Due to Tok Sen's potent ability to loosen stuck and congested connective tissue and simultaneously relax the central nervous system, Tok Sen is now a standard, favorite massage technique of Ms. Mae's. Therefore, it is incorporated on an as-needed basis in all sessions.
​Note: Tok sen could be compared to ESWT.

Hammer Massage?

I have an open mind, but I am also objectively critical and focused on discovering the modern scientific basis of natural healing mechanisms. Consequently, I have never embraced an alternative method of healing without due skepticism. And, never was I more skeptical than when a weekly client, we'll call her Sam, presented me with three, large wooden objects and said, "I want you to use these on me. They say it's energy medicine." I said something like, "Not a chance!" Sam was remarkably independent and intelligent - qualities to be admired  - and therefore succeeded in coercing me to learn about something called "tok sen," also known as "hammer massage."

This photo of Spa Mantra is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Sam's Heartless Bones

Sam also had rather unusual connective tissue, and specific to the story, somewhat heartless bones. The goal was to use the sticks to fix the bones that seemed to be the opposite of my own, highly sensitive ones: Hers were almost completely a-sensitive. Light tappings were not wanted; Sam wanted a pounding. I was curious and followed her instructions. I hammered away and gave myself quite the workout!

Normalized!

One week later Sam returned, stating to my genuine surprise that she wanted to skip the BioSyntonie (a powerful form of energy/vibrational medicine) and do only Tok sen. She said the Tok sen "vibrations" could be felt for days longer than the BioSyntonie vibrations - and she could feel it deep in her bones. Bones are connective tissue, too, and I've been researching bones as a root source of pain. So, always open to experimentation and learning, she guided me and I hammered her. 
    By the time we finished hammering almost all of her bones, something amazing happened: Sam's bones normalized; they were no longer a-sensitive. I had already read the research on gua sha being a "normalizing treatment", and now it seemed that Tok sen had a similar and yet potentially more potent effect.

Too Weird for The Public?

You can imagine that it wasn't easy to approach my clients to ask if I could hammer them! So, I chose to test Tok sen on a few, brave, sensitive, skeptical volunteers. This was to be sure that Tok sen was truly safe and worth incorporating full scale.  Instead of getting negative feedback or fear, my test clients happily volunteered and then promptly fell asleep while I hammered their entire body! That was when I relaxed and began the process of introducing all my clients, including newcomers, to this peculiarly effective therapy. The result? My clients need me even less now than ever before! And you know what? Nothing pleases me more than when my clients don't need me any more. (But, I do encourage them to say, "Hi," now and then!)

My Theory

With the right kind of wood, because quality and frequency matters in the world of natural healing, and the correct implementation in the needed locations, because nuance matters, too, Tok sen tapping appears to create mechanical, unidirectional vibrations that sing through the fluid of the connective tissue system like a submarine ping through ocean waters. And particularly the bones seem to speak that language and welcome it as some kind of healing message. Like a welcome response to a Morse code SOS, suddenly joints relax, muscles relax, connective tissue congestion clears, and any irritating calcifications or crystallizations that can do so, melt on contact and get cleared out by the body's natural elimination systems. That's a pretty big deal.
​    And, it lasts! In other words, Tok sen, as crude as it may seem, may be one of the most effective methods of triggering health-promoting mechanotransduction - which is a fancy word for saying that a mechanical stimulus causes a biochemical (systemic) and healing reaction in the body. And in the case of my arthritis and calcific tendonitis research? Tok sen helps me go straight to an inflamed bone spur or sharp calcification - of even the tiniest size - and melt it away. (The peculiar thing is, just like a paper cut, the tiniest calcifications cause the most pain!) So, with skilled palpation to locate those calcifications, we can tap away pain and tension from, for example, calcific tendonitis, often in mere seconds!

Caveat

To get the high end results my clients expect, modification of traditional massage tools and modalities is absolutely necessary. Therefore, Tok sen is not used at Paula's Body Shop the way Tok sen is traditionally taught. So, even if you were fortunate enough to experience Tok sen in Thailand, you may be pleasantly surprised by how much more it can accomplish when tailored to communicate on a deeper level with the body.

Experiencing is Knowing

Experience Tok sen, today. It's included in any session.

P.S.

My cat, Dove, likes tok sen, too, but we are both camera shy. So, instead, please enjoy this video from ThaiTokSen.