Touch Around The Earth

The adventures of a massage therapist as she explores touch around the earth. From Chicago to Thailand, Nepal, India and Japan, she will be receiving massage, studying massage, studying and practicing yoga and meditation, and learning about how people around the earth stay healthy and happy.

Friday, January 22, 2010

meandering


Ah Chiang Mai...

I am settling into life here quite easily. Chiang mai was my home base when I was here six years ago, so it feels familiar and comfortable to me, although there are even more tourist-oriented businesses than before, and it seems a bit more crowded. But it is still lovely. I have a room in a simple guesthouse, right down the street from my favorite restaurant, the blue diamond, in the old walled city of Chiang Mai, where there aren't many blocks without a stupa or a bodhi tree. One of my favorite things to do is bicycle through the little narrow streets and see what I find. It is a small enough area that if I get lost, I can't be that far from my guesthouse. One of my favorite sights that I saw yesterday was a man taking a nap during the heat of the day, with his five little dogs, one of them he was resting his legs on (just like a bolster is used during massage!) I snapped a photo before the dogs started barking and woke him up.


If I ever feel like I don't know what to do with myself, there is usually a temple close by where I can sit and meditate while the monks chant. The weather has been sunny every day, with humidity getting pretty intense at times, and lovely cool evenings that make me snuggle into my silk sleeping sack (something I splurged on for this trip... highly recommend it for you travelers out there!) and blankets.

In Thailand, blind people are trained to do massage and there are clinics where all the therapists are blind and do massage. I have enjoyed a couple sessions with them already, and tomorrow I will get a session from a man named Sinchai. He is also a teacher of Thai massage, which peaked my curiosity because I couldn't imagine teaching and not being able to see what my students are doing. So I got to observe him teaching and see how he feels his student's position and where they are on the recipients body, and was fascinated. He had about six students, and each one took turns practicing after he demonstrated.

I found a lovely yoga studio that has anusara yoga teachers here! (one of my favorite styles of yoga) It's a small world there, yesterday I bumped into a woman who taught raw food classes when I did my fast six here years ago, a friend of a friend, and my friend Mary from Chicago stopped by too! I topped off my yoga practice in the beautiful Thai sauna complete with singing rainbow songs and chants with a new friend, and shortly melted into bed feeling totally relaxed! And tonight, they have a kirtan (yogic chanting) which I am really looking forward to. I've been feeling inspired to stay connected to my Breema practice, and I am doing self-breema in the mornings, and hope to teach a self-breema class at one of the yoga studios here before I go!

I am really looking forward to starting class on Monday with the Thai massage teacher Pichest. Even though I have studied Thai Massage with Chuck Duff, The Old Medicine Hospital, and Asokananda (now deceased), I am ready for a new perspective. I have heard such amazing things about Pichest, that he is really into the meditation aspect, making sure that you are in a good space (mentally, emotionally, physically) before you offer healing to someone else. He is very devotional, as well and expects his students to bring flowers, insence, candles and fruit to offer to Buddha. I also hear that he is quite the character, and can be a bit rough, and very unstructured... but as long as you go with a beginner's mind, and have a good sense of humor, and not many expectations, it can be an amazing experience.

Sending you a bit of sunshine!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

walking


Shoes are almost always a barrier between me and the earth, and sometimes I wish that I didn't have to wear them. But, when I am doing a lot of walking, my feet like to feel supported and can get pretty sore if I don't wear good ones. Plus, there are all kinds of critters around Asia that my body is not used to... I keep thinking of my friend Jodi who lived in India for a couple years, and went around barefoot, and wonder how she did that so fearlessly. I brought only two shoes with me: hiking boots, and chaco sandals that have little black straps and look decent with a dress, but can support my feet as I walk down rocky roads. Unfortunately, the little toe strap on my chacos were ripping the tops of my feet apart, and I wasn't liking the idea of having a callous on the top of my foot. So I started looking at everyone's feet. Most of the locals in chiang mai wear flip flops, or little plastic slippers. Even the older women who are balancing a pole on their shoulders with two huge baskets of food hanging off either end. I remember being in awe of the two guides I hiked with in Laos 6 years ago as they maneuvered over slippery rocks with their cheap flip flops as I slipped and fell with my fancy chacos. So, I bought a $7 pair of generic birkenstocks that are actually pretty comfortable, and sent my sandals back to the states with my Aunt and Uncle (who I spent the last two days with) to save room in my pack.

It was interesting how much fear surfaced when I did this. I am very far away from the stores where my favorite brands are sold, and most shoes that are sold here have very little support, and I started picturing myself with blisters and plantar fascitis and infections... I walked over to a massage place (just steps from my guesthouse) and sat down for a $3 30 minute foot rub and reflected about what I can learn from this (besides making sure my sandals fit and breaking in my sandals even though it is freezing in chicago)?

Remember to feel the earth under my feet with every step that I take, and receive the support that is there. The earth supports me in standing and walking, and I receive this support every moment. I am truly blessed. I can also find comfort in every moment, even if I have a blister. You try it! Experience your body breathing, and your body's weight. Sense the support that is there to allow you to experience comfort. (I am so grateful for my Breema practice which helps remind me of this)

On a lighter note, the last couple days were a blast! I took the sleeping train to Chiang Mai, Thailand and met up with my Mom's sister Jude and her husband John (who are on a tour of SE Asia with another couple for three weeks) and they treated me to some fun tourist treats! Jude and I went to one of the nicest spas in town for a Thai massage and giggled as we heard each other wince with the tight spots our therapists found. We had an authentic Thai dinner, complete with authentic Thai music and a little Beatles and James Taylor. The next day, we went on a bike trip out to the country and went swimming in a refreshing lake, an had lunch under a palm-leafed roof, floating on the water. And last night we took a cooking class with an entertaining, playful Thai woman who tried very hard to get my uncle to enjoy cooking! I still can't believe he actually put on an apron... we had so much fun. And the food was some of the best I've had so far because the ingredients were so fresh! I saw them off today after having breakfast at hotel's lovely outdoor restaurant, enjoying the view of the banyan trees and orchids and the boats floating by in the river. And now I'm off to enjoy walking around this familiar town, remembering to feel the my weight and my breath with every step.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Softening


Originally written on 1/17/10
After only thirteen hours here, I can already feel myself soften into life in Thailand!
I met a sweet woman named Fai on the plane ride from Hong Kong to Bangkok who invited me to her home! She had a sweet smile, a contageous giggle, and as we talked about massage, she started massaging me right in the plane! So, I decided to go for the authentic Thai experience, and accept invitation to stay with her in a suburb of Bangkok.

Fai lives with her husband in Winnepeg, but has family here in Thailand, so she was just excited to get out of the chilly weather, and chatted and giggled the whole way home with her sister who picked us up. When we got to her home, I rolled out my yoga mat, and she followed along, giggling and sighing with the poses she had forgotten after her yoga class "long time ago". We showed pictures of our family and friends to each other over tea, and I fell asleep with a heart full of gratitude.

I woke up to hearing Fai laughing and chatting on the phone, and my rumbling belly was feeling ready for some Thai food! So, we walked into the sunny day to the market for some fresh fruit, rice and veggie soup, sweet treats, slippers for her and a pair of sunglasses for me (I was the only blonde there!) We ate the food on her front porch and enjoyed the birds that came by for a visit. Fai was a little too excited to eat Thai food that she ate a bit too much and had a stomach ache, so I offered her a reflexology foot massage and she said yes and ran off to the washroom to wash her feet, and shortly her stomach ache melted away. She then gave me a nice shoulder massage as we chatted about how important touch is (Fai is trained as a nurse, and learns from receiving massage).

She then brought me to a little salon where I melted into the table as the woman's lovely hands gently massaged my face, ending with sliced cucumbers gently placed on my face. We had lunch at her sister's family home where Fai translated for me, so I could answer her curious questions about my trip, and how I can take so much time away from work. She understood that I am here to learn more about touch, and that I will be returning to the states with more to offer... but what exactly I will be bringing home, I am not sure of... but I think I'm on the right track...

Friday, January 8, 2010

Gratitude

As I prepare for this journey, I am aware of what an opportunity this is, and that not many people get to travel around the world. I am SO grateful for all of the support and love and blessings I have received, as well as for my health and courageous spirit, and I hope that all of my readers can live vicariously through this experience. Thanks for reading this blog... stay tuned!