Massage Therapy News and Events!

Just a quick update to announce that Tania has now returned to massaging after taking an extended break to focusing her attention on our little boy Jaden.

She’s now practicing Lomi Lomi, Hot Stone Massage and a variety of Spa Therapies out of a room she is renting in Chevron Island on the Gold Coast.

She’s really enjoying it and of course, so are her clients!

Here’s a promotional webpage that I have put up for her today and am currently testing.

Massage Gold Coast

If you’d like to book in for a massage, just give her a call!

Aloha and enjoy the rest of your day!

James Thomas

Lomi Lomi - How To Get The Most Out Of Your Lomi Lomi Session! If you’ve ever had a lomi lomi massage from a skilled and caring practitioner you’ll know very well the deep levels of relaxation and rejuvenation that can be achieved.

However, as deeply relaxing and healing as lomi lomi massage is, there are a few things that we can do before and after our lomi lomi session to ensure that we get the absolute most out of the experience.

To follow are my 5 suggestions for getting the most out of your lomi lomi session.

1) Make your lomi lomi session the number number 1 priority for your day.

On the day of your lomi lomi booking, make sure that you organize yourself so that the most important thing in your day is your lomi lomi session. This means making sure that you clear your schedule so that you are free at least 1 hour either side of your lomi lomi session.

This will give you enough time to slow down and relax before your treatment, it will ensure you arrive on time without stress, and at the end of your lomi lomi, it will give you time to more slowly integrate back into your world, without having to rush back in and pick up where you left off.

2) Make sure you are clean and comfortable before your lomi lomi.

When we get onto a massage table, it’s only natural that we can become somewhat self-conscious about our bodies, especially in the heat of summer.

So you can just relax without needing to give this a second thought, it’s a great idea to have a shower before your lomi lomi session. This will not only make sure that you are clean, smell nice and feel comfortable on the table, but will also begin the process of warming up your muscles and relaxing your system.

It is also a good idea for men to have a shave a couple of hours before-hand, so that the face massage is enjoyable (i.e. not rough) and for women, you may feel more comfortable if you have performed your hair removal routine a day or two before your lomi lomi session.

3) Make sure you drink water throughout the day, prior to your lomi lomi session.

A lomi lomi massage can be an intensive treatment in terms of detoxifying the body, so it’s a good idea to make sure that you are well hydrated before your treatment.

Now this doesn’t mean that you need to flood your body with water, but rather it means keeping a water bottle with you all day, and taking regular mouthfuls to keep your water levels topped up.

However, you shouldn’t drink anything at least 30 minutes prior to your lomi lomi session, otherwise you may find yourself needing to go to the bathroom in the middle of your lomi lomi.

In regards to food, it’s good idea to avoid eating heavy food, such as meats, pastas and dairy at least an hour befor your lomi lomi session. This will help your system relax and ensure that your body’s energies are free for healing and not spent on the digestion process.

4) Create a special healing intention for your lomi lomi session.

As lomi lomi works on treating the ‘whole’ person, and we each create our own reality with our thoughts, creating an intention for how you would like the lomi lomi to help you is a powerful way to actually ‘make it happen’. In fact, it turns the lomi lomi into a powerful ‘prayer’ for calling what you want into your life, whatever that may be.

“Ask, believe and you will receive!” I have experienced this to be so true in my life.

5) During your lomi lomi session, breathe ‘into’ your tension…and let go!

A skilled and intuitive lomi lomi therapist will naturally be drawn to your areas of tension in your body and although they will never ‘force’ their way into these areas, you may feel your body/muscles wanting to ‘resist’, which can result in a little discomfort.

The way to alleviate this is simply to breathe. When your lomi lomi practitioner finds an area that is particularly tense/painful, you should take a deep breath, and visually your breath going into that area.

Then, as you exhale you will feel the tension/pain dissolve as that area relaxes.

The key is to ‘work with’ your practitioner and let them ‘into’ your body as they peel back the layers of tension, like removing the layers of an onion.

The philosophy of lomi lomi is where there is ‘relaxation’ there can be no illness!

After your lomi lomi, it’s really nice to have a cleansing warm shower to wash away any lingering ‘energy’.

It’s also a good idea to go and sit somewhere peaceful, preferably in nature and allow yourself some time to ‘come back to earth’ and integrate the lomi lomi experience. This is especially so before getting behind the wheel and driving anywhere.

It’s also a ‘must’ to drink plenty of water afterwards as the effects of the lomi lomi in detoxifying/healing your body will continue to work well after the treatment.

So there you go. I hope these suggestions assist you in getting the absolute most out of your lomi lomi sessions, just as they have done for myself and my Lomi Lomi clients.

Mahalo!

For the application of hot stones in massage, heavy dense rocks that hold their heat are ideal. This includes smooth igneous rocks such as basalt and granite. Sedimentary rocks such as siltstone and mudstone are also suitable.

Today basalt, a black volcanic rock is the most popular stone being used for hot stone massage treatments, as it has such a deep penetrating heat. However, semi-precious stones which are often used for healing and energy work can also be used, e.g. hematite.

Marble and other crystals are ideal tho use for the application of cold stones in massage as they naturally retain a cool temperature. Semi-precious stones also bring an added dimension to the hot stone massage treatment such as the application of crystals to the chakras (energy points) to balance the body’s ennergy.

Each type of stone has different qualities, some will work well for a hot stone massage treatment if they have a nice, smooth emanating heat that is long-lasting, while others won’t be suitable, particularly if they have emanate a short, sharp heat, as this will be shocking to the hot stone massage receiver.

Hot Stone Massage Course:

With more and more people discovering the real healing benefits of receiving hot stone massage, it should come as no surprise that the demand for this ancient and wonderful hot stone massage treatment is higher than ever,

This high demand for hot stone massage, presents an excellent opportunity for existing massage therapists to add a truly unique, wonderful and powerfully healing modality to their existing skills.

So what makes hot stone massage so special?

Well for the person receiving hot stone massage, the healing power of the heat along with the healing properties of the stones allows for very deep relaxation levels to be acheived in each and every hot stone massage treatment.

When we are very relaxed, our body produces ’seratonin’ which is incredibly rejuvenating and healing for the body. This is probably the greatest primary benefit of receiving hot stone massage (beyond relieving stressed muscles).

For the hot stone massage therapists, the benefits are many and significant.

For example, as the heat from the hot stones works steadily to melt away tension in the muscles, it is possible to perform a very deep and thorough massage, with very little pressure needed to be applied by the hands and fingers.
Not to mention that stones (even without heat) are powerful tools for obtaining leverage when seeking to apply pressure.

Keeping this in mind, performing hot stone massage could potentially extend your massage career by years.

Also, hot stone massage is a premium treatment and you can charge at least 30% on top of your regular massage rates and clients will gladly pay it.

This allows you to effectively make more money per treatment and therefore leverage your time.

Here at Touch Of Aloha, we provide high quality hot stone massage training courses that will give you the knowledge and skills to perform an amazing hot stone massage treatment that your clients will rave about.

We know this because of the wonderful feedback we continually get from our hot stone massage course graduates and from our own clients over the years.

Our hot stone massage course is highly focused and intensive, yet a lot of fun.

To learn more about this popular hot stone massage course, please go to:

http://www.touchofaloha.org/hot-stone-massage/

The Benefits Of Hot Stone Massage. So what are the benefits of hot stone massage?

Well there are benefits of the treatment itself and there are benefits to hot stone massage therapist.

Benefits to the therapist:

Hot Stone Massage eliminates undue stress on the hands, wrist and thumbs, as you are sharing the work with the stones.

Plus the heat from the stones and the leverage that the stones provide as a massaging tool, make it possible for the hot stone massage therapist to give a deep massage with a lot less effort.

Plus there is no discomfort to the receiver of hot stone massage as opposed to other deep tissue massage therapies being practiced.

Benefits of the treatment:

The heat from the stones helps promote deep relaxation, and encourages the muscles to relax and release tension, allowing stress to melt away.

Hot stone massage also stimulates and harmonizes the body’s flow of energy, and helps to balance the body.

The hot stone massage treatment has the ability to affect the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies in a positive way. As it works on all of these areas it becomes a total healing experience.

This style of application also allows for a deeper massage in a much less intrusive way.

EVERYONE should make it a priority to experience the magic of a quality hot stone massage at least once in there life!

The ideal stones for Hot Stone Massage in my experience are basalt stones.To perform a quality hot stone massage treatment, ideally you will want to have basalt stones of a significant size so that the weight and warmth of the stone, replicates a warm, soothing hand.

Smooth basalt stones are recommended for hot stone massage as they allow for ease of cleaning and hygiene, not to mention that they feel that they glide beautifully across the skin and are therefore very pleasant to the hot stone massage receiver.

When choosing stones for hot stone massage you should consider their size, shape, weight, texture and composition.

Basalt stones the size of your hands and 1-2 inches thick should be able to radiate a consistent heat for 20 minutes or more when laid stationary on the body (i.e. in a stationary layout). This is important as the last thing you want to happen during a treatment is for all your stones to be cooling down, and your client getting cold.

This is just a guideline, but it should be obvious that the ‘thinner and lighter’ the stone, the quicker it will heat up and the faster it will cool down. Many hot stone massage practitioners that I have spoken to have experienced this regularly, simply because they were working with stones that are simply too small.

To perform a complete hot stone massage treatment you will want an array of different basalt stones (i.e. different shapes and sizes) as different stones are ideal for working on different parts of the body and for the different stationary layouts. Think of your stones as your special ‘tools’.

So where do you find suitable stones? Well, basalt stones can be found on beaches and rivers, particularly in areas that have been volcanic in the past.

However, in our experience it is extremely difficult to find stones that are naturally ’smooth’ and therefore it is difficult to gather enough stones to make a complete set.

There are places though, especially throughout Polynesia where there are basalt stones that are beautifully smooth and that come in an array in different shapes, weights and sizes.

It is from this part of the earth that we have our stones ‘hand gathered’ and carefully put together into sets, specifically for our own unique Hot Stone Massage system, before being shipped to us here in Australia.

To learn more about our stone sets, please download our FREE Information Pack.

Kahuna Massage - So, what happens during a Hawaiian Kahuna Massage and how is it performed?

A Kahuna Massage usually commences with a stillness between the practitioner and client as a connection is made, often with the practitioners hands gently resting on the clients back.

In this stillness the Kahuna Massage practitioner will quietly say a blessing or prayer asking for whatever healing is needed to take place during the kahuna massage. The client also may be asked to set an intention for any healing they would like to receive during the kahuna massage. The practitioner then works intuitively with the client to facilitate whatever healing is needed.

Keeping this in mind, there is no set format or sequence for the Kahuna Massage and no two massages are ever the same.

The Kahuna Massage is given in fluid, rhythmic strokes using the forearms as well as the hands. Many people have described this as feeling like gentle waves moving over the body. Also, different parts of the body may be massaged at the same time, for example one arm or hand may be working on the lower back and the other hand may be working on the leg. This encourages the recipient to ’switch off’ and allow themselves to completely relax as it is very difficult for the brain to ‘follow’ as two different areas are being massaged at the same time.

As layers of tension are ‘washed away’ the recipient of a Kahuna Massage drifts into deep levels of relaxation and stillness, which may open the door to inner personal realizations and occasionally deep emotional healing.

It is important to realize that the Kahuna Massage practitioner is not the one doing the healing, but rather it is the ‘joint intention’ of both the giver and receiver that unlocks whatever is blocking or suppressing the recipients own life energy.

Wellness is our ‘natural’ state of being and Kahuna Massage is a powerful and effective channel for restoring wellness to both the practitioner and the recipient. Kahuna Massage is beautiful to watch, magic to receive and wonderful to give.

Why not give yourself the ‘gift of aloha’ and experience a Hawaiian Kahuna Massage today!

The following pages on the Touch Of Aloha website have recently changed or been updated:

Massage Courses

Massage Course

Lomi Lomi

Lomi Lomi Training

Lomi Lomi Massage Video

Lomi Lomi Massage Therapist

Hot Stone Massage

Hot Stone Massage Training

Hot Stone Massage Therapist

Site Map

Mahalo,

James

 Aloha Bodyworkers!

Just a quick announcement to let you know that due to popular demand we’ve needed to add an additional Pohaku Hawaiian Stone Therapy (Hot Stone Massage) Course to our 2008 calendar.

Here are the dates:

September 22nd, 23rd and 24th, 2008

Tania has developed a truly amazing Hot Stone Massage treatment that has proven to be popular/successful in several of the top Spas, including the exclusive Spa At Versace here on the Gold Coast.

We’ve had hundreds of Massage Therapists complete our Hot Stone Massage course over the years and we continually receive the most amazing feedback from our graduates about how much their clients love our unique Pohaku Hawaiian Stone Therapy.

So if you’d like to be able to offer a very special treatment to your clients, one that melts away their tension with ease and sends them into the deepest states of relaxation that they’ve ever experienced, then Hot Stone Massage might be a wonderful addition to your repertoire.

Like the rest of our courses it’s ‘residential’ (3 days) and includes all of your accommodation, meals, course manuals and of course your training and is also backed by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

If you’d love to come and join us, send us an email or give us a call on (07) 5531 0178.

NOTE: We already have a waiting list for our first Hot Stone Massage Course in September, so this additional course will be sure to book out quickly!

So let us know A.S.A.P if you’d like us to secure a place for you.

Aloha and enjoy the rest of your day!

James

P.S - For more information, please also visit our Hot Stone Massage page on our website at:

http://www.TouchOfAloha.org/hot-stone-massage/

Aloha Friends!

Hope your day’s going well.

Tania and I just finished our last course for the ‘first half’ of 2008 and now we’re going to take a little break.

Wow, can you believe it’s the end of June already?

Anyway, just wanted to give you a quick ‘heads up’ before we head out tomorrow and let you know that our upcoming courses in August in September are filling up fast.

I don’t like to see people miss out or send me unhappy emails because I didn’t remind them, so here’s our latest course update:

First cab off the rank is our Lomi Lomi Foundation Course coming up on August 16th - 22nd, 2008.

Currently there’s just 3 places left on that one so if you’d like to learn the most flowing, most beautiful and most healing massage style
going, then come and join us for an empowering, rejuvenating, even ‘life-changing’ 6 days at our place in gorgeous the Gold Coast Hinterland.

This massage style actually ‘gives’ you energy regardless of whether you’re giving the Lomi Lomi or receiving it. It’s the Aloha spirit in motion!

http://www.touchofaloha.org/lomi-lomi/

Next is our Pohaku Hawaiian Stone Therapy (Hot Stone Massage) course which is coming up on September 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2008.

This course has just 2 places left so if you want to learn Tania’s truly awesome Hot Stone Massage system that has become a signature treatment in several top Spas then I guarantee you’ll LOVE this course.

The Hot Stone Massage treatment you’re going to learn will take you to levels of relaxation you’ve never experienced before. It will rock you and your client’s world - pardun the pun!

http://www.touchofaloha.org/hot-stone-massage/

Last but not least is our Spa Body Treatments Course coming up on September 5th, 6th and 7th, 2008 (after the Hot Stone course).

This one’s all about how to offer the most decadent, most divine spa therapy treatments in you own ‘dry’ massage room (no shower required).

This is a fun 3 days where you’ll be totally pampered with body brushes, scrubs, wraps, mini-facials and more and then walk away with all the ‘know-how’, while you’re floating on a cloud with the smoothest skin on earth!

Need some pampering? Come to ‘Spa Aloha’ in September!

http://www.touchofaloha.org/spa-therapies/

Anyway, these are our upcoming courses. If you’d like to come and join us, then we will fill you up with the knowledge, skills and support that you need to be successful as a practitioner of these awesome modalities.

In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find another Massage School with smaller groups than us, that provides more personal attention and support than us and that makes you feel more welcome, more comfortable and more cared for, than when we open our beautiful home to you.

Anyway, if you’d like to make a booking or if you have any questions or even if you’d just like to say ‘Hi’, please give us a call or send us an email. We’d really love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading this LONG post. I didn’t intend it to be this long.

I’m off now to spend some quality time with my beautiful family. Little Jaden is growing up so fast.

Aloha and have a fantastic weekend!

James Thomas

Co-Founder
TOUCH OF ALOHA
(07) 5531 0178
james@touchofaloha.org

http://www.TouchOfAloha.org