When I called three other massage therapists, they were all booked, some for multiple days and one…read morewas booked solid for two weeks. I discovered Ton and gave him a call.
First, he called back within an hour of my leaving him a voice mail message. Second, he was open with many times and was available. Third, he sounded very respectful. He arrived ten minutes early and was ready to go.
Thai massage is similar in some ways to shiatsu. It is not done on a table, rather, it is done on a pad on the floor. Ton did not use oil. He worked on key pressure points and as the first 30 minutes progressed, he began with gentle pressure, but as time passed, he "turned up the volume" so to speak and applied more pressure. For some reason or other, he almost instinctively knew just how much pressure to apply.
Thai massage is very different than Swedish massage, yet it isn't as aggressive as some other "pressure point" massages. Some forms of massage lull you to sleep. Thai massage is a little different.
In the latter half of the session, Ton began to use stretching techniques which were right on with what issues cause me woe. In my case, muscle spasms in the lower back causes me chronic back pain. So, Ton worked on associative muscles that work with the muscles of the lower back and those were the ones he stretched. By this, I mean hamstrings, glutes, thigh muscles, etc. Then, he worked on stretching the muscles of the lower back towards the final minutes of the session.
While also making a "tour" of my body, he found some sensitive areas in my left shoulder. Ton went to work by using pressure point therapy in a way different than what I am accustomed to when undergoing traditional massage.
I give Ton five stars for several reasons, but availability, reasonable price, addressing my issues, working on key point that are corrective and therapeutic FOR ME are the key reasons I award him five stars. Try researching Thai massage, and if its right for you, give Ton a shout. I have not checked out his website, as time for me was rather tight yesterday when I called him. I'm glad I did. However, if your body is very sensitive and you think that pressure point massage might not be your thing, you could discuss that with Ton and then make the decision if Thai massage is the right thing for you.
Ton told me that I'd be sore the next day. I was not. But I felt some definite improvement. When I next return to Ketchum and Sun Valley, I will definitely contact him again.