Water and Bone

A place to soften, to let go what’s been carried too long, and remember what’s been lost or forgotten.

Welcome, my name is Emelia and this is my offering of Temple Style Lomi Lomi. A practice of ceremonial bodywork that is shared in reverence to the lineage of the Kānaka Maoli people, who first birthed this healing art, and continue to carry its living wisdom today. My teacher, Sheah Fiaklow, studied within the lineage of Aunty Margaret Machado and Uncle Abraham Kawai’i, both of whom were instrumental in sharing Lomi Lomi beyond Hawai’i, to the western world. I received my training in 2022, and I carry these teachings forward with humility and kuleana (responsibility), doing my best to practice in alignment with their spiritual and cultural foundations.

I stand rooted in the ancestry of my own people, whose earth-based teachings and healing ways were largely lost along the path of migration, assimilation, and survival. My bloodlines trail throughout the North and Western parts of Europe. Many of my ancestors were settlers in the midwest of The United States, the prairies of Canada and Indonesia. I carry both the privilege and the wound of these histories, and with that a responsibility. The call back has been long and arduous, along my path I have been graced with teachings from many indigenous knowledge keepers that continue to been a catalyst to my healing, and in-turn my ancestors. My heart wells with gratitude for the guidance and the holding as this work continues to be a slow remembering of the forgotten, by returning to the language of the body, the breath, the cycles and the earth.

Since I was young I found myself exploring the qualities of touch, guided by a quiet listening and a sense that working with the body was a way to show care, to offer presence, and hold the potential for deep healing. Throughout my life I have continuously been drawn to the soma as a place of wisdom, and transformation.

At the root I walk my path knowing that we are not individual by nature, but porous and infinitely guided by the interwoven relations of our larger body- the living, breathing earth. In this way, the call of ceremonial and somatic pathways has been pulling me thread by thread, and Lomi Lomi has been another path along the way.

The Practice of Lomi Lomi

Lomi is a form of massage that originated in the Hawaiian islands. Long, fluid, rhythmic strokes are used that invoke the element of water, encouraging the wisdom of our body to awaken. Lomi Lomi works from the belief that memories are not just stored in the mind, but in every cell of the body. The continuous rhythmic strokes are designed to help the body let go of it’s old patterns and behaviours, which can cause as many stresses and strains as muscle tension. The massage techniques are applied with the forearms and hands, and deeper work with the elbows and fingers. In addition a breathing technique called the Ha breath is incorporated to encourage letting go and to bring in Mana, life force energy. Lomi Lomi is considered to be a ceremony of the body, with the understanding that everything is related and interconnected. As the movements start to penetrate deeper into the cells it makes way for the potential of one to release blocks keeping us from understanding our true nature of wholeness and connection with the cosmos, also known as our family or Ohana. This bodywork has the potential to imbue healing throughout our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, ancestral, and energetic bodies. The ceremonial honoring and loving nature of Lomi Lomi inspires compassion toward our body and empowers our innate ability to heal ourselves. It is an invitation to remember who we are.

I work from a trauma-informed lens, welcoming of all bodies. I am guided by pule (prayer), and often begin each session with an invocation or prayer calling upon elemental forces, unseen helpers, and ancestors. My aim is to create a space where the nervous system can soften, where there’s safety to return to oneself, and where the body is met with presence and care.

With consent, I may ask to incorporate cleansing smoke which is often traditionally used in this practice.

Lomi Lomi is not simply massage, it is prayer in motion. Through the principles of Aloha (love and presence), Ho’oponopono (making things right), and Mana (the animate spiritual force in all things), I offer a space for healing, for remembering and for returning to the sacred intelligence of the body.

Please refer to the green bottle sliding scale model by Worts & Cunning to see where you might land on the scale.

I also welcome trade, if this is something you’re interested in reach out and we can talk about what that might look like.

Text or Call Emelia at (250) 889-3816 or email emelia@waterandbone.ca to book-in.

A minimum of 10% of each session is donated to the Ka Lāhui Hawai’i Indigenous Grassroots organization https://www.kalahuihawaii.net/

Water and Bone

Ceremonial Bodywork

The Practice of Lomi Lomi