November 13, 2002 -- Hawaii is a special place. "It's everything the world wants to be," said the late President John F. Kennedy. "When you return from a vacation in Hawaii, you just want to be a better person," opined Garrison Keillor in one of this Prairie Home Companion monologues. And Mark Twain said "Hawaii is a place where you can get drunk without drinking." He also remarked late in life that "the scent of flowers long dead remains in my nostrils," claiming he considered Hawaii the place he visited that left the greatest impression on him.
Lying on the warm sands of a beach, soaking up the sun, letting the worries of daily life slide away, your mind becomes a blank...you're on the way to wellness, so why not go all the way and sign up for a healing program in this part of Paradise? On my last trip to our 50th state, I got just a taste of the Hawaiian idea of seeking out inner peace, enough to make me want to go back for the full treatment.
Why Hawaii? Out there, "Wellness Tourism" is defined as a journey toward harmony and balance on all levels of your being. It's believed the state is particularly conducive to wellness tourism because of the beauty of the islands, the diversity of eastern and western health practitioners, the richness of the native culture and the mystical spiritual energy present in Hawaii's position between Asia and America, north and south.
There are several different types of wellness vacations. One is the inner pilgrimage, the purpose of which is to return the individual to himself or herself through the cultivation of a deeper level of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual awareness. Some examples include meditation coaches, spiritual retreats, yoga, personal development counseling, vision quests, astrology readings, sessions with an intuitive guide, sacred healing, past life regression, art and art therapy and self-reflection.
If you are into fitness and sport, consider sessions at a fitness spa, golf, racing, triathlons, hiring a fitness coach, trail biking, hiking or backpacking.
Lifestyle modification is another purpose of wellness vacations, wherein you aim to achieve a more balanced life or to resolve some aspect of life that is interfering with harmony. You work with an expert to clarify what is out of balance. Going to a fitness coach, getting a nutritional assessment, visiting a life coach, getting hypnotherapy or visiting a wellness retreat center are just some options here.
Traveling for the purpose of serving others, aka the volunteer vacation, is becoming increasingly popular type. Not only do you enhance your own life in a permanent way, more importantly you do the same for others through your service. Examples include spending a day with Habitat for Humanity in building a home for the working poor, joining in a beach cleanup day, trail clearing or some other environmental maintenance project.
Complementary wellness treatments guide visitors to new, alternative or even ancient approaches to achieving clarity about and pursuing treatment for physical issues. Some examples include acupuncture, chiropractic, naturopathic medicine, Hawaiian healing therapies, energy therapy, herbal therapy, homeopathy, preventative medical screening, reflexology, traditional Chinese medicine, pain management or intuitive healing sessions.
Nature is a healer, experts say, so you could go for dolphin swims, visits to botanical gardens, nature meditations, eco-tours, partake in an ag (agricultural) vacation, hikes, therapy using the healing power of animals, for instance. Finally, consider relaxation and rejuvenation as a form of wellness vacation. Visit a spa, take massage therapies, consider holistic medical approaches to your own health situation.
The Lomi Shop Va'a
The owners of the Lomi Shop Va'a believe you can heal yourself through Hawaiian music, dance and culture in combination. Maile Tolentino-Lee and Ka'uhane Lee use a native canoe, the wa'a, to symbolize the connection between Akua (God or Spirit) and humanity, between the universe and earth, between time and space, culture and race. They see the wa'a as a link to a higher power, to ancestors, to human life itself. They believe it represents the spiritual and physical balance of one's being, spirit or soul.
The Lomi Shop owners believe in the healing power of the kukui nut, standing for light, knowledge and healing. Specifically, they say, the wax from the nut was used as a light when touched by a flame (similar to whale oil in the New England past), and it could, when eaten, help cleanse the body, since it is a form of laxative.
They use the word Aloha a lot, emphasizing that "alo" means "front side" or "face" and "ha" is "my first breath of life". They go further, suggesting that the A in Aloha stands for Akaha'i, meaning kindness; the L for Lokahi, meaning unity; the O for 'Olu'Olu, meaning agreeable; the H for Ha'aha'a, meaning humility, and the final A for Ahonui, meaning patience. All these traits, say the Lomi Shop people, are desirable, are treasured by Hawaiians and lead to a sense of well-being and wholeness.
At the Lomi Shop Va'a, you can get a 20-minute foot massage for $20, a seated Lomi massage, or a one-hour full-session treatment for $75. They also have CDs and videos in their three Honolulu area locations (Windward Mall, Kane'ohe and at the Hyatt Waikiki). Contact them at 808/234-LOMI (same as 234-5664), Web site www.lomi.com.
Transformational Psychotherapy
Combining more traditional Western techniques of psychotherapy with the Hawaiian, Joan Levy is one of a number of practitioners who offer their services to the public. Based in Kauai, Levy has had more than 16 years of experience as a licensed clinical social worker, certified in biofeedback and the Middendorf Breath Therapy. She works with individuals and couples, long-term or even short-term visitors, to help transform the patient with Reichian, bioenergetics, gestalt, inner child work, and with consciousness training, stress management, and other techniques. "I work from the heart, not the head," she says. "I work with the Aloha spirit."
Levy says she can help with stress, drugs, alcohol, anxiety and other problems, some of whose symptoms are involved with asthma, high blood pressure, digestion problems, insomnia, headaches and other pains. She feels that transformational psychotherapy will help by reducing or eliminating medication and inhaler use, reducing tension, increasing ability to relax and to manage stress, and to maximize our health in general.
Contact Joan Levy, if you are interested, at PO Box 160, Kapaa, Kauai, HI 96746, phone 808/822-5488, e-mail joan@joanlevy.com, Web site www.lauhala.com/joan.
The Call to Hawaii
Scheduled for publication in December 2003 is The Call to Hawaii, subtitled "A Wellness Vacation Guidebook." Written mostly by two sisters, Betsy and Laura Crites, the book promises to cover almost every aspect of this growing travel trend. They cover the meaning of Aloha, Aina and Mana, all powerful and evocative words here and provide in-depth examinations of the differing vacation types mentioned above.
Maui, Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island each get their own chapters featuring "20 Ways to Pursue Balance & Harmony." On the Big Island, one of their suggestions is to experience the power of Pele (an ancient Hawaiian god) at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park or to buy fresh food at a farmer's market. On Maui, a couple of their many suggestions include walking a labyrinth or visiting a spiritual healer. On Oahu, they suggest practicing tai chi, yoga or some other exercise in the park, or hiking the island's tropical trails. On Kauai, suggestions include a yoga session and an ayurvedic treatment.
The book can be ordered in advance, and if you do so before December 31, 2002, you will get free shipping. The price is $15, with the usual shipping and handling fee being $3. You can contact the publisher by mail at Aloha Wellness Travel, 2333 Kapiolani Boulevard (2108), Honolulu HI 96826-4444, phone toll free 866/223-6941 or locally 808/941-8253, fax 808/955-4233, Web site www.alohawellnesstravel.org.
If you wish to get advice from Laura Crites, who is a wellness travel consultant, contact her at the same address and phone number, or at the following: e-mail lcrites@ahono.com, cell phone 808/223-2533.
More Information
For more information on wellness vacation opportunities in Hawaii, contact any of these reliable resources, Five Mountains Organization (on the big island), www.fivemtn.org, Aloha Wellness Travel (statewide), www.alohawellnesstravel.org, Holomana (statewide), www.hawaii-healing.com, and Zento Magazine (Kauai), www.zentomag.com.