Thai Energy Lines

A very special part of our massage program is the instruction and practice of Thai Energy Lines. Along with our instruction in traditional Thai Massage and Thai Massage for the Table, we teach students about energy medicine, the details of how the Thai energy lines run, how to massage those lines, and how to integrate working the lines into a traditional Thai Massage session or into other styles of massage.

The Thai Energy Lines are a network, or pathways, of energetic flow that were mapped out by ancient Thai healers thousands of years ago. These lines are part of the Thai Traditional Medicine system with its roots in Thailand. These lines are called “Sen Sib,” which translates to “10 Energy Lines” in the Thai language.

In the Thai healing system, energy lines are known as “Sen.” The Sen lines are conduits – they can connect and move substances and sensations from one place to another. The Sen are pathways for prana to flow. Prana is a Sanskrit word for “life force” or “vital energy”. In Thai, “Prana” translates to “Lom Pran”, or “the wind of life”. The Chinese system refers to this life force as “Qi “(or Chi). The Sen can also be viewed as rivers of energy, with the major and minor chakras, or energy centers, acting like whirlpools in the river. The 7 major chakras are situated along the centerline or Sen Sumana, while minor chakras are all over the body.

Thai massage pressure points can be viewed as minor chakras. Chakras are part of the Indian healing system and are described as energy centers in the body, with the main ones being along the spine. The Indian system calls these minor chakras, Marma or Varma points. Acupressure and acupuncture points can also be viewed as minor chakras.

In the Chinese tradition, about 2,000 points are now known, of which 365 are described as classical. Most acupuncturists use 60 to 150 of those points in their daily practice. With the Indian system, there are 108 Marma points. In Thai massage, point work is done as an addition to line work, and the emphasis is always on the lines.

In Thai Massage, we thoroughly open and remove blocks along these Sen lines so the Lom (Wind) can flow more consistently and vibrantly through the whole body. We open and remove blocks through focused and thorough work on the Sen lines by palm, thumb, forearm, elbow, knee, and foot pressure, along with stretching.

Each Sen line has an orifice (an opening) in the body with which it connects. Some schools teach that the orifice is the origin point, and other schools teach that most of the points start near or above the navel and pass through that orifice. We teach to work the lines as part of a sequence, so there’s flow to the session.

We teach the Sen lines with its connection to the Anatomical structures that they run along and through. This is unique about our school. Many Thai massage trainings both in Thailand and throughout the world don’t teach the Sen lines in reference to Anatomy. Our founder and director, Hillary Hilliard, has developed a map of the Sen lines as they connect and integrate with our Anatomy textbooks, and they are taught with the muscles and bones as our guides. Along with learning the Thai energy lines, Anatomy is reinforced as well.

For example, along the leg, there are the Outside and Inside Thai energy lines. Here’s an example of our written instruction about how the Outside or Lateral leg lines run. OLL stands for “Outside Leg Line”, which is the lateral portion of the leg. With Anatomy terms, “Leg” always refers to the lower part of the leg, whereas “Thigh” is our anatomical term for the upper part of the leg (above the knee).

OLL1 (Chinese meridian: Stomach):
Starts at groove posterior to lateral malleolus. Moves superior to the knee. Follows the edge of the tibia (nearly under the bone) and runs along the anterior edge of tibialis anterior. Ends inferior to tibial tuberosity.

OLL2 (Chinese meridian: Gall Bladder):
Starts at groove under lateral malleolus. Moves superior to the knee. Follows ½ thumb length posterior to tibia (also ½ thumb length from OLL1). Moves along posterior edge of tibialis anterior. Kisses next to extensor digitorum longus (twizzler muscle). Ends at posterior aspect of tibial condyle.

OLL3 (Chinese meridian: Bladder):
Starts at groove under lateral malleolus. Moves superior to the knee. Follows 1 thumb length posterior to tibia (also 1 thumb length from OLL1). Moves along posterior edge of extensor digitorum longus (twizzler muscle) and along belly of peroneals. Is along the anterior side of fibula (almost under the bone). Ends at fibular head. Soleus is posterior to this line.

We also have mapped out the correlations between each Sen Line and the Chinese meridian line that runs along part of that Thai Pathway, as you can see in the example above. We aren’t practicing Chinese medicine or doing Acupuncture, but we are doing Acupressure along energy lines.

The Thai Sen lines closely resemble Chinese Meridian lines and Indian Prana Nadi lines. There are similarities in the pathways and the flow, but the theory and application can differ. The biggest difference is that the Chinese system needles the points along these lines, whereas the Thai system focuses on using manual pressure and massage on those points. The Chinese healing system does have a technique called Tui Na, which includes various massage techniques for working and opening the Chinese Meridian lines. We teach our students several demonstrations and review the principles of Tui Na so they can add this style into their practice as well.

In addition, even though we teach the Thai lines with a strong emphasis on their physical, anatomical locations, these lines connect to a deeper, energetic flow in the body and spirit. By massaging these lines, doing Acupressure on them, the lines then trigger a deeper systemic connection throughout the body. There is a life to these lines that is unlike anything you’ve typically experienced with massage. Often, students and clients will say that they feel vibration and flow in the area that was just worked on.

For example, it’s a good experiment to work the Inside (Medial) and Outside (Lateral) Leg and Thigh Thai lines on one leg and see how the receiver feels with that massaged leg versus the leg that hasn’t had any Thai lines worked. It’s amazing to hear about and feel the differences from one side to the other. Students and clients report open, vibrational, alive-ness with the side that was worked. They say they feel flow happening in their body, but not just in the area worked – that it activates and opens the whole body’s ability to flow and heal.

Also, these lines work at deeply emotional and spiritual levels. There is deep wisdom in these lines that we can access. We massage and work the physical line, which physically helps the body heal and flow better, but it also sets off a cascade of emotional and spiritual healing because emotions are literally OF us – our emotional and spiritual selves are woven throughout our body – throughout our tendons, our fascia, along and within our bones, and throughout our lymph – the whole body resonates with this spirit. And the Sen Lines reach deeply into all aspects of our beings, truly healing us in all areas of our being.

Below are the names of the Ten Energy Lines. It’s interesting to point out that there are different names for the lines as they flow on the left side of the body versus the right side of the body. Sumana is the center of the body that’s why it doesn’t have a left or right-side name. The left side of the body is Yin, while the right side of the body is Yang, which is an important part of the theory and practice of Traditional Thai Medicine.

Ten Thai Energy Lines (Sen Sib)

Sen Sumana
Sen Ittha (Left side)
Sen Pingkhala (Right side)
Sen Kalathari
Sen Sahatsarangsi (Left side)
Sen Thawari (Right side)
Sen Lawusang (aka Sen Chanthaphusang) (Left side)
Sen Ulangka (aka Sen Rucham) (Right side)
Sen Nanthakrawat (aka Sen Sikhini for women or aka Sen Sukhumung for men)
Sen Khitchanna (aka Sen Khitcha for women or aka Sen Pitakun for men)

Our preferred way to help students utilize these Thai lines in a Traditional Thai Massage is to weave the Sen throughout the sequence instead of massaging these lines in isolation. These lines work best if stretching is done after the line has worked.

For Example:

1. Heat the Sen (with a Thai compress or hydrocollator pack)
2. Broad Pressure along the Sen. (Palm, Forearm, or Foot pressure). 3x per line.
3. Focused Pressure along the Sen. (Thumb, Knuckle, Elbow, Toe, or Heel Pressure). 3x per line.
4. “Say Goodbye” with Broad pressure (palm, forearm, or whole foot).
5. Stretch that line at some point in the sequence.

Lastly, these lines are practiced in a similar way to how katas are utilized in Karate. Katas are exercises or movement patterns that you learn in Karate class. They are the building blocks of the practice so that your body develops the muscle memory of these movement patterns. Then, when you do Karate and fight, your body knows these movements and can draw from the wisdom of this muscle memory.

It’s similar with Thai Massage and the Art of Connecting with these Thai Energy Lines. No, you aren’t fighting someone with Thai Massage, but it’s about movement and movement patterns. As a Thai Massage therapist, by practicing all these energy lines regularly on another person (and receiving them yourself), you will develop muscle memory and deep understanding of these lines – of what it feels like when someone is stuck along a line, how to unstick the line allowing for free flow along it, and knowing which lines to work over others. You become a honing device for opening the lines. It takes practice and dedication, and is a wonderful aspect that our students start adding to their repertoire of healing techniques while in school.

This article was written by our founder and owner, Hillary Hilliard. She has been a Massage Therapist since 2004 and an Herbalist since 2010. She also teaches classes for our herbalism program, Herbalism Roots, the Denver Integrative Massage School, and for our aesthetics program, the School of Botanical & Medical Aeshtetics. Hillary loves being connected with all aspects of her schools, and she’s very grateful for these opportunities to share her passion and love for the healing arts and the beauty arts with as many people as possible.

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