In our Autumn 2020 issue, we were thrilled to speak with the wonderful Louise McEvoy of Aloha House, who told us all about Aloha House’s plans and upcoming initiatives. Read on below to enjoy the article!
Louise Kleu
Spirit of Aloha: The Heart of Lomi Lomi
We love Aloha House, and are in awe of the amazing work carried out by founder Louise Kleu. We featured Aloha House in our Summer 2020 issue, and today, we’re sharing the article to our website, for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
By Louise Kleu McEvoy
When I began my Lomi Lomi journey seventeen years ago in South Africa, I didn’t imagine I would go on to be a teacher and I certainly didn’t imagine it would lead me to establishing a Hawaiian massage training centre in the southwest of Ireland.
Through the twists and turns of my life, it has never ceased to amaze me how sometimes, despite all efforts, things do not turn out the way we planned; and yet at other times, we are gifted something extraordinary that we never believed we could possibly create or achieve. This is part of the magic that becomes our story. It reminds me of the Hawaiian principle Pono, that effectiveness is the measure of truth. When you are “in alignment” with your thoughts, words and deeds, then your truth can manifest in your life. Aloha House is not just a centre for Hawaiian healing – it is a space open for all lightwork, a space for classes, workshops and retreats. Aloha means “unity, harmony, togetherness, interconnectedness, the joyful sharing of life energy in the present moment.”
We chose this name to represent our intention to cherish community, open-heartedness, compassion and friendship. I’m so grateful to the guardians of this land who have opened up a space for me to truly anchor myself here, to create roots for my family and share my vision of perpetuating the spirit of Aloha here in Ireland. Mahalo nui loa! Go raibh mhaith agat!
The Hawaiian healing art of Lomi Lomi
Lomi Lomi is one of the healing arts practiced by the kahunas of Polynesia. This transformational bodywork was designed to balance and harmonise all aspects of the self through prayer, ritual, chanting, massage and the powerful spirit of Aloha. What brought me to Lomi Lomi 15 years ago was a profound experience of the treatment on a deep, personal level. It was an altered state of awareness and a nurturing of spirit I’d never experienced before and has been the cornerstone of my life ever since.
Lomi lomi uses deep breath, rhythm and long fl owing strokes with the forearm and hands up and down, under and all around the body. It is guided by intuition which comes from the heart. It becomes an interactive dance between giver and receiver based on trust and gentleness, with powerful results.
“The dance of life and breath from the heart, Lomi Lomi is like no other massage”
Often described as “the dance of life and breath from the heart”, Lomi Lomi is like no other massage, it is an experience which overwhelms the mind with sensation, touching a deep core within with the knowingness that we are all interconnected and that the body heals itself with an activation of its own energy, mana. Your body is the home of your subconscious which contains energetic patterns of thought, complexes, belief systems and emotional memory. All this you can access through breath and bodywork. Sometimes it takes bodywork to bring into awareness these patterns and create an abundant fl ow of mana in our bodies and in our lives.