Introduction to Fascia: the Body’s Hidden Web

Deepening Your Thai Massage  – an East-West approach to Thai Bodywork is a book written by Tirza Bottema, founder of Thai Dee and teacher of Thai massage for more than three decades.

The book is an invitation to deepen your practice by bridging the wisdom of Eastern traditions with insights from Western knowledge. It brings together traditional Thai healing principles, hands-on massage practice, and a contemporary understanding of the body.

A multi-layered way of learning

What makes this book unique is the way the knowledge is offered.
It invites you not only to read, but also to look, feel, listen and play.

Insights are approached from multiple angles — through short reflective texts and poems, clear theory, beautiful photographs and complementary videos.
This layered approach allows understanding to grow naturally, helping you embody the work and deepen your massage practice from the inside out.

Nine steps, three pillars

The book unfolds in nine steps, organised into three interconnected pillars:

• Body
• Mind
• Energy

Each pillar consists of three steps that support and reinforce one another, creating a holistic framework for touch, awareness and therapeutic presence.

This blog offers a first glimpse into Step 2: Introduction to Fascia – The Body’s Hidden Web.

From Nourishment to Connection

In Step 1, nourishing the body through herbs introduces the theme of care, preparation and support. If you haven’t read that blog yet, it offers a beautiful foundation for what follows.

Step 2 invites us to look beneath the surface — to the connective tissue that shapes how the body moves, feels and responds: fascia.

Fascia is not just a wrapping around muscles. It is a living, responsive network that connects muscles, bones, organs and nerves into one continuous whole. It transmits force, stores tension and carries information throughout the body.

“Fascia is a reminder that beneath the surface lies a dynamic web of connection.”

For massage therapists, this means that touch never stays local — every contact has the potential to ripple through the whole system.

Why myofascial lines matter

Western anatomy describes myofascial lines: continuous pathways of fascia and muscle that distribute tension and movement throughout the body.

These lines help explain why:

• a restriction in the foot may influence the neck
• opening the chest can soften the breath and the belly
• a gentle stretch in one area creates space elsewhere

For Thai massage therapists, this perspective often feels familiar.
It gives language and clarity to what has long been sensed through the hands:

the body does not work in isolated parts, but as integrated patterns.

Sen lines and myofascial lines — two languages, one reality

In Thai healing traditions, Sen lines describe energetic pathways through which life force flows.
In Western anatomy, myofascial lines describe physical continuity and force transmission.

Step 2 explores how these two systems — energetic and anatomical — reflect the same lived reality from different angles.

Where Sen lines describe the movement of energy, fascia reveals the movement of force, tension and sensation.
Together, they deepen both perception and precision in touch.

Rather than replacing one system with another, Step 2 invites you to let them inform each other, enriching your understanding of the body as a whole.

Myofascial release in Thai massage

Thai massage naturally lends itself to myofascial work.

Slow compression, sustained stretches, rhythmic rocking and mindful use of bodyweight all speak directly to the fascial system.
By understanding fascia more deeply, therapists begin to feel:

• why slowness matters
• how depth emerges through listening rather than force
• how touch can invite global release instead of local correction

Technique gradually transforms into dialogue — a conversation with the body rather than an intervention imposed upon it.

Practical guidance you can integrate immediately

In Deepening Your Thai Massage, Step 2 offers concrete handholds for practice.

Through clear explanations, illustrative images and supportive videos, the book shows:

• how to recognise myofascial lines in the body
• how to work with them consciously through Thai massage techniques
• how to integrate myofascial awareness with the treatment of the Sen lines

This makes Step 2 not only informative, but immediately applicable — supporting therapists in refining their touch, deepening their listening skills and working with greater ease and effectiveness.

A deeper layer of Thai massage

Step 2 is an invitation to explore a deeper layer of Thai massage — one where anatomy meets energy, and structure meets sensitivity.

It encourages a holistic view in which myofascia and Sen lines are not separate domains, but expressions of one connected system — felt through the hands, guided by awareness, and supported by understanding.

In Deepening Your Thai Massage, Tirza Bottema shares more than three decades of experience, weaving Eastern healing traditions and Western insights into a practical and embodied guide for massage therapists, bodyworkers and teachers.

Curious to explore more? 
You can find the book at Deepening your Thai massage – an East-West approach to Thai Bodywork through major online bookstores worldwide. 
In the Netherlands you can buy the book at Bol.com, while international readers can also find the book via platforms such as Amazon.