“We overestimate what we can achieve in a couple of months and underestimate what we can achieve in 3 to 5 years”

This is what I also tell my students at the end (also at the beginning) of any course I am teaching at Blue Garden Chiang Mai. So many students who come to Chiang Mai are highly motivated to learn Thai massage and believe that this can be done in a short period of time. Then, at the end of the course, they see what they are capable of doing, which is perhaps not conquering what they thought they could do. I am also using this quote. And it’s true look at any ability; learn a new language, learn a profession. It takes time, dedication, motivation and failure. Nobody becomes an accountant in just a couple of weeks or a great chef. It takes time. And the same goes for Thai massage, it takes more than a couple of weeks, requires training, touches a lot of bodies. And when you want to become a good therapist, give yourself this time and permission to grow, don’t rush it.

So when you come to Chiang Mai to become a Thai massage therapist. How to practice patience:

Spend time learning the basics; After a 1 week or 2 week beginner course including an advanced Thai massage course. It will completely overwhelm you and you will feel lost. Instead, do the beginner course again, maybe 2-3 times.

When you are a beginner, do not enroll in teacher training; Imagine that you have never done Thai massage, never given a professional massage before, and you think of becoming a teacher in just 3 months. Just think how ridiculous it really is; You have never done Thai massage and in 10 weeks you are trained to be a teacher. (maybe trade Thai Massage for Counter or Nursing). What kind of teacher will you be? Use your time to focus on the basics and fundamentals

Take and plan time to practice; Let’s say you are lucky and have the chance to come to Chiang Mai for a longer time, maybe 2 or 3 months. When you finished a course, the following week you don’t go to another training. Do the course you just did again or better find a friend to practice with. Review and practice the material for the next 1-2 weeks and then perhaps repeat the course again. There are centers and schools (also our place Blue Garden Thai Massage training Chiang Mai) that give you the possibility to use their space to practice

Spend time learning the basicsyes; This is not a typo. I put this in 2 times, to emphasize the importance of learning and practicing the basics, your foundation. The basics are the foundation of the practice, when the foundation is solid and strong it will make your career much easier. When I was learning I spent an enormous amount of time mastering the basics and it really paid off. Having seen the benefits in both myself and my students, this is one of the main reasons why I organize the intensive 1 month Thai massage training once a year. This month we are completely focused on learning the fundamentals of Thai Massage, intensive teaching and lots of practice.

warmly…

rowing