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Written by Helene van Diemen
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KAHUNA MASSAGE (Excerpt of an article written by Charl Joubert)
KaHuna massage originates from the Hawaiian Islands where it has been practiced in the Temples of the KaHunas, who are the priests and priestesses of the islands, for over 5,000 years. The word KaHuna actually means secret-keeper. Every person on this planet wants to become the Keeper of his or her own life (secret), and KaHuna massage can be used as a means of gaining wisdom and insight into our talents and destinies. It is also a tool for freeing the body from stress and for dealing with life changes such as; birth, the path to adulthood, marriage and death.
KaHuna massage in the Hawaiian Temples lasted for between ten hour 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 or 90 minutes each. The standard massage from professional KaHuna therapists lasts 90 minutes and entails work on the back and front of the body.
One of the key differences between a traditional Western massage and a KaHuna massage is that the massage strokes are continuous, flowing movements, almost like a dance. These work to balance the body's levels of the four elements, Earth, Fire, Water and Air. Fiery strokes are those which are fast and induce heat in the body, while watery strokes are smooth and flowing and induce emotion. Earth strokes are much deeper and slow and they ground the recipient, while air strokes are much lighter and specifically work on the skeletal system.
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) t 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 differently 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 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.
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