Traditional Thai massage is a clothed, oil-free treatment in which the therapist uses her hands, forearms, elbows, knees and feet to apply pressure along the body's energy lines and to move you through a long sequence of assisted stretches. Traditionally it is worked on a mat at floor level; we bring it to your own bed instead. It is the treatment Thailand is actually known for.
People who have only had oil massage tend to be surprised by it. There is no gliding and very little of what a Western spa would call relaxation technique. Instead you are pressed, folded, rocked and opened out, and an hour of it leaves you feeling longer than you were when you started.
On this page
What actually happens in the hour
Settling in
The therapist lays a clean sheet over your bed and asks you to change into loose clothing. If you have not got any, a t-shirt and shorts are fine. Nothing comes off and no oil is used at any point.
Feet upward
She starts at the feet and works upward, using her thumbs and palms to press along the sen, the lines Thai medicine describes as carrying energy through the body. The pressure is slow and stays on each point for several seconds rather than rubbing across it. From there she moves into the stretches, taking your legs, arms, back and neck through positions you would struggle to reach on your own, using her own bodyweight to hold you there.
Head and scalp
The last ten minutes are usually the head, face and scalp, which is where most people stop paying attention entirely.
How hard it is, and what to say if it is too much
Firm. On muscles that have not been worked in a while, particularly the outside of the thigh and the top of the shoulder, it crosses into genuinely uncomfortable. That is normal for the style and it is not a sign anything is wrong.
It is also not something you have to endure quietly. Say lighter, or point at the spot, and she will adjust and stay adjusted. Therapists would far rather change the pressure than have you lie there gritting your teeth for an hour, and there is nothing rude about asking twice.
If you want the benefits without the intensity, book a 90 minute session rather than a 60. The extra half hour is spent going slower, not doing more, and it lands very differently.
Who it suits
People who sit still for a living and have gone tight through the hips and shoulders. Anyone who has been on a long flight. Runners and gym regulars who want range of movement back rather than just the ache taken off.
It suits you less if what you actually want is to fall asleep. Thai massage is an active treatment and you are a participant in it, being moved the whole way through. For something you can switch off inside, the oil massage or the aromatherapy are better choices.
Why the bed and not the floor
Thai massage is traditionally worked on a firm mat at floor level, because the stretches need the therapist to get her weight above you and to brace against something solid.
We work on your bed instead, and the reason is practical. A therapist who has to clear a floor, move furniture and lay out a mat in someone else's hotel room spends the first ten minutes of a treatment rearranging it, and a good many rooms in this city have no clear two metres to find. Bangkok hotel mattresses are firm, she works from the side and adjusts her leverage to the height, and the sen work and the stretches both carry across. If you have a very soft mattress, say so when you book and she will plan around it.
Afterwards
Drink water. Thai massage moves a lot of fluid around and the most common complaint the next morning is a mild headache from not having done that.
Some soreness the following day is normal, in the same way it is after a gym session, and it usually goes by the second morning. If you have a flight, a meeting or a long walk planned, book the session for the evening before rather than an hour beforehand.
Which length to book
Sixty minutes gets through the full sequence but keeps moving, and on a body that has not been stretched in months it can feel rushed at the end. It is enough for a first try.
Ninety is the length most people settle on once they have had one. The therapist covers the same ground and holds each stretch longer, which is where the difference actually lives in this style. Two hours is worth it after a long-haul flight, when the hips and lower back have been folded into a seat for twelve hours and need time rather than force.
Three hours exists and a handful of people book it every week. It is not the same sequence stretched out; she works the feet and legs in far more detail than any shorter session allows.
Where we bring Thai massage
Anywhere in the city, and unlike most outcall Thai massage there is no floor-space requirement to check first. A bed she can reach from one side is the whole of it, which is why this treatment works as readily in a compact studio around On Nut or Bang Na as it does in a large room on Sukhumvit.
The therapist arrives by taxi or motorbike depending on the hour and the distance, usually within twenty to forty minutes of the booking being confirmed.
Questions about traditional thai massage
- Do I need to bring anything to wear?
- No. A t-shirt and shorts you already have are perfect. If you have nothing loose, the therapist can work around normal clothing, though jeans make the leg stretches awkward.
- Is Thai massage supposed to hurt?
- It is firm and on tight muscles it can be uncomfortable, but it should never be something you have to brace against. Sharp pain means stop, and saying so is expected.
- Can I have it if I have a back problem?
- Tell the therapist before she starts and she will keep the stretches gentle and avoid loading the spine. If you have a diagnosed disc problem or recent injury, speak to your doctor first and consider the oil massage instead.
- Why is there no oil?
- The therapist needs grip to stretch and lean, and oil takes that away. If you want oil, the treatment you want is the oil massage or the aromatherapy.