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Dating back to the first time human touched human in a sympathetic gesture, massage is one of the oldest of the healing arts. There are records of formalized massage from over 3000 years ago in China. A favorite therapy of the ancient Hindus, Persians and Egyptians, massage was recommended by the great Greek scholar Hippocrates who published documents praising the use of rubbing and friction for joint and circulatory problems.
     

It is now believed that around 2600 years ago, Doctor Jivaka Komarabhacca began experimenting with a slow, stretching type of massage. He realized that his patients, especially those who suffered from restricted movements, displayed excellent recovery rates when the energy lines running through their bodies were stimulated through Nuad Bo-Rarn, or Ancient Massage.

At the request of Lord Buddha, Jivaka spread this knowledge through the Sangha, the Buddhist line of monks and nuns, and they practiced the technique and learned of its ability to focus the mind. Today the massage is still used in preparation for extended periods of meditation.
     

When Buddhism began to spread to other parts of Asia, the monastic medical institutions took all their practices along as integral parts of the religious system. When Buddhism reached Thailand in the 3rd to 2nd century BC, temples were built with adjacent dispensaries and medical schools.

Massage and other healing arts were taught and applied in these monasteries and handed down from teacher to student using an oral tradition.
Bihar, India.
A Mango Garden marks the site where Jivaka dressed the wounds of Buddha when he was injured by his unfriendly cousin, Devdutta.
     

Sacred texts about Nuad Bo-Rarn were recorded in the Pali language, but the majority were destroyed when the capiital of Ayuthia was destroyed by the Burmese in 1776. King Rama III had the best of the surviving texts collected and inscribed in stone in 1832. These were placed in the walls of Phra Chetaphon Temple (Wat Pho) in Bangkok, and they can still be seen there today.
     

It is certain that the massage orginated in Indian Ayurvedic practice, and its connection to yoga and Chinese medice is apparent from the use of stretching movements and accupressure points. In modern practice, with the adaptation of flowing transitional movements and a deeper focus on energetic sensations, a strong link to Tai Chi has also been established.
Epigraphs
A quintet of stones at the Medicine Pavilion in Wat Pho, Bangkok, shows front and rear pressure points in the human body.
     
 

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