POULSBO — When an Air Force brat and Pennsylvania girl settle down in the Puget Sound, the result is pure relaxation.
Brian and Nancy Koontz, both licensed massage therapists, work and manage Poulsbo Massage together. The couple’s business is two years strong in its current location at 219 Moe St. The couple has been married for 16 years and have a son who attends Kingston High.
While massage therapy was something Brian gravitated to, Nancy has always been interested in alternative therapies such as yoga and massage, Brian Koontz said.
“I studied martial arts and started getting into alternate ways of thinking about medicine,” he said. “I took a workshop at school and I had a professional massage. It turned my life around.”
That life changing event led to another for Brian, as he later met Nancy at massage school in Brighton Beach, Ore.
Now the two consider themselves deep-tissue massage therapists, he said. Both graduates of Seattle’s Brian Utting School of Massage, they offer a relaxing environment for their clients in downtown Poulsbo. They offer a variety of massage services, including Swedish, injury treatment and pregnancy massage.
Heat packs and aroma therapy can be included in each massage, and each client receives a massage tailored to their needs. A common ache both massage therapists see is what Brian calls “computer shoulder,” or the knot on the shoulder associated with working at a computer all day. Fixing that ailment and others — back pain, soreness from exercise, headaches or migraines, stress, and nerve pain — is Poulsbo Massage’s bread and butter.
At this point, the couple’s mission is twofold. They are trying to raise awareness that there is a massage clinic in downtown Poulsbo and tout the benefits of massage.
Among the benefits: improved circulation, lower blood pressure, a stronger immune system and fewer general aches and pains, Koontz said.
He’d also like to dissuade those who might get a massage from believing a common misconception.
“A lot of people think massage hurts, but I was just reading something last night that said the more toxic your body is, the more it hurts,” Koontz said. Massage, he added, helps cleanse the body of toxins.
Both Brian and Nancy Koontz are active in the community as members of the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce and the Toastmasters. She is also involved in Biz Builders, a social and professional networking group.
