Oh Wai Au- About Me
O Wai Au (Who am I?)
“Just call me Pua”, she will tell you for the formalities exist only on documents. Well, where did this journey begin? Many years ago a physically damaged and emotionally saddened soul walked in a walker down the road at Ke’ei Beach to visit Auntie Margaret Machado. “This will never work” Pua thought to herself... She had been in a wheelchair for almost two years and physical therapy and Doctors could not do any more for her, so she decided to listen to her Tutu Wahine and give it the “Hawaiian try”. 9 weeks of care and individualized teaching with many tears and perspiration wiped away, this exhilarated woman was able to walk up and down the stairs at that famous beach house with the guidance from Akua and Auntie Margaret. A new path of total healing had begun…. Born in California, yet raised in Kaneohe, on the Island of Oahu, as a very young child, Pualani would listen to the beautiful Hawaiian stories told to her by her grandmother and practice little Keiki (childlike) Hulas with her mom, who taught Hula to military officers’ wives on the military base. School age years were spent in California and throughout her young adult life, Pualani would always yearn to return to these islands of Aloha and feel the peace of their natural beauty and the magic of the smiles of their people. A Registered Nurse by trade, “Auntie Pua”, as she is fondly called by her patients and friends, began a career integrating Pule (chants and prayer), Traditional Hawaiian Lomilomi massage, and Hawaiian Healing techniques into her practice of dealing with patients needing physical and emotional healing. Eventually retiring from the Nursing Profession and beginning a full time massage career, Pualani began a Traditional Lomilomi practice .Additional training in the Hawaiian Healing Arts by Kumulomilomi Kaohelani Silva and Papa Sylvester”Papa K” Kepelino, she expanded her knowledge of the cultural traditions and techniques used from various ohana and ahupua?a. She began teaching Traditional Lomilomi on the mainland and in Honalo Hawaii with Kumulomilomi Haunani Hopkins before finally moving back permanently in 2002. At that time Pualani was finally convinced that she needed to be at home to practice the arts of healing she had learned throughout her life. She also became a board member of the Hawaiian Lomilomi Association and assumed the role as President in 2005. Since leaving that post in 2006, she has spent her time teaching Traditional Lomilomi massage and the Hawaiian Healing Arts to students from around the world. “Auntie Pua” resides in Kealakekua, on the Island of Hawaii,as she continues to share the Aloha given to her from her beloved Aunty Margaret Machado many years ago at that rustic beach house. She lovingly teaches with Nerita Machado, the daughter of Auntie Margaret and also has a private practice in Kailua-Kona.