A therapeutic wellness retreat in California is being credited with transforming the lives of A-list celebrities in just seven days.
Founded in 1967, the Hoffman Process is an intensive, week-long retreat where participants learn to “live more consciously” by identifying and dismantling patterns of behavior.
Participants must disconnect from electronics, alcohol, sex, exercise and anything else in their lives that could be a bad habit or stress reliever in order to dig deep and connect with their true essence.
Celebrity fans include Katy Perry, Sienna Miller, Justin Bieber and Maria Shriver.
Participants pay $5,350 for the week-long retreat, which includes all accommodation, food and materials.
A favourite with celebrities like Katy Perry (pictured), the therapeutic wellness retreat has been credited with changing the A-list celebrity’s life in just seven days.
Founded in 1967, the Hoffman Process is an intensive, week-long retreat in which participants learn to “live more consciously” by identifying and deconstructing patterns of behavior.
The process begins several weeks before attending the retreat, and requires participants to speak with multiple counselors and fill out a “detailed” form to identify their behavioral patterns, bad habits and insecurities.
The registration process can take up to 12 hours and requires participants to provide detailed information about their childhood and relationships with their parents or guardians.
Hoffman coach Matt Brannagan told DailyMail.com that applicants are looking into the program to address everything from work and childcare issues to finding purpose in life.
“We’re not saying this is for people who had childhood problems. We’re saying this is for people who want to improve their lives now. We just know that a holistic view across the lifespan is the way to support that,” he explained.
Once inside, participants take part in a variety of daily activities, including watching presentations, guided meditations, visualization exercises and journal writing.
“A lot of people identify as having to overcome certain elements of anger, resentment, addiction, so there’s an experience associated with that, like some kind of cathartic release,” Brannagan said.
There is no special treatment for celebrity attendees, and A-list celebrities must attend alongside general attendees.
Other celebrity adherents of the Hoffman Process include Sienna Miller, Hoda Kotb and Maria Shriver.
Participants will engage in a variety of daily activities, including watching presentations, guided meditations, visualization exercises and journal writing.
Celebrity attendees will not receive special treatment, and A-list celebrities will have to attend alongside the general public.
“Everyone who participates, including celebrities, is on the same program,” Brannagan said.
“I think that’s part of what they value: the opportunity to come to an environment where they feel supported and be amongst a group of people who are open to who they are, without having to be special or seen as different,” he continued.
“And I’ve heard from several famous people, both public and not, that one of the most satisfying experiences is simply being in a group of people where they’re not treated differently or given preferential treatment.”
In an interview with Jamie Kahn Lima in early August“Today” co-host Hoda Kotb said that attending a Hoffman retreat in 2021 made her a better parent, and suggested it may have been a factor in her calling off her engagement to ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.
“Did your life, your relationships, everything change when you went there?” Lima asked her.
“Yes, that’s true,” Kotb replied. “That was part of what brought things to light.”
She added: “I’ve just learned about authenticity, being real and knowing what I deserve.”
Today co-host Hoda Kotb suggested that her participation in a Hoffman Process retreat in 2021 may have been what prompted her to end her engagement to ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman (both pictured).
“I learned to not fake it, to be authentic, and to know what I deserve,” Kotb said of her time at the retreat.
Kotb attended the Hoffman Process in December 2021 and announced his separation from Shiffman just a month later.
Pop star Katy Perry also underwent transformational therapy through the Hoffman Process after struggling with situational depression following the poor reception of her 2017 album, Witness.
“I was ready to let go of anything that was holding me back from becoming my ultimate self,” she told Vogue.
“I placed great importance on the public’s reaction, but the public reaction was not what I had hoped for, and it hurt my heart.”
After spending time with the program, Perry likened it to rebooting a computer that’s infected with a virus.
The Roar singer found his time there so valuable that he now gives out Hoffman gift certificates to friends.
“I would recommend it to everyone, including my best friends and other artists looking for a breakthrough,” she said.
“A lot of people self-medicate through approval from audiences, through drugs, and by constantly running away from reality – through denial and withdrawal. I did that for a long time too.”
But for some celebrities, the intensive program was too tough to bear.
Beaver ran away from the Hoffman lab after a few days, finding it too difficult and feeling uncomfortable with the group exercises.
Pop star Katy Perry also underwent a transformational experience through the Hoffman Process after struggling with depression following the poor reception of her 2017 album, Witness.
Justin Bieber found the Hoffman Institute too difficult, was uncomfortable with the group exercises, and ran out after a few days.
“There was this thing called a séance,” he told Vogue magazine, “It wasn’t really a séance, it was more traditional. You light candles, and it was kind of scary. You sit on a mat, you put a pillow on it, and you start banging out your past.”
“I’ve overcome the fact that my mother was depressed most of her life and my father had anger issues. I’m a little angry about what they passed on to me.”
Brannagan told DailyMail.com that it was “very rare” for participants to leave the program early, mainly because of the extensive and thorough enrolment process designed to weed out unsuitable candidates.
In addition to major locations in California and Connecticut, Hoffman Process retreats are also held in Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Russia, Austria, Brazil and Argentina.
The Hoffman Institute continues to grow and expand, having just invested an astonishing $11.5 million to open a new retreat facility in California.
They also offer a two-day virtual program for those who can’t attend the week-long in-person retreat.
Retreats for the remainder of 2024 are sold out at all U.S. locations.
“We’re focused on cultivating a kind of space of emotional growth and self-awareness that helps people recognize the limited value of their patterns and guides them to be more selective in their lives,” Brannagan said.
“The way we operate in the world is often compulsive and automatic, but if we just take a moment to step back and be more aware, we’ll realize that we have many choices in how we live our lives,” he continued.
“So this process is mainly about helping people recognise the areas where they have choices and then helping them to make those choices more smoothly in their lives.”
“This is something we really believe people can benefit from,” he added.
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