Entrance to the Baan Hom Samunphrai School in Chiang Mai Thailand and home of Maw Samunphrai, Homprang Chaleekanha.
Day 0 of 38 days of training in Nuad Boran or Traditional Thai Massage - let the learning begin!
Heart openers effectively stretch the pec muscle group in the chest while knee compression to the lower gluteal muscles relieve tension and pin the lower body. Yum.
Eric receiving his 1st Traditional Thai Massage certification for completing the Rasidaton and Nuad Boran (80-hour Training Course)
Eric performing his 4-hour exam to prove his competency in the sequence and proper body mechanics. Shown on the left is Bang, who sat present every day of class as my teacher’s assistant offering guidance and corrections. On test day, Bang oversaw my movements and techniques to ensure they were correct.
Adductor palm compression can be beneficial to those suffering from hip issues. The adductor muscle group which runs along the inner thigh and attach at the groin are often disregarded and largely forgotten by most individuals until they’re given physical attention.
Facilitated spinal twist with passive lateral stretch to lengthen lats, teres, obliques, and intercostals.
A Reusi statue traditionally found on the alter of Thai healing space. Their presence is significant as they are widely credited with preserving and transmitting knowledge of meditation, traditional medicine, and mantras. As hermit sages or ascetic yogi figures typically residing in the forest, caves, or mountains they are seen as teachers and protectors.
Jeab (Homprang’s niece) was another of our teachers present for most of the course. Jeab was always there to answer questions, clarify techniques, and correct students’ body mechanics.
During his 3rd visit to the Baan Hom Samunphrai for the 150-hour Therapeutics training, Eric practicing a versatile and effective technique used to soften the traps and the neck often times rooted from deep tension held between the scapula and the spine.
The master teacher, Homprang at work performing more advanced techniques showing what is possible when one gains mastery of his or her own body and develop the foundation needed to heal.
Mission accomplished! Another milestone in the books for Eric’s healing journey in traditional Thai bodywork.
Meet Up, Homprang’s nephew and teacher’s assistant. Up and Jeab are slated to take over the Baan Hom Samunphrai once Homprang retires from teaching.
A matured banyan tree planted outside of one of the training rooms in the early years when Homprang was still establishing the school.
A rare Total Lunar Eclipse, albeit obstructed by clouds this evening we did have a break in the overcast during dinner to capture this rare sight.
Buddhism is deeply and inseparably intertwined with traditional Thai medicine, and thereby traditional Thai bodywork. Every day began and ended with chanting to give thanks to the Buddha for his teachings and to invoke the presence of the Father Doctor Shivago to aid us in our quest as healers. An English ranslation from our Pali chant every morning after completing Reusidaton - “We pray for the one we touch, that he or she may be happy, and that any illnesses may be released from the person’s body.”
A sassy calf stretch to start the therapeutic sequence to treat Clients who suffer from calf cramps.
Up going into Full Boss mode showing me the glute technique I didn’t know I needed to go deeper into Clients hips. Very effective.
The study outside my bedroom overlooked the koi pond during a surprise thunderstorm as I studied the sequences learned earlier that day as well as the body’s Sip Sen (10 major Sen lines). It was a bittersweet, mostly sweet experience living so closely outdoors separated mainly by screens to keep critters and mosquitoes from entering. For 27 days I was living with the natural rhythm of the birds, the sun, the roosters, and on this day, the rain and thunder.
Our outdoor/indoor training room without air conditioning. Maintenance was being done to our primary training room so we were temporarily displaced and resorted to suffer the 95 degree heat for the day.
Most do not realize the profound benefits of abdominal massage however in Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) every major Sen line originates around the navel and these energy lines travel upward or downward from this center point. Abdominal treatment can directly and therapeutically address issues with constipation, menstrual cramps, low back pain, nausea, and holistically can be used to treat the whole nervous system and other digestive issues.
There were three large concrete ponds buried deep in the ground along the pathway leading into and out of the Baan Hom - each about a meter wide. By the second week I noticed a lotus flower had emerged unopened. By Day 27, my last and final day before departing Chiang Mai to make my return trip home, the flower blossomed. This I took as a good omen.
