Sunshine Massage School
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
About the school
Sunshine is the institutional home of the Sunshine Network lineage - the tradition developed by Asokananda, the German-born Harald Brust, who studied with Chaiyuth Priyasith and Pichest Boonthumme and codified the flowing, meditative, yoga-influenced style that most Westerners now recognise as Thai Yoga Massage. Founder Max Scheuermeier trained with Asokananda at the Lahu village of Huey Nam Rim in Chiang Rai before opening the Chiang Mai school in November 2004. The teaching philosophy is unusual and worth understanding before enrolling: Sunshine does not push students up a numbered ladder. It runs one deep two-week, 60-hour beginner course and actively encourages students to repeat it with different teachers rather than rush to an advanced label, on the view that depth comes from repetition and presence rather than accumulation of certificates. Teacher training exists but is organic and negotiated rather than formalised. It suits students drawn to the meditative, breath-led, whole-body-rocking end of Thai massage. It suits less well anyone who wants a certificate ladder in a hurry.
Courses
- Beginner's Course (60 hrs, 2 weeks)
- Combo 5 Foundation Builder (5 weeks)
- Combo 8 Professional Pathway (8 weeks)
- Summer Residency (10 weeks, includes meditation and fieldwork)
- Advanced courses and specialist workshops through the school's separate advanced-course and workshop programmes, including Chi Nei Tsang, osteopathy-influenced and shiatsu-influenced modules taught by Thai and visiting Western instructors
- Individually negotiated teacher training
Course fees
Beginner's Course 60 hrs / 2 weeks: 9,900 THB. Fees for Combo 5, Combo 8, the Summer Residency and advanced workshops are not published on the website and must be requested from the school.
Accreditation
The school states accreditation by the Thai Ministry of Education and the Thai Ministry of Health, plus recognition by NHPC (Canada), Massage and Myotherapy Australia (AAMT), NCBTMB (USA) and THAI (Thai Healing Alliance International). The international bodies are professional recognition for continuing education, not Thai government accreditation - verify CE eligibility with your own board.
Address
159/2 Kaew Nawarat Soi 4, Chiang Mai 50000, Thailand