01/11/2022
As a teacher, I would like to share a little more about my self & my journey to how & why I was led to teach Hawaiian Lomi Lomi Healing, something outside of my own culture. There's a book in the story & it's not the time to go in to detail, yet I hope that this snippet will give you a sense in to my Being.
It was written by a friend of mine after some conversations...
My life in Apartheid South Africa primed me for the work that I now offer the world.
I grew up in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa during the Apartheid regime where segregation & separation were a culturally & socially indoctrinated way of life & way of being. Them & us. Distrust in the ‘other’, fear of the ‘other’. Trust in separation.
As child, I thought little of this early on. We were a poor White family, though privileged compared to others. I escaped by spending time in the bush & the mountains, & generally answering the call of nature to run wild & free as all children seem to do. That innocence, peace & safety of early childhood abruptly & shockingly gave way to the horrors of a political, social & physical landscape in massive upheaval & turbulence. Apartheid was out, liberation & land reclamation was in & unspeakable horrors & atrocities to bodies & being came with that.
Suddenly the energies of threat, violence & fears for safety & survival were pushed to the forefront & the flimsy veils of perception were torn. I witnessed traumas of r**e, murder & torture of my countryfolk. It left the imprinting of massive trauma on my physical body & psyche.
I moved through my teenage years with difficulty, turning to substances to relieve some of the pressure of abuse I had witnessed or experienced personally.
Eventually reaching beyond abusive patterns & unhealthy
coping strategies for a healthier, more spiritual, holistic way of being. The Divine guided me to poetry, prayer, nutrition & travel.
I studied Psychology at University of South Africa until my wandering spirit beckoned me to Brasil, the UK, the Middle East & finally Australia where my love for the ocean called me to study Marine Biology, though I was never to start this.
Destiny had other plans.
My father passed away in 1999 so I returned to South Africa & left the dream of Australia behind me, along with that timeline of potential. As that door shut, another opened bringing through my first mentor -Anthea Hardwick- who introduced me to Kahuna massage & from the first moment, I was hooked. It was love at first ‘feel’. The beauty, potency & mystery of this Hawaiian culture felt like ‘home’ to me & so I began my apprenticeship. For four years with Anthea as my ‘kumu’, I revealed, explored & healed the depths & breadths of the trauma & wounding that had been lived in my own body & spirit & worked on my craft. A new way of living life lovingly opened up to me that offered not only a way for me to express my own love & gift in the world, but to also go beyond an innate shyness & move into beautiful connections with people in the spirit of Aloha.
Answering the deep inner impulse to share this sacred work of inner transformation through body & soul, I completed my Lomi Lomi Nui Teacher Training with Susan Pa’inui Floyd, student of Kahu Abraham Kawaii in Kauai in 2004.
I began teaching in Cape Town. I was 28 years old. The people who came to me varied from massage therapists looking for new skills, and those with deep trauma looking for ancient ways to heal & connect with Life & Spirit. This work has a Spirit that attracts. South Africa is home to people who are Living in deeply traumatic situations, day to day. I had already grown up "too quickly", so my young age at teaching was not untimely.
Another bend in destiny’s river brought me to Ireland in 2007, following my heart.
My husband & sons & I (and pets) live in rural Ireland, offering our family home to facilitate Lomi Lomi training.
Mahalo to ALL.
Hope you enjoyed hearing about this. I hope to share more with you soon.
Intimacy with the Self, the Soul, & Source through the glorious vessel of the human body is the pure heart of Louise’s teachings & work in the world. Leading her students & clients into a deeper relationship of fearless self-knowing, self-acceptance, self-healing & self-love through the unconditional spirit of Aloha is her gift & her passion in the world. The sacred arts of Lomi Lomi Nui bodywork & Yoga are both pillars of & access points to her teachings of trauma transcendence & healing, & her focus is to assist people in returning to wholeness within themselves. Louise’s healing arts & expertise have been honed over a lifetime & career spanning three decades & four continents.
Me ke aloha
Louise
