HEALTHY TRAVEL ARTICLES

By Barbara Howard

The island of Kauai is known as “The Garden Island” with its lush greenery, gardens, mountains and waterfalls. Kauai is truly beautiful and vacationers enjoy the endless beaches, rainbows and other scenic wonders. But there is much more to Kauai. On a recent Clayton College educational travel program, I discovered that Kauai is a place of worship, refuge and healing, and its history is steeped in sacred ceremony.

The program began with a cleansing sunrise ceremony led by a Hawaiian spiritual leader and teacher. We filed in silence from our hotel to a protected area of the shore (a short stroll) before dawn. In the dark stillness, the ocean whispered to us of its mysteries as it lapped gently on the shore. We stepped slowly into the soothing water. Soon the sky displayed hints of dawn and we greeted the new light with reverence and thanks. As the sun rose resplendently, we learned and sang a sacred chant at the nearby Hikinaakala Heiau. Throughout centuries, dawn was celebrated with prayers and chants at this sacred site which was built around 1300 A.D. We were now under the spell of Kauai.

Kauai is rich in healing resources. We learned about the healing plants of Kauai by a guide who studied with Levon Ohai, Hawaii’s revered healing plant expert. For example, Awa, or kava kava is known as a centerpiece of ancient ceremony and also recommended for headaches and back pain in combination with ginger; Olena or noni, a small evergreen tree, has been a staple of Polynesian medicine for over 2000 years; Kukui nut oil is a natural moisturizer for dry skin, eczema and psoriasis.

One of my favorite experiences on this program was our stop in the beautiful land of Hanalei where we visited the Waipa Foundation. After a tour of the organic gardens, we were invited to roll up our sleeves to peel taro for the making of poi. Poi is an excellent source of vitamin B, calcium and phosphorus. It was fun. Our reward? A feast that included organic vegetables from the garden, many delicious main dishes, and of course, organic poi. Yum!

Sacred sites, healing plants and foods, lomi-lomi massage and sacred hula were only some of the features of this special program. Everyone agreed that this had been a true mind/body/spirit experience. One day while floating on the sea, I realized that Kauai is a special gem and that all of us had been blessed and touched by its natural healing powers and spiritual energies.

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Barbara Howard can be reached at writermarketer1@yahoo.com

© 2004 Barbara Howard. All rights reserved.