Sawasdee! Hello!
My name is Sharon Brown-Horton and I am the Founding Director of Banyan Thai Massage, est. since 2004







I have to honestly say that Thai Massage has changed my life in so many positive ways!

I feel so very grateful for the day that I met my first Thai Massage Instructor, Professor Chit. It all came about in a way, that I really think that Thai Massage found me! It was after a very pleasant day of scuba diving in 2003 with my husband at Koh Phi Phi in Thailand, that while wandering the market looking for a bite to eat, I happened upon a small Thai Massage school, tucked in the back of an alley. Before I knew it, I had convinced the owner (Prof. Chit) to give me private training for the next two weeks. Before departing on my trip to Thailand, I had a colleague of mine tell me all about Thai Massage and how wonderful it was and she encouraged me to take a course if I could. So, I did!


I fell in love with Thai Massage right away and couldn't wait to begin incorporating a lot of the Thai Yoga stretch elements into my Personal Training, at home in Vancouver, BC. What I loved about it, is that it featured elements of everything that I loved - movement, rocking, stretching, massage and energy work. After receiving a Thai Massage, I felt so grounded, content and energized. What a great combination! My Personal Training clients experienced such a positive benefit from the Thai Yoga stretches that I was offering at the end of their workouts, that just several months later, I decided that I wanted to return to Thailand so that I could study with an authentic Thai School and become Certified as a Teacher.


Training to become a Thai Massage Instructor seemed like a natural step for me. With a background in professional classical dance and Kinesiology (SFU, Vancouver, BC), I had already had a very satisfying career of 15 years as a Fitness Program Director & Yoga Instructor in Vancouver. I had been featured as a Trainer of Trainers for Fitness to Music and Weight Training Canada-wide and the U.S., in addition to making the occasional guest appearances on several local health related television shows. My husband Craig was so incredibly supportive of me when I decided that I would travel to Thailand to be a part of the Teacher Training program. After a lot of research online, I decided on the 'ITM' Thai Massage School in Chiang Mai Thailand - I was going to be away from home for almost 3 months!


Since graduating as a Certified Thai Massage Instructor in 2004, I have had the great fortune and pleasure to be able to return to Thailand and the ITM School in Chiang Mai, four more times to continue my studies in Thai Massage and Holistic Body Therapies. Every time I go, I discover more things about myself. The opportunity to participate in a silent Buddhist Vipasana retreat is definitely 'up there' in my "Wow! I am so glad that I did that!" experiences. Not to mention taking some amazing Thai Cooking courses at a farm outside of Chiang Mai! But one thing is for sure, I have come to learn to wholeheartedly embrace the Buddhist philosophy of imparting 'Metta' - loving kindness - and inviting it into my everyday life as much as possible. This has made me a better person. And a better instructor. I feel so very blessed that I am able to teach Thai Massage and it couldn't make me happier to see how excited and inspired my students are, when they are learning the method, whether it is their first course, or their sixth. I also love being able to share some stories with my students of the Thai culture and events that I have experienced during my travels. I feel that it is important for me to pass on the ancient teachings of Thai Massage in a respectful and meaningful manner.