Flying

The Basis of Hawaiian Bodywork

"Flying" as the basis of Hawaiian Bodywork is a fast, complex, flowing movement like a dance. It is also called the step or dance of the frigatebird. It brings forth coordination, balance and flexibility, both in body and in the psyche. It is a practice out of the anciebt Kahuna-Tradition, the training for navigators. The word "Flying" refers to the fregatebird, who starts out from the cliffs in the morning and soars over the sea all day with only very few movements of his wings and only returns to the cliffs in the evening. Othe than seagulls he can not rest on the water. When you are flying, you can also experience how the flowing movement finally carries you on infinitely without effort and how doors open inside you to new levels of awareness. You can change your patterns of your physical movement. And such changes will also effect expansion and balance on the psychic level. The body aquiers balance, all senses become clear and active, the awareness expands and new sources open up for you.

The Navigators:

"STAR COME - STAR GO, ISLAND COME - ISLAND GO. I AM THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE" was the consciousness of the Navigators every minute of their life. Before they learned anything about the stars,the wind, the sea, the currents, the deapths and shelfs, they first had to know themselves in all depths. Their special physical training with different "steps" like sthe step of the frigatebird was desinged to reach complete balance and flexibility in the body and at the same time to get to know and integrate all levels of the psyche.

So when they would be on the boats with the whole clan off to new islands they had to be completely centered and in balance they could not afford to be diverted or even irritated by an unpredictable erratic chief or an impending danger; they had to keep the course which they with their expanded awarenaess knew would eventually bring them to the desired place. Thanks to their training they were able to see the stars even in the daylight and by tasting the seawater they knew which part of the vast ocean they were in. But most of all they understood themselves to be navigators through the sea of life.

Through their deep understanding of their own bodies and what was going on intheir psyche the navigators reached a corresponding deep understanding of all living beings and all processes in their environment. For they also respected all "things" as beings which function after the same principles as they themselves. With this awareness of themselves and all other beings they eventually were experts for navigating elegantly out there on the vast ocean as well as on land in all other areas of life.

Kahuna Abraham Kauaii (Aua'ia Maka'i'ole, here called "Kahu") himself a navigator Navigator-Kahuna recalls: "Navigatoren in in the old days had to be the highest masters because they had heavy responsibilities out there in the ocean. Their skills kept everybody alive. And they needed skills far beyond knowing the elemnts and knowing themselves. They had to understand the chiefes, for many chiefs were completely erratic. So they were trained in their craft to surpass themselves so there could be no mistake.
To give you an idea of the deapth of their skills: Most of the legendary navigators were blind. Their senses were sharpened, they knew the name of every wave on the ocean, where it came from and where it went to. And they knew the taste of every part of the ocean, and so they navigated after the taste of the ocean, after the feeling of the waves which hit the boat. Each wave had a name, each wave came from a certain island.
    This practice ( Flying) brings you into balance physically. When you have reached that it means you have consciously and uncon-sciously reached equilibrium in your psychological basis. In this movement you can experience a state of personal physical and psychological bliss; when everything is in balance, in a complete cosmic equilibrium. That is the state in which most healings happen everywhere in the world."
Translation will be continued
Eigentlich ist es ein Paradox, über Hawaiianische Körperarbeit zu schreiben. Die heutigen Hawaiianer und auch mein eigener Lehrer haben, obwohl sie hochgebildet sind, niemals die "Techniken" und "Lehren" der Navigatoren oder die Hawaiianische Körperarbeit in Büchern beschrieben. Nicht etwa, weil es geheimes Wissen wäre, das nur wenigen Eingeweihten vorbehalten sein soll, sondern weil es kein Wissen ist, das auf der reinen Verstandesebene weitergegeben werden kann. Hawaiianische Körperarbeit in Büchern zu beschreiben ähnelt dem Versuch, Wasser in einem Sieb zu fangen. Das geht; aber nur, wenn man es gefriert. Und was erfahren wir dann über die Flüssigkeit des Wassers ? Der Unterricht: Worum es geht Es ist die Praxis, aus der gelernt wird. Die Schüler werden in Situationen gestellt, in denen sie direkt aus ihrer eigenen Erfahrung lernen können. . Nur das Wissen, das wir mit unserem Körper gefühlt haben, haben wir wirklich zur Verfügung, ist wirklich unseres. Deswegen ist Körperarbeit einer der effektivsten Wege zu wirklicher Veränderung. In den früheren Tagen lief fast der ganze Unterricht nonverbal ab. "Es gab niemanden, der einem auf die Schulter klopfte und sagte: Das hast du gut gemacht. Also hast du erreicht, was immer in diesem Moment zu erreichen war, dann kam das Nächste. Und es gab auch keine Erklärung, was man erreichen sollte. Grundsätzlich gibt es also keine Ziele. Es gibt nur die Totalität deiner selbst. Und das ist im Grunde, worum es geht. Das einzige Zeichen, woran man damals merken konnte, dass man Fortschritte gemacht hatte, war, dass man eine neue Aufgabe bekam," erzählt Kahu. Wir machen das heute mit ein paar Worten mehr, aber das Prinzip ist das selbe. "Es geht also um das Meistern deiner selbst. Denn du musst selber wissen, wer du bist. Mit jedem Wort, jeder Bewegung, jeder Handlung sagst du dir selber, wer du bist. Du musst wissen, wer du bist. Niemand anderes kann es dir sagen. Sind die SchülerInnen durch Flying, Selbstbeobachtung und vieles andere zu körpelicher und seelischer Balance, einem gewissen Verständnis für ihren Körper und ihren eigenen Kosmos gelangt, können sie ihre Fähigkeiten auch am "Tisch" (der Massageliege für Körperarbeit) ausüben. Ein mindestens 14-tägiges Training nach traditionellem Kahuna-Training ermöglicht den Praktizierenden der Hawaiianischen Körperarbeit-tempelstil, neue Ebenen zu erreichen um diese machtvolle Arbeit an der Massageliege verantwortungsvoll ausführen zu können. © by Elisabeth Müller-Schwefe