Advantage for client: Not everyone is comfortable with getting undressed for massage. Being able to keep their clothes on makes such clients feel safer and more inclined to receive massage.
Advantage for massage therapist: Women can be hesitant to receive oil massage from a male massage therapist. But this does not apply to fully dressed Thai Massage.
During my many years of practicing Thai Massage, I have never once felt any unease by my female clients for being treated by a male.
I am sure that the ability to keep their clothes on was a major factor. Thai Massage makes it easier to attract clients across potential gender barriers.
Advantage for client: Here in Thailand, massage is often done in a large room where mats are lined up next to each other.
Rather than the more clinical professional style which is the norm in western countries, it can be quite a social scene with lively conversations and social interaction.
This type of open setting allows you to get a feeling for the place and visually evaluate therapists before deciding on a session.
Advantage for massage therapist: Fully dressed clients allow for spontaneous massage sessions in a variety of settings. This is not possible with oil massage where you need a private room and draping sheets.
I have done sessions in people’s living rooms, in the park, and on the beach. It allows you much more flexibility.
Advantage for client: If someone drops in for a massage and goes back to their business activities, it can feel awkward to have oily residue all over the body. This is not an issue with Thai Massage.
Advantage for massage therapist: One less thing needed, one less expense.
Advantage for client: For Thai Massage a table is never an advantage for the client. By its very nature Thai Massage requires a lot of movement and changing of positions. A floor mat feels more supportive and is much easier to roll around on than a narrow massage table.
Advantage for massage therapist: The main reason why therapists would use a table for Thai Massage is if they are physically not able to easily move around on the floor. This does require more flexibility than standing at a table.
There are several techniques that cannot be done on a massage table or at least are more awkward and difficult to do. I know western therapists who climb up on the table and stand on it. I’d rather stand on a floor mat any time.
One big advantage of Thai Massage is that therapists can make ideal use of their body weight. A massage table reduces this advantage since it does not allow you to shift your weight right on top of the client.
Advantage for client: Clients wanting deep work have a better chance of getting this from a Thai Massage therapist who can make good use of hands, forearms, elbows, knees and feet.
Even smaller therapists can therefore be extremely effective. The best examples are the countless tiny female Thai Massage therapists who can make even large clients wince. Everybody who has been in Thailand can attest to that.
Advantage for therapist: The ability to use many body parts and reduce the use of hands can be a lifesaver for your massage career. Hand and wrist problems can stop your massage therapist profession dead in its tracks if you don’t know how to use other tools besides your hands.
Advantage for client: If you lie in one position and your therapist is putting pressure on one area, the effect is more localized than if your entire body is put through lots of motion and stretches which effect much larger sections of the body.
The advantage for therapist: There is a much bigger arsenal of tools available. There are literally hundreds of stretches and modifications available in the Thai Massage system besides working on muscles and tissue.
This allows the therapist to address issues that cannot be addressed as effectively without the motion and stretch techniques.
Advantage for client: Thai Massage therapy is not just bodywork. It is a body-mind system that reaches deeper than muscles, tissue and bones. It works with the life energy of the clients by realigning, channelling and strengthening their core energy.
Let us remember that Thai Massage was originally practiced by monks in temple settings. It was developed as a body-mind healing system, not just as a method to address physical symptoms.
Advantage for therapist: Learning Thai Massage properly will train the therapist to be able to feel or sense energy, connect with clients on a more profound level, move energy in their client’s body and energy field, and develop their own awareness to higher levels.
In Thai Massage you don’t just move body parts, you are moving energy as well. Practicing Thai Massage can become part of your personal growth.
Advantage for therapist: Basic Thai Massage is often taught in a mechanical way. However, on a more advanced level, Thai Massage allows the therapist to make use of their body weight, their body ergonomics, their breath, and their subtle energy.
Working in this way is more like a meditation than a physical exertion and is highly rewarding for the therapist as much as for the client.
But the fact is that Thai Massage, if done correctly, energizes the therapists instead of depleting them.
It can give you an energetic boost, like an energetic ‘high’, and a feeling of profound well-being and satisfaction.