In the heart of Bangkok, on the banks of the Chao Phraya river, stands the temple of Wat Pho. With more than 400 years of history, this Buddhist complex is famous not only for its giant reclining Buddha but because it is universally regarded as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.
At Baan Pho we carry that legacy to Girona, practising the technique as it has been passed down from that temple: with presence, precision and respect for the tradition.
A temple turned university
In the nineteenth century King Rama III ordered that the temple's medical and massage knowledge be carved into its walls so that it would not be lost. Those stone inscriptions — known as Ruesri Dat Ton — show figures in different postures and describe the energy lines of the body, known as Sen.
That is how what we now call Nuad Bo Rarn, ancient Thai massage, came into being. Wat Pho became the first official school of the discipline and remains, to this day, the world reference for teaching it.
The Sen lines: the energy that guides the massage
Thai massage rests on a system of 72,000 energy lines running through the human body. Of all of them, ten are the main ones — the Sen lines — and those are what the therapist works during the session, applying pressure with thumbs, palms, elbows and knees.
This idea of the body as a map of energy comes directly from Indian ayurvedic medicine, which reached Thailand through Buddhism. It is not muscle massage as we usually understand it: it is a conversation with the body as a whole.
From Bangkok to Girona
At Baan Pho, the Wat Pho tradition is not merely a historical reference. It is the foundation of everything we do. Our therapists trained following the methods that come from that school, and every session respects the principles those masters carved into stone centuries ago.
If you ever get the chance to visit Bangkok, the Wat Pho temple is essential. In the meantime, in our room at Carrer Nou, 12, you can feel in your own body what those stones have been explaining for centuries.
Would you like to experience it?
