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Review in the LIGHT CONNECTION
Escondido CA, October 2009
Therapeutic Massage Of Thailand
By: Betse Bernstein, HHP;
100-minute DVD; 2009;
ISBN: 978-0-9821694-0-7; $49.99;
Oooooh, wouldn't a great Thai massage be just what the doctor ordered! Right now. I could call Betse. But wait—she's made a DVD! Let's open it up. This is great. Her specialty is low back and sciatic work—just what I need.
On this informative DVD, Betse demonstrates and explains her own version of Thai massage, beginning with the guided meditation she uses to help clients relax and tune in to their bodies and taking you all the way through each step of the massage, explaining each step and why it's done the way it is.
She begins the massage with the feet, moving up the legs to the groin, massaging, pressing and stretching, energizing the body through the three “Sen” lines – energy lines similar to the meridians in Chinese medicine – on the feet and legs. Then we move to leg stretches, for relief with the hamstring muscles, lower back and sciatica. Moving up the body, she guides you through massaging the chest and abdomen to help with digestion and lung issues. Now you move to massaging and stretching the arms, hands, neck and head.
Next, Betse shows how to massage a person lying on their side can be effective for sore shoulders and back, how to use a back position with stretches to relieve sciatic pain, and stretches to be done in a sitting position. Finally, she gives instruction for massaging muscles around the knees, using a Tui Na technique for tennis elbow that can offer total relief in just five minutes.
Betse's Thai massage is not like any other you've ever experienced. A practitioner since 1993, she taught Thai massage at Natural Healing Institute in Encinitas for five years. Although she uses the techniques of Tui Na, she applies them in ways she has found most successful for relieving aches and pains and getting the energy moving to stimulate the body to take better care of itself. Betse's explanations are clear, the sound quality is high, and the visuals leave no doubt as to how to do what she's telling you to do.
I recommend this DVD to anyone who enjoys giving a good massage, including massage therapists who would like to integrate another modality and even Thai practitioners open to benefiting from Betse's knowledge and wisdom.
Reviewed by—Chiwah
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