Dan,
Please continue your interest in Thai massage, it is very beneficial
work.
Ayurvedic medicine is what Thai massage is founded on, it is Thai
massage. Without a belief or understanding of Ayurveda (Thai
Medicine), a practitioner is not really doing Thai massage. The
framework of western anatomy and physiology lends a great deal of
understanding to the function of the physical body. Though Thai
massage can simply not be understood from the limited physical
viewpoint of western medicine. Like all the yoga practitioners with
no knowledge of prana, do not effectively practice yoga, might as
well just call it stretching. Thai massage is a sublte art in the
workings of mind-body consciousness.

In your service,
James

www.geocities.com/east_west_healing

--- In instituteofthaimassageforum@yahoogroups.com, "dan_elbourne
<splundig73@h...>" <splundig73@h...> wrote:
> hi,
>
> how important is it for a practitioner of thai massage to
> believe in ayurvedic medicine? can thai massage be understood, and
> practiced purely within the framework of western anatomy and
> physiology? after all, how many yoga practitioners believe in
prana,
> how many tai chi students believe in qi / chi?
>
> thanks, dan :)