Lomilomi
What is
the difference between Lomilomi and other forms of massage?
In most
areas of the world and in many areas of Hawai’i the answer is:
nothing.
Visiting Hawai’i one views amid the expanding civilization, verdant growth. But the percentage of that which is native is miniscule. Like anything or many things ancient, the health practices of Old Hawai’i have been overrun and diluted, arguably by ma'i or disease (cancer, diabetes, foreign, domestic, physical and spiritual) but to the trained eye also by expansive humanity.
Many want to learn lomilomi piecemeal, like they want to dance Hula, or paddle, or weave. To understand lomilomi, one is wise to understand the philosophy of the culture. Understand the difficulties learning in a diluted environment and if possible view things without an eye for profit: the questions that will arise in the definitions of anything Hawaiian are subject to severe scrutiny, exploitation, philosophy and thought.
Lomilomi is to some a descriptive verb. To others a native health practice. To others a homogeneous spa massage, a viable marketing point, a connection to culture, a complementary treatment to la’au lapa’au, or a key aspect to preventive medicine.
Interview Chris Kawika Brown
From my current point of view, the most important thing to understand about Hawaiian culture is the belief in genealogy: the belief in those you come from insuring you are not alone in what you do. Much of what you do at the core of your being — your « actions and reactions — is based on the actions of those who have come before you. What your ancestors did, you are capable of and also guilty of.
My work is based on the teachings of Karen Leialoha Carroll, Alva James Andrews and Keola Kawaiulailiahi Chan. And also on the observation of Hawaiian culture as a whole and from an admittedly contemporary viewpoint. As Hawaiians we are capable of many aspects of our antiquity, but we are also influenced by the moment. This is not a statement reserved for Hawaiians. At the core of my belief and what I share is this type of critical thought.
This class is not designed to retrain you. Rather to remind, to expand on what you already have inside. It will offer perspectives based on Hawaiian values and techniques which may seem similar to what you have seen elsewhere. In my opinion, the similarities throughout cultural bodywork are many and to claim one technique as strictly Hawaiian, or Maori, Thai or Chinese is arrogant. Though you will be taught techniques honed throughout Polynesia, it is the thought process that is the most important aspect of this training.
Conversation is a key component to healing, engaging in dialogue about what troubles us individually and as a global community, what problems we observe collectively.
E KOMO MAI: You are welcome here as a citizen of humanity sharing in one of the world’s many healing arts.
Visiting Hawai’i one views amid the expanding civilization, verdant growth. But the percentage of that which is native is miniscule. Like anything or many things ancient, the health practices of Old Hawai’i have been overrun and diluted, arguably by ma'i or disease (cancer, diabetes, foreign, domestic, physical and spiritual) but to the trained eye also by expansive humanity.
Many want to learn lomilomi piecemeal, like they want to dance Hula, or paddle, or weave. To understand lomilomi, one is wise to understand the philosophy of the culture. Understand the difficulties learning in a diluted environment and if possible view things without an eye for profit: the questions that will arise in the definitions of anything Hawaiian are subject to severe scrutiny, exploitation, philosophy and thought.
Lomilomi is to some a descriptive verb. To others a native health practice. To others a homogeneous spa massage, a viable marketing point, a connection to culture, a complementary treatment to la’au lapa’au, or a key aspect to preventive medicine.
Interview Chris Kawika Brown
From my current point of view, the most important thing to understand about Hawaiian culture is the belief in genealogy: the belief in those you come from insuring you are not alone in what you do. Much of what you do at the core of your being — your « actions and reactions — is based on the actions of those who have come before you. What your ancestors did, you are capable of and also guilty of.
My work is based on the teachings of Karen Leialoha Carroll, Alva James Andrews and Keola Kawaiulailiahi Chan. And also on the observation of Hawaiian culture as a whole and from an admittedly contemporary viewpoint. As Hawaiians we are capable of many aspects of our antiquity, but we are also influenced by the moment. This is not a statement reserved for Hawaiians. At the core of my belief and what I share is this type of critical thought.
This class is not designed to retrain you. Rather to remind, to expand on what you already have inside. It will offer perspectives based on Hawaiian values and techniques which may seem similar to what you have seen elsewhere. In my opinion, the similarities throughout cultural bodywork are many and to claim one technique as strictly Hawaiian, or Maori, Thai or Chinese is arrogant. Though you will be taught techniques honed throughout Polynesia, it is the thought process that is the most important aspect of this training.
Conversation is a key component to healing, engaging in dialogue about what troubles us individually and as a global community, what problems we observe collectively.
E KOMO MAI: You are welcome here as a citizen of humanity sharing in one of the world’s many healing arts.