This course provides a full introduction to the three branches of Traditional Thai Medicine: the practices of Thai massage, herbal/dietary regimen, and spiritual practice. Based on academic historical and anthropological study, as well as years of field study, Pierce Salguero's course is designed to introduce basic theoretical and philosophical ideas as well as provide an overview of the practices of the traditional Thai healer.

Thai Massage: Thai massage is considered to be a therapy of energy. Masseurs apply acupressure to sensitive points on the body in order to impede or increase the flow of energy through the nadis, or sen lines (Thai energy meridians) as necessary to relieve symptoms and stimulate healing. While Thai massage has enjoyed increasing popularity in the West as of late, it is a field that, in Thailand, remains intimately tied to the other branches of traditional medicine.

Dietary regimens and herbal medicine: Herbs and food affect the human organism by causing physiological changes in body chemistry. This is expressed in traditional Thai medicine, like in the Ayurvedic medicine of India, by the idea of Four Elements. The constant interaction of the Four Elements gives rise to the processes of the body, and therefore is the impetus behind life. The Elements can become unbalanced due to a variety of reasons, including environment, food intake, age, and mental state. During the normal course of one's life, the Elements go in and out of balance in a continuously changing state of health or disease. The primary goal of traditional Thai dietary regimens and herbalism is to maintain balance of the Four Elements for optimum health.

Thai Spiritual healing: Thai medicine emphasizes the spiritual well-being of the patient, and holds that many diseases flow from a troubled spirit. For this reason, even modern traditional Thai medicine is enveloped in a rich and intricate tradition of prayer, meditation, mantras, and mythology based around Buddhist and shamanic ideas, which are designed to heal the spirit in order to heal the body.

Successful completion of this course will require reading and listening to the materials listed below. A written test will be sent to the participant which will include a series of short-answer questions on topics covered in this material. Certificate will be provided upon successful completion of the course.

Cost

$99 is the total cost of this course, including materials listed below.

Click here to register for this program, or contact us for more information.

Readings

Required Materials

You will receive access to the Members Area, and must read all articles listed in the Virtual Library and access all of the multimedia files

Required Books (Not provided, click links below to purchase):

Salguero, Pierce. A Thai Herbal. Findhorn Press, 2003.
Salguero, Pierce. The Encyclopedia of Thai Massage. Findhorn Press, 2005.
Salguero, Pierce. The Spiritual Healing of Traditional Thailand. Findhorn Press, 2006.
Salguero, Pierce. Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Ayurveda. Hohm Press, 2007.

Recommended Materials (Not provided, click links below to purchase):

Thai Massage DVD, Herbal Audio Review CD, Massage Workbooks, Energy Meridian & Acupressure charts, and more educational materials are available here.

Audio Files Required: Not Provided, Purchase Separately

Contents

Thai Massage: The Shivagakomarpaj Lineage
History of Thai Medicine
Hot & Cold Therapy
Four Element Theory
Jivaka Komarabaccha: The Buddha's Physician
Wai khru ceremony
Metta Bhavana: Loving-kindness Meditation

Buy this CD or download mp3 files here.

***Plus, you will automatically become a member of TaoMountain, and gain access to the materials in our Member's Area.