Martien

Massage doesn’t just feel good. Studies have also shown that massage is an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain and muscle tension. According to the Mayo Clinic in the United States, massage may also be helpful for anxiety, digestive disorders, insomnia and a variety of other health issues. After a long career as a nurse, Martien Boom decided to transition to massage. Her InTouch massage studio opened in Leiden in 2013.  

“It’s called InTouch. I chose [the name] because that’s how I want to work. I really want to be in touch with the people I work with. And I also would like the people to be in touch with themselves.”

“I was in nursing for a long time in different sections. In the hospital, but also with mentally handicapped [patients] … I [also] worked in people’s homes. It was home care…Mostly elderly people, but also a few terminally ill younger persons.”

“In nursing I always found … that I could never take the time things needed … You always had to account for why do you do things and why don’t you do other things. But you could never do it all. And even when people were very ill, you just came to do the things which were very necessary. And I think it’s very important for the health of people [that] someone really cares and someone really makes contact with you and really listens. And not only comes to put the dressing on your wound … and give you medicines.”

An unexpected turn: “I accidentally went to a weekend course on massaging [in Amsterdam]. I wanted to go to a scultpture weekend but it was canceled (laughs) … And so I wasn’t looking for [massage] actually. But then after that weekend I felt so at home, and I really thought this is what I want to do, really make contact with people and [work on] personal development. And then I started to do the 4-year [massage training] course.”

“I expected to be nursing for the rest of my life. And even when I did the [massage] course I didn’t think this would be my full-time occupation.” For three years, while she was training in massage, Martien worked in both nursing and massage. “The first year [of the massage course] was … mostly Esalen massage. And then in the second year we did much more in personal development and classic massage. Rolfing techniques and joint movement, and more feeling of [how] to it with less effort.”

“I started [nursing] when I was 19, and I’m 48 now…I’m from Voorschoten. I was born there. I lived a short time in Switzerland. I did some education there. I started a family and take care of my parents.”

Preparing for work: “I start every morning first with five Tibetane … these are five really short yoga series…you can do it slow or dynamic, but it’s all to balance you, and [give] strength …it has everything in it and it makes me feel centered.”

“I’m always very aware of my grounding. Before [a client] arrives, I clean the room and open the window and let the air go through. And I do an exercise to prepare myself, and also to fill my own space. Because if I don’t feel completely full it’s very easy for someone else to enter my empty spots, which makes me less strong and then vulnerable that my energy is taken.”

“I always massage in my bare feet…And I can feel the connection with higher energy and let it go through me.”

“I take quite some time between sessions. To be able to let the session take the time it needs. And also to have the time to just walk away for a minute.”

“It’s very important for me to always know I don’t have to solve the problem of the person on the table. I can walk a bit with them and look at things differently because I have this education and I’ve got these skills. But it’s always the responsibility of the person to connect with whatever is in his or her life…I’m responsible for what I do, but not responsible to make someone’s life better.”

Enjoys her work: “It really feels like doing something I really like. It gives me much joy to be curious together with someone and to really connect. And most of the time that already does a lot of good. Not only for the person who comes here, but also for me.”

“I’ve got some clients with anxiety disorders. And that means that you really have to tune in. You can cross the border a little bit. But first there has to be [a lot of] safety. …What works one days doesn’t work the other day … I find it hard when people are hurt…I really want to reassure them that everything is OK. But it comes from inside. That’s not easy … When people are really shut down I can still empathize, but it gives less. I don’t get energy [in return], I’m just giving.”

Hopes for the future: “There are always new directions I’m interested in because there’s so much in this field. I’m more doing courses in personal development and working with core systems where we [challenge] our beliefs which restrain us. And where we have our patterns [that] we are already following before we even know or find that there is a choice. And to get a little bit loose and get free so we can make our own choices which suits us and not our beliefs or the things we’ve learned … I also want to [work] especially on feminine issues. To work with these kinds of patterns.”

“And in the future I’d love to [help develop] a center where people can camp or bed-and-breakfast and really stay there and do different kinds of courses or therapies … I’d like to live there and accommodate groups or people who want to be by themselves for awhile and find out which way they want to go.”

“I think we are brought up that we have to fit in. Or be good. And less to feel what feels good for us. Our intuition is second to our mind. We first have to know that it’s OK. And then if it also feels good it’s a plus. I try to help people to trust their intuition.”

“So why not try? Why not just experiment and feel what feels good, and try one thing and then another thing and feel what’s right for you?”

Martien’s InTouch studio is located in Kanaalpark in Leiden. Her website address is www.massagepraktijkintouch.com