What is a Ched Hak massage?
Ched Hak is an ancient Lanna Thai massage modality to remove toxins from the body. Ched means to wipe, and Hak means to split or mark. This treatment intends to purify, clean, and bring vitality to the receiver’s energy.
Benefits
There are many benefits from Ched and Hak treatments:
- Traditional doctors use these treatments to cleanse the body of toxins due to animal bites or insect stings.
- The treatments bring balance to the four elements in the recipient’s body.
- The traditional Thai belief is that these treatments eliminate any influences from black magic and certain spirits.
The result is that there is both physical and psychological healing.
Treatments
Ched
For this treatment, a traditional Thai doctor selects a leaf, such as a longan leaf or a mango leaf and recites a mantra to give healing powers to that leaf. The doctor then wipes the affected area to remove the toxins while reciting prayers and chants of empowerment.
The doctor wipes the affected area with the shiny side of the leaf. They use long strokes that move out from the centre of the body to the extremities. The intent is to push the toxin away from the abdomen. Once the doctor has finished with an area, they discard the leaf and use a new one for the next area.
Hak
Traditionally, a Hak treatment differed from a Ched treatment in that a traditional Thai doctor used a wild animal’s fang, bone or claw instead of a leaf. It is now illegal for doctors to use items from wild animals, so a traditional Thai doctor will now use a wooden knife with mantras written on it instead of a fang or claw.
A Hak treatment is similar to a Ched treatment. Like Ched, the doctor uses long strokes that move outward from the body’s centre. The doctor blesses the object before the treatment to give it spiritual healing power and then scratches the area that requires healing while chanting mantras.
Experience
A Hak treatment is similar to a Ched treatment. Like Ched, the doctor uses long strokes that move outward from the body’s centre. The doctor blesses the object before the treatment to give it spiritual healing power and then scratches the area that requires healing while chanting mantras.