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"Hawaiian massage is a praying work."
Aunty Margaret Machado – Kumu lomilomi
Lomi
Lomi is based on ancient healing methods from many Eastern and
Pacific cultures. It is not just massage - dealing with the
physical aspects of the body - but also incorporates the mind,
emotions and spirit.
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Kino is
body/physical |
| 'Ano'Ano
is seed/belief/mental |
| Aloha is
unconditional love/emotion |
| Mana is
Life Force, spiritual |
Some of the terms and concepts used in Lomi
Lomi include:
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Aloha |
ALO
- Honoring the Divine Presence
Alo
- the presence of, the face of, and Hä - the breath
of life. In Hawaiian belief, all beings and things share a
common genealogy, of Divine Creation. Within every person,
animal, plant, ka ˙äina (land), and ka moana
(the ocean), is a life force that is an aspect of the Divine
Creative Source, ke Akua (God). When we express our
aloha, we acknowledge that common root. We recognize and
treat all creation as ohana(family), as an aspect
of one’s self.
Lomilomi restores health and well being through
aloha. We treat each person that comes to us and we treat
ourselves as a mirror of the Divine Creator, of ke Akua.
We share our hä with that person, exchanging mana.
Lomilomi is body-mind-spirit healing through physical
manipulation.
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Hä
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Breath of Life Within
Another
Breath, and therefore, life. Greetings in traditional
Hawaiian fashion exchange the hä between people. We share
our lives together in aloha. To lack the respect for life
is to be without hä, literally, hä˙ole. To breathe
with awareness of this connection is to nurture one’s
mana (life force).
Lomilomi
strengthens the Hä (Breath of Life)
within the giver and receiver. The hä is vital to
the restoration of pono, mana, and ola
(life). |
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Mana |
Life force, like
Chi or Ki. We can cultivate our mana, by
caring for our selves and our connection to all creation. We
can direct it as we wish, a huge responsibility. Mana
manifests in our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
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Pono |
Balance, rightness,
correctness.
When things are in balance with the rest of creation, and
all are treated with aloha, with justice, fairness,
and correctness, then things are pono. Pono
creates well being at physical, mental, emotional, and
spiritual levels.
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Ho’oponopono |
Make Right Within,
Forgiveness
To cause or create pono. When one is not pono,
ma˙i, or illness results. This can appear in an
individual, a family, a community, a nation.
Ho˙oponopono is the process of making things right, of
repairing the damage. It requires acknowledging and
releasing one’s wrongs as well as one’s hurts without
blame. It requires granting and accepting forgiveness.
Ho'oponopono restores our connection with The Source,
and our mana flows once again.
Lomilomi
restores and replenishes health by helping
the client return to pono (balance) and reconnecting
with ke Akua. The imbalance causes illness and disease,
physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We
encourage our clients to identify those disruptions in their
lives, rectify them, thus releasing the blocked energy, not
only during the massage, but also as an ongoing part of
their lifestyle. As lomilomi therapists, we
practice this as well, because it affects our own well being
and our capacity to guide the healing process.
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Na'au |
The
lower abdomen, the intestines, the “gut”. It is here
that the seat of wisdom and intelligence, emotion, mana, and
physical strength resides. The expression “gut feeling”
reflects the understanding that this is the core of our
being, the seat of emotion. Whether in hula,
lomilomi, or any other Hawaiian practice, one’s
physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual mana flow
from here.
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Mälama |
To
genuinely care for something, someone, as if it were one’s
own. From the concept of Aloha, we are all connected to
the Divine. We all share the hä of life, and it is this
understanding that guides mälama.
We hold a responsibility to
the client to ensure that they are protected and cared for,
while they are in a lomilomi treatment. A simple
reminder from Aunty Margaret is to “love the body as if it
were your own”.
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Ha'aha'a |
Humbleness. We recognize ourselves as only a single
part of the whole of the divine creation.
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