The Power of Intention in Healing Touch

Deepening Your Thai Massage  – an East-West approach to Thai Bodywork is a BOOK AND VIDEO COURSE IN ONE, 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 4: The Power of Intention in Healing Touch.

Why intention matters

Thai massage begins before your hands touch. Your intention shapes the quality of your touch — and how the body responds. Not through force, but through presence.

Are you trying to fix, or are you listening?

A simple shift: before you begin, pause.
Let your breath drop into your belly. Soften your body. Arrive in your hands.

From here, touch becomes clearer. The nervous system feels safer. The body opens more easily.

Less effort. More effect.

Let your intention be guided by Metta — a gentle attitude of loving-kindness that can be felt through your hands.

And as you close the session, offer a quiet inner wish:
May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be free from sorrow.

In Deepening Your Thai Massage, you’ll discover many more ways to work with the power of intention — practical, subtle, and deeply effective — helping you bring more depth, sensitivity, and ease into every treatment.

Curious to explore further? 
Deepening Your Thai Massage – an East–West Approach to Thai Bodywork is a book and video course in one — inviting you to not only understand, but also experience the work in practice.
Available via major online bookstores worldwide, including Bol.com in the Netherlands and worldwide on platforms like Amazon.