Hoffman Massage System

Hoffman Technique is a system of Holistic Massage,Intuitive Bodywork and Energetic Healing developed by Bronson Bertschinger. The Hoffman Technique was named after Bronson’s deceased African Grandmother Helene Florence Hoffman, who was the first person to teach him massage at the age of 10.

The main idea behind the Hoffman Technique is based on the facts that humans are very complex, consisting of material, emotional, subtle and spiritual energy. We are too complex to fit into a routine style of treatment as many massage schools teach these days. Hoffman massage uses techniques that are aimed to bring balance to as many systems of the body as possible in a treatment.

Bronson believes that 2 of the most powerful tools to heal are intuition and intention. “Where the mind goes the Chi goes”. The aim of Hoffman massage courses is not only to teach people one of the most comprehensive forms of massage and bodywork in the world, but also teach people to develop their sense of touch and awareness and focus, so that they trust in and are guided by their intuition in a grounded fashion and can focus their intent in a loving and caring manner. This way you can take what you learn through Hoffman Technique and develop it based on what skills and gifts you have as an individual.

What is happening a lot today when people learn massage, manual therapies and healing techniques is that we are being restricted and taught to conform to the modality we are learning. The aim of Hoffman Energy Massage, Intutive Bodywork and Energetic Healing courses, is to help people develop what natural healing abilities we have been given. Some of us have certain gifts and Bronson believes the most powerful way to heal with massage and bodywork is if you are able to use a certain modality and be guided by intuition and focus your intent and work from your heart, with love.

Something Bronson has experienced too much while being trained in other modalities is people trying to get him to conform to the particular techniques and forms of the manual therapy.  Hoffman Technique does not teach like this. We teach you many very powerful techniques, but the main thing we try and teach you is how to develop your own inate ability to heal others through touch, massage and energetic healing.

For example some people may come away from a Hoffman Technique Diploma of Energy Massage, Intuitive Bodywork and Energetic Healing and just focus on energetic healing alone because they find out its something they are naturally inclined to do, or have focused control over their chi. Others, who have a naturally caring and loving personality may be best at gentle energy massage, that is guided by intuition and has a strong spirit of love and care. We dont want to make clones, we wants to teach people how to heal combining the ancient and modern froms of bodywork, with love, with intuition with care and good energy.

Hoffman Technique aims to promote the ancient and modern forms of massage, bodywork and healing and help people get back to a healthy balance. To be more in tune with our body, mind and spirit and develop a stronger connection with nature,  other people, energy and the Supreme Spirit.

Benefits of Massage

Massage is perhaps one of the oldest healing traditions. Many cultures - including the Ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese and Indians - were convinced of the therapeutic properties of massage and used it to treat a variety of ailments.

Modern studies have shown that massage can be used to successfully treat a variety of disorders, including:

• Anxiety
• Arthritis
• Back pain
• Chronic pain
• Constipation
• Depression
• Headache
• High blood pressure
• Insomnia

These are proven from studies but the therapeutic qualities of massage can effect systems of the body that western medicine have still to discover. Chinese and Ayeruvedic massage can treat many diseases that western medicine would prescribe drugs for.

Some of the Physical Benefits of Massage

Some of the Mental Benefits of Massage

These are just some of the reasons why it's healthy to get a regular massage. Hoffman Holistic Massage on the other hand, is focused on a deeper level of the body that much of the eastern styles of natural therapy work on and is one of, if not the most powerful form of massage in the world today.

History of Massage

The practice of using touch as a healing method derives from customs and techniques rooted in ancient history. Civilizations in the East and West found that natural healing and massage could heal injuries, relieve pain, and prevent and cure illnesses. What’s more, it helped reduce stress and produce deep relaxation.

Massage therapy began as a sacred system of natural healing. However, cultural shifts rendered it a disreputable form of indulgence for extensive periods of history. Enduring these turns, massage has experienced resurgence in modern times and still today massage therapy stands as a highly respected holistic healing method practiced across the world.

“The physician must be experienced in many things, but assuredly in rubbing……. For rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose, and loosen a joint that is too rigid.”   Hippocrates.

Massage from India and Ayurvedic Medicine

Documented in approximately 3000 B.C but practiced since time immemorial

Believed to be of divine origin and passed down orally through generations, Ayurveda is the traditional holistic medical system in India. Ancient seers and natural scientists developed this system based on centuries of studies, experiments and meditations.

Texts detailing Ayurvedic principles and practices were written some time between 1500 and 500 BCE. Based on these texts, Ayurveda was widely adopted throughout India and Southeast Asia.

Ayurveda views that individuals incur illnesses and diseases when they live out of harmony with their environment. To treat their conditions, individuals must restore their natural mental and physical balance by reestablishing harmony between themselves and the world around them. At that point, they can begin to heal naturally.

Based on the patient’s health imbalances, constitution and the time of year, Ayurveda recommends how to use the five senses to interact with the environment in order to create balance. Treatments in Ayurveda include diet and herbalism, aromatherapy, color therapy, sound therapy and touch therapy.

Massage Culture Appears In Egypt and China

Started practicing massage between 3,000 and 2,500 B.C.E.

The earliest written records of massage therapy were discovered in Egypt and China. Tomb paintings in Egypt depict individuals being kneaded by others. Furthermore, Egyptians are credited with creating reflexology in approximately 2500 B.C, but Reflexology has been a part of Ayurvedic Medicine since it has existed. In this system, the practitioner applies pressure to specific points or reflex zones on the feet and hands. In turn, the recipient experiences beneficial effects on the areas of the body that connect to those zones.

In China, texts documenting the medical benefits of massage therapy date back to approximately 2700 BCE. The Chinese tradition of massage therapy was developed from the combined expertise and methods of doctors in traditional Chinese medicine, practitioners of martial arts, Buddhists and Taoists who viewed touch as essential to their spiritual yoga, and laymen who offered massages for relaxation.

Chinese massage methods originated from the principle that diseases and illnesses arise due to a deficiency or imbalance in the energy in specific pathways or meridians that represent physiological systems. Through massage and other specific bodywork techniques, energy will flow more harmoniously through these pathways, allowing the body to heal itself naturally.

Techniques include Tui Na, amno, acupuncture and acupressure, to name a few. Practitioners may complement massage treatments with herbal remedies, dietary therapy and exercise recommendations.

Monks Bring Massage Therapy To Japan

Started practicing massage in approximately 1000 BC

Starting around 1000 BCE, Japanese monks studying Buddhism in China observed the healing methods of traditional Chinese medicine, including massage therapy. Japan soon began to import and customize Chinese massage techniques, giving rise to traditional Japanese massage or anma, which grew into Shiatsu.

The primary goal of Shiatsu is to raise the energy level in the patient. In turn, this increased energy level regulates and fortifies the functioning of the organs and stimulates natural resistance to illnesses.

Massage practitioners stimulate pressure points in the body in an effort to rebalance the patient’s energy. They use their thumbs, fingers and palms, working without needles or other instruments. Through treatment, patients can achieve balance in both their physical body and emotional well-being.

History of lomi lomi (Hawaiian Massage)

The early Polynesian settlers brought their own form of massage and, like a canoe plant, it evolved to become something uniquely Hawaiian. It was practiced by everyone, from child to chief. As an indigenous practice that evolved over hundreds of years in isolated valleys throughout the island chain, there are many different “schools” of lomilomi with different approaches and techniques.

Most revered were the Kahuna, experts in their chosen profession. Kahuna specialized in areas ranging from stargazing to canoe building; skills chosen in childhood and mastered through training. The Kahuna lomilomi were masters of body manipulation and healing massage. They practiced their ancient art with a deep connection to nature.

The Kahuna lomilomi were priests who practiced the healing arts with much reverence, love and spirituality. They believed that physical discomfort and disease were the results of suppressed emotions, mental disturbances or spiritual disharmony. The traditional lomilomi healing session began with a thorough investigation into the nature of the dysfunction, as well as prayer, fasting and several sessions in the steam hut. Once the malady was identified, the treatment would often begin with heated stones and herbal poultices. Then the Kahuna would massage and use particular lomilomi strokes necessary for that individual.

The lomilomi technique focused on finding congested areas in the body and dispersing them, by moving the palms, thumbs, knuckles and forearms in rhythmic, dance-like motions. Setting the intention for healing, the Kahuna would also utilize prayer (pule), breath (ha) and energy (mana).

Ancient Greece

Started practicing massage between 800 and 700 B.C.

Derived from the Eastern philosophies and practices, massage progressed into Western civilization in approximately the eighth century B.C.

Athletes in Ancient Greece employed massage to keep their bodies in peak condition prior to competitions. Physicians of the time used herbs and oils in combination with massage techniques to treat many medical conditions. Greek women recognized the benefits of these aromatic oils and used them as beauty treatments on their skin.

In the fifth century B.C., Hippocrates prescribed “friction” to treat physical injuries and instructed his physician colleagues on the benefits of rubbing to help the body heal itself. Moreover, he promoted a combination of massage, proper diet, exercise, rest, fresh air and music to restore the body to a healthy state.

Massage Spreads To Rome

Started practicing massage between 200 and 100 B.C.

In Rome, during the first century B.C., Galen, a physician to many emperors, began using massage therapy to treat different types of physical injuries and diseases. Following Hippocrates’ principles, Galen believed in exercise, healthy diet, rest and massage as integral pieces in restoring and maintaining a healthy body.

While the wealthy received massages in their homes by personal physicians, many Romans were treated in public baths where trainers and doctors delivered massages. The recipients would first bathe themselves and then receive a full body massage to stimulate circulation and loosen their joints. Massages typically included oils to benefit the skin.

Highly popular in Roman culture, the public baths eventually earned a reputation as being more about excess and the pursuit of pleasure instead of as an avenue for healing. In the fourth century A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine condemned the public baths for adding to the abuse of sex in Roman culture.

Europe Recognizes Massage’s Healing Powers

The 17th through 19th centuries A.D.

Massage therapy declined in popularity and practice in the West until approximately 1600 A.D. Scientific breakthroughs in medical technology and pharmacology were changing the foundation of modern medicine. Manual methods of healing faded from view.

Between 1600 and 1800, numerous physicians and scientists observed and documented the benefits of massage. However, Western techniques made few advances until the 19th century.

In the early 1800s, the Swedish physician Per Henrik Ling developed the Swedish Gymnastic Movement System. This system incorporated massage with medical gymnastics and physiology. Techniques included stroking, pressing and squeezing, and striking to manually treat physical issues. Sweden was the first country to include massage in a college curriculum supervised at government level. Today, the modality incorporating the Ling techniques is called Swedish massage.

Massage and The Wellness Boom

The 20th century through today

Through the early part of the 20th century, an increasing number of new and rediscovered massage techniques were documented and practiced. In particular, massage was used to treat World War I patients who suffered from nerve injury or shell shock.

However, massage remained out of the mainstream as a form of treatment for many years. It was perceived as a luxury reserved for the wealthy. Furthermore, its reputation endured another unsavory period with the advent of massage parlors where the practice became associated with the sex trade.

In the latter half of the 20th century, rising interest in natural healing methods revitalized massage. As a result, massage earned a place as a legitimate and respectable form of complementary medicine.