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Thai
massage brings employment for the blind
AFP
Bangkok:
Thanks to its many health benefits, Thai massage is
enjoying a resurgence in the country of its creation,
shedding an image long associated with the seedy "massage
parlours" that proliferate here.
Thai
massage is an ancient technique which uses acupressure
and a series of bodily manoeuvres to open energy paths
and improve blood circulation.
"The
benefits are relaxation and better circulation to the
muscles," says Chirpan Vinaikulpong, a doctor in rehabilitation
medicine at Samitivej Hospital here. Massage masters
like Joseph Sribuapun, a practitioner for 26 years and
teacher for 17, have long been singing the praises of
the art - and its side benefit of creating employment
for Thailand's often-neglected blind.
On
a thin mattress laid beneath a small Buddhist shrine
and framed family photographs in his shophouse home,
Joseph, who has been blind since the age of eight, treats
up to seven clients a day.
Feeling
his way by touch as he kneels beside his client, Joseph
uses his hands, forearms and at times feet to rhythmically
prod as he feels for knots and twists in the muscles.
Joseph
was taught his trade by a 70-year-old masseur whom a
friend heard over the radio warning that the ancient
technique was dying out. "Older people were worried
about losing knowledge of Thai massage. All the good
Thai masseurs were almost gone because they were getting
old and dying," he says.
Eventually
he founded the Caulfield Foundation and started teaching
blind students himself. To date, some 300 masseurs have
graduated from his six-month course, among about 1,000
blind masseurs working in Thailand.
Pecharat Techavachara is another at the forefront of
training blind masseurs. He decided massage training
was a better bet than the usual agriculture or carpentry
courses.
"I
felt like massage was very good, because blind people
do not need any expensive tools (to perform it). What
they need are strong hands and a willingness to give
service to people," he says.
Source: The Times of India
Dated :30th September, 2002
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