Are you interested in becoming a certified massage therapist in Thailand? If so, you'll need to complete a minimum of 501 hours of training at a board-approved Thai massage school. The International Association of Thai Therapists (ITTA) sets the minimum requirements for certification, which include 250 hours of formal practical study of traditional Thai massage (nuad boran). This study should be conducted in a traditional style, on a rug, addressing the whole body, and the content should be based entirely on traditional Thai massage and Thai medicine. At least 40% of qualifying studies must be carried out with teachers or centers from the THAI network. It's important to note that there is no official certification body for Thai massage.
Different groups, such as the Thai Healing Alliance International, set voluntary standards. Each Thai massage school determines its own requirements for “certification”. If you complete a comprehensive course from a qualifying school and receive a certificate, you are considered certified. The industry standard is to be able to perform a 90-minute session on the floor using at least three of the four positions. It's also important to understand that certification does not automatically give you the legal right to practice Thai massage or any other massage.
You may need to obtain additional licensing depending on where you plan to practice. For example, some states require massage therapists to obtain a license before they can practice. If you're looking for an education in Thai massage, there are several options available. One popular option is the ITM (The International Massage School), where many Thais learn the art of Thai massage. Other more traditional schools include Gregory Oed for Reusi Dat Ton and Pierce Salguero for the history of Thai and Buddhist medicine, together with other professors of different aspects of Thai massage. In contrast to other types of massage, traditional Thai massage does not require clients to undress or use lubricants.
Clients remain comfortably dressed and lie on a padded mat on the floor while the therapist focuses on muscles, fascia, joints and signal lines with pressure and range of motion. If you're looking for an experienced teacher, consider Rose who has been practicing and teaching Thai massage for more than two decades and is the creator of 20 online training courses on Thai massage. Rose offers individual Thai massage sessions, but only by personal recommendation. Another option is to take an online course from an experienced teacher. This has become increasingly popular in recent years as native English speakers are urgently needed but foreign Thai masseuses are not needed. We have been teaching Thai massage for a long time (more than 25 years), we are affiliated with a respected school in Thailand, we have a great reputation, we create a friendly and supportive environment and we love the work.
This has resulted in thousands of students from all over the world receiving excellent Thai massage education in their homes at very affordable prices. Finally, many spas work with independent therapists who can offer their clients something that they cannot offer with their regular staff. In this case, licensing requirements may not be the same as for “normal” massage such as Swedish massage. Other practices that may be offered include Feldenkrais method, reflexology, Trager approach, Ayurvedic therapies, Rolf's structural integration, polarity or polarity therapy; body work with polarity therapy; Asian body therapy that does not constitute a massage as defined in this chapter; acupressure, Jin Shin Do, Qi Gong, Tui Na, Shiatsu, body-mind centering and Reiki.
