About Mike
I have always undertaken some sort of physical activity, even though I'm not particularly interested in sport. Somehow I have always understood that my body needs to move to remain healthy and I enjoy the sensation of movement, whether it be dance, skiing, running, swimming, yoga or tai chi. I'm not naturally athletic or flexible. I studied electronics and I've spent most of my working life as a software engineer. My desk-bound lifestyle led almost inevitably to a 'slipped disc' in my early thirties which took over five years to fully resolve.
For personal development rather than with any desire to teach, I took the training with the YMCA as an aerobics and gym instructor. By accident, when a teacher failed to turn up at a the local sports centre I ended up taking a class and was asked to continue it. I ended up teaching there for ten years! Equally by chance I took a yoga class and became interested in the benefits it brought me. In one shot I was getting improved strength, flexibility and a moving meditation.
On a brief stop-over in Bangkok on the way to Australia a Thai friend took me for my first Thai massage in a place well off the beaten tourist trail. I was completely bowled over by this amazing treatment. I could see parallels with the synchronising of movement and breath I had learned in yoga. I was hooked and had to find out more.
I returned to Thailand the following year to take a practitioner course with The Sunshine Network at the Lahu village school. By the end of the course I knew I wanted to take it further and the school referred me to The School of Thai Yoga Massage in London. I took the practitioner exams there with Kira Balaskas, and went on to take the advanced course too. Each exam involved submitting case studies of massages I had given, a practical a written paper. I've received such positive feedback and encouragement not only from my tutors, but from so many of my case study clients that I almost feel obliged to continue to practice. I returned to Thailand in 2014 to study with Thai master Pichest Boonthume.
I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to my teachers, Kira Balaskas and Andrea Baglioni, their teacher Asokananda; to Pichest Boonthume my Thai teacher, and all the way back to the founder of Thai massage Jivaka Kumar Baccha. Also to everyone who has come for massage - you teach me more with each massage I give.
Training Record
Sept 2014 | Thai massage for lower back pain, with Ralf Marzen and Cyprian Londt |
Feb 2014 | Study with Pichest Boonthume, Thailand |
Feb 2014 | Lahu Village course with Laurino Bertelli |
Nov 2013 | ITEC Certificate in Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology for Complimentary Therapies |
Sept 2013 | Advanced Diploma in Thai Yoga Massage: The School of Thai Yoga Massage, London |
Mar 2013 | Appointed Person Emergency First Aid Certificate: Michael Bond RGN |
Oct 2012 | Certificate in Traditional Thai Yoga Massage, Practitioner Level, The School of Thai Yoga Massage, London |
Jan 2012 | Lahu Village course with Andrea Baglioni |