Thai yoga massage therapist, Jamie • Byron Thai Yoga Massage

Jamie’s style

Portrait of Jamie Kennedy, Thai yoga massage therapist.

Jamie Kennedy is a passionate Thai yoga massage therapist whose approach is to listen intently to the body, respecting its range of motion and level of comfort in any given position. Working with the breath, he allows your body to guide the massage and its depth, enabling a deeply therapeutic and relaxing experience.

His intention is to assess and address imbalances in your structure and musculature and work with the energetic body to remove blockages and restore equilibrium. Connecting the body with the mind supports the body’s ability to heal, and empowers the body towards health and vitality.

Jamie is an attentive and empathetic listener who prides himself on being able to offer Thai yoga massage treatments carefully customised to suit your individual requirements.

Thai yoga massage roots

On receiving his first Thai massage Jamie was amazed at how effective it was. Today, it is still his preferred treatment to receive on all occasions and specifically for therapy.

His interest in the workings of the body started at the age of 9 as a keen student of Judo and Taekwondo. In high school, he injured his knees in gym training and consulted a physiotherapist, who inspired him to look more seriously into studying a form of bodywork.

On leaving school he went to University to pursue a career as a physiotherapist where he studied human movements and psychology. Formal studies didn’t suit Jamie’s learning style and after a couple of years of academic education, he left to commence an apprenticeship as a carpenter. It was there that he learned many new ways to injure his body and discovered Thai massage as an effective remedy!

Despite its drawbacks, carpentry assisted Jamie to fund travel and studies into traditional massage techniques throughout the world over many years. In 2008 he studied with the Sunshine Network and Sunshine School founded by Ashokananda who is credited with bringing Traditional Thai massage to the West. Through the Sunshine network, he heard of renowned practitioners such as Pichest, Chaiyuth, Sinchai, and Nat.

Before long Jamie found his way to Arjahn Pichest’s classroom where he was exposed to a new way of working, quieting the mind, learning to feel the body and work intuitively. He witnessed a fusion of styles and techniques and learning was playful and exciting, as well as therapeutic.

Jamie with revered Thai Yoga massage master, Ajahn Pichest

Two years later Jamie returned to study with Pichest for a more lengthy period to absorb his teachings and philosophy. He credits Pichest for the majority of how he applies his own techniques and his approach to working with the body. Jamie was drawn to Pichest’s philosophy, attitude, and way of teaching, comprising full immersion in learning the art of feeling and sensing the tension in the body to bring about healing. Pichest is always adamant that good comfortable posture for the therapist is crucial not only in self-care but also in the transmission of a good ‘feeling’ and receiving information ‘sensing’ in order to know where is best to work and to what depth is beneficial for the receiver.

Whilst in Chiang Mai Jamie made good use of his time, healing his own body by receiving massages from many masters and skilled practitioners. Mr Nat was one of Jamie’s preferred therapists, a blind master who practices southern-style Thai Massage. Later, Jamie had the pleasure of training with him and employing many of Nat’s techniques in his own treatments.

On the same trip, Jamie studied the ‘Heart of Yoga’ at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandriam in Chennai to understand more about the yogic roots of Thai massage. This lead him to other things, funnily enough to the ‘life of the householder’, to be a father and partner, where he is currently studying patience, communication and cooperation skills!

In 2011 Jamie completed his Certificate IV in Massage Therapy in Sydney, Australia.

Today he is still intrigued and astonished by how amazing the body is, how it functions and has evolved over time. He also recognizes, now more than ever, that when not connected to the mind, the body suffers and then eventually tries to reconnect, often using pain as a language to communicate.

When not practicing as a Thai yoga massage therapist, Jamie’s interests are Ziran Qigong, Bagua, Xingyi, Tai chi, Capoeira Angola, ancestral movement and anything that brings him joy, health, and inspiration.