One of the most mindboggling inconsistencies with regard to the Thai Sen Lines is that there are different chart versions to be found as far as it concerns the trajectories the Sib Sen take in our bodies.
eBook | Click for details
It depends on the Thai Massage school, teacher, or lineage what version of Sen Line charts are considered authoritative. That perhaps doesn’t help the credibility of the Sen Lines system, but we need to understand that there are historical reasons behind this phenomenon.
As it is, the current knowledge of the Sen Sib Energy Line trajectories comes from various distinct Thai medical texts and from stone inscriptions at the Wat Pho temple in Bangkok, and in those disparate sources the Sen Sib (partly) have different trajectories. These discrepancies are thought to have arisen because different Sen Line maps (or Sen Line charts) seem to have focused on different therapeutic aspects, resulting in slightly different designs.
It also means that the location of a given Thai Acupressure Point may be attributed to a different Sen Energy Line. Nevertheless — and most fortunately — the most important pressure points seem to have the same therapeutic indications, no matter what Sen Line they’re thought to make part of.
In fact, historically it seems that pressure point knowledge predated the idea of Pranic Energy Channels, notably when we take the Indian Vedic scriptures into consideration. That is, in the Indian Vedic era (roughly between 1500 BC and 500 BC) the idea of Bindu developed, which were defined as secret or mystic points in the body that could influence a human being on the physical, energetic, psychological, sexual, mental, and/or spiritual level. Pressing or otherwise manipulating these vital points — which today in Ayurveda are more commonly called Marma Points — could harm or heal a person.
eBook | More info here
It may be that the Pranic Energy Channel system developed only afterwards, defined as certain combinations or sequences of Bindu or Marma Points in the body. Yet, it may also be that both systems developed separately, and were only later in time “mapped upon each other.” Today, it seems almost impossible to know what exactly the case was.
Now, although each major acupressure point mostly has the same function across different Thai Healing Arts lineages, it still makes a difference when you think in terms of giving Sen Line Therapy. The latter is typically designed with the therapeutic indications of the Sen Lines in mind, and theoretically it could mean that — when holding on too rigidly to the idea of working only on the Sen Lines indicated for a certain illness or discomfort — one could “miss out” on treating certain acupressure points (which are indicated for those ailments) that do not lie along the Sen Lines one intends to work on.
Nevertheless, because Thai Massage therapy is often applied as a Full Body Massage, the massage therapist will most likely “bump into” all the relevant body areas and acupressure points that need to be worked on.
Receive occasional news about our new eBook and Video Workshop publications.
