I’m sure you’ve heard of acupuncture? Well, have you heard of ‘acupressure’? They work under the same principle, except with acupressure you don’t need to use any needles, which, to many people, is a much, much better option (mentally speaking) when given the choice. Well, the great news is that Thai massage operates under the guise of many principles—one of them being acupressure.
 
The really fun and exciting thing (well, one of the many fun and exciting things) about Thai massage is that your Thai massage therapist works on you in many ways—not just with healing hands, but also will likely walk on you during the session or use their knees and elbows a lot of the time. I will tell you—I have experienced it, and it hurts—and... it hurts so very, very good! The reason Thai massage therapists use these techniques is to get at all of your acupressure points—they use a good deal of their body weight and pointed technique, and, next thing you know, your body feels like jelly.
 
When my Thai massage therapist tells me it is time to turn over from lying on my belly to turning onto my back, it takes me a solid minute or two because I have to peel myself off of the mat and slowly will myself up and into the next position. This is because of the acupressure she has performed on me and proof of how relaxed my muscles have become. This works under the same principles of trigger point therapy, where when you put a certain amount of focused pressure onto the muscle belly, the muscle senses the change in tension, tries to figure out what to do, contracts, and then releases. It is amazing. One second you are saying, ‘Ow! That is intense!’ and then within 60-90 seconds, you cannot believe it, but the pain has gone. Disappeared into the horizon. And this is how you start to develop a positive relationship to pain.