2012: Blog Rebirth & Little Lesson from the Day

Woah....last entry 2009, August. Back-burnered blog begins anew. No shame, I understand this beast of procrastination well-enough now, and the God's Honest is that I have been working, and healing, and working on healing. There has been an attempt at launching a website (bradleylenz.com) which has stayed under-construction since it's inception, finish line hangs elusively o'er the horizon. I endured an almost major injury now mostly mended; found the love of my life; enrolled in a graduate school and withdrew; found another place of learning and enrolled; got into a jeep-totaling accident and received my first substantial whiplash, on my way to a Mana Lomi II workshop with my kumu. Nice to have these hands on me 2 hours after that impact! Mahalo Barbara Helynn! So yes, a lot has happened.

Still with all of that, my business grew. Thanks in no part to my feeble efforts to advertise (or blog), but with the help of many wonderful folks who believe in this work and continue to convince their friends, coworkers, clients, and loved ones to try the experience on my table. It is indeed a ride worth taking! THANK YOU ALL. I feel incredibly satisfied with my life and yet I am still impatient to share this work with so many more people. Anyway, keeping it slow and steady out the blogging gate, just wanted to share a story from today.
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Intuitive Lunch

Often times when I get the rare opportunity for a lunch break, a bonafied hour long one, I will exit the my lovely office in the heart of downtown and ask my intuition to lead me to where I need to go (btw it definitely helps that there are amazing eateries on all directions from my office). I will feel a sensation on a particular side of my body and I will head in that direction until the bigger meaning is revealed. In case you are skeptical, it is always revealed. Today was no different. I first found my-intuitively-guided-self walking into the New Haven Free Public Library (not sure why "free" is in there, but I surely intend to keep it there), and found that they have a local history section! Recently, I have been researching my family roots in New Haven and have gotten back to 1892. Thank you Hall of Records! While this was great, it doesn't feel like it is the end of this adventure, as I didn't intend to eat books for lunch. Stomach overrode my intuition (or did it?) long enough to lead me out the exit just in time to see a young client of mine.
She looked very disoriented at 30 yards away and taking what I correctly guessed was a wrong turn. I caught up with her to say hello, and she greeted me with a mixture of elation and "forgot to reschedule"-apprehension. **For the record, I don't worry about past clients returning or not; if they are meant to they will.** She said how happy she was to see me; how time has been flying and how stressed everything has been. So stressed, in fact, the stress fractures had "flared up" in her shins.

"Stress" as we refer to it here in Connecticut, in New Haven especially, and most especially when it is referred to by a young Yale undergrad, is not just a vague emotion used when you have more items on your list than you have hours to complete. No, no, we have painfully persevered to the point of elevating "stress" to something as intense as "panic" just longer-lasting. I could see this stress vibrating in her eyes the way this kind of stress vibrates, which is to say, erratic and unsettling. Her story of this stress flailed at me like a drowning person inches away from a life vest. I knew that she had little time and resources available to dedicate to an hour massage, let alone the 3 hour massage she probably needed.
What to do for this highly capable human literally in the middle of taking a wrong turn with only seconds to spare? First off, like any good-hearted local, we did her a right-turn and steered her back on track. Secondly, I reminded her of the same thing I remind myself everyday... when I remember to remind myself. **Meditate**
10 minutes a day. No music, no words to read, no agenda, just breathe. Just catch your breath, a clearer path will emerge. We can have an intention, at the onset, but once we take our first inhale we are committed to whatever path our breath carves out for us. If we vow to continue to sit and breath, regardless of what distraction comes, we make our way down that path, or bushwhack at times. Whatever comes up, we take notice and keep breathing. That is all, for 10 full minutes. Even though certain breathes will provoke a thought or emotion inside of this 10 minute eternity that may seem uncomfortable,we stay in our integrity and keep breathing.
Afterwards, we revisit our intention and see if the meditation showed us something, bundled up in imagery and metaphor so tight we couldn't recognize it in that moment. Sometimes we get an "uh huh" revelation and sometimes....we just breathed through all distraction for ten minutes. As this student said, "I always feel better when I breathe; thanks for the reminder!" It's miraculous, trust.

The rest will come as it needs to, in blogs, in breathing, in life; all the reminders & inspiration you will need are there. Ask to receive. Say please and thank you, however extravagantly and honestly as you can. Carry on, in faith, in beauty.

Mana Lomi Level 1 Class Info

Hawaiian Healing Academy
Founded by Dr. Maka’ala Yates, D.C.
Hawaiian Medicine Specialist
present a
Three Day Mana Lomi® Level One Workshop

Dr. Maka'ala Yates, D.C., is a Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian Ancestry) who specializes in Hawaiian medicine.
He has been practicing and teaching Hawaiian healing concepts for over 25 years and is president and founder of Mana Ola healing center and the Hawaiian Healing Academy.

Maka’ala received the Kaonohi Award in 2005 from the State of Hawaii for his excellence in Hawaiian medicine and community support.

Dates: Sept. 11th – 13th, Fri., Sat., & Sun. ~ 8 A.M. – 6 P.M.
Certificate for 27 CE hours, NCBTMB approved provider # 287333-00
Cost: $485 one month early or $535 thereafter
All methods of payments are accepted.
An additional 10% discount available. See below.
Location: New Haven area, CT ~ Contact: Bradley @ (808) 357-3778

This Workshop is Open to the Public

Mana Lomi® is based on Hawaiian healing concepts of working with the body, mind and spirit.
It is hands on healing that is deep and powerful, yet gentle, giving immediate and long-term results.

Mana Lomi® symbolically means "to communicate energetically deep within the bones of the individual and thus with the soul of the person."

You will learn:
• An effective, 60-90 minute full body sequence to bring relief to many symptoms.
• How to release muscle tension with gentle, yet powerful and deep movements “to the bone.”
• Balanced body mechanics allowing you to deliver effectively deep yet gentle therapy for
relaxation or injury prevention and relief with minimal stress on your own body
• A brief history of Mana Lomi®; Hawaiian healing chants; Ho’opono (living in alignment).
• Hawaiian body-mind-spirit healing and the use of Ha (breath), Mana (spiritual energy) and
pule (spiritual centering) to help restore balance.


Registration Form available from Bradley @ integratealoha@gmail.com

Referral Program
There is an additional 10% discount when you bring someone in with you into this program.
Tuition must be paid in full together. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Financial Policy
• Size of workshop is limited to first 20 people so an optional non-refundable deposit of
($100) is required to guarantee a place in this class.
• For cancellations received more than one month prior to scheduled class, full tuition
minus 15% administration fee is refundable.
• For cancellations received two weeks or more before class, 75% of tuition is refundable.
• For cancellations received less than two weeks, 50% of tuition is refundable.
• No refund available on the day of scheduled class.
• Tuition paid may be applied to another class within a one-year period for which Maka’ala
is the primary instructor. Some limitations apply. Contact Maka’ala for details.
Send Fees to:
Hawaiian Healing Academy
P. O. Box 726, Ashland, OR 97520 • Tel. (541) 301-2896
www.manalomi.com Contact: info@manalomi.com

E komo mai! or Welcome!

Many mahalos (thanks) for checking out my blog which I created to share what I have learned and who I have learned from on my path. The work that I am licensed, certified, bonded, and insured to do is massage therapy, specifically Mana Lomi®. Mana Lomi® is work that I chose to specialize in after being introduced to many different modalities during my basic 500 hour training at the Maui School of Therapeutic Massage. While I still draw from some of these other modalities such as, Sports Massage, PNF Stretching, Shiatsu, Craniosacral, Neuromuscular Therapy, Aromatherapy, Thai, Myofascial, & the old stand-bys Swedish and Deep Tissue, it was Mana Lomi that proved itself to be the most sustainable for me and the most healing for the people I work with. So what is it?

Mana Lomi® is a form of lomilomi which is Hawaiian Massage, that comes from a distinct Big Island lineage, which in this generation is represented by Dr. Maka'ala Yates. Before him came the modern matriarch of lomilomi, Aunty Margaret Machado, who as the story goes recognized Maka'ala at age 6 as being a lomilomi healer. While I never had the experience of studying with Aunty Margaret before she passed on, her spirit is still reflected in the stories and the work, and I am eternally grateful for her wisdom and her bravery.
This lomi work "uses a clinical, problem solving approach based on Hawaiian concepts of working with the body, mind and spirit. It is gentle yet deep, and gives immediate and long term results." Lomilomi symbolically means "to communicate energetically deep within the bones of the individual and thus with the soul of the person." As many people who have experienced the work would say, "it is the best massage I have ever gotten." But still, many people want to know, what is it?

With respect to my teachers, I would like to share my New England understanding of this Hawaiian way with New Englanders. Think back to the last time you reconnected with a loved one in person, maybe at the airport, and you ran to each other and embraced. In that hug, that small moment where two people squeeze the tightest and it feels almost as though something is crushing in that big love way, that is the translation of lomilomi as I've come to know how to explain it. Now when you stretch that moment out over an hour, directed with that pure intention of aloha and healing with the Hawaiian understanding of the body, mind and spirit... that is it. Otherwise you can just think of it as a chance to lay down on a massage table, completely relax, and allow yourself to receive the "best massage ever" and perhaps listen to a quiet oli or mele (chant or song) during the process. I use only organic oils or lotions that your skin will find delicious.

I hope this demystifies this enough that you will recognize how this work can be of service in your life. Whatever is going on with your body, or in your life, feel welcomed to call me and converse about how you can best invest in your optimal health. Aloha!