Burma and Back...more thai massage...a moment of clarity

I spent the day in the car yesterday. My visa expired on the 5th of Feb. so I headed to the border to get stamped. Boarder runs are pretty common place here. From Chiang Mai, one of the closest crossing points is Mae Sae, the boarder town just across the bridge in Myanmar (Burma). It is about a 3 and a half hour drive and costs about 600 bhat (around 14 dollars) round trip. To cross the boarder costs 5$.

I had about two hours in Burma to walk around, shop, eat...do whatever. As boarder towns go it is pretty typical. The moment you cross the bridge you are bombarded with locals trying to sell you all kinds of stuff...from cigarrettes, jewelery and fruit to knives, porn DVDs and guided jungle tours.





To offer any thorough observation of the country with such limited exposure is a bit rediculous, but I can say I did feel a tangible difference as I crossed the bridge. Signs of poverty seemed more abundant, the roads degrade immediately, there where many children and women in the streets (holding their hands in prayer) begging for money and the sales people seemed more assertive in pushing their product.





I ended up having a conversation with a very articulate Burmese guy who was a young 'freelancer'. He spent his days fishing for tourist 'willing to invest' in transportation, hotels, or jungle tours. As soon as he realized I wouldn't be buying anything, he dropped his schtick. We got to talking about his feelings about his life in Burma and what struck me most was his abundant sense of contentment and peace. He was bright and full of life and he didn't have a thing by 'western' standards. Again just a great reminder that we don't need much to have true happiness.

The drive home took a bit longer with afternoon traffic, but I had many moments of pure enjoyment as I realized again and again how lucky I am just to be driving through the countryside of thailand taking it all in...


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Meanwhile...back at Pichest's...



So with each week at Pichet's comes a new group of practioners arriving from all over the world. With each group comes new group dynamic, new energy and a seemingly new methodology of teaching from Pichest. Watching how and what he chooses to teach based on who is in the room has been one of the greatest teachings. His teachings are like mercury, they shift and move looking for the path of least resistance that will prove to be the most effective and helpful.

This past week had a particularly strong vibe to it. Pichest method seems to be in line with the great master teachers. He looks right past the ego, right past any reason and intellect, and assesses a student based on their connection to their heart/spirit/body. His level of frustration seems to correlate with the strength of the students ego. I use the term frustration loosely as even when one is being chastised for being too much in their ego, it is done with a pure heart and divine truth...all be it as blunt as him shouting out..."Ohhh terrible!" (while pretending to whack you on the head with an old cane)

The group was ready to work and we got right to it. One of the great things about studying with Pichest is the hands on nature of the work...here is what I mean...it is like a feeding frenzy on Costas's legs...As Pichest describes how to read the leg, how to find and move blocks...everyone pokes around until they gain a sense of it. If you have any issues with human contact this is not the place for you (or it is exactly where you need to be)...






On Tuesday he spent the entire day talking about how to work on people that are too tight to recieve Thai Massage. Wether it be emotional tension or physical tension he talks a lot about being very descriminitive in giving the massage..."If too much emotion...too much tension...too much fighting in the mind...massage no good...make person feel worse...maybe need just talking...then massage later.' And he is always talking about not being concerned with completing the sequence from A to Z...he says, "Sense on the body...feel...feel where blocked...where tension...work there...most important to be sensitive...not just do do do!' A very valuable teaching...







Pichest then spent the next hour just sitting against the wall playing with his grandson while the rest of us practiced...the two of them playing and laughing like babies...





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As for me and my massage practice...well something happened this week, something clicked. For the first time I was able to let go of my ego (my intellectual/ judgemental mind...my concern for right or wrong...good or bad)and I entered into a flow with the receiver. My hands moved to the next place on the body without the help of my mind telling it where to go. I followed the blocks, followed the tension, and slowly worked them out of the receiver's body. We worked for 3 hours and I didn't break a sweat. It was effortless, pure and crystal clear. I was left with a sense of total rejuvenation and absolute clarity...much the same 'high' as I get from a good yoga class.

It proved to me how powerful this practice is. All is well and good in theory and philosophy, but experiencing the practical application of such things and having a visceral frame of reference is both inspiring and utterly humbling. My mistake would be to expect or anticipate this to happen every time, so for now I just take it for what it was, a great moment of clarity.

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A final note...unfortunately as great people come into the studio, they also go...It was Tali's last day on Friday, she lives and practices in Connecticut...she has a very nurturing and healing touch to her massage...If you are in Connecticut look her up (http://taliserota.com). The photo is taken at the entrance to Pichest's studio...



Here are some more shots from around Pichest's studio...











Thanks again to everyone for their correspondance and encouragement, it really helps. I have a month left to drink all of this in. I am taking this week off from my studies and will be heading up to Pai. I hear it is a town filled with hot springs, yoga, meditation, good food and good people...I will report back when I get return to chiang mai.

Much love,

Kevin