Biography

“My approach to healing is: integrative massage, breathwork, energy work, sound vibration and spiritual connection. Everything is work until it becomes part of you. I may include breathwork, abdominal massage (chi nei tsang) cranial sacral, polarity, reiki, tuina, shiatsu, thai massage, medical qigong, toning, and song during your session. With my MELTING THE DRAGON tool kit, my intention is to assist you to regain your fluidity of movement, your emotional balance and to feel whole again.”

Formal Training

• Graduate of American College of Chinese Medicine, Médical Tui Na program, 2002 with Dr. Rocky Wang, San Francisco, 2000-2001
• Shiatsu & Thai massage studies at Shiatsu Institute, San Francisco 1991
• Chi Nei Tsang studies with Gilles Marin, San Francisco & Berkeley, CA. 1991-2006
• Cosmic Healing & Chi Nei Tsang with Mantak Chia, Dao Garden, Chang Mai, Thailand 2009
• Medical Qigong, Tui Na and Wuji Gong studies with Grandmaster Foo Wei Zhong, of the school of Da Dao Chan Gong in 2001. Certified Wuji Gong Instructor
• Reiki Master since 2006. Initiated by: Seb Manot, Pai, Thailand 2002. Alfred Roegler, Dharamsala, India 2002. Jose Roman, Granada, Spain 2004
• Initiated into Green Tara by Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche in Kensington, Oakland, California 2006
• California Certified Massage Therapist certificate #36001

Tonia Hafter is a holistic intuitive massage therapist practicing an integrative organic approach to healing. MELTING THE DRAGON MASSAGE integrates bodywork with energy work to relieve pain and distress. The work is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles with formal and intuitive healing methods that include Breathwork, TuiNa medical massage Shiatsu, Thai massage, Chi Nei Tsang abdominal massage, Vocal Resonance, Toning, Song, Polarity, Cranial Sacral, Reiki, Qigong healing and other personally evolved practices. She includes customized self healing exercises and nutritional counseling to support your healing process; taking into consideration your personality, culture and lifestyle.

Assists her students and patients to:

• Reduce inflammation and pain in the joints
• Recover faster from injuries and surgeries ; especially hip and pelvic pain
• Recover from repetitive stress injuries like frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome and neck and shoulder pain
• Regain better circulation and increase energy
• Increase range of motion
• Increase breath capacity
• Open the voice
• Reduce anxiety and nervousness
• Find relief from abdominal “knots” and stress
• Work with post traumatic stress symptoms
• Learn self healing techniques
• Personalize one’s diet to support your health

Tonia’s work in a post traumatic stress clinic in Fruitvale, Ca. with victims of the war in Bosnia served to help develop her personalized MELTING THE DRAGON approach to healing. She collaborated with Karma Clinic and the Berkeley Acupuncture Project and has been in private practice since 2002 seeing all different kind of patients in northern California, Switzerland, the Virgin Islands, Romania, Mongolia, France, Spain and Mexico.

She has studied and practiced various forms of Yoga since her youth and Qigong since 1991. She holds a yoga teaching certificate from Shivananda School of Yoga in Trivanderum, India, and has studied and practiced different Daoist forms of meditation and qigong since the early 90’s with various teachers and masters in the U.S. and in Thailand.

Tonia’s Qigong, self healing and reiki classes have taken place in Harbin Hot Springs, Women at Risk programs in Marin, Oklahoma City, St. Johns Island, Arriege, France, Bordeaux, France, Barcelona, Spain, Jalapa, Veracruz and Mexico City and Oakland, California. She is fluent in English, Spanish and French.