More Pichest ...1st Annual Chiang Mai Japanese/Greek Festival...Shaolin Tendon Massage

My departure date is approaching and I am ready as ever to get home and start integrating this experience into life back home. A feeling has developed over the last week that I have reached a peak and accomplished what I wanted in coming to Thailand. I feel incredibly fortunate and blessed to have been able to have this experience.

So what has been going on the last week?

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Things are in a state of transition at Pichest's. Jason, who has been Pichest's main assistant the last 5 months or so, had his last week this week. He is headed back to Tennessee to teach and practice Thai Massage at a retreat center in TN.

I feel really fortunate to have been here during Jason's run. His ability to articulate specific instruction in more detail (ie...in English) made it much easier to understand Pichest's vision of Thai Massage. And his massage work is at such a high level of expertise that to get to work with him, well I feel just plain lucky.

We got together at a rooftop bar in Chiang Mai for his going away party...







If you are in TN and want to receive some really special Thai Massage work
Jason's contact info is tamsabai@hotmail.com.

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In Jason's absence the roll of assistant has been handed to Noji. Noji has been with Pichest for the last few months and has been doing massage in Japan for the last year and a half or so. His style is completely opposite of Jason's but no less extraordinary. What I have learned by watching him is the potential for seemless flow (which I am far from at this point). When Noji is working, you don't even realize he has picked up your leg, stretched it, and set it back down...you just feel ease, lightness and energy flow...

One of the core principles of Pichest's style of Thai Massage is to go straight to the source of the problem, straight to the block, and move it out...Create openings in the energy lines and then move the stale energy out of the body. To do this properly you need to create softness and sensing skills in the palms so that (as the giver of the massage) you are able to find the blocks while encouraging the receiver (by your touch) to release and let go...It requires a state of total relaxation on the givers part (for any tension will immediately be felt by the receiver and interrupt the process)...this delicate balance of softness and strength is something Noji has already got figured out...









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One of the more powerful moments I experienced during the week was being witness to Pichest working on Yoshi (a Massage Therapist from Japan). I was sitting with Pichest discussing the ability to read people's bodies and assess how deep to work...(how much can the receiver take both physically and emotionally).

Yoshi came up and politely asked if he could interrupt. He explained it was his last day, and that in three weeks he has yet to have Pichest do any work on him. he wanted to know what it felt like to have Pichest work on him. Pichest looked at me as if to say, 'what do you think is the right way to respond?'...I looked at him blankly and waited for him to act.

He instructed Yoshi to practice on him first. After taking a really deep breath and getting centered, Yoshi went in on Pichest back. It appeared that being invited to work on Pichest was incredibly humbling for him and a special moment. Within minutes Pichest was gently barking out to Yoshi to relax his shoulder, to release his thumb and to move from the weight of gravity...'relax the body..too much tension...not like that...too much tension...relax the bodeeeee'

Pichest jumped up and had Yoshi sit in a cross legged seat. It seems that the whole time Pichest was receiving the massage he was mapping out where Yoshi was blocked. What happened next was beautiful. Pichest went right in on him and within 2 or 3 minutes had Yoshi on another planet. I got the feeling he learned more in that three minutes that in three weeks...just look at the look on Pichest's face...it tells so much..notice the focus on his face...notice his awareness is completely in his hands...his mind and his heart are in his hands receiving information and removing the blocks...amazing...








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Here are some shots from lunch time...just hanging out and enjoying moments with some good friends...









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At the end of the week the group from Pichest's decide to meet up on Saturday night for what would become the first Annual Chiang Mai Greek Japanese Festival. The Greeks would provide the Ouzo, Feta, Raki and the 'Halara' while the Japanese would bring the Sushi, Sake (actually this didn't happen as the Sake was too expensive) and the 'Domo Domo!'

Things started out slow as our festival consisted of one Greek girl (Thea...sorry for spelling errors..) and one Japanese girl (Miko...again..sorry..)...



...but by 9pm all had arrived and it was on. The First Annual Greek Japanese Festival was a huge success. Midway through the night we moved to a local Reggae bar for Mojitos and a mellow mood...I look forward to next years festival...











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Last, and so far from least, Kun Anon and the painful Art of Shaolin Tendon Massage. What is Shaolin Tendon Massage? Born from the Shaolin tradition of Kung Fu, it is a deeply intense massage of the tendons, structural realignment of the bones, and unhumanely strong pressure on the accupressure points (based on Chinese Medicine energy lines) to promote health.

What it is really is an exorcism for any deeply held tension and all I can recommend is that if you ever receive it...breath as deeply and often as you possibly can. I have my 5th session next week.

Today Kun Anon was on the rooftop of my building (his office is there) and I was able to get a picture with him... and he did some imprompt due work on my hands... (he is almost 60 years old by the way)...





He then let me sit in on a session to observe and learn some technique. It was the first time I saw the massage from this vantage point, and I am just glad that I didn't see this first or I might have never gone in for a session myself...I will say...it is the most efficient and effective bodywork I have ever received...it is just painful as all hell...







The thing is, the massage is directly on the tendon, so he has to move in on the tendon before the muscles have a chance to react and tense up...so the movements have to be percise, extremely fast and incredibly strong...he has been training in Shaolin Kung Fu for 35 years...he is friggin fast...and I have never actually witnessed this kind of strength in person. At one point I was asking him about muscle strength versus energetic (chi) strenghth...he held out his arm, filled the arm with energy (chi) and invited me to hit it as hard as I could...which I did...and I think I caught him laughing at me...it was like hitting steal...crazy...





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So I leave next Friday. I can't believe it... I will check in again as I get to California for my decompression (or maybe once more next week)...should be an interesting transition back to the states...I can't wait.

Much much love and many blessings...

Kevin

Meditation exercise...

I have recently received a couple of emails about these meditation drawings I posted in the past. "What are they supposed to be drawings of? What do they mean?"

So I will explain it and hopefully ease the mind of my friend who is concerned I have gone over the deep end. Now that I think about it, this might just completely convince him I have...ah well ; )... if you meditate or have any interest in the practice...I hope you find some inspiration or benefit in the following...if not, just skip it!

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There are endless forms of meditation. This is just one. In fact this could be described better as part visualization...part contemplation...with the potential to enter the experience of meditation. Consider it a tool to help focus the mind, bring vitality to the systems of the body, and to awaken the more subtle bodies of energy (prana, chi, kundalini (which are in essence the same thing...vital energetic life force).

This particular exercise also includes superimposing concepts in the mind such as 'joy', 'truth' or 'love' into the practice (much the same as the Buddhist meditation technique which focuses on Loving Kindness).

The idea being that you can willfully increase your sense of these virtues by focusing your attention on them for a few moments a day.

So for example...while your attention is at the root of the spine, you focus on a connection to the earth, you draw up energy from the floor and enliven the hips and pelvis. Moving upward through the body, in the lower belly you contemplate a sense of Joy, as you reach the solar plexus you contemplate Vitality, the heart...Unconditional Love, the throat...Truth/Honesty...etc...

The practice also includes visualization of "Chakras"...Chakra simply means "wheel". This philosophy being that there are energetic centers in the body that spiral at various rates and assist in the movement of the more subtle energy in the body. An imbalance in these energy centers can lead to poor health, emotional and mental disturbances, and a general sense of imbalance in the body.

With focus and attention you can increase their vibratory rate, create balance and symetry and expand them to infinite proportions. In this example each one has a color and their individual size isn't specific...it is just what I was feeling at the time.

Again, this is just ONE form of meditation, and for the sake of time, I am being extremely brief in the explaination.

So where do the drawings come in? Well I have been using this technique for about 2 and a half years now. The drawings first started out as a way to pass the time. But what I found, was the act of drawing the energy centers led to a deeper sense of connection to them. In the beginning (for me anyway) it took a lot of imagination to create the experience of spiraling loops of energy in the body, but over time I was able to drop the mental effort and simply experience the sensations in the body.

What resulted was access to an incredible resource of energy and vitality, clarity, stability, a sense of connection and a dramaticly increased ability to focus.

(Not a bad place to add a note that when one does start to experience these sensations and feels the increase of energy, non-attachment and humility are absolutely crucial if one hopes to continue their progression. Nothing will kill a practice faster than too much pride or arrogance in ones accomplishments or the fear of losing what has been attained.)

So here are a few photos that show the process (at least in a rudementary sense)...

Perhaps words and explanations just get in the way...take a look...if the images raise any questions, or elicit any response in your body well than great...if not well than great. I would be more than happy to discuss any of this stuff at length, just email me. (Although you might have noticed my email correspondance is suffering, I am about a month behind in responding).

Here is the drawing raw...



And then the slow build up of energy...







Then things start to really get cooking...the energy builds and starts to expand and move a bit...













Here it is in Technicolor...



So that is the deal on the meditation drawings...If you want to see some really beautiful stuff and this concept taken beyond hobby and to a divine level...visit cosm.org. Alex Grey will change your idea of the energetic body.

Much love and if I haven't emailed you back I am sorry!!! Time is limited here as you can imagine...

love love love.

Kevin

Life in Pai...Organic Gardens...Monks on Mopeds

I had no idea how stressed out I was until I got to Pai. It's a small town about 3 and a half hours northeast of Chiang Mai. People that have been there for years complain that it isn't like it used to be (where there was once 2 Internet cafes...there are now 12), but compared to life in Chiang Mai, Pai is all about the mellow.

The ride up was beautiful.

About a half hour into the trip there was a definitive drop in temperature (into the 60's) and the pollution disolved down to almost nothing (barring getting stuck behind some old trucks spitting out black exhaust). The road is a curvey one with incredible views, tucked away temples, waterfalls and the occasional meandering cow.

I have a 125cc motorbike which proved to be enough to get me up the steeper grades, but the lack of suspension took its tole on my recently opened lower back (the hotsprings would later reverse that). I stopped a couple times along the way to take in the view...have some coffee and rest the ars. Yes Mom, I was wearing a helmet...well...most of the time.

click to enlarge...









It was dark when I arrived and that first night I landed at a guest house that was more hut than house. I dumped my stuff off and went back into town to grab some food. Synchronicities being seemingly unending in Thailand, as I was stopped at a stoplight (one of the two in town) I heard someone calling my name. It was Billy, a friend from Pichest's (and yoga instructor in Iceland), he was up in Pai on a yoga retreat and was on his way to meet a group (more friends from Pichest's) for dinner. Within moments I was sitting down to eat with them feeling warm and at home. It was great to reconnect and we all ended up having a couple really nice nights out in town.

When I woke up in the morning I had a much better sense of my surroundings...when I said hut, I meant hut...









On the advice of James (pictured above with the goatee...by the way that is Ice Cream in those martini glasses...the french shop owner has been making it homemade for 13 years and it tastes like it) I decided to move guesthouses. His advice was spot on as the move was the turning point in my week...it was when I transitioned from relaxed to super-restoritive-ultra-hyper-relaxed. Rather than any big description of the place I will just let the pictures offer up their story...



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I will say this about the place... aside from having hammocks, an outdoor library, running fountains, a firepit (Run (the owner) lights fires every morning and evening), really comfortable rooms, and lush surroundings...Run and his wife also grow organic fruit and vegetables which they use to prepare the meals. The food was incredible...







I took several trips out to the hotspings over the course of the next few days. They are located about 7km out of town and the drive alone was incredible. Unfortunately I never got any pictures of the hotsprings. I guess some things are better left to memory alone. But I won't soon forget sitting in the shadows of the full moon soaking in 120 degree water in the cool moist Pai mountain air. I did get some nice shots on my rides back and forth....hence the Monk (well Monk in training anyway) on a Motorbike...









Back at Pichest's this week...It has already been a great couple of days there...the work is continuining to feel more integrated and easeful. Much much love to everyone and thanks again for all the support. I can't wait to get back but I could stay here forever. ; )

Kevin