This therapeutic and highly soothing form of massage purportedly evolved from Brahmin hermit ascetics some 2,500 years ago, who relieved the stress of extended periods of meditation by adopting certain postures. Today, those practised in the art can bring great relief to the tired 1\i-sterner, reducing muscle stress and bringing a sense of well-being to the body.

A school of traditional Thai massage is located in Wat Pho Tel: 66 2221 2974, where a two-week course costing 4,500 baht is taught for anyone interested in mastering this unusual and fascinating art. To leave the Kingdom without having a traditional Thai massage or a nuat phaen boran is like leaving Baden Baden without visiting a spa. Nuat phaen /Juan is a vigourous, even euphoric experience which is the product of ancient oriental medicine.

Its origins date back to India two and a half millenia ago where it was practised before the lifetime of the Buddha. The popularity of traditional Thai massage reached a peak about 200 years back. King Rama III ordered all the available knowledge to be inscribed on stone slabs which were set up in the compound of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha or Wat Pho.

These stone inscriptions can still be seen there today; they show diagrams of the human body with certain key points marked. It is the skilled, controlled application of pressure by the masseur's hands at these crucial body points that stimulates the patient's blood circulation and so effects cures. The ancient massage techniques practised in their original form are known for their ability to cure or alleviate various disorders such as epileptic fits, early stages of paralysis and speech defects as well as more common ailments including fevers, headaches, backaches, stomachaches and those stemming from nervous tension.