DENVER - Thai Yoga Massage is not the typical massage. There is no massage table. You lie on a mat on the ground as a therapist moves your muscles to the edge.
"It's sometimes referred to as the 'Lazy Man's Yoga," Hillary Hilliard joked.
Hillary O. Hilliard showed the 9NEWS Morning Team how Thai Yoga Massage works along with some of her students from Denver Integrative Massage School.
"Yoga is popular now, but most people don't have the time to practice yoga or feel intimidated to start yoga," Hilliard said. "But everybody loves massage, so it's the perfect combo of yoga and massage."
Hilliard says a session of Thai Yoga Massage is much more than just stretching. There is deep-tissue work and acupressure which are also involved in sports massage.
Hilliard said Thai Massage has its roots in India. The therapy traveled to Thailand as Buddhism traveled there.
"In those times, spirituality and medicine were linked together very tightly," Hilliard said. "The most well-educated people were the monks. They had trained doctors that would tend to their health so they could sit for hours and meditate."
"The original purpose of yoga and of Thai Yoga Massage was to prepare the body to be able to sit for long hours," Hilliard added. "It's hard to meditate/pray if the body is barking at you all the while."
Most of us don't meditate all day, and instead, spend hours at our desks or in our cars. Hilliard says that is not good for the body.
"The body develops bad habits (bad posture, hunched shoulders, etc.), and then the muscles become tight which in turn leads to tightness and pain," Hilliard said. "The muscles need permission to stretch and open. When the body is flexible, I think the mind and spirit can be as well."
To learn more about Thai Yoga Massage: http://denverintegrativemassageschool.com/
Monday night, the school clinic is hosting a fundraiser to raise money for the Thai flood-relief efforts.
"We will be donating 100 percent of our proceeds that night to the Thai Red Cross Society to help the victims of the Thailand floods," Hilliard said. "I have some contacts over there, and it's been way worse than most realize."
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