massages almost every day, sessions that would take at least two hours each. I did that for about seven years, but when I gradually changed my professional direction — until the day I stopped entirely giving Thai Massage professionally — the frequency became increasingly less with sometimes weeks or even months without giving any massage at all.
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Today, I basically only give massages to my partner, about one per week, sessions that certainly don’t take two hours, but rather between half an hour and one hour or so. Well, I can tell you that it’s something you definitely notice in your body, I mean, every time after the massage my body really feels that I gave a massage.
What I want to say here is that giving Traditional Thai Massage on the floor asks for quite some physical fitness and flexibility from the therapist/practitioner. It’s just like with doing any sport activity seriously or professionally, meaning that you need to be healthy, trained, fit, and strong.
For instance, you don’t go on a twelve hour hike in the mountains or run a marathon if you haven’t walked or ran for weeks or months. Instead, you prepare your body by first getting fit again by gradually increasing your physical efforts, such as taking several walks or runs per week of just a few hours. Well, the same counts for giving Thai Massage professionally.
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If you are out of practice, you don’t just start giving two to three serious two-hour Thai Massage sessions per day but you would want to build it up by starting slowly, for instance by giving one massage session every other day of about an hour each to friends, your partner, or family until the moment comes that you don’t feel muscle soreness and pains the day after.
It’s interesting that being fit and trained is the first rule of the Thai Massage Practitioner Code of Ethics. This first rule states the following affirmation: “I agree to keep my practice up to date by seeing clients regularly, practicing, and pursuing my studies through continuing education and ongoing study with teachers and colleagues. I agree to not perform Thai Massage sessions if I have fallen out of practice for an extended period of time.”
Well, it’s not for nothing. For instance, you may not be flexible or strong enough to perform a certain lift or stretch on your client and subsequently twist a body part or slip and fall. That is, if you’re not fit enough you might hurt yourself while giving Thai Massage, and moreover, you might hurt your client/patient. Hence, you can understand that it’s considered unethical i.e. irresponsible to give massage sessions if you “have fallen out of practice for an extended period of time.”
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Of course, if you are a very experienced Thai Massage practitioner you could almost immediately re-start a quite intensive practice by adapting the maximum duration of a session (for instance, maximum an hour) and by only using techniques that are safe and don’t ask for much strength, flexibility, or strain/effort. Afterwards, when you have gained your routine again, you could bit by bit increase the session durations and incorporate more complicated and strenuous or demanding Thai Massage techniques.
Apart from taking care of the physical aspects, a Thai masseur also needs to be psychologically and emotionally in a good place, as the saying goes. If you’re not in a positive state of mind, feel content, balanced, and overall satisfied with your life, it’s not advised to intensely practice Thai Massage.
In any case, giving Thai Massage as a profession needs physical and emotional health and strength, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Self-inquiry, self-knowledge, and proper physical and mental preparation are key to keeping your own and your clients’ health.
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