Giving and Receiving 100 Percent

by Ronni Mott
Photos by Ronni Mott
October 10, 2007

Erik MacKinnon has more tattoos than I have black shoes, which is altogether an awesome statistic. With his working-man's background (he was a construction worker for years) and independent mindset (he was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and grew up in Wyoming and Colorado) he may be an unlikely candidate to provide healing energy to your ever-so-southern, Mississippi aches and pains, but in MacKinnon's case, you'd do well to let those first impressions ride. MacKinnon's got what it takes.

As an aficionado of massage and with a new-found love of Anusara Yoga, I was intrigued by a therapy called Thai Yoga Bodywork and made an appointment with Erik to get the scoop.

My first impression of Erik was of the ink that covers his arms and looks out over the collar of his T-shirt. I was immediately impressed. I'm such a wimp when it comes to needles; I've always wanted a tat or two but have never worked up the courage to actually darken the door of a tattoo parlor. Massages, well that's a different story. I've had all types, from deep tissue Rolfing to new-age hot-rock therapy (which I don't recommend).


What got you interested in massage therapy?
(In high school) I had a friend with a really bad lower back, and she just wanted me to rub her back because it made her feel better. … After high school I really wanted to become a massage therapist, but my parents pushed me into a more "manly" type of career, so I got into construction. … My dad's hero is John Wayne, so that should say all there is right there. … I made a good living in construction, but I went through a divorce several years back and just wasn't satisfied with my life at that point in time. So I quit the construction business and went into something I always wanted to do. I'm not making as much money now, but I'm very happy with helping people. I've been practicing massage professionally now for about four and a half years.


What brought you to Jackson?
I think the (same) thing that brings everybody to Mississippi, and that's family—always family, either returning to family, or returning home or chasing family. My mother and my little sister live here. (My mother) is getting a little bit older, and I wanted to be closer to her. I also wanted to slow down. Living in Denver—Denver's now a little L.A.—I wanted to separate myself from that fast pace of life. In Mississippi, it would be easier to sit on my front porch and sip sweet tea. I don't think they know what sweet tea is in Colorado. In fact, I know they don't. … It's really like coming home for me.


Tell me about the types of massage therapy you do.
I built my practice on deep-tissue massage therapy, facilitating a balance for athletes, for performance artists. … If you feel pain during deep-tissue massage, get off the table (and) stop the session. There are techniques that allow you to go deep into the muscles without any pain at all. … If you feel like holding your breath, that's too deep. You have to warm up the muscles.

Deep tissue is a broad cap. I use so many different techniques. … I take everything, try to lump it together and do whatever works for the client. … The focus of my practice over the past year and a half has been Thai Yoga Bodywork.


Tell me what that is and how it works.
Thai Yoga Bodywork is commonly known as the "lazy man's yoga." It was developed in Thailand, (which is) geographically positioned on the trade route between Japan, China and India. All of these marvelously advanced cultures traveled through Thailand, and Thailand acted like a sponge … absorbing all of these wonderful techniques from these different countries. They developed their own style of bodywork. It was developed by the (Buddhist) monks, who handed it down generation after generation. The monks were sitting so long in meditation that their bodies became stagnant and stiff and rigid. Meditation is extremely important to them, but they needed to take time out to stretch and exercise, (yet) they wanted to minimize their time away from meditation. So, one monk performing Thai Yoga massage, and one monk receiving Thai Yoga massage, both of them were working and stretching. The giver is receiving as much as the receiver is giving. It's a very nice balance. Where in standard massage, you've got the giver giving 100 percent and the receiver receiving 100 percent, in Thai Yoga massage everybody benefits in a sense. The receiver is extremely passive, focusing very much on their breath; the giver focuses on the receiver's breath and works with that as a time piece to facilitate timing of the motions.


What's the relationship between standard yoga and Thai Yoga massage, and what are some of the benefits?
There are similar poses, so they're kindred. You'll see similar actions. One of the largest benefits … is the action on the lymphatic system and the immune system. It really boosts the immune system. Also, feelings of well-being. As opposed to standard massage where the feeling lasts one or two days, maybe—next time somebody cuts you off in traffic, you're uptight again—every one of my (Thai Yoga) clients says that their feeling of well-being has lasted seven to nine days. So it's extremely powerful and very opening. Everybody always says they feel a couple of inches taller (after a session). You can come with specific ailments or can come for just relaxation, or if you feel that everything in your universe is out of kilter, it will help you meditate and focus.

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