Maria Farfan

In order to establish a discipline one must first have the decision to practice regularly. Whether its a few stretches in the morning, a gym routine, going for a run 3x a week or simply sitting to observe the breath for an extended period of time, the key to improving is practicing with regularity.

In a yoga daily practice, one would ideally begin with meditation, then practice breathing techniques, move on to the asana, and complete the practice with a final meditation.

In my style of teaching I offer these teachings as a practice to do every day for benefit of mind, body and spirit.

I invite you to share practice with me

THAI MASSAGE TRAINING

Thai massage is an ancient healing practice developed over 2,500 years ago by Dr. Jivaka Komarabhācca, personal physician to the Buddha. The practice manifests as a fluid dance that synthesizes the knowledge and technique of several elements from yoga, Ayurveda, meditation and martial arts. The bodywork received revitalizes the body, balances the doshas and leads to a meditative state for both receiver and practitioner.

The foundational philosophies of this art are of sharing deep compassion for all sentient beings through the use of therapeutic touch as it expresses itself in the fluid posture sequences of the practice. Students will learn to offer a very effective massage technique, which is potentiated when practiced with the proper awareness.

These workshops are designed for massage therapists, yoga instructors and practitioners, therapists, psychologists, and anyone seeking to deepen their knowledge of therapeutic techniques in holistic healing

OBJECTIVES:

• Learn the positions and sequences to give a full body massage.

• Explore the use of the body (hands, forearms, elbows, knees and feet) as an integral tool during the massage.

• Understand concepts of Ayurveda and Buddhism as relevant for Thai massage and other types of massage.

• Create awareness of bodywork as a therapeutic space for the communion with self and others.

Level 1:

In the first level of Thai Massage, you will learn how to give a full session in the supine and prone positions. You will also gain an understanding of the energy system of Thai massage (Sen lines) and basics of Ayurveda which are useful in any kind of therapy, especially related to the understanding of doshas (Ayurvedic constitutions).

Level 2:

The second level offers complementary postures to the basic prone and supine postures and focuses mainly on sitting and sideline postures. This sequence can be used as a standalone therapy as well as a variation from the classic face-up/face-down paradigm. The theory of this class focuses on understanding and developing the Pāramitā (virtues in Buddhist philosophy) as vehicles for self-evolution and understanding energetic flows of the body according to the dosha of the recipient.

Level 3:

The postures shared in the third level are entirely sideline for anyone who has a difficulty lying on the belly or back for long periods of time. We will deepen on the understanding of Ayurvedic and Buddhist principles as relevant to the practice of massage.

Table Thai:

The adaptation of Thai massage to the table is a modern approach to the ancestral art that remains rooted in the core principles of Thai massage on the floor. The postures taught utilize the leverage of the table, and incorporate postures that allow easy access for the therapist so they can provide an effective session. The client remains clothed the entire time and it is such a different experience to receive than regular table massage, it will give you an advantage of new techniques that other therapists don’t offer on their table.

 

MATERIALS:

Students will receive training manuals for each one of the weekend courses they attend. Please attend the workshops in comfortable clothes and bring vegetarian food to share for lunch on Saturday and Sunday.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS FOR MASSAGE THERAPISTS

Each workshop grants 16 CEU hours, carried out over a full weekend (9 hours per day including lunchtime).

I teach courses across the US and Costa Rica through LMT Success Group as well as private lessons. The PayPal buttons below are for private lessons only, please contact me to schedule training dates. FOR CUSTOM DISCOUNTS OR SCHOLARSHIPS PLEASE CONTACT ME DIRECTLY maria.farfan.lmt@gmail.com

TUITION:

$75.00 Deposit to ensure your spot in the workshops. Deposit goes toward tuition

$300.00 each individual level

$550.00 for 2 weekend workshops

$800.00 if registers for all 3 levels at once

Vipassana

I DO NOT TEACH VIPASSANA, but do recommend my students to attend a 10-day course if they believe it will improve their lives. In order to register for a course click here. It is free of charge and donations are most welcome.

Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art Of Living. This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation.

Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.

The scientific laws that operate one’s thoughts, feelings, judgements and sensations become clear. Through direct experience, the nature of how one grows or regresses, how one produces suffering or frees oneself from suffering is understood. Life becomes characterized by increased awareness, non-delusion, self-control and peace.

The Tradition

Since the time of Buddha, Vipassana has been handed down, to the present day, by an unbroken chain of teachers. Although Indian by descent, the current teacher in this chain, Mr. S.N. Goenka, was born and raised in Burma (Myanmar). While living there he had the good fortune to learn Vipassana from his teacher, Sayagyi U Ba Khin who was at the time a high Government official. After receiving training from his teacher for fourteen years, Mr. Goenka settled in India and began teaching Vipassana in 1969. Since then he has taught tens of thousands of people of all races and all religions in both the East and West. In 1982 he began to appoint assistant teachers to help him meet the growing demand for Vipassana courses.

The Courses

The technique is taught at ten-day residential courses during which participants follow a prescribed Code of Discipline, learn the basics of the method, and practice sufficiently to experience its beneficial results.

The course requires hard, serious work. There are three steps to the training. The first step is, for the period of the course, to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual activity, speaking falsely, and intoxicants. This simple code of moral conduct serves to calm the mind, which otherwise would be too agitated to perform the task of self-observation. The next step is to develop some mastery over the mind by learning to fix one’s attention on the natural reality of the ever changing flow of breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils. By the fourth day the mind is calmer and more focused, better able to undertake the practice of Vipassana itself: observing sensations throughout the body, understanding their nature, and developing equanimity by learning not to react to them. Finally, on the last full day participants learn the meditation of loving kindness or goodwill towards all, in which the purity developed during the course is shared with all beings.

The entire practice is actually a mental training. Just as we use physical exercises to improve our bodily health, Vipassana can be used to develop a healthy mind.

Because it has been found to be genuinely helpful, great emphasis is put on preserving the technique in its original, authentic form. It is not taught commercially, but instead is offered freely. No person involved in its teaching receives any material remuneration. There are no charges for the courses – not even to cover the cost of food and accommodation. All expenses are met by donations from people who, having completed a course and experienced the benefits of Vipassana, wish to give others the opportunity to benefit from it also.

Of course, the results come gradually through continued practice. It is unrealistic to expect all problems to be solved in ten days. Within that time, however, the essentials of Vipassana can be learned so that it can be applied in daily life. The more the technique is practiced, the greater the freedom from misery, and the closer the approach to the ultimate goal of full liberation. Even ten days can provide results which are vivid and obviously beneficial in everyday life.

All sincere people are welcome to join a Vipassana course to see for themselves how the technique works and to measure the benefits. All those who try it will find Vipassana to be an invaluable tool with which to achieve and share real happiness with others.

THE INFORMATION HERE GIVEN IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, TO LEARN MORE GO TO THE OFFICIAL VIPASSANA AS TAUGHT BY S. N. GOENKA site.

source: Dhamma.org