What is lomilomi?

Aloha kakou, aloha to us all.

Lomilomi, sometimes called "lomi lomi" or simply "lomi", is the bodywork component of traditional Hawaiian healing arts. It has been used in the Hawaiian islands for centuries.   Mana lomi®, the specific style that I practice and teach, is one of many styles.

Over time, when social and political situations in Hawaii prevented lomilomi from being openly practiced, Hawaiian families privately kept it alive. Being thus maintained underground, diverse styles developed within individual families who each preserved what they found relevant. As a result, lomilomi today can be very different, depending on who is doing it. There is no one “right” way to do it; rather there are many approaches and techniques used by different Hawaiian healing practitioners. That said, in my experience all  styles share some basic characteristics.

common characteristics of  lomi lomi 

Lomilomi training emphasizes the practitioners’ responsibility to maintain our own physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Making choices that support the highest good allows us to be clear healing channels and to assist others in healing. Lomilomi includes more than physical touch. It includes conducting mana - vital life force - in ourselves and in our clients. We each discover independently how this happens; no teacher can give it to us.


In the Hawaiian world view man, nature and Spirit form an equally bonded lokahi (harmony) triangle, held together by divine intention in order that all the things of the earth might be protected and nourished. This lokahi triangle forms a foundation which supports Hawaiian healing arts.

The traditional Hawaiian way is to live constantly aware of the binding threads which hold together all things great and small. The elements - wind, sun, water and land - and the plants and animals are all alive, conscious, sentient ancestral forms which interrelate with humanity as family. Humanity is responsible for caring for and protecting nature and nature is responsible for caring for and providing for us. Hawaiians know in their bones that we humans are in community with nature.

Lomi lomi is done with loving touch and employs mind and spirit healing techniques. Each person is integrated and equally divine in body, mind and soul.

Some techniques for healing mind and spirit incorporated with bodywork include sweat huts, internal cleanses and medicinal herbs and plants. Traditionally, the first step in treating physical ailments was ho’oponopono (to make right), the cleansing of negative occurrences of the past and transmuting negative energy into light, allowing us to move forward. Other spiritual tools often used with lomilomi include: oli - chant; pule – prayer; and ho’okuano’o – meditation.

Pule (prayer) historically played an important role in every aspect of traditional healing work, including lomilomi. In 1894 a sorcery law was enacted in Hawaii which outlawed praying to cure, ironically resulting from the influence of the descendants of Christian missionaries who were welcomed by Hawaiian royalty beginning in 1820. The sorcery law established a fine of $100 - $200, and up to six months prison time for native Hawaiian prayer related healing practices. This sorcery law was finally repealed in 1972.

A Hawaiian cultural renaissance movement initiated in the 1970s encompasses traditional Hawaiian healing arts as well as Hawaiian language, traditional navigation, agriculture, hula, education, and more. As a result of this renaissance, lomi lomi is once again being openly practiced in Hawaii, and in fact has spread around the world and back.

Beginning in the 1970s Aunty Margaret Kalehuamakanoelu'ulu'uonapali Machado from the “Big Island” was perhaps the most influential native Hawaiian to share traditional style of lomilomi with many people – native Hawaiian and others - who had a sincere desire to learn.

 Mana Lomi® , the particular style of Hawaiian massage which I practice and teach, grew out of Aunty Margaret's teaching. Because the teaching of Mana Lomi® remains connected to the lineage of traditional Hawaiian healers from which it developed, learning and practicing Mana Lomi® is a wonderful avenue by which to learn and practice Hawaiian healing arts while truly supporting indigenous Hawaiian culture.

In my experience, Mana lomi® is well received by native Hawaiian cultural practitioners and native Hawaiian elders. Do you feel a connection to this work? Would you like expand or develop your healing skills using using Hawaiian healing arts?

With a warm smile, I invite you to attend my classes.
Barbara Helynn Heard

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Copyrighted 2010 Barbara Helynn Heard
For more information visit www.lomilomi-massage
Email barbaraheard at msn dot com
Phone 1-206-323-5871 Seattle, Washington

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