Passive yoga: discover the benefits of stretching

Thai massage and "passive yoga", a source of pleasure and psychological well-being.

Who hasn't stopped to watch with a certain envy (and the desire to be able to do the same!) a cat slowly, meticulously and pleasurably stretching, wriggling and stretching?

These felines are true masters in the art of stretching, and that mastery allows them to do the same.And that mastery allows them to maintain a state of perfect relaxation, flexibility, alertness, strength and agility. In Thailand there is a therapy used for millennia that allows us to experience and enter into this feeling: I am referring to Thai massage, also known as "passive yoga"..

This type of massage has its roots in the confluence and fusion of different techniques from oriental medicine: meditation and serene concentration techniques from Buddhist philosophy, herbal remedies and yoga postures from Indian Ayurvedic medicine, and acupuncture points practiced in traditional Chinese medicine.

The tradition of Thai massage

Thai massage is not only a preventive and relaxing technique, but it is really a medical-healing therapy, it could even be considered as a philosophy of life, since it encompasses all the vital areas of the human being: the physical, mental and emotional; worked through stretching, nutrition, meditation, full breathing...

This type of massage is called passive yoga because its origins are linked to a series of deep-rooted beliefs in Asia: traditionally it has been defined as a series of rhythmic sequences of pressures, twists and stretches that the therapist performs with his hands, feet, knees, elbows and arms; with the aim of harmonizing, restoring and unblocking the flow of energy (or Chi) that runs through 10 main energy channels or Sen meridians that are distributed throughout the body, balancing the 4 basic elements that constitute every living being, and whose blockage or disharmonyand whose blockage or disharmony would cause pain and disease.

These elements are:

• EarthEarth: which makes up the bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments ... the solid part of the body.
• WaterWater : which binds fluids, Blood and secretions.
• Firewhich regulates body temperature, governs digestion and metabolism.
• AirThe practice of passive yoga balances breathing and blood circulation, and regulates the vitality of the body and mind.

The practice and benefits of passive yoga

To perform this restorative work, the therapist takes the patient (dressed in comfortable clothes and lying pleasantly on a futon), to the limit of their joint mobility to each and every one of the body structures, in order to relax the muscles, recover the interarticular space, balance the nervous system, mobilize the viscera for its proper functioning, boost the blood to properly irrigate all structures and organs of the body and speed up the lymphatic circulation to purify the body, providing a deep feeling of relaxation and physical and mental wellbeing, strength, vitality, flexibility, stillness, and a sense of well-being....

After a session, which lasts between one and two hours, we have the sensation that we are taller, that we breathe better, and that we have improved our body posture. The mind clears, the muscles relax and a smile appears on the face along with a special glow in the eyes... in the same way that the cat, after waking up, is fully alert to any stimulus, able to run at a jump, maintaining that innate elegance and balance in their movements so typically feline!

In the medium term, passive yoga strengthens the immune system, tones the whole body and relaxes the nervous system, balances the emotions, increases the body's energy level, and increases the body's energy levels.It balances the emotions, increases respiratory capacity and blood oxygenation, strengthens the ligaments, makes the joints more flexible, activates the lymphatic and circulatory systems. It helps with problems of insomnia, stress and chronic fatigue, muscular pain, lumbago, sciatica, headaches, constipation...

Bibliographical references:

• Chia, Maneewan and Chia, Max (2008): Nuad Thai: traditional Thai massage, Gaia.
• Plasencia, J.J. (2000): El masaje tradicional tailandés, RBA Libros.
• Avraham, B. (2006): El masaje tailandés: manual teórico y práctico, Obelisco.