What is Thai Yoga?

Origins

Shivago Komarpaj

Thai Yoga has the same origins as Thai Massage, or Nuad Bo Rarn but is certification through the yoga tradition as opposed to the massage tradition. The man who in Asia is known as the father of medicine, Shivago Komarpaj, brought Nuad Bo Rarn to the world, which means "to impart sacred healing" or "sacred massage". A native of India, Shivago Komarpaj was a skilled Ayurvedic physician, said to have even been the personal physician to the Lord Buddha. His works eventually spread to Thailand where Buddhist monks were trained in the sacred art of Nuad Bo Rarn. In their holy temples they would do this practice on one another to prepare themselves for meditation. Temples, in that land, were also hospitals--people went to the temple for healing of both physical and spiritual ailments. Nuad Bo Rarn became an integral part of that healing. 

So much of Komarpaj's teachings have been lost, largely attributed to the late 1700's Burmese invasion of Siam when ancient palm leaves, upon which these teachings were recorded, were burned. In the mid-1800's, King Rama III felt it was of utmost importance to gather and preserve whatever records
still remained and had them chiseled or painted into the stone of the Wat Pho
temple in Bangkok.

Wall engravings of Sen Energy Lines at the Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok

Thai Yoga, the Restorative Partner way

Syl Carson is the founding director of Bodhi Yoga, located in Provo, Utah. She developed the beautiful tradition known as Restorative Partner Yoga. Stemming from the tradition of Thai Yoga, Syl developed a synergistic approach where not only is the Receiver benefiting from the session, but the Giver, too--hence, the word "Partner". In this partnership, both are coming in and out of yoga postures, mirroring breath, and having marma points and sen lines worked simultaneously. I was trained in this approach under Syl's experienced and inspired mentorship. For my own purposes, I have chosen to maintain the name Thai Yoga but honor the approach of Restorative Partner Yoga in every session.

How is Thai Yoga different from Massage?

Unlike traditional massage therapy, Thai Yoga is not anatomically based (at least traditionally) and does not involve muscle manipulation. Before Western science made it legal, dissection was strictly forbidden. Thai Yoga bases its practice on generations of intuitive expertise, steeped in a deep understanding of how energy flows through the body. These channels of energy are known as sen lines. Though in theory there are reportedly over 72,000 sen lines, in practice Thai Yoga works with ten main sen lines.

Thai Yoga is a beautiful companion to traditional massage therapy. Where a massage therapist can manipulate a tight muscle, can stimulate the lymphatic system, and release trigger points, Thai Yoga can harness prana, stretch the muscles, and subtly yoke mind, body and spirit. Of course there is inevitably cross-over here. A talented massage therapist, for example, though he bases his practice in anatomy, can weave energy work into his practice. A talented Thai Yogi, though he bases his practice in sen energy lines, can integrate western anatomical understanding of the body into his work.

Thai Yoga is not practiced on a table, but on a soft pad rolled out on the floor. The Receiver wears comfortable clothes that enable lots of movement. Each session is between 90-120 minutes. Thai Yoga is a synergistic blend of marma point pressure, running sen lines, flowing into deep stretches, easing into yoga postures...and always, focusing on the breath.

How can Thai Yoga help me?

Whether you're flexible and experienced in yoga or just starting out, Thai Yoga meets you wherever you're at. In truth, it has far-reaching benefits for all body types. It can be an amazing boon for those suffering with chronic pain, those in rehabilitation, or even those that are grieving or are clinically depressed. Postures can be modified for an excellent addition to prenatal care or injury recovery.

The possible benefits are endless.

Breath Series - Part 3

As the third (and final?) installment to the Breath Series, let's look at some fun facts about the breath and lungs.

Q: What do the lungs look like?

My very favorite thing about the lungs is that they look like upside down trees. It reminds me of just how connected we are to nature, that we are in fact natural beings. The trachea is like the main trunk of the tree. The first two branches are the bronchi. The "twiggier" branches are the bronchioles. And if this were a cherry or apricot tree, the fruit could be the alveoli. Compare these illustrations below:

And the next time you pop a sprig of broccoli into your mouth, just check out the similar structure it has to our lungs. The little tips look just like happy little alveoli. There are even studies being done to show that smokers that consume greater amounts of broccoli (and all cruciferous vegetables) drastically lower their risk of developing lung cancer! And don't the words "BROCcoli" and "BRONCHiole" have some similarities? Just sayin.

Q: Why do we die without oxygen?

"Oxygen is required to complete the total breakdown of glucose for the the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy for life. Many people think that humans need oxygen to breathe, but actually people need oxygen to recycle the spent electrons and hydrogen ions (H+) produced as byproducts of aerobic exercise. -Open Me Up, DK Books

Q: Why do yogis breathe in and out through the nose?

"The nasal cavity serves to warm and humidify the air before it enters the lungs. It can also recapture some of that heat and moisture as the air is exhaled through the nose, but not the mouth. For this reason, breathing through the mouth increases the rate of water and heat loss associated with the process of respiration." -Susan Whittemore, The Respiratory System, p. 33

Q: Do mammals breathe differently than other animals?

"Mammals breathe in and out of the same pathway. In other words, fresh air meets "dead air" and diminishes the rate of oxygen diffusion in the blood. Birds, for example, have a unidirectional flow-through lung that avoids the dilution of incoming air with dead air. This allows for a higher rate of oxygen diffusion."  -Susan Whittemore, The Respiratory System

Fun Lung Facts:

• When resting, the average adult breathes around 12 to 20 times a minute.
• The total length of the airways running through the two lungs is 1,500 miles or 2,400 kilometers.
• The total internal surface area is estimated to be equal to the total area of one side of a tennis court.
• The lungs are the only organs that can float on water.
• Scientists say that if all capillaries surrounding the alveoli are unwound and placed end to end, they will cover a staggering 616 miles or 992 kilometers.
• An average person breathes in around 11,000 litres of air every day.
• At the time of birth, a baby’s lungs are not inflated and are actually filled with a fluid that is secreted by the lungs. When the baby moves out of the birth canal, a sudden change in environment and temperature triggers the first breath which usually takes place 10 seconds after the baby is delivered from the birth canal.

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Breath Series - Part 2

Because the breath is the integral foundation of yoga, it's enlightening to understand how the breath is no less the integral foundation of all life. In this part 2 of my Breath Series we'll be exploring how we breathe from an anatomical perspective.

Take a deep inhale...

We either inhale oxygen in through the nose or the mouth. Though there are separate cavities--the nasal and the oral--they are connected in the back of the throat and eventually the air molecules head in the same direction.

What difference does it make when we breathe through the nose versus the mouth?

Well, inside the nose there are lovely little hairs that are very helpful in gathering moisture, warming the air, as well as catching larger foreign particles of dust or germs as part of a natural filtering system. Along with the hairs there is also, as I'm sure all of us are well aware, the slimy coating of mucus--yes, you called it, it's snot--that also lines the nostrils. That mucus is excellent at catching even smaller particles in its sticky trap. I know, I know...you'll never think of boogers the same way. Isn't picking your nose just, metaphorically speaking, cleaning out the filter?  

So it's safe to say that oxygen, before we breathe it in, is cold and dry. When it's breathed in through the nose it's cleaner. Breathed into the mouth, it's a little dirtier. Either way, whether through the nose or mouth, the air is warmed and moistened. 

As it travels down the throat it comes to a crossroads. It can either go down the esophagus--which is really only recommended for food and water seeking digestion--or it can go down through the voice box into the trachea. The epiglottis is the little lid or flap that opens and closes over the larynx, or vocal cords. Air will travel through that trapdoor and flow down into the trachea. That's when things get really cool.

The air comes to a tee in the road, some of it going into the left bronchus and some going into the right bronchus. The bronchi then split into bronchioles, which divide and branch out a dozen or more times, until finally it reaches the alveoli. That's where the air flips a u-turn, of sorts, and begins to make it's way back out the way it came. But before it does that it swings by the gas station for a slurpee (a carbon dioxide slurpee?). It's there in the alveoli that the gas exchange happens. It transfers the oxygen into the blood stream and gathers up the carbon dioxide waste, which it ships out with the outgoing air.

And....exhale! One single breath accomplished.

www.gobodhiyoga.com

Breath Series - Part 1

A single breath. It's the first thing we do as human beings and, truly, the very last. It welcomes us in and ushers us out. It sustains us through everything in between. It is a marvelous, intricate, beautiful bodily process that deserves a closer examination.

For this first installment in my "Breath Series" I'll start at the beginning...

Q: How do we breathe?

A: It's a commonly believed notion that the chest expands simply because air has moved into the lungs and it pushes the chest out. In truth, it's actually just the opposite. The chest expands in order to make room for the oxygen. It actually has a lot to do with air pressure. Based on Boyle's Law, in order to lower the air pressure in the lungs, the volume must first be increased. So, the chest expands (which means the volume has increased), the lung pressure drops, air is then sucked into the lungs as a natural means to balance the lung pressure and the atmospheric pressure--or in other words, inhalation happens! Conversely, to move air out of our lungs, the chest falls (which decreases the overall volume), this causes the lung pressure to increase, and, what do you get? Exhalation! Air naturally flows out of the lungs and back into the wide world, at least until the lung pressure equals the atmospheric pressure.

Now you might be wondering, "Wait, what causes the chest to expand in the first place?" Enter diaphragm. The diaphragm is the lovely dome-shaped muscle/tendon that is actually the main player in the respiratory system. Because of its contracting up and down, respiration is possible (with some help from the intercostal and abdominal muscles-give credit where credit is due). Whenever it contracts, flattening down, then the chest expands, the lung pressure drops...inhalation. Conversely, when it relaxes, returning back into its dome shape, it compresses the thoracic cavity, causing the chest to fall, the lung pressure to increase...exhalation.

Simple...right?

This begs the same question: "What causes the diaphragm to contract in the first place?" This leads us to the autonomic nervous system which connects the brain stem to specific bodily processes. In this case, the phrenic nerve connects from the C3, C4 and C5 vertebrae of the spine down to the diaphragm. Breathing, most of the time, is automatic and we do it subconsciously under the direction of the respiratory center at the base of the brain--and thank goodness for that! Can you imagine the burden life would be if we had to consciously take every breath? We wouldn't be able to do anything else, not even sleep, for fear of forgetting to take the next one. But thankfully this respiratory center is working around the clock, gathering endless amounts of data from its many different nerve channels, then processes all of that data, then decides how to proceed. Should it signal the diaphragm to contract? Should it signal it to relax?

And so it is here that the breath, and all of oxygen-breathing life, begins. A nerve process in the brain sends a signal to the diaphragm, the diaphragm contracts, the thoracic cavity expands, the pressure lowers, a vacuum is created, air flows into the lungs, and a baby take its first breath...all of this in a matter of seconds.

So...what causes the nervous system to do its thing in the first place? No, really, can someone explain it to me?

www.bobodhiyoga.com