The Art and Knowledge of Thai Yoga Massage Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The Following review pertains to the 2010 edition.
"The Art and Knowledge of Thai Yoga Massage" by Attila Pegan stands alone as a well-thought out, beautifully illustrated explanation of Thai Massage, yet goes beyond the subject matter known to most experienced practitioners by presenting a new and groundbreaking way to looking at the Sen Line Anatomy of Thai Massage through the lens of Tom Myers groundbreaking Western Anatomy: The Myofascial Meridians. This book is of interest to novice students, experienced practitioners and researchers; igniting a discussion of new anatomical concepts that cross cultures and combine the art and knowledge of practitioners of Eastern and Western Bodywork.
The book is divided into three parts
I. Background on Thai Massage and Attila's personal journey
II. Exercises for a 2 hour routine
III.A comparison of Eastern and Western Anatomy
I.Attila does a nice job describing the background of Thai Massage. He explains the culture, history and six pillars of Thai Massage:
Metta: Loving Kindness towards others
Meditation
Yoga: The spiritual practice
Hatha Yoga: stretching and breathing
Movement Therapy
Acupressure
I enjoyed reading about Attila's personal journey from IT work to his studies in Thailand. Attila points out the two different styles of Thai Massage: Southern and his specialty the Northern style of Thai Massage.
II. Exercises & Routine
The 130 exercises are very well photographed and explained, easily enabling the practitioner to develop his/her own routine. The recommendations and descriptions that are given with each exercise are also very helpful pointing out which exercises are essential, when to use caution, and what the intention is of each exercise. The practitioner's body mechanics are very good as clearly demonstrated in the photographs. This style of bodywork must be taught in a visual way and the written description of each photo nicely compliments and further explains each individual technique. I can easily see how someone can develop a two hour session after looking at the exercises, tailoring them to what each client needs.
III. Comparison of Anatomy
Attila's goal in presenting the comparative anatomy is for the Thai Practitioner. Therefore he does not go into great depth into either, but presents enough material for either anatomy to be grasped by someone of a Eastern or Western background. I personally am familiar with the "Anatomy Trains" Anatomy of Tom Myers, like the author I am also currently enrolled in KMI: Kinesis Myofascial Integration a school for structural integration or structural bodywork. I cannot comment in depth on the accurateness of the Eastern Anatomy but it is presented in an understandable way and is in line with what I know of the subject.
What's interesting is how the energetic lines of Thai Massage (borrowed from Indian yoga tradition) correspond to the actual physical lines of the Myofascial Meridians. For those not familiar with the "Anatomy Trains" concept, the superficial back line is a longitudinal meridian that spans from the bottom of the foot (plantar fascia), up the calves, hamstrings, sacrotuberous ligament and long muscles of the back (erectors) up to the top of the head. This entire line is stretched in a forward bending or plough pose in yoga and has implications in treating conditions like plantar fasciitis: if the calves are tight or the hamstrings the bottom of the foot is likely to be affected. This line Attila points out has a direct correlate in Eastern Anatomy which provides for an interesting dialogue that will only grow with time as practitioners become familiarized with either concepts.
There are a lot of unanswered questions that will occupy the minds of researchers for years to come: Acupuncture is now accepted by the West as effective, but the actual mechanism of how it works is still not proven (according to Western Science). We do know that acupuncture influences the fascial system and others: stimulating blood flow and oxygenating tissues. To reduce this Eastern art to Western explanations destroys the art because practitioners of Chinese Medicine are trained in Eastern Anatomy which is leads to a different treatment approach.
This is why comparative anatomy is so important in today's research, allowing practitioners of both arts to utilize what they know and deepen their understanding through communication. Just to clarify the Esoteric Anatomy (Eastern) presented in the book is not that of Chinese Medicine it is that of Indian Medicine, further parallels can also be drawn, but that it outside the scope of this discussion and the authors book.
In subsequent editions I would hope the author expands his description of the Myofascial Meridians and makes the discussion a little more accessible to those that are not already familiar with them. An anatomical description is given of the Meridians, which requires a little visualization, but the Sen Line Anatomy is nicely illustrated for the parallels to be drawn. The author recommends following along with a Netter Atlas, but a copy of Tom Myers Anatomy Trains would be beneficial to those who really want to understand the connections and similarities. For the average Thai practitioner the anatomical similarities can be grasped at a basic level which is sufficient, I am unsure of the implications of understanding the parallels, it would be interesting to see what the author's opinion is on the relevance of the similarities in terms of treatment strategies and research in the future, as "The Fascia Research Conference", continues to explore the role of fascia in the body, especially in regard to treatment strategies..
What the author has done is given a fascinating description of the similarities, making insightful comments and like few in his field bridges the gap between the two fields. The strength in this book is the discussion it provokes.


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Connecting the medical perspectives of the east with those of western medical science offers the possibility of developing fresh approaches for practitioners of modalities from both cultures. The Art and Knowledge of Thai Yoga Massage presents the art of Thai massage in a form of 130 exercises with guidelines to structure them into an individualized 2 hour full body energy balancing massage session. The book also presents the knowledge of Thai massage via a unique and eye opening comparison of the traditional Sen Energy Lines of Thai Medicine with Myofascial Meridians, a groundbreaking 'whole systems' view of the network of connective tissue or fascia by Thomas W. Myers. The Art and Knowledge of Thai Yoga Massage and its 'open source' framework invite Thai massage practitioners to collaborate and increase the importance of the field of complementary and alternative medicine. Features: Introduction to the Tradition of Thai massage130 authentic Northern style exercises Full color illustrationsIntroduction to the Pranic or Life-energy systemDetailed description of the Sen LinesCollection of appropriate exercises for each Sen LineComparison of each Sen Line to the corresponding Myofascial MeridiansSession structuring guideMantras and relaxation exercises used in the course based on this book

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