24/12/2018
Here are some ideas about a style of Ancient Burmese massage that developed in the far north-eastern region known as the Shan state. It is an hour long full body form that begins with the first half hour devoted to smooth circular pressure movements, made by the practitioner laying one hand on top of the other, and moving in a sequence from the head downwards throughout the entire back of the body. It brings on, as spirals do, a deep and mesmerising experience. This is followed by yogic stretching manoeuvres.
In 1991, I stayed and studied with Mr Jan Singkam and his family, in the rural north-western village of Pai, Thailand, which is quite close to the Burmese border. He and many others in the local community are Burmese.
Interestingly, while I was in Pagan, Burma, the wondrous former capital city (9-12th AD) a few years earlier, I was fortunate to be escorted to an off-limits Buddhist pagoda, where inside, using torches to survey the walls, were the earliest Burmese anatomical illustrations of the body. The striking feature was seeing the muscles drawn as swirling spirals, which have been interpreted as representing the movement of "wind" - which not only manifests and constitutes their physical form, but is also the elemental feature that drives their ability to function and allow movement. The circular movements of the Shan style massage imitate and enhance the circulation of the wind element (historically and theoretically being closely related in meaning to the Vata element in the Indian Ayurvedic tridosha system). The stretches that proceed after the circular palming moves, extend, clear and direct the "en" (channels). The illustrations (by me) show the regions and positions on the back of the body. Each location receives at least 3 full circular pressures each time, before being repeated up and down another two times.
The Burmese script says "Ancient Burmese Massage".
