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As we move from Winter, the Water season, into Spring, governed by Wood, there’s a natural shift toward growth and expansion. I just got back from the Mojave Desert, where Joshua trees were budding and beavertail cacti were flowered, growth in unlikely places. That pattern shows up in the body too, especially through the shoulders, where we either open and reach or hold and restrict.

Modern life puts a lot of strain on the upper back and shoulders, especially the rhomboids between the shoulder blades, which often get tight, weak, or both. This technique helps restore mobility and balance to the area.

Try with a friend: Start with your friend lying on their side, or “Dingo” in Zenthai. From your lunge, keep your back leg in contact (the more contact, the better). Gently lift their arm and anchor their wrist into your outer hip crease, mindful not to aggravate the shoulder. Start slow, using the inside pad of your palm, the “little fish”, to work into the pecs.

From here, explore! Your outside hand can move to the occipital ridge for a neck stretch. Play with the angle to open up different areas. This connection of the wrist with your hip crease is known as the “third hand” in Zenthai.

In the video, movement comes from your whole body, not just your hands.
📺 See the Third Hand Zenthai gesture I demo’d at Estar Yoga in San Pancho via Instagram @victormovement

I’ve been reading The Way of the Five Seasons by John Kirkwood, recommended by my Zenthai teacher, Clara. I picked it up after finishing our second Five Elements Theory module in our 9-month Zenthai training and loving it! It’s a way of seeing life through the lens of the elements, and it’s something I find myself turning toward. What fascinates me most is how this entire system was so nearly lost.

Five Element theory was once central to Chinese medicine. Its roots trace back to conversations between the Yellow Emperor and his ministers around 2500BCE, later recorded in the Neijing, a text that went far beyond treating illness:

But over time, this way of seeing the world nearly disappeared.

During the Qing dynasty, acupuncture began a long decline in favour of herbal medicine. Later, in 1929, traditional practices were officially banned. With the collapse of China’s dynastic system, civil war, Japan’s invasion, the Communist takeover in 1949, and the rise of Western allopathic medicine, much of this lineage was nearly lost.

When Mao Tse-Tung (“Zedong” in modern pinyin) revived what became known as Traditional Chinese Medicine, it came back in a different form:

And when TCM reached the West, after Nixon’s historic 1972 visit, even more had been stripped away:

You’d think the Five Elements were completely lost – however it was quietly preserved from unlikely sources — mainly a French sinologist (expert on China), French acupuncturist and a British osteopath who codified and spread the knowledge, making its way back into practices like Zenthai Shiatsu.

One thing that used to bother me in my Zenthai training was how little was spoken about the lineage. In Thailand, massage schools start and end each day with the Thai Healing Prayer acknowledging the spiritual lineage from Shivago Komarpaj (Jivaka in Pali), who some say was the Buddha’s doctor.

So I appreciated listening to Zenthai founder Gwyn Williams’ recent weekly philosophy on “Legacy” he shared on the main Zenthai website (paywalled). In the 26-minute talk, “Legacy”, he traces the lineage of Zenthai and pays respects to the teachers before him, the “Five Elephants” of Thai Massage: Ajarn Chaiyuth Priyasith, Itthidet Manarat Ongdam (Master Poo), Pichest Boonthumme, Lek Chaiya, and Asokananda.

In Zenthai, gestures like Jack’s Scissors (Jack is Lek Chaiya’s son) and Poo’s Pipeline are named after these masters. He also shares other influences, including French Osteothai founders Arnaud L’Hermitte and David Lutt, along with other contemporaries who started the Thai Massage Circus in Laos, something I’d previously only come across through Acroyoga circles.

It makes me wonder what other traditions nearly vanished through history, yet endured because people kept passing the flame, and how many that did vanish we’ll never know.

📚 The Way of the Five Seasons by John Kirkwood (see John’s Books on his site)

The week in the desert coincided with a new moon and the Spring equinox. It was a guy’s trip to Vegas, three dudes in the desert, an Anti-Vegas Vegas trip.

We hiked each day through Joshua Tree, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, and Zion National Park. It was HOT, 37°C when we arrived, a full 13°C above average. But the nights cooled off, and camping on public BLM land with surprisingly easy access to fresh water made for comfortable nights by the campfire, tent flies off, so we could sleep under the stars.

I was constantly surprised by the range of life out there, a desert tortoise, young deer still holding onto their winter coats, bright pink cactus flowers, desert marigold catching the sun. I’ve always wanted to experience Vegas this way.

Early in the trip, we caught Cat Clyde at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown promoting her new album, Mud Blood & Bones, a legendary desert venue that somehow feels both intimate and wide open at the same time.

She’s an incredible folk/blues/Americana singer-songwriter from Ontario, now based in Seattle. I was miffed to miss her playing in my backyard of Cumberland, during the wonderful Woodstove Festival last November, so was stoked that her show line up with our trip.

Side note: Woodstove is one of the best community music festivals, period. Picture impromptu jam sessions, acoustic guitars, violins, banjos and plenty of boot-stomping under awnings, in stairwells, even in people’s homes. Locals host artists in return for a ticket, and a unique experience!

I’ve been asked a few times if it was difficult traveling to the US. Surprisingly, it felt no different, and just about everyone we met was lovely. Maybe it’s the desert, or the scale of it all, but there was a real sense of camaraderie and ease. I found myself falling in love with the desert, and already looking forward to returning.

We have a new Level 1 Zenthai Shiatsu Massage training coming up April 9–12th. This one’s extra special as Merryn Penington is coming all the way from Australia to teach! Clara is currently in Ojai studying pregnancy massage with her, then bringing her back to Salt Spring for her first time in Canada.

Merryn has 22 years in bodywork and has trained with some of the world’s leading practitioners. She worked closely with Gwyn (she’s in many of the training videos) and has recently studied with Thomas Myers of Anatomy Trains.

This is the first time the new Level 1 curriculum has been offered in North America. If you’ve taken Level 1 before, ask for a returning student discount.

Next week I’m off to Victoria (again) for the sixth module of the 9-month Therapist Training over Easter weekend. Immediately after that I’ll be on Salt Spring assisting the Level 1, so my massage calendar has limited openings until late April. It’s also time to get the veggie garden going… somehow I’ll get it all done! 😅

May these practices ripple into your life.

As we move into the energy of Wood, the season of growth and expansion, what’s beginning to take shape for you, even in a small way?

A few ways to connect:

Until next touch, 

Victor

Na a na wa roka paya ti vinas santi.

May all illness and suffering be cleared. May the body, heart, and mind be free from harm. May health, happiness and peace be restored.
- Traditional Thai Healing Prayer