Foundations of the practice

The inspiration to train in massage was seeded while living and working in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in a remote Himalayan village in North East India. I have Lama Kunsang to thank for asking me out of the blue to offer massage to the elderly villagers who were staying at the monastery during ‘Nyung Nye’, which is an 8 day purification practice through fasting, chanting, ritual and prostrations.

My initial reaction to Lama’s suggestion was that I don’t know how to massage. He assured me that I do, which I guess was him saying ‘we all do’. I noticed in this village community that massage was much more ordinary than in our culture. For example, it is understood to be essential to massage your baby, and every mother does. It’s not something reserved for those who are trained, but an innate human capacity that we need from each other, from birth to old age. As well as instilling trust in my intuitive touch, he also showed me some basic Ayurvedic massage techniques.

I took his reassurance and simple tips into the community room where the villagers were sat all day chanting and meditating. In between sessions I went around the room and mimed the question “would you like massage?” (because language wasn’t shared between us). It must have been strange seeing this foreign white woman offer massage, so at first only the bold ones said yes. But the yes soon spread like a ripple through the room, day by day, more and more yeses.

In my head I really didn’t know what I was doing, but in my hands I did. These hands which know how to offer healing touch to another. Our bodies know so much if we can simply tune in and trust. The effect this simple touch had on each person amazed and inspired me. As did the tenderness and intimacy it facilitated across cultural and language gaps. We were no longer strangers to each other with limited capacity for communication. I discovered that I could offer touch that not only relieved pain, but also brought us into a space of tender connection and vulnerability.

This experience sparked a curiousity which first led me to do a foundation course in Thai Yoga Massage, and later a diploma in Holistic Therepeutic Massage, the latter of which is what I practice now. Thai massage grew out of the Buddhist monasteries of Thailand. I learnt during this foundation course that bodywork can be a way of putting spiritual practice in service of others in a very tangible way, and this is very much what I carry forward. My spiritual practice has evolved and changed over the years with inspiration and guidance from different traditions, but the constancy has been the intention at the heart of practice which is about cultivating attention, deepening embodied awareness and expanding capacity of the heart.

On returning to the UK I completed a level 4 diploma in holistic therapeutic massage with the Edinburgh School of Holistic Therapy, and now I continue learning through the practice itself as well as through other therapists who inspire me.