What Is Tok Sen Massage?

 Published: Feb 12, 2020 | Revised: Sep 1, 2024

What Is Tok Sen Massage?

Thai Tok Sen therapy is an ancient Northern Lanna Thai healing practice, predominantly found in the Chiang Mai area, that incorporates the use of a mallet (a short-handled hammer) and a chisel or wedge made of wood, bone or ivory to rhythmically tap along the Thai Sen Energy Lines of the body.

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The gentle and rhythmical tapping and sound vibration work deeply through the tissue and muscles right down to the attachments with the bones. The technique is used to clear blocked Life Force Energy (Lom Pran), improve blood circulation, and ease muscle, joint, and nerve tensions, stiffness and pains.

The tools can be made of various materials, but mostly hardwoods, of which the use depends on the goal of a treatment and the Tok Sen learning lineage. Furthermore, certain sacred rituals and incantations are performed while obtaining and constructing the tools that will be used.

Before, during, and after a Tok Sen session, the practitioner (typically a folk healer) often recites specific chants, incantations, or invocations in order to promote healing of the patient and to protect against negative energies, which makes Tok Sen a type of Thai Spirit Medicine.

A Tok Sen treatment is often applied in conjunction with a Thai Massage and/or Thai Herbal Ball Compress Massage session.

The treatment can be received in the supine lying, prone lying, side lying and sitting position, and may be applied in conjunction with a Thai Massage and/or Thai Herbal Ball Compress Massage session.

In Thailand, treatments can mostly be obtained in Chiang Mai, although offerings have spread increasingly across other places in Thailand too.


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