Spirit Winds School of Thai Massage Class Schedule

It is the instructor's belief that one-to-one instruction is invaluable for learning this ancient healing art. It allows the training to be modified according to individual needs and learning styles with an intuitive hands-on approach. Classes are therefore provided with a maximum of ten students to ensure an optimal learning environment.

Spirit Winds School of Thai Massage offers Intensive Trainings in Thai Massage as well as Optional Trainings.

Thai For The Table
Dates offered:
April 9-10, 2005
July 9-10, 2005
September 17-18, 2005

12 hours. 9am-4pm. This workshop will provide students with Thai Massage techniques modified for use on a massage table. If you would like to incorporate some Thai massage into your current practice or you find it difficult to work in the Traditional Thai style on a mat, this will be a creative approach to Thai massage done on a table.

Tuition: $225.00
A nonrefundable deposit of $50.00 is required

6 hours. 9am-4pm. This one-day class teaches the benefits of using steamed herbal packs and sauna with herbs from Thailand. The student will learn the specific properties of each herb and how to apply them during a massage. The heat of the steamed herbal packs deeply penetrates muscles and tendons, facilitating relaxation and therapeutic benefit.

Tuition: $79.00
A nonrefundable $50.00 deposit is required
Thai herbs will be available for sale in class.

Thai Deep Tissue
Nerve Touch Herbal Massage
SPECIAL EVENT Lek Chaiya
Master Teacher from Thailand
Dates offered:
November 19-20, 2005 Introduction to Nerve Touch
14 hours. Tuition: $295.00 or $265.00 early payment by October 29
A nonrefundable $100.00 deposit is required
November 28-December 2, 2005 Basic Course
35 hours. Tuition: $695.00 or $650.00 early payment by November 7
A nonrefundable $200.00 deposit is required
December 5-9, 2005 Advanced Course
35 hours. Tuition: $695.00 or $650.00 early payment by November 7
A nonrefundable $200.00 deposit is required

8:30am-4:30pm. Master teacher Lek Chaiya from Chaing Mai, Thailand comes to Spirit Winds School each year bringing her expertise to the West. She is the only Master who travels from Thailand and we are honored to host and co-teach with her as this is the only school that she comes to in the West. Nerve Touch (Thai Deep Tissue) massage applies stronger pressure using knees, elbows, feet, heels and thumbs. In Lek Chaiya's style of massage there is a rolling over or "gentle twanging" of the muscles and nerves for deep release of tension and therapeutic benefit for conditions such as sciatica, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, numbness, paralysis, frozen shoulder and many other conditions.
click here for a full description of classes and biographies

April 24-28, 2006 Basic course: 35 hours. Tuition $695.00 or $650 early payment
May 1-5, 2006 Advanced course: 35 hours. Tuition $695.00 or $650 early payment

Introduction To Thai Massage
Dates offered:
May 14-15, 2005
September 24-25, 2005

12 hours. 9am-4pm. This one-weekend introduction to Thai Massage gives a tantalizing taste of this ancient healing art. It will provide the student with techniques from all four positions of Thai massage (front, back, side and sitting). These techniques will form a solid foundation for practicing a one-hour session, and will give one an appetite for learning much more.

Xin Qiatsu Training: HeartMind Shiatsu
Level I and II
Dates Offered:
October 30-November 4 (Level 1), November 7-12 (Level 2)

90 hours. 8:30am - 5:00pm. Xin means HeartMind, Qi means Life Energy, atsu means Touch. In Xin Qiatsu we learn to move the Life energy of the HeartMind through positive touch contact. We study the vast reaches of the HeartMind and its profound position in the maintenance of health and well-being. We cultivate our Life Energy to build a rich internal awareness of the nature of Life. We learn to touch in such a way as to transmit healing energy and promote the most profound medicine, the medicine within.

The first 90 hours of Xin Qiatsu training brings students into a direct exploration of the 12 traditional energy meridians and their expressions, and the Five Elements of traditional Asian understanding. Personal Qi cultivation is at the heart of the training, bringing depth, sensitivity and power to the giver. Xin Qiatsu positive touch contact methods designed to promote harmony in the life energy field for both giver and receiver are learned in a loving and experiential classroom environment.

This is a specially offered training in partnership with Zen Gate Qiatsu
Matthew Sweigart, CI

Certified through the American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia (AOBTA)
For full details click here

Traditional Thai Massage Intensive
Levels I and II
Dates offered:
February 6-11 (Level 1), February 14-19 (Level 2)

October 9-23 (Level 1 & Level 2)
October 15-16 Break
*Optional extra class: Thai Herbal Massage, October 17

85 hours. 8:30am - 4:30pm. This course will provide a strong foundation in the study of Thai Massage. It consists of 70 hours of class time and 15 hours of In-Clinic practice. We offer two structures for the Intensive program to accommodate those students who find it difficult to take the full Intensive course over 14 consecutive days. We have split the training into two segments, Level I and Level II about 3 or 4 weeks apart. It is necessary to attend both segments in order to receive your certificate. We also offer a program with consecutive training days.
Students completing this course will be certified in
Traditional Thai Massage, Level I and II.

The class covers 134 techniques from the northern style tradition. This is 3 to 4 times more than can be performed in a 1 1/2 hour session, giving a practitioner creative alternatives and flexibility in developing individually modified sessions. Northern style is a slow, rhythmic massage focusing on soft tissue, conducive of an ultimate meditative relaxing experience. It is a therapeutic approach to the body which never goes to a level of pain or beyond the clients limits of comfort. This course emphasizes the practitioner's body alignment and awareness while performing each technique, to ensure that students are receiving maximum benefit to their own bodies. This is the essence of the fascinating nature of this healing art, it benefits both the giver and the receiver in mutual exchange. As mindfulness is the most essential attribute of an exceptional Thai massage therapist, each class day begins with an hour of yoga and meditation lead by Janice Vitavec. We also, finish each day with stress management and relaxation techniques. All 4 positions (front, back, side and sitting) are included in this training, and are called levels I and II. These techniques are taught in the exact step-by-step sequence as the Institute of Thai Massage (ITM) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This course is recognized by the Institute as a "Sister program", so people receiving this certificate may go directly to advanced training levels in Thailand if they so desire. Instruction manuals are included in the fee. The 15 hours of In-Clinic practice follows the 70 hour program. This is a valuable opportunity to integrate the techniques from levels I and II and to learn modifications and session routines by working on clients and fellow students in the Spirit Winds Clinic. This supervised practice makes a marked difference in the time it may take a student to gain confidence with the techniques and to begin to intuitively apply them in Thai massage sessions.

Tuition: $1,175.00
If full tuition paid 3 weeks prior to start date $975.00
A nonrefundable deposit of $100.00 is required