Fourth Annual Traditional Thai Massage & Medicine Community Gathering Sharing Our Gratitude with the Community
We would like to invite you, your family, and friends to the"Fourth Annual Thai Massage and Medicine Community Gathering". This is our fourth year of creating a warm setting for an informal gathering of students, practitioners, and teachers, from all schools, to further our knowledge, share interests, and build community through participating in an annual educational event. One of the best parts is this year in celebration of the Thai Institute's 10th Anniversary, its completely FREE!!! We want to show our deepest appreciation to the entire community of Thai healers by coordinating and hosting this event while inviting you - at absolutely no cost. This year is sure to be the best year yet. We are celebrating our 10th anniversary with the following schedule of events. Save the Dates: August 16 - 18, 2013 Exposure to Thai Yoga "Luesii Dat Ton", three (3) one hour sessions. In-depth Thai massage guidance, nine (9) hours of bodywork practice with several internationally known instructors. Relax and recharge in our Thai herbal sauna four (4) hours over 2 evenings. Gain insight into the annual wai khru, its preparations and the ceremony itself. Expand your knowledge with seven (7) interactive workshops. Learn Thai culture from direct interaction with the Thai community. Direct access to teachers that have studied the Thai healing arts at the doctoral level as Doctors of Thai massage, Thai Herbalism, and Thai midwifery. Opportunity to connect with Thai healing arts professionals from all schools around the world. Its all FREE, no cost for you, your family, or friends. Includes 26 continuing education credits. Registration (RSVP) is requested. We look forward to interacting with you throughout the year and at this important community event - the only one of its kind. In the below, you will see the detailed schedule with descriptions of events. We look forward to connecting and reconnecting with you in August 2013. Entire 3 Day Community Gathering FREE - No Cost
August 16, 2013 – Day 1
8:00 AM	Doors Open - Event Registration - Connecting with Others
9:00	Daily Wai Khru (?)
9:30	Thai Yoga (“Luesii Dat Ton”) for Back Pain with Sararut Roylance (?)
10:30	Traditional Thai Culture for the Thai Healer: Understanding the Thai Massage and Thai Medicine Annual Wai Khru Ceremony (Part 1) (?)
12:30 PM	Thai Style Lunch at the Thai Institute with Massage Share (?)
2:30	Traditional Thai Culture for the Thai Healer: Understanding the Thai Massage and Thai Medicine Annual Wai Khru Ceremony (Part 2)(?)
6:00	Daily Wai Khru (?)
6:15 - 8:00	Thai Herbal Sauna & Open Mat Practice with Guidance from Teachers: Nikki Manzie, Steve Brown, Kristine Traucht, Rose Griscom, Sararut Roylance, and/or David Roylance (?)
August 17, 2013 – Day 2
7:00 AM	Doors Open - Connecting with Others
8:00	Thai Yoga (“Luesii Dat Ton”) for Leg/Hip Pain and Strengthening with Sararut Roylance (?)
9:00	Daily Wai Khru (?)
9:15	Spirit House Offering
9:30	Opening Ceremony with Thai Theravada Buddhist Monks
10:30	Traditional Thai Healing Arts - Annual Wai Khru(?)
12:30 PM	Thai Style Lunch at the Thai Institute with Massage Share(?)
2:30	Thai Healing Arts Workshops with Internationally Recognized Teachers (Session 1) (?)
	Throughout the event, participants will break into intimate groups in order to delve deeper into the Thai Healing Arts with internationally renowned teachers. Each participant can sign up for three 2-hour sessions, chosen from the following:
	Thai Herbalism: Integrating Herbal Sauna Treatments, Compress Massage, and Medicinal Teas into Your Wellness Practice with Kristine Traucht(?)
	Best Practices for Treating Chronic Pain using Thai Massage with Professional Thai Massage Practitioners of the Thai Institute of Healing Arts and Touch of Asia Therapy Centers(?)
	Meditation for Massage and Bodywork: Enhance Your Ability to Heal Through Meditation with Steve Brown(?)
	Best Practices for Successfully Introducing a Thai Healing Arts Practice in Your Local Community with Rose Griscom(?)
	Thai Shamanism: Calling the Plant Spirits to Improve Your Clients Health with Nikki Manzie(?)
4:15	Thai Healing Arts Workshops with Internationally Recognized Teachers (Session 2) (?)
6:00	Daily Wai Khru (?)
6:15 - 8:00	Thai Herbal Sauna & Open Mat Practice with Guidance from Teachers: Nikki Manzie, Steve Brown, Kristine Traucht, Rose Griscom, Sararut Roylance, and/or David Roylance (?)
August 18, 2013 – Day 3
8:00 AM	Doors Open - Connecting with Others
9:00	Daily Wai Khru (?)
9:30	Thai Yoga (“Luesii Dat Ton”) for Shoulders and Neck with Sararut Roylance (?)
10:30	Thai Healing Arts Workshops with Internationally Recognized Teachers (Session 3) (?)
12:30 PM	Thai Style Lunch at the Thai Institute with Massage Share (?)
2:30	Discussion Panel: Traditional Thai Massage, Thai Medicine, Thai Herbalism, and Thai Midwifery – Personal Discovery Discussion, hosted by: Sararut Pilakun Roylance and David Roylance (?)
4:00	Daily Wai Khru (?)

Entire 3 Day
Community Gathering
FREE - No Cost

Daily Wai Khru

Wai khru (pronounced like the English words "why crew") is the most important spiritual practice of the Thai healer. Wai khru means "appreciation for teachers and knowledge," and this is the formal ceremony in which a practitioner of Thai massage, or other healing art, shows appreciation for his or her teachers.

There are two types of wai khru; there is a daily wai khru that prepares the healer for their day of work with patients, and then a larger and more involved ceremony that  includes the entire community of students, practitioners, and teachers, which is referred to as the annual wai khru.

The daily wai khru is performed by individual healers within their healing space each morning and often times in the evening as well. At large clinics, schools, or medical facilities there may be several people in attendance. This ceremony helps to provide centering and grounding for the day ahead. For more information on the annual wai khru, see the below.

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Thai Yoga (“Luesii Dat Ton”) with Sararut Roylance

Thai Yoga or “Luesii Dat Ton” is an indigenous self-stretching and self-massage technique that has been used in Thailand for centuries to improve health and healing. Thai dancers, Thai kick boxers, and Thai massage practitioners often use Thai yoga as a way to provide self-care. Thai yoga can also be used to compliment a regular meditation practice. Warming up the body and mind before a dance, a fight, meditation, or before seeing massage clients is vital for peak performance.

Sararut Roylance, a native Thai who learned Thai Yoga with masters in Thailand, will host three morning sessions during our annual event. She will focus on helping you to understand Thai yoga as a self care practice for yourself and through this exposure, provide you the ability to recommend specific poses for your clients. In her three sessions, Sararut will focus on back, leg/hip, and shoulder pain – all common issues for massage therapists and bodyworkers. These same Thai yoga poses will assist clients with their common complaints between their massage sessions with you. These practices are a great way to start off your morning while participating in this event and learning a new skill for your healing arts practice.

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Traditional Thai Culture for the Thai Healer:
Understanding the Thai Massage and Thai Medicine Annual Wai Khru Ceremony

Each year, all of the major schools in Thailand host a large “wai khru” ceremony. This is an annual homecoming and gathering for the community of students, practitioners, and teachers to share their mutual appreciation for knowledge they have received from Thailand. It’s the most important and sacred ceremony for the Thai healing arts practitioner. Attendance to this event helps maintain a close connection between all the members of the healing community while providing an opportunity to connect and share with one another.

The seat of each major lineage in Thailand will host the annual wai khru. Most western students, practitioners, and teachers aren’t able to attend this event unless they happen to know when it is scheduled, or they happen to stumble upon it while visiting Thailand. If Westerners do attend, they are typically confused as to the individual elements and the meaning of the ceremony itself.

This year, David and Sararut Roylance will lead participants in developing a detailed understanding of the Annual Wai Khru ceremony. The symbolism of the items needed for the ceremony, how the offerings are created, and the actual setup. This will aid participants in developing a deeper understanding of the entire event and bring more meaning for attending the annual wai khru on the following morning. This will be a very interactive workshop with involvement from all of the participants.

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Thai Style Lunch at the Thai Institute with Massage Share

Participants will gather for a Thai style lunch with extra time to connect with others and share massage. The Thai Institute will coordinate lunch from a local Thai restaurant for all participants or you may bring your own lunch to eat. (Participants will be responsible for the cost of their lunch.) This informal lunch is a great way to kick back, relax, and enjoy time with others in the community while giving/receiving massage during lunchtime.

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Thai Herbal Sauna & Open Mat Practice with Guidance from Teachers: Nikki Manzie, Steve Brown, Kristine Traucht, Rose Griscom, Sararut Roylance, and/or David Roylance

At the conclusion of both Day 1 and Day 2, we invite participants to practice Thai massage using our equipment with the guidance of several internationally renowned teachers. We will also start up our Thai herbal sauna for participants to enjoy the benefits of herbal inhalation and some well deserved down time. In connection with her Thai herbal workshop, Kristine Traucht will provide a customized herbal recipe for our steam sauna each day.

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Entire 3 Day
Community Gathering
FREE - No Cost

Traditional Thai Healings Arts - Annual Wai Khru

Wai khru (pronounced like the English words "why crew") is the most important spiritual practice of the Thai healer. Wai khru means "appreciation for teachers and knowledge," and this is the formal ceremony in which a practitioner of Thai massage or other healing arts shows appreciation for his or her teachers. The teachers also show appreciation for the students through preparations to host the ceremony and by giving students gifts during the ceremony.

It is interesting to note that not only traditional medicine practitioners, but shamans, fortune tellers, Thai kick-boxers (muay thai), Thai dancers, and practitioners of many other arts each have their own wai khru ceremonies to show gratitude to their own teachers and lineages.

While many Western students and practitioners have learned an abbreviated wai khru ceremony and practice it on a regular basis, they are most often not able to attend the major annual ceremony in Chiang Mai. As part of our role in building a Thai massage and Thai medicine community in the West, the Thai Institute has the responsibility of conducting an annual major ceremony of wai khru here in the U.S.

We invite all practitioners of Thai massage and Thai medicine, along with their family and friends that are in any way interested to share in this annual celebration and learning event. Whether you studied with any teacher from the Old Medicine Hospital, Thai Institute of Healing Arts,Thai Massage Training Center Shivagakomarpaj, ITM, Pichest Boonthumme, Sunshine Network, Lotus Palm, or any other teacher, you are invited to participate in the ceremony in order to experience this traditional practice. If you are teaching or practicing a form of Thai massage that derives from the Old Medicine Hospital curriculum (which includes the vast majority of those in the west), we are particularly interested to ensure you know you are invited to attend this ceremony annually.

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Thai Healing Arts Workshops with Internationally Recognized Teachers

Thai Herbalism: Integrating Herbal Sauna Treatments, Compress Massage, and Medicinal Teas into Your Wellness Practice with Kristine Traucht
The practice of using Thai herbal theory with clients can often times be complicated,  presenting a struggle for the beginning student or even those with more advanced knowledge in other herbal traditions. Thai herbalism is a unique and complex discipline that has enough depth that it could be studied over a lifetime. Thai herbal doctors will typically prescribe herbs to patients as part of a detailed treatment plan along with a recommendation for Thai massage therapy. Thai massage practitioners will often times refer their patients to an herbal doctor for consultations. In this way, herbs and massage are frequently applied in conjunction with each other to help heal  patients.

In this workshop, Kristine will share detailed knowledge to help guide you in creating customized herbal recipes for your clients. She will show you how the blends you create can be applied to all three methods of integrating herbs into your wellness practice,  which includes saunas (inhalation), herbal compresses (direct application), and medicinal teas (ingestion). She will discuss specific herbs that address certain aliments and common health concerns, and will share with you how to select a source for your herbs, prepare them, and package them for professional use or retail in your healing arts practice.

Kristine Traucht is a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) and has operated a growing Thai massage therapy center in North Carolina and Colorado. She has practiced Thai massage since 2007 and is a Certified Thai Massage Instructor having graduated as a teacher from the Thai Institute of Healing Arts in 2012. Her current practice in Colorado includes several employees that specialize in Traditional Thai massage, Thai herbal massage, and creating customized herbal blends for clients. Kristine and her team create customized herbal compresses, medicinal teas, and sauna treatments that address client’s specific health needs. She has developed a wide range of popular medicinal herbal teas that are sold and enjoyed throughout the United States.

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Best Practices for Treating Chronic Pain using Thai Massage
Thai massage is known across the world for its ability to address significant health issues. Practitioners typically need to wait until more advanced training to learn how to treat specific disorders or even more commonly seen ailments.

In this workshop, our professional Thai practitioners will explain best practices for treating chronic pain that will aid beginners and even the most advanced practitioners in treating their clients. They will share best practices developed through our therapy centers for treating chronic pain such as significant back pain, neck pain, spinal injuries, sports injuries, artificial joints, arthritis, cancer treatments, Lyme disease, and fibromyalgia.

The professional practitioners currently staffed at both of our therapy centers, Touch of Asia and the Thai Institute of Healing Arts (see their bios by clicking on the links) treat over 10,000 clients per year using Thai massage as a medical treatment. Many of our practitioners are native Thais that started learning massage as a child from their parents, grandparents, and village elders in their home country of Thailand. This workshop will put you front and center with individuals actively working with chronic and debilitating pain using Thai massage to address clients’ health concerns.

Our practitioners will demonstrate how they treat chronic pain with Thai massage. You will have the ability to interact and ask questions related to the nature of treating pain and illnesses. This workshop is for Thai massage practitioners and teachers interested in learning detailed information on how to treat a host of conditions that you will encounter in your Thai massage practice.

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Meditation for Massage and Bodywork: Enhance Your Ability to Heal Through Meditation with Steve Brown
This workshop will focus on teaching meditation practices that will assist therapists in preparing for a day of massage sessions and improve their bodywork effectiveness with clients. Steve will introduce you to the concepts of awareness of breath and other essential aspects of developing a regular meditation practice. The techniques Steve shares will help you focus your healing intentions towards protecting yourself while also directing them towards healing your client.

Steve Brown has been a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) in the District of Columbia (Washington, DC) since 1997. He has been a Thai Massage Practitioner since 2002 and is a Certified Thai Massage Instructor at the Thai Institute of Healing Arts. He has studied meditation practices with several native Thai teachers including Thai Buddhist monks. The meditation teacher that has influenced him the most is Luang Pal Thannat Inthisan, PhD, a well-known Thai Theravada Buddhist Monk and abbot at Wat Thai DC in Silver Springs, MD. Steve lived with Luang Pal Thannat and several other Thai Buddhist monks while doing an intensive study of meditation in 2010. His kind and gracious teachers have helped him understand the importance of a regular meditation practice and how meditation can improve his bodywork and way of life. Steve has seen the benefits of meditation first hand through his daily meditation practice he’s incorporated to support his home, personal, and work life. He has been teaching meditation workshops publicly for several years through donation of his time and service. He invites you to learn with him at this year’s Thai massage and Thai medicine community gathering.

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Best Practices for Successfully Introducing a Thai Healing Arts Practice in Your Local Community with Rose Griscom
Learning Thai massage, Thai herbalism, or any aspect of Thai medicine is only the first step in creating a successful and thriving healing arts practice. It’s vitally important to also have a supportive community. Often times, practitioners and teachers are surprised to discover their community lacks even a basic understanding of the Thai healing arts and its benefits. The cultural divide is often times a challenge to negotiate. Proper guidance can help you keep the dream of a thriving practice on track and a viable reality.

Rose will share with you simple yet effective methods for introducing your Thai healing arts practice or school into a western community. She will offer advice and support developed over her 15-year history within the Thai healing arts field. Rose welcomes questions related to your specific challenges and struggles.

Rose Griscom is the Director and Lead Instructor of the International Thai Massage (ITM) school located in the USA. The late Arthur Lambert started ITM-USA in 1992 as a branch of ITM from Thailand. Chongkol Setthakorn founded ITM after teaching for 6-years with his cousin, Ajahn Sintorn Chaichakan at the Old Medicine Hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Today, ITM is a well-known school in Chiang Mai and across the Western world having won “The King’s Royal Award for Best Vocational School 2008” and several other prestigious awards. Rose studied with Arthur Lambert and Ajahn Chongkol before officially operating ITM-USA in 1997. Rose has assisted 1000’s of students to learn Thai massage and develop successful healing arts practices within their local communities.

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Thai Shamanism: Calling the Plant Spirits to Improve Your Clients Health with Nikki Manzie
This workshop will introduce you to the key concepts of Spirit Medicine and how to connect with plant spirits in your Thai healing practice. We will begin with an overview of Thai shamanism -- in particular, beliefs and practices with respect to plant spirits. From there, we will look through the lens of modern science to understand our connections and communications with the “kwan” (guardian spirits) of plants.  We will also explore the difference between surface (energetic) and deeper (spirit) medicine.  Finally, students will be given instruction on connecting with a plant spirit as ally or teacher, and how to develop and maintain that relationship as part of their healing practice.

Nikki Manzie supports individual and collective awakening through providing training in Yogatherapy, Traditional Thai Massage and Ayurvedic Marmatherapy.  Teaching since 1994 and offering trainings since 1998, she is currently Director of Eastern Therapies and Bodywork at Pacific Rim College in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada) where she teaches and guides a three semester collegiate program exposing students to Thai massage/medicine, Chinese Medicine, and Ayurvedic/Indian Medicine. Nikki studies and practices plant spirit shamanism as part of her on-going development in the world of healing arts.

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Entire 3 Day
Community Gathering
FREE - No Cost

Discussion Panel: Traditional Thai Massage, Thai Medicine, Thai Herbalism, and Thai Midwifery – Personal Discovery Discussion, hosted by: Sararut Pilakun Roylance and David Roylance

Advanced resources to deepen your understanding of Traditional Thai Massage, Thai Medicine, and Thai Herbalism are scarce within the English language. Thai medicine itself is bound by a strict ethical code that limits translation of serious medical texts. This can often leave Western students and practitioners lacking the personal detailed information they need to further their practice.

Native Thai and long-term teachers, Sararut Pilakin Roylance and David Roylance specialize in Traditional Thai Medicine, Thai herbal medicine, Thai midwifery, and Thai massage at the Doctoral level. In this question and answer session, they will field questions and open discussion on topics related to treating patients with Traditional Thai Medicine and Thai massage. Discuss, question, and learn this unique form of medicine hands-on with two long-term practitioners and teachers of the Thai healing arts.

Sararut Pilakun Roylance, Thai Medicine Doctoral Candidate, Thai Herbal Pharmacist, Thai Medicine Midwife, and Doctor of Massage has practiced Thai medicine for 30 years. Sararut has learned through the oral tradition, focused apprenticeships, and formalized instruction with Thailand’s top organizations including the Ministry of Public Health. Sararut holds instructor credentials within three (3) major lineages within Thailand. She has personally taught 1000’s of students in Thailand and has held several key positions within the Thai medical community. She currently serves as the Thai Institute of Healing Arts and Touch of Asia Therapy centers Director of Therapeutics, guiding the medical application of Thai massage to over 10,000 clients per year. She is also our Senior Instructor and Director of Charitable Projects.

David Roylance is the Executive Director of the Thai Institute of Healing Arts and Touch of Asia guiding our therapy centers, research center, and education center. His journey with the healing arts started as a hobby offering Thai massage as a lone practitioner working from the living room of his apartment. He has overseen and been directly involved in the treatment of over one hundred thousand clients while teaching 1000’s of students the art of Traditional Thai massage. He has been part of the Thai community in the USA and Thailand since 2001, where he has been exposed to a wealth of cultural knowledge largely in accessible to the average western. David has actively studied Thai massage and Thai medicine with several native Thai teachers since 2001. His teachers include Thai Shaman, Doctors of Thai Medicine, Doctors of Massage, Master Teachers of Indigenous Thai Folk Medicine, Thai Astrologers, village elders, and Master Thai Buddhist Monks. The community of Thai elders and Thai Buddhist Monks have asked him to function as a “Mo Phram”, a deep Buddhist practitioner, to perform important ceremonies like activating spirit houses, officiating Thai weddings, and leading large important Buddhist ceremonies infused with indigenous spiritual beliefs.

Sararut and David have studied, practiced, and taught traditional Thai medical and Thai massage knowledge at the doctoral level. They are happy to invite you to ask questions during this open discussion that will aid you in developing a healing arts practice based on concrete knowledge from seasoned practitioners. All questions are welcome.

Entire 3 Day
Community Gathering
FREE - No Cost