Although some Thai Massage schools and lineages assert that the ten primary Sen Lines start at the orifices of the body, in the majority of cases it’s thought that the Sib Sen Energy Lines start around the navel. Having said that, it depends on the Thai Massage lineage, massage school, or teacher where exactly around the navel they have their beginning.
For instance, some claim that all the lines start just below the navel, others say around it in a circle or near the solar plexus, and again others state that all start from one single point near the navel, etc. In addition, the distances to the navel are often measured in “finger-width” or “thumb-width” distances, which creates quite some confusion.
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Nevertheless, what all these theories have in common is that the area of the navel (or the “center of the abdomen”) is the location where all the Sib Sen start. In Thai Massage, these Sen Starting Points are considered important acupressure points; in fact, they are considered “the doors” for Prana Life Force (Lom Pran) to enter the Sen Energy Lines.
Hence, in a Full Body Thai Massage you will often see that the therapist will give quite some focus on working with the abdomen, typically by also including some acupressure work on the Sen Starting Points.
Each Sip Sen Line also has its own ending, and keeping those “open” is of importance for the proper throughput and circulation of Life Force Energy. Thus, just as with the Sen Starting Points, massage sessions usually also include acupressure work on the Sen Endpoints (also called Sen Ending Points or Sen Termination Points).
When we then look at the main lines of the ten principal Sen Lines (not the extension lines or branches), we can discern the following ten Sen Starting Points and associated Sen Endpoints, the latter typically associated with the orifices or gates of the body:
- Sen Sumana starts about two thumbs-width distance above the navel (although depending on the Thai Massage lineage it starts a bit higher at the location of the solar plexus) and ends in the mouth (depending on the Thai Massage lineage either at the tip of the tongue or at the base of the tongue);
- Sen Ittha starts at one thumb-width distance left of the navel and ends at the left nostril (depending on the Thai Massage lineage Sen Ittha may also end at the inside corner of the left eyebrow);
- Sen Pingkhala starts at one thumb-width distance right of the navel and ends at the right nostril (depending on the Thai Massage lineage Sen Pingkhala may also end at the inside corner of the right eyebrow);
- Sen Kalathari starts just above the navel (about one thumb-width distance) and has multiple endings: all the tips of the fingers and all the tips of the toes;
- Sen Lawusang starts about three thumbs-width distance above the navel and ends at the back of the left ear;
- Sen Ulangka starts about three thumbs-width distance above the navel and ends at the back of the right ear;
- Sen Sahatsarangsi starts two thumbs-width distance below the navel and ends under the left eye;
- Sen Thawari starts two thumbs-width distance below the navel and ends under the right eye;
- Sen Nanthakrawat, with two distinct channels, starts three thumbs-width distance below the navel and ends in the excretion organs (one in the urethra and one in the anus);
- Sen Khitchanna, with two different channels depending on being male or female, starts three thumbs-width distance below the navel and ends in the genitals.
