The Lomi long-stroke on the back sometimes is called the basic move. Basic, because the whole massage practically is built around this one stroke. The secret of this move is in its precision, fluidity, and appropriately applied and steady pressure. The therapist uses his or her body weight, instead of muscle strength to keep the pressure steady.
The completely relaxed and soft forearm of the therapist is very close to the client’s spine – so close that it might look from the side that it’s on the spine – but it’s not. The therapist’s forearm slides into a narrow space between the spine and the muscles of the client, pulling them away from the bones, relaxing them, and making more space to create more flexibility in this area.
My friend Magdalena from Iceland, also Lomi Lomi Nui practitioner and teacher use this metaphor while teaching her students:
‘Imagine that your hand is a boat sailing the infinite ocean of your client’s back. The stroke starts on the neck – this is your harbor, where the journey begins. Make sure that you start the journey right by sliding your hand, wrist, and forearm right in between the neck and the shoulder. Then continue relaxed hand, soft forearm, parallel to the spine. You are a boat sailing on the ocean of the body. Think of bones as reefs – you want to avoid them and stay on the soft waters of the muscles. Your forearm – the boat – gracefully maneuvers between the spine and the shoulder blade, then pivots and continues the journey perpendicularly to the spine. Slowly, with steady pressure, going deeper into the body. It travels along the spine until it meets the crest of the pelvis – this is your cliff. Let your forearm slide gently off the cliff and into the harbor on the side of the body. The journey continues. Now Flip your hand palm up, and find the gate – soft part of the hip between the pelvis and femur. Then climb up the buttock, applying steady pressure to the glutes. Continue until your forearm falls off the muscle. Then go back with a long stroke on the side of the body and get ready for the same journey on the other side. And again, again, again, slower or faster, deeper or more gentle – the endless stroke continues, as if you were drawing an infinity symbol on Client’s back.’
I teach the long stroke on the back on the second day of my training. Therefore my students have plenty of time to practice it, and completely immerse in it during giving and receiving sessions, and fully appreciate this amazingly beneficial movement.
If you want to learn Lomi Lomi Nui with me.
I invite you for a 5-day individual training in Waimairi Beach, Christchurch.