Floating face up in the Watsu pool at the Kilani Ocean Retreat, tucked into a remote corner of the Big Island in Hawaii, I drifted in a state of embryonic innocence.
On the Big Island, the nexus of the plexus for healing gurus of all stripes, there is a choice to fit every pocket book.
You can live here for free in exchange for doing menial tasks on the 120-acre village that rests on a stunning coastal drive in the, lush, tropical Puna District near Hilo.
Kilani offers a range of accommodations and activities that nurture creativity and encourage connection with the land, a basic Hawaiian precept.
Warm air laden with the scent of ginger and the firm, gliding hands, of Sylvie administering lomi-lomi, the loving touch, left me limp and receptive to the flow of new energy.
Aunty M. was off island the week I visited, so I did a solo float in the mineral-rich pool populated by giggling children, lovers, and elders talking story.
It is an easy hop from here to the coastal road where you can access beach parks, the hot ponds, and the viewing station for an active lava flow.
The Big Island, the youngest in the chain, is still being formed and is said to be a vortex of special power.
Molten lava flows from nearby, Volcano National Park to meet the sea in a convulsive spray of embers and billowing steam.
There are numerous trails in the park that bring you closer to the immense energy emanating from the live volcano.
Kumu, Dane Silva, lomi-lomi master, and expert in native plant remedies and the martial arts wanted to meet me on Coconut Island, so I made arrangements at Doug Arnott’s Lodge the best budget option in Hilo.
Kumu Dane Silva is a transcendent figure with the ability to synthesize western and traditional Hawaiian healing modalities into one holistic toolbox for treating patients.
Coconut Island, or Moku Ola, literally the healing island is a place he brings people brings people because it is invested with the spiritual energy of his ancestors.
Law breakers could be saved from a swift death if they could reach the island in time.
He will employ sea water cleanse, the universal Hawaiian remedy to remove toxins from the body, or medicines from native plants if it is appropriate.
Winding pathways through a wonderland of lava rock waterfalls let you imagine you are a royal, of the ali’i class, living in a land where the spring of love flows freely.
A delightful shoreline trail takes you to fish ponds used by the Hawaiians living on this coast a 1,000 years ago.
A contemplative walk on meandering paths beneath swaying palms here gives a sense of the peace and harmony of a time gone by.
The ancient masters combined long sweeping movement making use of their whole bodies to relieve tension in muscles, but more important they directed mana to the recipient to encourage healing, regenerative powers in the body.
Dane Silva said it is a way to open us up to connecting with the land, the sea, and the air we breathe, for the Hawaiians believe that we are all one.
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