A new batch of 80 Thai "hermit" self-stretching exercise postures known in Thai as Ruesi Dat Ton at Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram, or Wat Pho, are being sculpted to promote the art of traditional Thai healing.
The Public Health Ministry's Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM) is responsible for the sculptures which have a budget of eight million baht, said DTAM chief Suthep Wacharapiyanone.
DTAM has finished making the nine new Ruesi Dat Ton statues which are now being displayed at Wat Pho. Work on the remainder will be finished by March of next year.
Dr Suthep said Ruesi Dat Ton is a traditional Thai exercise that combines stretching and the application of pressure to energy points with breathing techniques and meditation to develop a flow of energy throughout the body.
When energy flows and is in balance, health is maintained, youthfulness preserved, self-healing promoted and well-being restored. This also helps to relieve muscle aches and pains and increase vitality and is a gentle exercise that is suitable for everyone, he said yesterday.
He said all of the new Ruesi Dat Ton statues in exercise postures will be made of a mixture of brass, zinc, tin, lead and copper. A poem describing the health benefits of each exercise posture will be posted on each statue.
In 1836, King Rama III ordered the first 80 Ruesi Dat Ton statues in various postures; 57 seated/kneeling, 20 standing, two couples, and one lying. They were made of a mixture of zinc and tin, he said.
The King also ordered that a poem be posted telling people about the benefits of each exercise posture. The King himself wrote six of the poems; high-ranking officials, monks and laypeople were believed to have come up with the rest, he said.
The first 80 Ruesi Dat Ton statues were originally placed in 16 pavilions inside Wat Pho, each linked with marble tablet inscriptions in poetic form describing the benefits of the postures.
They were later moved to the Sala Lai pavilion during the reign of King Rama V, but in subsequent years some were stolen and damaged. Currently, there are only 24 Ruesi Dat Ton statues remaining.
"All of the 24 remaining statutes were separated from their poems and are now kept in the Sala Lai pavilion. So we want to sculpt a new batch of 80 statues to once again make Wat Pho the country's centre of learning for the traditional art of healing as it was 180 years ago," Dr Suthep said.
Wat Pho was listed as Thailand's most popular tourist attraction in last year's TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards due to its unique architecture, intricate details, beautiful stupas and the gigantic reclining Buddha statue.
Voters also put the temple at No.21 in the world's best landmark category, while Bangkok was ranked at No.18 on the list of the world's top destinations.
Phra Thep Veeraporn, the abbot of Wat Pho, revealed that 3,000-5,000 people, 30-40% of whom are foreigners from 135 countries, come to study traditional Thai healing arts, including Ruesi Dat Ton at Wat Pho each year.