Thai Sib Sen – Sen Ittha

Sen Ittha is one of the 10 main Thai Sib Sen or Sen Energy Lines known from Thai Massage and Thai Yoga (Reusi Datton). Other names used for Sen Ittha are Itha, Itta, Ida, or Eeda.

Ittha is associated with the Earth Element. Typically, the Sen Ittha Energy Line is related to curing or alleviating headaches, sinusitis, back and neck pains, and sciatic nerve pains. The associated organs are the nose, kidneys, and the urinary tract system.

Trajectory and Location of Ittha

Further below we’ll describe the trajectory and location of Sen Ittha. We’ll first address the Sen Ittha main line, followed by the Sen Ittha extension and branch lines.

The Sen Ittha main line (red color in the chart above) runs at the left side of the body and starts at one thumb distance left of the navel, goes down the abdominal region through the groin, becomes the first inside line on the left thigh, crosses the knee, changes to the backside of the body and becomes the third outside line on the left thigh, moves up crossing the buttocks and becomes line one at the back running adjacent to the spinal column, moves further up to the neck and head, travels over the head and ends at (the inside of) the left nostril.

Mind that the exact location at the left nostril is not entirely clear; it may be in the left nostril or just under it. There’s also a Thai Massage lineage that places Sen Ittha’s endpoint (termination point) at the inside corner of the left eyebrow.

There are two extension lines of Sen Ittha (blue color in the chart above):

• one extension runs at the front side of the body along the left side of the spinal column (parallel to Sen Sumana), from the navel up to the left nostril, as such connecting the starting and ending point of the Sen Ittha main line.
• the other extension line runs from the left knee down along the third outside line of the left leg to the left foot and left little toe (pinky toe).

There are three branch lines of Sen Ittha (yellow color in the chart above):

• one branch starts at the level of the nipples (at the front side of the body) from the extension line that runs front along the spine, and branches out to the third inside line of the left arm down to the left little finger (pinky finger).
• the second branch starts at the level of the shoulder blades (at the back of the body) from the main line that runs left at the back along the spine, and branches out to the third outside line of the left arm down to the left little finger (pinky finger).
• the last branch starts on the left buttock and runs in a curve to the left hip. In Thai Massage, this is called the “boomerang area,” which is an extension of the third outside line of the leg.

Sen Pingkhala is considered the counterpart of Sen Ittha, runs a similar trajectory, but is located at the right side of the body. It’s thought that Sen Ittha and Sen Pingkhala touch (i.e. join) each other at the location of the Ajna Chakra (the Third Eye, which is approximately located between the eyebrows).

Mind that Sen Ittha is considered the same Energy Channel — or at least rather similar — as the Ida Nadi channel in Yoga. You may notice the linguistic similarity of the two Energy Channels.

Therapeutic Indications of Sen Ittha

Therapeutic indications include headaches, stiff neck, shoulder pains, common cold, cough, dizziness, nasal obstruction, nose problems, restless legs, sore throat, sore eyes, chill and fever, insomnia, nerve conditions, injured bones, abdominal pains, intestinal problems, back pains, knee pains, diseases of the urinary tract, kidneys, all internal organs.

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