On the volcano isle said to be the home of the goddess Pele, healing energy flows abundant and strong. Along the Big Island’s Kohala Coast, the theme of holism is embodied in a collection of world-class spa resorts.
by Debra Bokur
A few feet below me, three enormous koi fish glide into view – burnished copper, pale gold, and alabaster. We’re separated from one another by a glass window, thoughtfully placed in the floor beneath the head cradle of the massage table where I lay, languid and content, in an outdoor waterfall hale at the Fairmont Orchid’s Spa Without Walls. The air fills with the clear, resonant voice of my therapist, Dahn, as he enters the hale and chants an O’li prayer of welcome and thanks. As the last pure note fades, a host of koi appears, remaining in view for the duration of my traditional head-to-toe Lomi Lomi massage. Later, as he presses powdered A’wa root into my skin with a smooth lava stone, I begin to drift away, dreaming that I’m covered, like the koi, in scarlet and deep blue scales, swimming in a wide, warm sea.
Within the soothing space of The Orchid’s outdoor spa, no recorded music is necessary. The soundtrack of singing birds, flowing water, and wind is 100 percent authentic, and reflects the Hawaiian tradition of embracing and honoring the natural world. Wind, sunlight, ocean, and sand offer a deep connection to the surroundings. Spa Manager Farzana Rahman explains that the power of the island’s dormant volcanoes, combined with the active energy of the Kilauea Volcano on the eastern coast, create a palpable spiritual force ideal for healing spa therapies.
I ponder her words as I wander off to bed. By the time I’ve made it to my room and thrown wide the doors to the lanai overlooking the hotel gardens and the sea, the rhythms of this place are well on the way to weaving their spell.
Feminine Forces
The Hawaiian saying Nani ka waiho a Kohala i ka la’i means “beautiful lies Kohala in the calm.” This morning, all signs point to the temperamental volcano goddess being in a particularly good mood. The sun illuminates the shoreline drive south along Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway to the Four Seasons at Historic Hualalai, where a resort highlight is King’s Pond, a natural lava rock pool-lagoon filled with spotted eagle rays and over 3,500 fish.
While some guests glide through the water in snorkel gear, I make my way along the paths leading to the spa for a Hualalai Honey Sugar Scrub. My therapist warms a bowl of local Lehua honey,
and drizzles it over my skin. Next, I’m gently scrubbed with a combination of island brown sugar and kukui nut oil. She wraps me and I relax while my face and ears are massaged. Later, after rinsing, my skin is smooth and incredibly supple.
Leaving the Four Seasons, I follow the coastline, enjoying the thought of how the blue-green water is warm and filled with life. Surely, I think, there could be no better spot to get in touch with my own feminine energy than in a setting governed by a goddess unfailingly revered and venerated, regardless of her many moods. Later, I ask Danny Akaka, cultural historian at the Mauna Lani Resort, to explain Pele’s influence over this place.
“Pele represents the powerful female energy whose creative forces have contributed to the addition of new lands for all of the Hawaiian Islands, and who now dwells on and continues her work on the Big Island,” Akaka tells me. “Pele has always remained a powerful force and a powerful deity who has survived the test of time, throughout Hawaii’s dynamic changes. In her work of destruction, Pele also creates new land, and therefore new life. In her way, she cleanses and purifies, and brings about a sense of renewal. In the understanding of ho’oponopono, which is ‘to set things right and to restore order’ in one’s life, the road to healing is through spiritual cleansing and purification, and by restoring order and harmony within one’s self. In a way, Pele represents that model and that understanding. The intense energy of newly created land emits great healing powers. The land, in turn, gives life to the plants and to the minerals whose medicinal properties benefit Mankind.”
Naked Beneath the Sun
That afternoon, I drive to the spa at Mauna Lani Resort, remembering the rest of Akaka’s thought-provoking discourse regarding how this island, the youngest in the Hawaiian chain, has a particular spiritual aura.
“Birth is a powerful thing, which emits great energy,” Akaka told me. “This island is still experiencing labor pains as it issues forth new life, new land. The ancients understood that all things of nature, animate and inanimate, have mana, spiritual energy. The land is a living entity. The energy of the ‘aina, the land, as well as the energy of the other components of nature, with all its intricate combinations, exudes great healing power.”
Upon arrival, I’m led along a winding walkway to a manmade lava cave, partially formed by several large, natural lava tubes. Within the cave is a warm seawater pool with a splashing waterfall. My therapist guides me down a series of steps into the water, and I float in her arms, weightless and suddenly graceful. For the duration of my Aquatic Body Therapy, she stretches and massages me in what she describes as a water dance, while I listen, eyes closed, to the waterfall and soothing underwater acoustics. When our time is through, she releases me into the water and allows me to float for several minutes in the lava womb while I transition back to full awareness.
Next, a spa assistant shepherds me to the open-air Lava Sauna. She leaves me in a rock walled enclosure open to the sky, with a pot of black clay, a tray of chilled water and sliced oranges, and instructions to cover myself with the clay and relax. I follow her instructions, and once I’ve used up all the clay, lie back naked against the smooth lava stones while the clay dries to dark silver. The breeze moves across my skin, delicious and cooling. Overhead, clouds scud along in the rising wind, and I sense rain nearby. After a half hour, I move to an outdoor shower along the twisting path, rinsing off the clay and coating my smooth skin with a sweet-scented essential oil. Back in the sauna, I nibble on oranges until my escort returns to collect me. As we approach the dressing rooms, the first raindrops fall on my shoulders, and I thank Pele for waiting and allowing me my heavenly moment beneath the sky.
Coconut Cream and Dolphins
In the morning, I checkout of The Orchid and arrive at my next port of call, the Hilton Waikoloa Village. I’m momentarily taken aback by the size and scope of the place. Certainly, “city” seems a more apt description than village, especially given the presence of a monorail tram system running from one end of the property to the other. The other option for getting from lobby to restaurants to guest room complexes is a canal system offering boat transportation. This seems more in keeping with the island vibe to me, so I hop into the first one that presents itself and sail off toward the Kohala Sports Club and Spa.
My South Pacific Body Ritual begins with a full-body coconut cream scrub. After rinsing, I enjoy a massage with fragrant oils, followed by an application of coconut body butter, which my therapist slathers over my skin with a paintbrush. The sensation is surprisingly pleasing. She wraps me, and while the moisture seeps into my skin, she applies warmed coconut oil to my scalp for a traditional Fijian scalp massage.
Maybe my mood has softened along with my skin during my treatment, but the extensive trip from the spa to my room reveals museum quality art scattered throughout the grounds, including a tranquil Buddha overlooking the sea. The interior gardens are home to exotic birds, and one end of the resort complex has been given over to Dolphin Quest, a learning center devoted to educational programs featuring the property’s resident dolphins. In the evening after dinner, I cross a swinging foot bridge and walk down to where the dolphins are swimming in their pools. There’s no one else around, and the extraordinarily beautiful creatures slowly dive and turn as they pass in front of the path where I stand watching.
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