About Us

About Roderick Mackenzie

Roderick has been an athlete from the time he was a child. He competed in Alpine Skiing, Swimming, and Baseball and trained avidly in the gym. He developed an interest in the Martial Arts in his early teens and was fascinated with Eastern Philosophy.

More recently he became a rock climber and threw himself with reckless abandon against the rock. Unaware that he was looking for something that physical pursuits alone could not provide he pushed harder and harder to improve, looking for peace at the top of a rock face.

A friend first introduced Rod to the breathing exercises (Pranayama) of Yoga, the morning after a midnight hike in the mountains. Accustomed, at the time, to a more physical approach, he did not explore any further. He found a book, at a second hand bookstore, called Yoga For Athletes. Rod related to the author, who was an extreme athlete, and began to practice the few simple Asanas (postures) that were illustrated within the pages. Amazed at the combination of energy and relaxation that he felt he was hooked instantly.

Rod began his study on his own, reading many books on the subject and was drawn to the meditative aspects. He began his search for a meditation instructor and through a series of serendipities he found himself sitting on a cushion at a Chan (Chinese for Zen) hall in Richmond.

It was interesting for him to watch the impulses of the mind to be constantly active and doing. As he delved deeper within he saw the need to push his body to extremes decline and eventually fade altogether as he learned to be more in the present moment.

Roderick has been interested in massage since he was on swim team. One of the members had a basic knowledge of massage and was the inspiration for many hours of massage, amongst the members of the team, between events at swim meets. He had always been interested in learning more about massage but never seriously considered it until he first discovered Thai Massage. He first received a two-hour massage from a friend who had studied in Thailand. At the time he was working 60-70 hour work-weeks and sometimes worked for two weeks straight.

He was amazed at how comprehensive Thai Massage is, stretching and relaxing the body from the tips of the toes to the tips of the fingers. He experienced a deep release of stored tension and afterwards slept soundly for two hours even though it was still early in the day.

Upon further investigation he became enthused by the fact that Thai Massage is mutually beneficial to both the giver and receiver. He found that Thai Massage is a meditative tradition based on the idea of Loving Kindness and decided that he could benefit others by studying and sharing what he learned. He stepped out on faith to go to Thailand to study Traditional Thai Massage at The Institute Of Thai Massage in Chiang Mai.

The more he learned the more he was impressed with the depth of the tradition and realized that he could truly offer something special to others through Thai Massage.