Balance Your Life: Lomi Lomi Massage

Lomi Lomi Nui

Hawaiian Temple Massage
Aloha!

The Loving Touch –

a connection of heart, hands and soul

with the Source of All Life!"

Massage is one of the oldest and most powerful forms of healing. Lomi Lomi is one of the most profound forms of massage. So, what makes it so special, what is it, how does it differ from other massages, how does it "work"?

I am often asked what Lomi Lomi means. The word Lomi Lomi simply means massage. It is a unique healing massage derived from the ancient Polynesians and more specifically the master healers of Hawaii.

To understand the depth of a Lomi Lomi massage, it helps to have an understanding of the Hawaiian philosophy called Huna, and how the philosophies of Huna relate to bodywork and healing.

A fundamental assumption of Huna is that everything seeks harmony and everything seeks love. So how does this relate to massage? Perhaps this can best be understood by one of the alternate names for Lomi Lomi, and that is "Loving Hands" massage. The reason for this is that it works gently yet deeply into the muscles with continuous, flowing strokes, totally nurturing the body and enabling the recipient to deeply and profoundly relax, surrender and simply be. So whilst technique is an important part of the massage and associated healing, much of the work is done with the focus of the practitioner on the client being deep and complete, using loving hands and a loving heart.

This flowing with total energy, using the long continuous, flowing strokes, combined with the very loving touch, relaxes the entire being, assisting in a letting go of old beliefs, patterns and behaviours that cause limitations and which are stored in the cells of our body. People generally tend to think that our memories, beliefs, our "programming" is stored in our head, in our brain. This is not the case, memories and other programming is in fact stored in all the cells of our body.

The Hawaiians look at things in terms of energy flow, following the idea that an idea or belief can block the energy flow as much as muscle tension can. Lomi Lomi helps release blockages, whilst at the same time giving the energy a new direction. Thus Lomi Lomi is not just a physical experience; it also facilitates healing on the mental, emotional and spiritual level as well. The Hawaiians view all aspects of the body as one and believe that the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual are all parts of the "whole" self - so when healing is effected on one level, all levels are affected.

When harmony is lacking, the effect is pain physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. Illness is a state of tension, which leads to resistance which blocks energy movement. Lomi Lomi helps to release this and therefore facilitates the road to healing. On the physical level, stress and tension are relieved through Lomi Lomi, blood and lymph flow are assisted and the elimination of wastes and toxins are stimulated.

So, what happens during a Lomi Lomi massage? How is it performed? A Lomi Lomi usually commences with a stillness between the practitioner and client, often with the practitioners hands gently resting on the clients back.

In this stillness the practitioner will quietly say a blessing or prayer asking for whatever healing is needed to take place during the massage. Alternatively or as well, the client may be asked to set his or her intention for any healing they would like to receive. A Lomi Lomi massage is also appropriate at specific stages/ changes in life and with and intention set it opens intuition and inner connection to make the right decisions in life.

The practitioner then works very intuitively with the client. In this respect there is no set format or sequence for the massage and not two massages will ever be identical.

The massage is given in fluid, rhythmic motion using the forearms as well as the hands. Some people have described this as feeling like gentle waves moving over the body. Another feature is that different parts of the body may be massaged at the same time, for example one arm or hand may be working on a shoulder and the other hand may be working on the opposite hip. This assists the recipient in totally relaxing as it is impossible or at least extremely difficult for the brain to focus on the two different areas at once. By not working on areas in isolation a deep sense of balance and harmony is achieved. As I said earlier, whilst technique is important, the priority is loving the body, using intuition so the massage is "right" for the client. The client on the table is not viewed as someone to be fixed, but a being to be returned to harmony and balance. It is important to remember that the practitioner does not heal but is the facilitator for the healing.

Under body and full body strokes also help to free the energy, make the body soft, promoting free and abundant flow of life energy in the recipient. According to Huna philosophy, energy also gets blocked in the joints. Gentle stretches of the body and gentle rotations of the joints are therefore also incorporated to assist the release of tensions and assist the flow of energy, once again not forcing, but feeling the level of the clients resistance or comfort. The masseuse may also hum at various points during the Lomi Lomi as the vibrating and amplified energy that results also dancework or hula movements, combined with the breathwork of the practitioner are also important and integral aspects of Lomi Lomi.

Another major difference from other massages is that the person lays directly on the vinyl of the table and not on a towel and rather than being covered completely by towels, is covered by a small sheet or towel leaving most of the body exposed during the massage, whilst maintaining the recipients modesty. This makes it a lot easier to perform the underbody and full body strokes without interrupting the flow of the massage. To ensure the comfort of the client it is important to maintain the right temperature at a warm level.

Because the practitioner works intuitively, a massage may be slow and very relaxing or at times it may be a little faster and therefore more invigorating and enlivening to the body. Sometimes the recipient may experience an emotional release as the massage can release and shift negative emotions, negative beliefs and other "stuff" that has been stored in the cells of the body, with the healing effects of the massage continuing long after the massage is over.

At the beginning of this description I said

"aloha"

The Aloha Spirit refers to the attitude of friendly acceptance

for which the people of Hawaii are so famous.

Aloha stands for so much more than hello or goodbye or love.

Its deeper meaning is

"the joyful sharing of life energy in the present"

This really is one of the secrets of Lomi Lomi and to love and nurture the body as if it is your own.

A practitioner of Lomi Lomi learns to flow the love from the heart, through the hands, to connect with the soul of the one receiving the massage. Healing is increased by love, love received and love given. Love in this way is not only defined as fondness, a deep or passionate affection to someone or something - to the Hawaiians it is so much more, it also includes tolerance, forgiveness, acceptance, non judgement, appreciation, compassion, respect and so many other elements of unconditional love – and this is the very foundation of a Lomi Lomi massage.

Did you know?

A Lomi Lomi Massage is best in nature!