12 day Lomilomi Healing Arts Immersion
on HOOD CANAL in BRINNON, WA

not offered in 2020: this program is on break


Live together in harmony with Nature, Spirit and other People
while learning massage that is grounded in Hawaiian Big Island lomilomi lineage

Led by Barbara Helynn Heard, LMT

Watch this 3 minute video
to get a feel for this 12 day lomilomi healing arts immersion.

Aloha all,

I  have created this lomilomi immersion program to pass on to others some of the profound  experiences I've been gifted with by my own special teachers over the past six decades.  My growth in immersive settings such as weekend, week-long, and even month-long workshops has consistently been transformative, amazing, and generally joyful for me.  I offer this lomilomi immersion program with intent to create an environment which fosters transformative and joyful experiences for others.

LOMILOMI BODYWORK COMPONENT OF THE PROGRAM:

Participants will:

  • spend about 6 hours daily giving and receiving lomilomi
  • learn a full body lomilomi  protocol   (Big Island lineage)
  • learn additional supplemental and/or advanced treatment lomilomi - the specific supplemental/advanced work taught each year varies
  • learn an effective way to use body weight to keep your body safe, avoid burnout and thrive doing massage as long as you'd like to continue doing so   
  • refine palpation skills so that both the massage therapist and the  recipient are able to be more present in their bodies, and to feel very specific and sometimes subtle sensations  
  • embrace the reality of unlimited healing potential  

MY LOMILOMI BACKGROUND

My lomilomi is grounded in Big Island lomilomi via my 13 years focused mentorship with Mana Lomi® founder, Dr. Maka'ala Yates, D.C., 9 years of which I taught Mana Lomi® classes with Maka'ala's guidance.  Maka'ala apprenticed for 16 years  with beloved and well known teacher  Aunty Margaret Machado.  I have also been influenced by about 10 other lomilomi teachers with whom I have studied.

Big Island lomilomi is therapeutic, specific body work which addresses and helps resolve injuries and movement restriction.  It is structurally focused massage which incorporates concepts of Hawaiian spirituality, meditation techniques, and indigenous values.  This lomilomi connects with bones and is done with deep yet gentle touch which feels wonderful to both give and receive. 

I bring to this lineage a passion for helping people deeply sense their own essential inner goodness and beauty via the use of specific, loving touch.  I also integrate extensive somatic movement awareness exploration into the Big Island lomilomi I have learned.

WHO ARE THE PARTICIPANTS?

Most participants in these lomilomi immersions are professional massage therapists or students in massage school.  Occasionally a non-massage-professional who shares massage with family and friends joins us, and I warmly welcome these folks too! 

next  PROGRAM SUMMARY - date undetermined

The program theme is "Ho'oponopono - Exploring and Developing our Goodness"

We will:

  • Explore ho’oponopono in your own life - the art of aligning with the highest good for all, with body, mind & spirit
  • Learn lomilomi massage: (1) full body lomilomi protocol and (2) lomilomi with hot stones and (3) some specific treatment work for the back, pelvis, neck & shoulders. (Because we have more expansive time available during this immersion than when I teach the similar material in a shorter classes,  participants generally develop greater finesse and expertise.) 
  • Take a field trip: visit a special location on the Olympic Peninsula
  • Learn Hawaiian healing meditations, chants & songs
  • Learn a hula dance
  • Create Hawaiian crafts
  • Participate in body awareness exercises: feel and move your body every day with increased awareness and joy 
  • Experience daily personal cleansing ceremony
  • Connect with a deeper sense of our own inner goodness within community
  • live communally with 7-9 people, including cooking and eating together
  • Rest, release, repair, and restore our bodies, minds and Spirit
  • Have fun!!
  • Earn 64 NCBTMB approved massage continuing education credits.  

 

Watch this 4 minute video
to see the 2017 immersion participants together dance the hula they learned. These folks had no prior experience with hula, and this video was taken after they had been learning for only about a week.


FOUR YEAR THEME CYCLE:

 
This immersion program runs on a four year cycle with different and unique themes each of the four years.  Attend the immersion program for four years to experience the full program.

  • 2013:  Tend your Bowl of Light by acknowledging and developing your gifts
  • 2014:  Know your Life Purpose
  • 2015:  Ho'oponopono
  • 2016:  Lōkahi: developing personal harmonious relationship between Spirit, Nature and Humanity.
  • 2017:  Developing our Gifts and our Gratitude
  • 2018:  Exploring our Life Purpose
  • 20??:  Ho'oponopono:  connecting with our Highest Good, cutting ties to that which no longer serves us
  • 20??:  Lōkahi: developing personal harmonious relationship between Spirit, Nature and Humanity.

Students with passion for this work will attend the entire four year cycle.  Repetition is a fantastic teacher!!

VENUE AND LODGING

We will live and learn 'ohana (family) style in the Seal Rock home in the town of Brinnon on Hood Canal.  This is a  big, beautiful, light filled, waterfront vacation home north of Olympia, WA.  Click here to see photos.

We communally prepare and share delicious, mostly organic meals.  I take your food preferences into consideration in planning the meals so you'll have food that you enjoy.

We will live together as family.  Most participants will share a bedroom with one other person; one or two participants may have a private room.  Each person will of course have their own bed, unless they attend as a couple. 

LOGISTICS

Transportation will be arranged from Seattle as needed.  For folks who need it we will either use shuttle service to and from SeaTac airport or arrange for shared car rental.  The cost for this transportation is NOT included in the program fee.

  • April 24, 2019: 3-6 pm arrival time, light informal supper provided, 7 pm opening circle
  • April 25- May 5, 2019, workshop days 2-11:  full class days
  • May 5, 2019: breakfast, cleanup and closing, leave by 10 am

Approximate daily schedule

  • until 8:30 am: open time  
  • 8:30-10:30 : shared meditation, body exploration, singing and hula
  • 10:30-am -6:30 pm: massage class time with a leisurely break for family style shared main meal, and other activities
  • evening: informal supper, crafts, free time 

Notes:

  • To support clarity of perception, this Lomilomi Immersion program is a recreational drug and alcohol free event. 
  • This is also a gun-free environment. 


REGISTRATION

Only 8 students will be accepted in this Lomilomi Immersion Program.  

COST, including tuition, room & board

  • early bird price until ??: $1995
  • full price thereafter: $2195
  • non refundable deposit: $500
  • Payments due in full by ??, 2019.
  • Payment plans available on request.

DISCOUNTS:

  • $200 discount if you have previously taken at least 27 credits of massage continuing education classes from me.
  • $400 discount if you have previously attended this lomilomi immersion OR if you have taken 54 credits or more of massage continuing education classes with me.

After paying the deposit online, please pay the balance by check postal mailed to me. 

Optionally, you may arrange with me to pay your balance by credit card using PayPal.  A 3% service fee will be added to your balance due.


cancellation policy

  • Non-refundable deposit  is $500.00
  • 90 or more days prior: full amount over the non-refundable deposit will be refunded
  • 60-89 days prior: 50% of total amount paid, excluding non-refundable $500 deposit, will be refunded
  • 59 or fewer days: not eligible for any refund, due to the commitment for all expenses involved in hosting this program.
  • All credit card fees and administration costs will be deducted from any refund, in addition to your non-refundable deposit.
  • In the unlikely event the training is canceled by the host, all monies will be returned.


GOODWILL FULL TUITION SCHOLARSHIP

One full tuition scholarship, worth $1295, will be awarded to a an applicant who contributes to community using manual healing arts.

 Lehua Goodwill Scholarship
for the date? immersion

Scholarship application deadline is ??
Winner will be chosen by ??
Runners up will be offered smaller scholarships

The number of runners up scholarships awarded depends on the number of applications I receive, and the number of open spots in the program.  In previous years 10-20 folks have applied for this scholarship each year, and I have offered runners up scholarships to many applicants.


To apply for the scholarship, please send an email which includes:

1.    your name, address, email address, and phone number
2.    a statement of intention to apply for the 2019 Lehua Goodwill Scholarship
3.    a thoughtful one paragraph introduction of yourself, including your connections with Hawaii, if any
4.    an explanation of why you wish to participate in this program, in 150 words or less
5.    a description of contributions you have made to community, and/or how might you "pay forward" the scholarship support after this workshop
6.    optional supplemental material of your own choosing 
7.    your website address, if you have a website
8.    a statement identifying where you learned of this scholarship opportunity


Are you on FACE BOOK?  If so, please FB friend me: Barbara Helynn Heard.

ABOUT SCHOLARSHIP MONEY: 

  • The full scholarship is for the tuition portion of the cost of the immersion only and does not include the room and board expenses or the cost of travel to and from the retreat. 
  • The full scholarship recipient will pay $700 for room & board.  
  • A $500 non refundable deposit will be due by ?? to confirm your acceptance of the scholarship and the $200 balance will be due by ??.

TESTIMONIALS

All nine of us started out as strangers and left here family.  Speaking for myself, I came to this immersion seeking a few things.  The most important gift I wanted to receive was achieved.  I discovered how to alter it and receive it.  I found patience and peace when I feel frustration and also chose patience and peace when I feel frustration.  I owe it to this experience and to Barbara for helping me with that.  I’ve completely altered my way of perception and ability to receive gifts.  I’ve also learned things I can use beyond the massage room.  I loved starting with somatics and guided meditation and the food was awesome.

Samantha Hardgrove
massage therapist in Ohio
 April 9, 2017


There was so much thought and work put into this retreat.  We had even the most specific and specialty foods here!  Our time was the perfect balance of structure and freedom.  Barbara is really a teacher by nature and has a deep understanding of the work she does.  I’ve deepened my knowledge of massage and awareness of my own body in the most effective and fun ways – like hula.  I learned so much about Hawaiian culture and spent time with amazing people in a safe and BEAUTIFUL space. 

Brittany Kantelis
massage therapist in Florida
 April 9, 2017


The environment was perfect for learning.  I learned new skills to better my massage practice and lengthen my career physically with proper body mechanics.

Lena LIst
massage therapist in Washington State
 April 9, 2017


Barbara is a great teacher.  She can break down the steps in a concise way.  Everyone understood and had plenty of time to learn the material.  In the end she understands that we students will make lomilomi our own so there is a great deal of creativity allowed.  She always has fun crafts for us to do in the evenings.  She has taught me ways to take care of my body, which will and has added longevity to my practice.  I will always be grateful for the things she taught me.

Aurora Green
massage therapist in Indiana
 April 9, 2017


Just back from the 2015 12 day Mana Lomi Immersion and it has been a truly transformational experience! Barbara is an exceptional and gifted teacher and shares the length and depth of her knowledge and experience with ease and expertise. I feel a dramatic shift in the way of doing massages, as it was meant to be done, with greater presence and connection to clients.The program is carefully crafted and offered much more than I ever imagined. Happy to have made some wonderful new friends, eat delicious healthy food and dance the hula!

Leena Marharaj 
massage therapist in Trinidad 
 April 4, 2015


I must say that this was an immersion in every sense of the word. We (6 of us) were immersed in Mana Lomi® and Hawaiian culture daily... learning Hawaiian songs, Hula and crafts.

Barbara is an amazing instructor. We were never bored, she always had something new for us to learn and was continually available for questions and help if we needed it.  Having a small class was perfect for individual attention.

The location, right on Summit Lake in Olympia, couldn't have been better...with the tranquility of the lake view right outside, and family style gourmet-type meals daily, none of us wanted to leave!

I highly recommend this immersion if you are looking for a healing modality that encompasses clinical work with a side of spirituality, if you are looking for something special to offer your clients, and/or if you are interested in bettering your body mechanics. 
Karen Meyer 
massage therapist in Beacon, NY 
 April 4, 2015  


When I first signed up for the immersion I had it in my head that I was heading to the West Coast to learn another massage modality.  What I walked away with is so much more.  I was able to become more in-tuned to my body, soul, and mind.  Learned how to deal with an illness and still persevere, how to work well with others in a close living environment, and how to appreciate other cultures, nature, & foods.  I have returned home to the East Coast with another level of appreciation, and friends for life.

on FaceBook 
Tammy Bocchino 
massage therapist in Baltimore, MD 
 April 4, 2015


Final ceremony completed!

I find it hard to find an expression to communicate the experience of these last two weeks.  The nature is cathedral like, the lake is perfect, the mountains are humbling. The people I have shared this time with...Ba Lan, Terri, Donna, Kadie, Barbara, Chuck, and   Michael, will always be family to me.  The bodywork we learned connected me deeper not only to myself but to all living things... A new delight and appreciation for touch and not just "massage"... A whole new way of life!

 Here's to stepping into my life and body more fully!   Now off to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life!!!!!!  ALOHA!!!

Jen Raines  
massage therapist  
in Westfield, NY ~2014 


Aloha,

This class was more than I expected. Barbara is a generous gifted teacher. Her teaching is balanced on mind, body,and spirit. She is attentive to the details and works with students to ensure that their intuition is alive and feeling.

Not only does she award scholarships for Mana Lomi techniques, she also has a deep resource of knowledge that focus towards spirit and mind healing. She engages her students in fun Hawaiin culture activities from art,dance,chants and teaches the rich history of the Hawaiin culture. You walk away covered in the mantle of Aloha spirit.

I was a student of her 10 day workshop. I walked away from the workshop a changed and healed woman in spirit, mind and body. If you have a churning in your soul I would urge you to sign up for these Mana Lomi classes. You will be very glad you persued this.

PS. Barbara, is a GREAT COOK!!!!!! Her Lamb Stew was the bomb!!!!!!!

Thank You Barbara,


Paula Henry  
massage therapist  
in Vancouver, WA ~2013

Barbara Helynn Heard is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) as continuing education Approved Provider #1056.