Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School (Tha Tien branch)

About the school

This is the institution most people mean when they say they trained at Wat Pho. It opened in 1955 inside the temple grounds and was the first Thai traditional medical school to receive formal approval from the Thai Ministry of Education, which is why its paper carries weight with Thai employers and with foreign licensing boards that want a government-linked provider. The teaching descends from the Rattanakosin royal medical tradition catalogued in the temple's stone inscriptions under Rama III, and the style is central or 'royal' Thai massage: more upright and formal than northern styles, working with thumb and palm pressure along sen lines rather than the big rocking stretches associated with Chiang Mai. It suits students who want a recognised name on the certificate, a clearly codified syllabus, and the option of continuing into long professional and medical tracks. It suits less well anyone looking for intimate, master-and-apprentice teaching: classes are large, instructors rotate, and the atmosphere is briskly institutional rather than contemplative.