I am now offering Ayurvedic consultations and lifestyle tips to gently guide you into an optimum state of health and awareness. Adding an Ayurvedic consultation to your massage treatment will help you maintain the benefits of that massage between treatment sessions.

Eat • Taste • Heal - An Ayurvedic Guidebook and Cookbook for Modern Living

“Ayurveda” is a sanskrit work which translates to mean “the science of life.” Although it can be traced back to one of the earliest known written records, around 5000 years ago, Ayurveda has been consistently adapted to apply both ancient and modern wisdom. It is as relevant today as any type of medicine has ever been. There is a simple reason that Ayurveda has survived for so long; it works.

Relaxation
Have you ever asked “Where am I?” or “Where am I located in the body?”. When you try to find the answer, you begin seeking all over the body for the seat of you, the watcher, consciousness, your ego, or your central executive. You find evidence of the executive everywhere. Most of the time one may be overly focused on the head, face, throat, heart, diaphragm, digestive tube or sex organs. Surely you discover that you are every part of you including bones, blood and skin. However, unless one is talking to a buddha, we are not fully integrated most of the time. We put increased emphasis into certain parts of the body. Doing this is like carrying extra weight and causes imbalance.

When someone arrives for a massage, usually they are in one of two states. Kind of relaxed and excited, but still thinking too much about other places and things, or, so stressed out they can hardly see straight let alone lie still for an hour treatment. In either case most people are “located” in the head and shoulders when they arrive. In a sense, the person is carrying a lot of extra “weight” in his head and shoulders. There is no physical weight, but the body cannot tell the difference between physical and emotional weight. So Thai massage will often start with the feet in order to draw that energy of your awareness down and into the joints and muscles of the body. The more relaxed you are, the more easily your muscles give in to the stretch. The practitioner works with this energy of awareness throughout the massage to help create the proper conditions for balance and healing. A deep stretch is only possible once the body is fully relaxed.

I found this article online today and thought I’d share it with you all. Find out how massage offers relief for anxiety/depression and then try it for yourself – You’ll like it!

Spring is in the air in Montreal and as the flowers begin to poke up from the soil, I am encouraging everyone to come out and grow with them!

• 30 minute massage – $30
• 60 minute massage – $60 now only $40
• 90 minute massage – $90 now only $55
• 120 minute massage – $120 now only $80
• Book a wellness consultation with your massage for $30
• Book by email

Can’t break for an hour? Come by for a 30 minute massage for $30! I’ll work on your most needy muscles for half-an hour and send you on your way quickly and hassle free. Got all day? Come in for a leisurely 2-hour massage for only $80! I’ll be able to fully address the whole body from head to toe to leave you feeling relaxed and vibrant!

I am now offering wellness consultations as an added service to the massage. Wellness consultations serve as an introduction to the science and methods of Ayurveda. By figuring out your own individual constitution according to ayurveda you can begin to look at your eating and other habits as a gateway to your ideal self. This is a non-judgmental approach to sorting out areas of imbalance in your daily life.

Wellness consultations are typically conducted for 2 to 4 sessions and can include the following topics

• Ayurvedic constitutional test
• Basic Nutrition information
• Ayurvedic Nutrition guide
• Aphrodisiacs
• Recipes for your Dosha (Tea, spice blends, simple dishes)
• Lifestyle habits that cause unbalance in your dosha
• Lifestyle habits that balance the dosha
• Seasonal effect on the dosha
• Yoga postures to balance your dosha
• Guided meditation

Nuad Boran is the Thai name for what we call Thai Yoga Massage. Of course, in Thailand they do not call it “Thai” massage. It is called Nuad Boran, which translates to “Ancient massage” or “ancient bodywork.”

Teachings of this ancient healing art were brought to Thailand around 2500 years ago by Jivaka – an Ayurvedic physician from India and contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Since that time the teachings of this massage have ben preserved in temple scriptures and its practice has become ingrained in the lives of Thai people. It has developed over the years into what we now know as “Thai” massage. In recent years, the subject of Nuad Boran has enriched a growing number of peoples lives internationally and is quickly becoming very popular throughout the world. This growth is like the blooming lotus. As the jewel of Nuad Boran presents itself, we are able to peel back the layers of traditional Thai massage to reveal the wholeness of this ancient system in our modern world. As we begin to appreciate fully the vast universe of understanding that comes with knowing Thai Yoga Massage, we can begin to see Nuad Boran for what it is, and how it compliments our modern knowledge of anatomy, physiology and spirituality.

Jivaka Kumarbaccha was an Indian physician – an Ayurvedic Vaidya. As king Bimbisara’s personal physician he became a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. The king allowed Jivaka to follow the Buddha and he became the personal physician of the Buddha on his travels. Jivaka and his disciples wore white robes, not the saffron robes of monks. It is said that Jivaka could not wear the saffron orange robes that Buddhist monks wear in Thailand because a Buddhist monk cannot touch females. The father of Thai yoga massage could not discriminate between the sexes for the purpose of healing! Besides, he already had the white robe and was quite comfortable with its flowiness.

Jivaka Kumarbaccha

The teachings of this Indian physician eventually reached Thailand where the people developed a great tradition, preserving this wonderful preventive medicine. Thai yoga massage has its roots in Vedic philosophy, yoga and ultimately, Ayurveda; but the Thai people have undoubtedly adapted the technique to keep pace with an ever changing world. Thai yoga massage practitioners in Bangkok, in Montreal and the world over repeat a mantra at the start and end of each day to invoke the healing spirit of the “Father doctor,” Jivaka.

The following is a Pali prayer that is recited at the start of each day throughout Thailand by the many thousands of Thai massage therapists and masters. Since I also learned Thai massage in Thailand I recite this prayer at the start of and end of each massage day. The man below is Shivago Kummarbaccha, the father of Thai medicine. He was an Ayurvedic physician, was the personal physician of King Bimbisara and a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. His teachings reached Thailand and laid the groundwork for what is now Thai Yoga Massage.

OM NAMO SHIVAGO SIRASA AHANG KARUNIKO
SAPASATANANG OSATA TIPAMANTANG
PAPASO SURIYA-JANTANG KOMARAPATO PAGASESI WANTAMI BANDITO SUMETASO A-LOKA SUMANAHOMI
PIYO-TEWA MANUSANANG PIYO-PROMA NAMUTAMO
PIYO-NAKA SUPANANANG PINISRIYONG NAMAMIHANG NAMOPUTAYA
NAVON-NAVEAN NASATIT-NASATEAN
A-HIMAMA NAVEAN-NAVE NAPITANG-VEAN NAVEAN-MAHAKO
A-HIMAMA PIYONGMAMA NAMOPUTAYA
NA-A NAVA LOKA PAYATI WINASANTI

English translation:
We invite the spirit of our founder,
the Father Doctor “Shivago,” who taught us through his saintly life.
Please bring to us the knowledge of nature,
and show us the true medicine in the universe.
Through this prayer, we request your help, that through our hands,
you will bring wholeness and health to the body of our client.
The god of healing dwells in the heavens high
while mankind remains in the world below.
In the name of the founder, may the heavens be reflected in the earth,
so that this healing medicine may encircle the world.
We pray for the one whom we touch, that he will be happy and all pain will be released from them.

Namaste, today I would like to share the benefits one can expect from receiving Thai Yoga Massage. Here is a partial list to help you understand the holistic benefits of Thai Yoga Massage.

Benefits of Thai Yoga Massage

• Deep relaxation. Some people experience hypnotic or altered states of consciousness which are pleasant and euphoric.
• Releases muscle “knots” in the body which block the natural flow of energy, inducing homeostasis, balance, and harmony.
• Releases stress and increases energy.
• Increases flexibility and range of motion. Assists alignment and postural integrity of the body.
• Improves circulation
• Strengthens the internal organs
• Relieves pain
• Increases coordination and body awareness
• Improves neurological functioning and assists in relieving degenerative conditions associated with the aging process.
• Promotes inner peace and quiets the mind while awakening the body.

Who can benefit from Thai Yoga Massage

• Anyone who wants to reduce stress levels
• Athletes
• Special needs children and adults
• Elderly
• Meditators and yogis who want to awaken the body

Thai Yoga Massage is beneficial to an extraordinarily wide range of people. It is a complimentary health practice that will help you manage stress and ultimately, avoid pain and illness. Thai Yoga Massage is beneficial for anyone in need of stress reduction or with stress related disorders. Unique stretching movements used in Thai Yoga Massage lead to the benefit of increased flexibility and range of motion. Working the energy lines of the body with focus on pressure points helps the body to detoxify and bolsters the body’s own natural healing energy.