Hi, my name is Marce Ferreira. I’ll tell you a bit about myself just to give you an idea of my background and how that relates to my work for the website.
I grew up in South America, but in my teenage years I moved to Europe where I obtained a college degree in Information Technology. I worked seventeen years as an IT-Engineer “making good money and having a successful career,” but as years past by I became increasingly unhappy with my work.
Moreover, the sedentary job, the long working hours, and lack of exercise had also made me overweight, sluggish, sickly, and irritable. Relationship troubles only added to my woes, and in 2008 — I just burned out.
I quit my job and left for a sabbatical year in Southeast Asia to clear my mind and get some fresh ideas. I first went to Thailand and soon discovered the beauty and healing power of Traditional Thai Massage and Reusi Dat Ton (Thai Yoga).
It didn’t take me long to realize that I had found a new focus in life. I cancelled the rest of my travelling plans, stayed in Thailand, and took several months of training courses in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
After my return to Europe I started to offer treatments and training. For about a decade, I frequently traveled to Thailand to teach English and advance my skills in Thai Massage and Thai Yoga, ultimately completing more than 800 hours of training.
In 2018, I co-founded TraditionalBodywork.com together with Elissa. At first, the website was only a platform to publish articles, eBooks and video workshops about the Thai healing arts, but it gradually developed into an outlet for massage, bodywork, somatic practices, alternative and complementary therapies, nature, spirituality, and unconventional lifestyles.
In addition, I also share essays, poems, and reflections about my personal life and experiences. At any rate, today I don’t really “make money” anymore and I wouldn’t describe my activities as “having a career.”
It’s still hard work though, but it’s now a bit easier to schedule my free time, during which I like reading novels, watching movies, hiking, and spending as much time as possible in nature.
Note: if you want to watch some videos of me performing Thai Massage and Thai Yoga, or want to know more about my studies and credentials, just visit this page.