Hoffman Massage is a system of intuitive massage, bodywork and energetic healing developed by Bronson Bertschinger. He named the system of massage and bodywork after his African grandmother who was the first person to teach him massage at the age of 10. The main determinant behind the Hoffman system of massage and bodywork is that the human body is incredibly complex, consisting of material, emotional and subtle . Our bodies are too complex to fit into any routine style of treatment the way many massage schools teach these days. Hoffman Massage uses a combination of various techniques that are aimed at affecting and balancing many different systems of the body in each and every treatment.

Problems that exhibit symptoms through the physical body, such as aches and pains, disease, or emotional and mental conditions, are almost always the result of more than one system of the body being out of balance and Hoffman Massage has been developed around this understanding. Therefore in practicing Hoffman Massage, the practitioners aim should be to bring balance to the body as a whole instead of focusing on the muscular system, skeletal system, lymphatic or energetic systems, or any other system alone.

"The only real valuable thing is intuition" - Albert Einstein

Through his practice, Bronson has learnt that intuition is a very powerful tool in being a great massage therapist or healer. The aim of the Hoffman Massage course is not only to teach people one of the most comprehensive forms of massage and bodywork in the world, but also to teach people how to develop their sense of touch and awareness so that they trust in and are guided by their intuition in a grounded fashion. This way students can take what they learn through Hoffman intuitive bodywork and energetic healing and develop it based on what skills and gifts they may exhibit as an individual.

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind" -  Albert Einstein

Hoffman Massage draws on the most powerful techniques and ideas of many healing arts from all over the world. By using these varying techniques Bronson continues to develop and innovate the system of Hoffman massage, constantly using new ways to treat and heal his clients and bring balance back to the body. Essentially Hoffman Massage teaches that it is not HOW you bring balance back to the body that is important, rather that you DO bring balance to the body using whatever techniques YOU feel necessary.

The biggest influences of the development of Hoffman Massage have been:

• Bowen Therapy
• Raynor Massage
• Yang Mian System Kung Fu
• Quantum Touch Energetic Healing
• Ayurvedic Medicine
• Myofascial Release and the Anatomy Trains
• Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

Some of the other therapies that Hoffman Massage draws information and techniques from include:

• Marma Therapy
• Hawaiian Lomi Lomi Massage
• Thai Massage
• Ayurvedic Massage
• Tui Na
• Swedish Massage
• Deep Tissue Massage
• Shiatsu
• Accupressure Massage
• Hilot Therapy
• Cupping Therapy
• Gua-Sha
• Pulsing Therapy
• Rolfing
• Chiropractic Work
• Dorn Spinal Therapy
• Reiki
• Pranic Healing
• Shamanic Healing
• Medical Intuitive Healing
• Reflexology
• Qi Gong
• Hatha Yoga
• Yin Yoga
• Feldenkrais

Bronson has  either studied, experienced, or practiced all of these techniques and has subsequently combined what he has learned with what he believes to be the most powerful tool we have - intuition.

"To study and master all the arts of healing the physical body, mind, and subtle energy systems would take us much longer than the short life we have in this body. We have been given the gift of intuition; we just need to cultivate it." Bronson Bertschinger

What is so different about the Hoffman Massage system?

The styles of massage and healing you will learn in the Hoffman Massage system are very unique and it would be hard to find training of this kind anywhere else in the world. The results that can be achieved and the levels of the body you can work on having trained as a Hoffman Massage therapist are much more substantial and intriguing than what people generally think massage is capable of.

Our intensive hands on training courses will give you an extremely comprehensive massage skill set. It will give you the ability to work the same way 99% of massage therapists do, but will give you an edge above that to work in a way that not 1% of even the most highly trained massage therapists in the world even know is possible. At the most advanced stages of training you will learn skills that enable you to tap into deeply stored emotional stresses and tensions that people usually hold for a life time. Through the Hoffman Massage system you will begin to understand that massage can be one of the most deeply healing forms of natural therapy in the world.

Those students who are diligent and passionate about learning a very advanced form of massage and healing and who truly take on board the understanding of the techniques taught in the Hoffman Massage system will develop skills to set them apart from the bulk of other massage being taught in the world today. Massage styles such as relaxation massage, Swedish massage, Ayurvedic oil massage, Bowen style massage, sports massage, remedial massage, deep tissue massage and Hawaiian Lomi Lomi style massage will all be very easy for someone who is well trained in the Hoffman Massage system.

The spectrum of touch you will confidently be able to administer will range from the most subtle forms of body work and energetic healing to deep therapeutic sports massage. Your skill set will range from touches so gentle that you sometimes find yourself purely working energetically with your hands distant from the body, to deep therapeutic massage practiced often in the sports massage world, to emotional release massage techniques only understood by one other style of massage in the world - Raynor Massage.

Essentially you will learn massage skills that enable you to give any client any kind of massage they want or you feel they need. More often than not each client you treat will exhibit different issues each time you treat them and the Hoffman Massage system will enable you to decipher the right type of treatment for every appointment, suitable to that particular person on that particular day.

We teach many people who have been in the healing industry for many years and no one has ever experienced a massage style so diverse, in-depth, and holistic all at the same time.

Bronson Bertschinger and the History of Hoffman Massage

Hoffman Massage is continually evolving and developing as Bronson Bertschinger's lifetime of experiencing and learning manual, natural and medical therapies continues. Bronson was born in South Africa in 1974 and his journey in the healing arts began at only 3 years old when he was told by a Shaman that he would be a healer. In 1984, when he was 10 years old, he was taught how to massage by his African grandmother Helene Florence Hoffman and he has been practicing and learning about healing since that day. Hoffman Massage is named after Helene in honour of the huge impact she had on Bronson's personal life and healing career.

The Yang Mian™ System, an explosive, internal power based martial art from China, continues to have a large influence on the development of Hoffman Massage. Bronson started training in the Yang Mian™ System in 1991. The Yang Mian™ System is a unique martial arts system that teaches and promotes the use of internal energy (chi). Being an internal martial art, students learn how to generate chi based on the natural movement of the body and learn how to express that chi as a combat application in a living way. The system conditions the body to be flexible like rubber, whilst allowing explosive internal power to be transferred.

Unlike most martial arts the Yang Mian™ System is not restricted by kartas or patterns that one has to perfect. It is based on a system called free movement where students are taught to move their body in a very fluid way releasing chi whenever they choose to in a very powerful way. This system of martial art understands that kartas and patterns may limit a person and Bronson has incorporated this idea when treating people with massage, body work, and energetic healing. If every healing situation had only one set massage routine applied to it there would be a huge limit to what can be achieved. Bronson believes that learning many techniques, learning how to touch, and learning how to be more intuitive is a much more powerful way to heal people using massage and bodywork.

In 1998 Bronson was introduced to Yoga, meditation and ancient Vedic philosophy. These have by far been the most grounding aspect of what Bronson has learned and applied to his personal and work life.

Bronson has been very analytical in the development of Hoffman massage. One of his favourite expressions from John R Cross is; "we can have our heads in the clouds when exploring these phenomena but we must have our feet on the ground." The techniques and forms of healing that Hoffman Massage teaches have been very carefully analysed with a very skeptical mind using ancient Vedic information as a strong backbone and guide.

In 1999 Bronson started suffering from acute back pain. His attempt to fix it has lead him through many forms of healing of both Eastern and Western influence but Bronson always felt that the treatments he received were never comprehensive enough. Most therapies usually only focused on one system of the body such as the skeletal system, the muscular system, the lymphatic system, mental issues, or the internal or external energetic systems. And yet even though these are all connected and interrelated the intention of many therapies is not to balance all of them. This further influenced Hoffman Massage to incorporate the understanding that all of the above, all at once, can be the cause of a symptom of disease (dis-ease) in the body and to develop a way in which balance to as many of these systems can be brought about all at the same time.

In 2002 Bronson learnt Thai Massage with Sean Stocker, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Practitioner and Thai Massage Therapist. This was actually the beginning of Bronson's 'formal' training in the healing arts of bodywork. He has since been trained in advanced forms of Thai Massage with Bruce Bentley of Health Traditions.

One of the most significant influences in Bronson's respect for massage and bodywork was Raynor Massage. Bronson's training in Raynor Massage started in January 2008 and it was the turning point in Bronson's opinion of massage as a therapy. Previously to learning from Brandon Raynor, Bronson had given up on massage being able to help him with his pain due to the lack of quality in massage being taught around the world today.

Bronson went on to work for Brandon Raynor and became the General Manager, Head Teacher and Teacher Trainer of Brandon Raynor's School of Natural Therapies and they still work together today as great friends. Bronson has had over 400 hours of training from Brandon Raynor and is one of the world's most highly trained and qualified Raynor Massage Therapists.

In mid 2008 Bronson was trained in Dorn Spinal Therapy by Barbara Simon, founder of Dorn Spinal Therapy in Australia. Bronson's understanding that the spine is strongly linked to the muscular, nervous, lymphatic, endocrine, energetic and mental systems of the body drove him to learn this therapy that is known to gently and effectively treat spinal misalignments. Dorn Spinal Therapy is a great alternative to Osteopathy and Chiropractic. It is an effective, safe and non-manipulative therapy that corrects misalignments in the spine and joints.

In 2008 and 2009 Bronson trained with Bruce Bentley of Health Traditions. Bruce Bentley is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner who trained extensively in China and has since had 35 years of experience. Bruce is one of the worlds most renowned cupping therapists and has traveled the world practicing and researching cupping therapy techniques. He was even handed down the Buddhist Traveling Monk medicine system - something that is not shared with anyone but the most dedicated and respected students of the ancient Chinese systems of healing. Apart from learning Eastern, Western, and modern Cupping techniques from Bruce, Bronson also learnt fundamental aspects of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and amazing subtle ways of treating the body.

Bronson is constantly learning, studying, and developing his skills, not letting himself get caught up in one school or another of medicine and healing. When massaging the body one can be effecting Chinese Meridians, Marma Points, Acupressure Points, Thai Sen Meridians, Chakras, emotions, Reflexology Points, Myofascial Meridians, anatomical systems of the body, aspects of Bowen therapy, the subtle energy systems, and the list goes on and on. Bronson believes the body to be too intricate and complex to be able to put the cause of illness or dis-ease down to one aspect of irregularity or imbalance. Therefore he treats the body, and teaches his students to do the same, in a comprehensive way trying to bring balance to the entire body, not just one aspect of it, whilst also remaining open minded to the existence of energies far greater than himself.