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What is a Royal Thai massage?
Royal Thai massage (Nuad Rajchasumnak) is the Thai massage that practitioners use for the aristocracy, the ruling class, VIPS, or highly placed officials at the Thai Royal courts. Other names for Royal Thai massage include Royal Style, Court Style, or Rajasamnak Style.
In a Royal Thai massage, practitioners strictly adhere to specific rules of non-intimacy, respect, politeness, and treatment protocols. They primarily use their thumbs and palms to apply acupressure on the Sen and specific acupressure points.
This style of Thai massage is most commonly associated with the Southern style of Thai massage, known as the Bangkok style, which is characterized by a faster pace. Many also consider Royal Thai massage to be more therapeutic than Folk Thai massage, as schools teach various Royal Thai treatment sequences, or ‘acupressure recipes,‘ to heal or treat individual ailments or illnesses.
Treatments
A Royal Thai massage has a much stricter protocol than a Folk Thai massage. The receiver is always fully clothed during a Royal Thai massage and will only receive the massage in a seated position, lying face up, or on their side. The recipient will never lie in the prone position, with the face downwards. Typically, a Royal Thai massage treats the entire body, unless the acupressure protocol is specifically targeted to a particular body area.
The practitioner enters the treatment room, crawling on their knees and looking down at the floor. The practitioner does not look at the receiver, already lying on the mat. The practitioner then pays respect to the receiver, asks for permission to perform the massage, checks the pulse rate by placing their fingers over the receiver’s wrist arteries, and verifies the pressure of the Lom Pran (the wind element).
During the massage, the practitioner must stay on their knees an arm’s length distance from the recipient. The practitioner must position their body sideways to the receiver, never cross the receiver’s body or breathe on them. Protocol dictates that practitioners must keep their arms completely straight when applying pressure and exclusively use their thumbs, fingers, and palms to press on acupressure points. There are rules governing the amount of pressure a practitioner can apply, depending on the class of the recipient. And there are rules for the duration of the pressure.
The most noticeable difference between a Royal Thai massage and a Folk Thai massage is that the former does not include joint mobilizations or manipulations. And there are very few, if any, stretches in a Royal Thai massage; this is considered impolite.
In Thailand
Unless you are royalty, receiving a Royal Thai massage treatment in Thailand can be challenging. You can receive Thai massages that adhere to the treatment protocols taught in the traditional Thai royal style in hospitals or clinics. However, the typical Thai spa, parlour, or salon is more likely to offer Folk Thai massage.
However, if you wish to learn the Royal Thai massage style, it is quite straightforward. The government, located in Bangkok, sets the current Thai massage curriculum and endorses the Royal Thai massage style. The official curriculum is 372 hours or 800 hours of training; however, many schools offer one- or two-week courses that teach a simple full-body treatment routine. In these shorter courses, you will not learn in-depth therapy protocols and procedures that cover treatments for a broad range of discomforts or illnesses.
At Sirius Health
Much of our training in Thailand included Royal Thai massage techniques, but we do not offer Royal Thai massages at Sirius Health. We uphold the principles of non-intimacy, respect, politeness, and treatment intent in Royal Thai massage, while utilizing Folk Thai massage techniques in our treatments.
Member of
Thai Healing Alliance International
