There are many types of massage in Australia, and we offer around half-a-dozen right here at McLaren Vale Retreat. While many parts of Australia are very familiar with the broader category of Thai massage, here in McLaren Vale there has not been much opportunity to actually experience the benefits… until now!

In January, we opened McLaren Vale Retreat to provide a range of massage services with our signature style being Thai Combination Massage. We have already had many customers tell us, and everyone else on Facebook, just how beneficial their experience of this massage style has been. Some of them had experienced it during their travels and specifically asked for this massage when they booked their massage. But just what is it? And why is it so good?

Well, providing a great Thai massage of any sort requires a lot of experience and authentic training. In our case, the training was done at the home and origin of many complementary and alternative therapies coming from Thailand, the Wat Po Temple in Bangkok that is right next door to the royal palace. The history of Thai medicine goes back over 500 years, and its origin is the Wat Po Temple, and the Chetawan Medical School, Thailand’s first ‘open’ university.

Traditional Thai massage (Nuat Thai), as anyone who had experienced it will know, is a very deep form clinical pressures and a very wide range of stretching techniques that are designed to destress muscles, improve mobility and increase well-being. Its origins are from earlier forms of Chinese and Indian massage and incorporate techniques akin to those in acupressure, yoga and reflexology. In this form it is very different from western techniques which primarily originate from Europe. The European techniques which are often called Swedish Massage (in error, since they did not originate in Sweden) or more correctly, Classic Massage came into being in the early 1800s.

Thai Combination Massage brings many of these elements together. It is part acupressure, part Swedish (using longer strokes and the different specific strokes of Swedish massage) as well as stretching and deeper techniques from Thai Traditional massage. Overall, it is one of the most holistic forms of massage therapy and definitely treats both body and mind.

Great massage is more than just its history or the sum of its techniques. Here at McLaren Vale Retreat we are privileged to have a therapist who is not only well trained (at Chetawan and by a range of practitioners), has thousands of hour of experience, but also, has an intuitive style that can be adapted to an individual’s health needs.

If you have not yet had the chance to visit us, we hope we will see you soon. To our returning customers, thank you and see you next time. Don’t forget to check our Promotions page for current special offers!