Health comes from within and Lomi Lomi stems from this old wisdom. Our bodies are provided with advanced self-healing mechanisms and Lomi Lomi is one of the modalities that can support or stimulate these functions.
Lomi Lomi directly translates as ‘massage’ and offers the full range of benefits attributed to this form of integrative medicine. (1) It is also therapeutic in a broad sense, as “having a good effect on the body and mind”. (2) Massage is often offered alongside medical treatment for a variety of conditions and situations. In addition to the benefits of specific ailments, some people enjoy massage because it often evokes feelings of care, comfort and connection. (3)
Some of my clients with chronic physical pain, headaches or insomnia claim that Lomi Lomi has more long-lasting effects in improving their state than physiotherapy or other forms of treatments. In my view, this correlates with what Nancy S. Kahalewai, an American physiotherapist living in Hawaii and author of a comprehensive book on Lomi Lomi, writes about:
“Massage increases awareness in the areas being massaged and awareness in itself can bring about healing. By releasing chronically held physical tension, the corresponding emotional component can surface and be released”. (4)
Lomi Lomi induces physiological changes, promotes mental and emotional stability (5):
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acts as a mechanical cleanser on the circulatory system
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stretches and relaxes tense muscles, ligaments and tendons
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can reprogram neurological patterns and reduce emotional armouring
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improves the function and blood supply of internal organs
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exfoliates dead skin cells and makes the skin nourished and firm
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strengthens the immune system
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increases body awareness and sense of wholeness
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restores emotional balance
In the context of pain management, which you often ask about, it is worth noting that in the majority of cases it has a psychogenic origin (when physical pain is related to emotional stress) and is therefore intrinsically difficult to treat (6). Massage can provide temporary relief, but without a thorough investigation of the nature of discomfort (psycho-somatically) as well as an overall change in lifestyle, no therapy will bring lasting improvement.
Lomi Lomi is a rainbow bridge between the body, mind, emotional and spiritual realms. It facilitates insight, surrender, freedom from judgement, recognition of conditioning. Hawaiian bodywork is a truly freeing, intimate massage art, in which each touch is given with respect for the whole being and responds to where and who we are. Lomi Lomi brings softness, gentleness and simplicity to our space of being. Thus, its benefaction expands beyond the realm of things we tend to think of as tangible and explicable.
REFERENCES:
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Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research: Massage: Get in touch with its many benefits
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The Britannica Dictionary
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Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
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“Hawaiian Lomilomi. Big Island massage” by Nancy S. Kahalewai
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Ibidem
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National Library of Medicine: Functional vs. organic pain: a meaningful distinction?
Lomi Lomi Berlin 