About Our Instructors

Sararut (Sara) Pilakun
Senior Instructor
sara @ thai-institute.com

Education & Training
Sararut has an extensive background of training and experience.  Massage and healing is part of her family heritage and a way of life for her.  

Sararut started her informal massage training early in life at age 9 in the remote village of Udonthani, 10-hours outside of Thailand's capital city of Bangkok.  She learned massage directly from her mom.  Sararut's mom is well known in her village for assisting residents by using Traditional Thai Massage and herbal medicine for healing.  Sararut started a more formal apprenticeship with her mom at the age of 19 in their remote village outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand.  She learned first hand how to create specific herbal remedy for certain disorders.

As Sararut's skill and passion grew, she decided to make healing not only her way of life but her career.  She has formal training and education totaling over 1500 hours with a significant focus on Traditional Thai Healing.  

Sararut is very gracious to her kind, warm and patient teachers including: Ajahn Sohnatda Panchee, Ajahn Chalerm Vongsiri, Ajahn Supol Lohachitkul, Ajahn Terry Liew, Ajahn Vicki Weber, and Ajahn Sumson Chaiypakdee.

Sararut has graduated from several well known and prestigious schools in Thailand.

(2006)
Traditional Thai Massage (60-hours) – Nakhonpathorn Provincial Center

(2004)
Certified Thai Massage Instructor – Ministry of Public Health (Thailand)

Certified Traditional Thai Massage Instructor – The Union of Thai Traditional Medicine Society (Thailand)

Certified Traditional Thai Massage Instructor - Thai Traditional Medical Services Society (Thailand)

Confederation of International Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology (CIBTAC)
(Chiva-Som International Academy - Thailand)

(2003)
Reflexology Massage (60-hours) – The Union of Thai Traditional Medicine Society 

Traditional Thai Massage (280-hours) – KlongToey District Education Center

Traditional Thai Massage (410-hours) – The Union of Thai Traditional Medicine Society

Aromatherapy Massage (60-hours) – The Union of Thai Traditional Medicine Society

Sararut is an accomplished Certified Thai Massage Practitioner and Certified Thai Massage Instructor having been employed at many top spas throughout Thailand.  She founded her own company in Thailand to provide consulting services to spas throughout the country and has trained 100's of Therapists in Thailand through her own company and her position as Training Manager at Cheraim Spa Village

Professional Affiliations
Sararut is certified by The Union of Thai Traditional Medicine Society (Thailand), The Ministry of Public Health (Thailand) and is a member of the Association of Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP-USA) and an approved Instructor of the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB).  She holds professional certifications in Thailand and the USA qualifying her as a Certified Thai Massage Instructor.  

Experience
Sararut has taught 100's of students the gift and art of Thai healing. She has the ability to comfortably communicate knowledge from ancient Thailand inaccessible to westerner students.  She has taught classes in Thai and English.

David L. Roylance
Director
david @ thai-institute.com

Education & Training
David graduated from Salisbury State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems Management in 1997 and then started a career in the corporate world of Information Technology progressing through the ranks of management.  He always had a strong passion for helping others and found himself always looking for ways to help his employees grow their career and gain further education.

David has been apart of the Asian community of Washington, D.C. since 1993 and has completed personal research into multiple Asian cultures.  He was encouraged by those in the Asian community to seek out exposure to Thai culture as they felt it fit him well.

He followed the recommendation and a trip to Thailand in December 2002 changed his world forever.  David went to a working temple in Bangkok, Thailand to receive a Thai massage.  David immediately fell in love with the rich culture and healing touch of the Thais.  After returning home, he sought out education and training in Traditional Thai Medicine.

Over the course of several years, he completed a nationally recognized program certified by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) teaching authentic Thai massage, Thai herbal massage, Advanced Techniques for Thai Massage, Traditional Thai Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine, and he completed a rigorous Thai Massage Teacher Certification program.  David is regularly invited as a guest speaker at massage schools and other educational venues across the region.  He has published several articles on the topic of Thai massage and traditional Thai medicine.

David is the founder of Touch of Asia, a successful Thai Therapeutic Massage Center located in Northern Virginia.  His personal goal is to continue to advance Thai Healing Arts in the USA while maintaining the purity of the ancient healing knowledge from Thailand.  He feels its utterly important for those financially benefiting from Thailand's indigenous knowledge to contribute back to Thailand.  The Thai Institute of Healing Arts contributes significant resources and financial contributions to help the people of Thailand.

Professional Affiliations
David is a member of the Association of Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP).  He is accredited by the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTNB) as a Certified Thai Massage Instructor.   He is a member of the board of advisors for Banner College Massage Therapy program and the Bowling Brook Preparatory School.  

Experience
David has taught 100's of students the gift and art of Traditional Thai massage.  He has even taught many students native to Thailand.  He creates a relaxing yet informative classroom environment that makes learning fun, exciting, safe, and challenging.  He has a true passion for teaching that comes across in every interaction with him.

Pierce Salguero, M.A., PhD Candidate 
Senior Instructor

Education & Training
Pierce graduated from the University of Virginia in 1996 as an anthropologist with a focus on Asia, and traveled to this part of the world shortly afterward. He soon fell in love with Thailand's unique culture and rich history, and what started as a short trip turned into a lengthy stay. He lived and studied there from 1997 to 2001, researching Thai medical traditions, learning formally and informally about Thai culture, and exploring an interest in Buddhism through extended stays at Thai meditation centers and monasteries.

Pierce received training as a practitioner of massage and herbal medicine in Chiang Mai, Thailand's vibrant center of traditional medicine. He apprenticed with individual healers such as Lek Chaiya and Mama Nit, and completed a basic course, internship, and teacher certification at the renowned Shivagakomarpaj Traditional Medicine Hospital's school of Thai medicine. With the blessing of his teacher,  Pierce founded Tao Mountain upon his return to the U.S. in 2002 as a branch of the Shivagakomarpaj lineage. When he started teaching, he wanted to provide students an experience as close as possible to the one he received during the time he spent living and studying in Asia.

Throughout this time abroad, Pierce was conducting research into the history, philosophy, and practice of Thai medicine from both an academic and an practitioner's standpoint. The fruits of this research have been his published books.

Pierce moved back to the U.S. primarily to pursue graduate studies, and for the past several years his academic research has remained focused on Asian medicine. Since his return, he received his Master's Degree from the University of Virginia. Pierce wrote his Master's Thesis on the cultural history of Thai medicine, particularly focusing on the interplay between Ayurvedic and folk medicine in Thailand.

Now, he is researching Asian medicine in the History of Medicine Department at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Pierce is currently working on a Ph.D., with a concentration on the connections between Buddhism and medicine in South and East Asia. He is interested in the formative period of 500 BC to 500 AD, the period of time which gave rise to the traditional Asian healing systems which we know today. He is also interested in the integration of traditional Asian medicine in the modern hospital setting.

Professional Affiliations
Pierce is a member of the Association of Traditional Northern Thai Medicine, the American Herbalists Guild and the Associated Bodywork and Massage Professional. He is accredited by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB). He is also a member of several academic associations, including the International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine (IASTAM), the Association of Asian Studies (AAS), and the American Association for the History of Medicine (AAHM).

Publications
Articles Pierce has written on the subject of traditional Thai medicine have appeared in magazines and newspapers nationally and internationally. He is the author of A Thai Herbal, the only English-language guide to Thai Herbal Medicine, and The Encyclopedia of Thai Massage , the most comprehensive book on Thai massage therapy in print. A third book in this series, The Spiritual Healing of Traditional Thailand, is now available, as is an academic book entitled Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Ayurveda. He has also written numerous articles on Thai traditions in magazines such as Yoga Journal, Massage Magazine, Natural Awakenings, Whole Life Times, and others.