In 2009, I was going on my 20th year working as a professional photographer. I had just completed the photography project of a lifetime. My 9-month-long Asia Spa Project which involved photographing Asian healing arts throughout India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Physically, I was wrecked. After almost a year of carrying eight heavy cases across the globe, the left side of my body felt frozen. I also had a partially herniated vertebrae in my lower back, and my hands and wrists were incredibly strained. My body was so damaged, I thought my photography career was over. I saw a number of Western doctors, but the only solutions they could offer were steroid injections and painkillers—just temporary fixes. Then I received a very unique form of Thai bodywork that is based on deep long held compression instead of the traditional stretching.  After multiple 3 hour sessions I was able to alleviate much of the stiffness and pain that had been plaguing me for years. The work returned a flexibility and freedom of movement to my body that I had not felt since high school. It also gave me the awareness that I did not have to live with chronic pain if I worked on myself on a regular basis. I have received bodywork from all around the world, but in terms of results, nothing has ever come close to the level of healing I felt after this type of work. It was my own personal experience with this unique type of deep compression bodywork that inspired me to study it so that I can share it with as many people as possible.