What sparked our CEO César Tejedor´s interest in the Tibetan KuNye massage? Why did he feel passionate about it right from the start…? In this article he tells us about how he created a modern tool for studying an ancient technique.
Tell me about the birth of the Tibetan KuNye massage project?
I was in India, wrapping up a training project about Ayurvedic Abhyanga massage, and as I was finished with the more practical side, I flew to Dharamsala in Northern India (also called “Little Tibet”), to start the writing process in a peaceful environment. Surrounded by the Himalayan mountains, Dharamsala is a magical place hidden from all the troubles of the world, and it always has an inspiring effect on me. During my stay there, I met a Tibetan Doctor who gave me a Tibetan KuNye massage, and I immediately knew that I had to write about this fascinating and yet unexplored technique. So that´s how it all started…
Why is such an alluring massage still so unknown?
Well, first of all there is a numeric reason for this. If we take into account that Tibet has a population of only 3 Million, and the percentage of Tibetan doctors is small, and that those few doctors that speak English rarely have the opportunity to travel abroad to spread the awareness of the Tibetan medicine and Tibetan massage, we come to the conclusion that it is difficult to diffuse this massage technique outside of the Tibetan borders. Secondly, because of the recent political developments in Tibet, the Tibetans are very keen on preserving and protecting their heritage, and so it can take some time before they trust you enough to share their knowledge with you. A good example of this is that it took me several years of almost weekly emails and phone calls, until I convinced my Tibetan doctor/master, to give me private classes in Tibetan medicine and massage. But finally I managed to do so, and today my master Tsultrim Kalsang and I are good friends and have worked closely together for the last years.
Why an online course on Tibetan massage?
First I actually wrote a book of the Tibetan KuNye massage, with the help of Dr. Tsultrim Kalsang, as well as the personal doctor of HH The Dalai Lama. However, I soon felt that the book was somewhat difficult to understand and to put into practice. I have spent the last 12 years of my life writing training books for massage therapists, because it was the best means to spread the techniques in an effective manner. However, today because of the advanced technology, I believe that online training is a big step forward and the next big thing in Spa & Wellness training.
So what does this online massage course offer?
The Massage Around the World team, with the help of our Tibetan collaborators, has developed the Tibetan KuNye massage course from a teacher perspective as well as a massage therapist / bodyworker viewpoint, as they are the ones who need to implement and readapt the teachings into their professional practice. The course is a journey through Tibetan massage and medicine, as well as Tibetan culture and mentality. Our team has physically traveled to the most relevant spots in order to transmit the local culture and practice to the student. Our students get to “drink from the real source”, even if they do not have the chance to physically be there themselves.
Because of all this, the learning tools of the Tibetan KuNye massage course are diverse: theoretic interactive contents; master classes and interviews of three of the most famous Tibetan doctors today; additional resources that give the student a good idea of the local culture and environment where this Tibetan massage was created; step-by-step demonstration of each massage stroke through video clips, illustrations and text, following a teaching methodology based on my teaching experience during the last 15 years. This methodology prompts the student to carefully study and practice each massage step until he/she really feels confident to practice it “live”. On top of the 20h course duration, this course has more than 30h of additional resources material (not compulsory) and also requires the student to invest more hours to practice the technique hands-on. I feel that a great thing with the course, from a didactic point of view, is that the student has the ability to look at the step by step video clips over and over again, and to learn the technique in his/her own rhythm.
What kind of feedback have you received from this course so far?
After all these years working on the Tibetan massage project, we are proud to say that the feedback has been very positive. Amongst other things many of our students have been happy about the high quality of the course, and also the fact that it is easy to implement the massage in practice. Some students had a bit of a negative image of online massage courses before taking our course, but we were happy to hear that they were positively surprised after their experience with the Tibetan KuNye massage course.
I hope you enjoyed this peek into the “making of” our Tibetan KuNye massage course. If you want to learn more, simply visit the course page here.
Wishing you a great day ahead,
Camilla Ilves