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Yosel
Tarnofsky H.H.P.
It appears to be a combination of energy healing similar to Reiki, acupressure or shiatsu, Hatha Yoga, Reflexology, and deep tissue work but to the intuitive-minded, it is additionally an active meditation, a nectar of healing so entrancing that one can feel its curative impact permeating the entire body.
The focus is balancing not just the physical but the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of the individual as well. As with acupressure or shiatsu, the Thai practitioner believes that there is a network of unseen vessels, called Sen in the Thai language, Yoga practioners know them as Nadis which distribute the life energy, (Prana), throughout the body. If any of these astral tubes become blocked, illness sets in. Employing the tools of his/her feet, arms, hands, elbows and knees, the Thai therapist removes these obstructions using pressure point techniques and intricate movements of gentle rocking, deep stretching and compression. It appears more like a meditative yogic dance than a form of bodywork.
Dating back more than 2,500 years, Thai healing is rich in the traditions of the East. The history of this folk science is vague, but the legendary founder of the art is believed to have been a doctor from northern India named Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha. Dr. Bhaccha was a supposed contemporary of the Buddha and personal physician to the Magadha King Bimbisara. Bhaccha's work consisted of manipulative techniques as well as instruction in proper diet, herbology and mystical practices.
. It was not until this healing art reached Thailand that it developed its knowledge in the use of working meridians, which probably was formulated from the influence of the Chinese. Most written scripture was destroyed by invaders in the 1700s, but fragments were saved and utilized in 1832 by King Rama III. The King commanded a temple built and the walls engraved with illustrations of those remaining saved documents.
The Wat Pho, as it is popularly known, has weathered the storms of time and can still be seen in Bangkok with its detailed 60 carvings within its massive walls. With the emergence of Western medicine, Thai/Yoga suffered a decline in temples as the centers for healing. Its resurgence has been dramatic in the last 10 years, chiefly due to the costs and disappointments that the common people have experienced with Western recuperative techniques. King Rama III had hoped to preserve this powerful form of healing and thanks to his foresight, the Wat Pho is once again a major center for the teaching of Thai healing today. The engravings at the Wat Pho display many of the nadis that are the major focus of the Thai Healing philosophy. These Sen, equitable to the Yogic theory, hold that the body has a network of 72,000 of these meridians with 10 reserving top priority. It is these 10 that the practitioner meditates consciously on for assurance that healing will take place. Undeniably, this noble form of bodywork is constantly proving its superior curative attributes. At the Nong Yah Hang Temple in Uthai Thani Province, the monks have observed miracles to occur as crippled peasants leave their canes and crutches behind after experiencing the power of traditional Thailand therapy. Similar affirmations of the healing qualities of this ancient folk medicine are consistent throughout the land.
Master teacher Chongkol Setthakorn, amusingly calls Thai healing "Yoga for lazy people." Considering the history and philosophy of this form of bodywork, Thai therapy should be considered applied Hatha Yoga, although very little comparative analysis has been exercised. For instance, in yoga the major nadi (astral vessel) is called the sushumna and its energy runs through the middle of the body with the ida nadi to the left and the pingala nadi to the right of it. The Thai vessels, Sen Sumana, Sen Ittha and Sen Pingkhala are not only linguistically comparable but tend to follow similar pathways as well. Yoga is very exact in this regard. By showing their relationship to each other, one can better understand the physiological significance of Thai healing. There are more than 130 movements in a Thai/Yoga session, which can take between two and three hours to complete.
A very important component of Thai healing is the client's active participation in the development of his/her well-being. If one does not take part in their healing process, the problems will most certainly arise again and again. An outstanding adjunct to receiving Thai Yoga Therapy would be to become a student in Hatha yoga and, consequently, internally realize the rewards of correct breathing, thinking, movement and diet. Thai/Yoga can certainly impact some dramatic changes in an individual, but in the end it is always the responsibility of the client to assure the continuation of his/her health.
Thai/Yoga Body Therapy is incredibly rich with a variety of technique, ancient wisdom and spiritual impact. To the observer it is a beautiful ballet with the practitioner gracefully guiding clients toward an improved station of their physical selves. For clients it is a white light, with its saturating warmth speeding through their bodies to enlighten the very essence of their being. To the seasoned practitioner it is a celestial meditation, a gift from the life force itself to transcend from the mundane to the spheres of superconsciousness through the power of healing. (The above introduction is excerpted from Yosel Tarnofsky's article, "Traditional Thailand Medical Massage - Nuad Bo Rarn", Massage, Issue Number 49,May/June 1994.) It has been edited.
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I ABOUT THAI YOGA I
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Yosel
Tarnofsky began his journey in Yoga in 1968. He found his first spiritual
teacher in 1972 at the foothills of the Sierra Mountains in the Mojave
Desert. 
