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Alternative medicines

Los Angeles Business Journal, Oct 14, 2002 by Terrence Sing

Ancient Hawaiian healing priests taught initiates human anatomy using hundreds of red, white and black pebbles arranged in the shape of a man.

"With this method they diagnosed diseases," said Ke Kumu 'Ola Leiha'ala Brown-Dombrigues, who operates one of Hawaii's few healing cinics based upon, traditional Native Hawaiian practices passed down from generation to generation. 'On this pebble shape one would practice and learn the ancient healing arts and Native Hawaiian diagnosis, which-means to feel out with your fingers the different diseases found in a human being."

By this method, ancient Hawaiians diagnosed all manner of diseases and human ailments, including a variety of stress-realted illnesses, diabetes and heart disease.

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Brown-Dombrigues operates Ka Leo O Na Kahuna Lapa 'au 'O Hawaii Hale 'O' Lono. In English, that translates to voices of the healing priests of Hawaii. Lono is the Hawaiian god of healing.

The healing center, located at the Big Islands Naniloa Hotel in Hilo, treats approximately 500 visitors a year who come for traditional Hawaiian deep-touch lomilomi massage.

"They come for counseling, blessing and for traditional Hawaiian lomilomi lapa 'au," Brown-Dombrigues said Practitioners at Brown-Dombrigues's clinic are direct descondants of the ancient Hawaiian priests [Kahunas] who mastered the art of lomilomi lapa'au.

"In Hawaiian, 'lapa'au' is the actual medicine from the laying on of hands to the power of 'pule,' or prayer," Brown-Dombrigues said.

"Someone who just took classes in lomilomi is just not the same," she said. "This is actually the traditional lapa'au that works with those who need healing, who have injury, who need mind, body and spiritual balancing."

This type of massage is very therapeutic, Brown-Dombrigues said.

"It's not just any form of massage," she said. "It's the connection of the heart, hands and soul to the source of all life--the creator. Hawaiian lomilomi is aloha."

More and more visitors are traveling to Hawaii for "wellness vacations," said Laura Crites, owner of Aloha Wellness Travel, which advocates wellness tourism to Hawaii.

"Hawaii is a place where East truly meets West," she said. "We have probably the most successful mix. The Kauai Visitors Bureau did some research that found there's a 38 percent increase in people coming to Kauai to hike and a 13 percent increase in people coming to Kauai to go to spas within the last year."

Conversely, the number of people coming to Kauai to play golf or get married has fallen, Crites said.

"The Eastern philosophy of healing--namely Chinese and Japanese--is really quite prevalent and accepted in Hawaii," she said. "One of the things that makes us unique here is we have such a strong Asian influence. Many of the practitioners here are highly trained, having studied in China, and are considered among the best in their field."

Hawaii is the only state in the union that does not allow anyone to practice acupuncture without 1,200 hours of training, Crites said.

"On the mainland, the medical profession has passed laws in every state that allow MDs to practice acupuncture with only 400 hours of training," she said. "The thing that's so significant here is that acupuncture is based on a philosophy that is at the other end of the continuum from Western medicine. My feeling is that the doctors have to probably have a brain transplant to successfully understand and work knowledgeably with acupuncture. In no way can they reverse all their training in order to fully understand and embrace the philosophy of Asian medicine, which is basically energy medicine."

Crites has developed seven categories of wellness vacations, which can be found on her Web site at www.alohawellnesstravel.com.

"I am promoting the whole state," Crites said. "My Web site has a directory to wellness opportunities and alternative medicine providers statewide, probably 300. I define wellness as a process of achieving greater balance and harmony mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually."

Hawaii boasts alternative experts who are among the best in their field, Crites said.

It's the energy--and a lot more--say the people who visit Kauai.

"It's special by the nature of the energy that you are surrounded by," said Latifa Amdur, a certified acupuncturist and herbal practitioner who has practiced 30 years, nearly half on Kauai. "The environment is so beautiful. It's ideal for healing."

Amdur works with all forms of illnesses.

"And on a deeper level too," she said. "It's not treating something symptomatically People will come off the plane and say, 'You know, I've never clone this before, but I'm on vacation and I thought I'd just try it.' What happens is that in their usual routine they don't have a lot of time. So they find themselves with a lot of time here. What keeps them from often having a good time while they are here, or just relaxing or partaking in different sports or events, is pain or illnesses that have been ongoing, acute or chronic."

Business Services Industry

Alternative medicines

Los Angeles Business Journal, Oct 14, 2002 by Terrence Sing

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