Much of Thai massage techniques facilitate seated meditation. I used this as validation to go to the excellent Thai massage place just next to my guest house. Bon Massage, which is located in the southeast corner of central Chiang Mai near the Thaphe Gate, provides a great atmosphere along with their traditional Thai massages.
Massage is linked to Buddhism in ways beyond its usefulness to meditating in the seated position for seemingly too long a period of time. In addition, the Buddhist concept of Metta, which is understood as Loving Kindness, is applied in the practice of massage and healing work. As a result, both the recipient and practitioner can benefit from Thai massage. Throughout the massage, the practitioner tries to work in a state of mindfulness with great concentration on each breath and each moment.
This really is one of the big reasons for me why I like Thai Massage. Like you say, “Both the recipient and the practitioner can benefit from Thai Massage”. And that works because there is a spiritual, or mindful element of this modality which is not so much part of western style massage. Thanks for this observation!