TOUCH
as a
WAY OF LIVING
As a practitioner, educator,
partner and mother, the practice
of touch has permeated Nephyr’s
entire household. When making
comment on the role it has played
in their lives, she notes, “I can say
with certainty that while we may
not have perf ect health, we are
far healthier for the Thai medical
knowledge that exists in our
household”. She even goes on to
do without it being necessary
for a formal treatment setting.
For example when her child
experiences growing pains, “Thai
bodywork naturally ensues on
the couch in a lazy assortment
of compressions and percussive
techniques”. Helping to alleviate
discomfort is just one of the many
potential benefits of touch, but one
that is often prominently noticed
My faith in these remedies has become absolute
an interview with
NEPHYR JACOBSEN
Nephyr
Jacobsen, an internationally
recognized educator of Thai Massage (and
the broader field of Thai Medicine) shares
with us a glimpse of her family life, and how
this age-old practice has influenced the
way touch is utilized in their every day.
say that her child and husband
probably have more knowledge of
Thai bodywork and Thai medicine
as a whole, than most of her
students! They’ve lived it, they’ve
breathed it and it’s become a part
of who they are.
In the same way we have our
routines of brushing teeth and
sharing a dinner meal around the
table, so too has Thai bodywork
become a routine part of their day.
Nephyr explains that it’s become
a casual part of everything they
by many who receive treatments.
The
difference
between
‘treatments’ and the way Nephyr’s
family uses touch highlights a
supreme level of comfort and
familiarity with compassionate
physical contact. It demonstrates
our natural states as humans – a
natural state that we have often
veered away from, not only in
social settings but also within family
units – with families not knowing
how to utilize touch to care for
one another, to communicate, to