KaHuna massage in the Hawaiian Temples lasted for between ten hours and ten days.  The process of massaging for prolonged periods would have induced visions, allowing the recipient to connect with their inner wisdom for guidance in all matters concerning life.  This incredibly long massage would also have caused stress and trauma to be released on a cellular level.

In the form practiced by massage therapists in South Africa and abroad, the massage has to be shortened for practical reasons.  The closest that one gets to lengthened massages in our day and age is advanced therapist training where each participant engages in a 12 hour long massage marathon, giving four and receiving four massages of 90 minutes each.  The standard massage from a professional KaHuna therapist lasts 90 minutes and entails work on the back and front of the body.

Each of these elements is fed into the client’s body to bring balance to the others.  For example if a client has too much water (emotion), but lacks action (fire), the massage therapist would dance in a fiery way (from the hips) to balance the client.  When working on someone who is too serious and practical (earth) the therapist would help the client to lighten-up by using air.  The massage works on many different layers to bring about balance on a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level.

One of the first things that a client new to KaHuna massage notices is that the therapist breathes continuously and consciously, while reminding the client to do the same.  The breath is the fastest way to give and receive energy and is also of the utmost importance to us as living organisms, without it we would die within minutes.  The simple but powerful result of connecting with the breath consciously is that life is lived more consciously.  In many spiritual traditions, the breath is symbolic of Spirit; by breathing deeply we connect with the Universe or unconditional love and bring this unconditional love into our bodies, this in turn connects the physical with the spiritual and brings the sacred into our bodies.

Sometimes during the massage, chanting is used to move energy. The Hawaiian language is incredibly musical and there are many chants for focusing energy and releasing it. One of the most beautiful chants, and one of my favourite, goes as follows:

E laka e
E laka ika le’o
E laka ika lo’a
E laka ika wai wai
Me ka mahalo i’hi 

This chant calls on the female creative principle for manifesting abundance in the KaHuna tradition and thanks the ancestors for their protection and presence.  Chanting can be more powerful than touch because it causes waves of vibration in the body which releases stress on the deepest levels.

I'd like to share with you the seven KaHuna principles which can be a very enlightened way of viewing life.  These principles are very subtly present in the massage itself.  The principles are;

• Ike - the world is as you think it is
• Pono - effectiveness is the measure of truth
• Mana - all power comes from within
• Aloha - to love is to be happy with
• Manawa - now is the moment of power
• Makia - energy flows where attention goes
• Kala - there are no limits
  

Ike reminds us to watch our thoughts because we are capable of manifesting anything, even the things that we really desire into our lives.  The massage, because it connects us with inner wisdom and truth, enables us to find out what we truly desire. 

In turn, Pono advises that we do the things we love and desire in life, because these can be performed effortlessly. 

Mana reminds us that we are masters of our own destiny.  The massage is a tool for connecting with the power (Mana) within each person. 

Aloha cautions that love is the true path, and KaHuna in turn connects the client and the therapist with love through the breath.

Manawa points to the fact that we create our future in the present. The massage is a way to focus energy in the present moment and connect the client with his or her body, through the breath. 

Makia tells us that we create what we focus our thoughts on.  During a massage, the focus is on healing and thus healing takes place. 

Kala victoriously shouts that the sky is the limit and that we can achieve anything that we desire.  The massage marathon discussed earlier is a prime example of the sky being the limit.  We forget that we can achieve anything we desire, even massaging continuously for 12 hours, if we act with purpose and good intention!

Charl Joubert is an alternative therapist who practices KaHuna Massage, Reiki, Reflexology, Shiatzu and Past Life Regression Therapy from the Wellness House Linden (Johannesburg).  E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Cell: 082 492 0178.

• Massage Therapy
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