Thai Massage and Thai Healing Arts: Practice, Culture and Spirituality

by Bob Haddad

This fascinating anthology presents a much wider scope than other books on Thai massage, and uncovers a wealth of previously unavailable information on the historical, spiritual, and cultural connections to this powerful healing art.

Topics include ways to refine and maintain a healthy practice, breathwork and body mechanics, self-protection techniques, reading body language, acupressure concepts, Thai medicine theory, and Thai herbal compress therapy. The spiritual and cultural section offers modern translations of ancient texts, Indian and Buddhist influences, magic amulets and sacred tattoos, and accessory modalities such as reusi dat ton (stretching) and tok sen (hammering therapy). The final section features essays about practice with clients written by therapists and teachers from around the world.

In addition to the author’s work, other contributions in this anthology are from well-known Thai massage professionals, including the following authors: Kira Balaskas, Michael Reed Gach, Ph.D, Noam Tyroler, C. Pierce Salguero, Ph.D, and Enrico Corsi.

The extensive experience and information provided in this reference book is invaluable to students or practitioners who wish to deepen their personal and professional understanding of traditional Thai healing arts.

What Others Are Saying

“This excellent book represents a significant milestone in the establishment and emergence of traditional Thai healing arts in the modern world. The breadth, depth, quality and scope of the contributions is astounding. I congratulate and thank the author and contributing writers for their diligent efforts.” — Richard Gold Ph.D., L.Ac., Author of Thai Massage: A Traditional Medical Technique

“Bob Haddad has poured his extensive knowledge into this beautiful text, and carefully, comprehensively, and lovingly deconstructs the art of Thai massage for the reader. His personal and professional experiences woven throughout the book add depth of character and treasured authenticity. As an additional demonstration that this text is his gift to the bodywork profession, the book shares wisdom from more
than a dozen other practitioners.” — Leslie A. Young, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief, Massage & Bodywork magazine

About the Author

Bob Haddad is a Registered Thai Therapist and teacher who has studied and practiced traditional Thai massage since 1999. He is the founder and director of Thai Healing Alliance International, teaches workshops internationally, and has organized international conferences on Thai healing arts. Bob has written extensively on traditional Thai massage, and is the author of books in several disciplines, including World Music: A Cultural Legacy, American Music: Hits Through History, and Trabalenguas Mexicanos.