What do you do?

What is lomilomi?

The day of the Super Moon, I stood next to a client on a ridiculously expansive deck in Topanga Canyon, overlooking the mountains, when she asked, “What do you get out of doing bodywork, Kate?”

I stood silent: In that moment, it was merely days after I had not so easily left my hometown, Philadelphia, and merely 48 hours after I had cancelled my flight home to Hawaii on a hunch, and here I stood in the sun, my first day of Topanga, and I thought: “This.”

I never intended to be a bodyworker.  I did not move to Kauai to be a massage therapist. I often kid that I actually ducked and denied the invitation more than once; I am a little resistant to change you could say. But change found me because even though I may drag my feet, in reality I am an entrepreneur.

Did you know that in Sanskrit, “Antha Prerna” (which sounds close to entrepreneur) means “Self motivated?”  Being motivated by the voice inside has taken me to the most amazing places, some of them external, some of them internal, some in the presence of such sweet love that I have wondered what I could have done to receive such a friendship, mentorship, tail wag, or sun kiss.

Why do I share lomilomi? Because lomilomi was shared with me. And in that sharing, I found a craft that can help people feel better about themselves and that is a motivator for me in my life. It was my favorite aspect of teaching high school English; it is my favorite aspect of client interaction, and it is something I try to achieve even in a coffee shop.

Yes, lomilomi practitioners help relieve the muscle tension, relax your shoulders, and rebalance your nervous system so you can begin the rejuvenation process, but any bodyworker worth their salt extensively uses one tool: Love.

What do I get out of lomilomi? I get Love.



I would like to share a special thank you to HIllary Branoff of I Nourish Me, an amazing Ayurvedic Practitioner and friend who hosted us.