The Hawaiian gazette., 1870-12-07

tons essential to ample physical Development are
first. food and, second. exercise. These must,
on the one hand, be abundant in quantity as well
as of the proper quality and. on the other hand
they must be regular in supply. 1t is fatal to
success if either be intermittent
These two conditions, we shall see were iu-
sured to the Hawaiian kings and chiefs from gen.
eration to generation. and to few or none Of the
common people Their authority and weallh-en-
abed them always to support about Them body
Of retainers. to some of whom belonged the duty
of ministering regularly to them with the lomi-
lomi
In the same way also they we're secured against
the daily privations and the recurrent faulines
that afflicted the people as the result of improvi
dence or drought. In the case of these chiefs,
the loml-lomi seems to have been institution
admirably adapted to eounteract the evils which
would otherwise have accrued from the frequent
intervals of Incidence and ease into which there
was every temptation for them to iaA, by fur
nishing them with means of obtaining the ad-
rantages Of exercise without the labor and fatigue
of personal exertion, and at the same time Of cor
recting the evils of luxury or Overfeeding. Thus
the high-fed, luxurious chief, when iudisposed TO
seek exercise in the usual way, or when suffering
from the effects Of overexertion, could stretch
himself upon his mats and summon his attend
ants to work up his muscle, and administer to
his passive frame the exercise needed for its re-
novaton.
But, not to indulge in rhetorical fourishes, the
lom-omi. without mystery, acts on the most
seIfevident principals of physiology. 1t helps to
unload the engorged veins and capillaries Of the
blood. which, after severe exercise, is more than
usually charged with impurities. and thus facili-
tate the renovation Of the tissues, aud especially
the muscle, by making room for the return OF
arterial blood needed for repair.
Almost every one knows what immediate re-
lief from the numbness and powerlessness of a
lmb that is asleep is obtained by striking it
briskly faom the periphery toward the centre.
If any one has not the next time he wakes at
night, and finds his arm sleep from being lain up
on. let him try the experiment, and be will ex-
perience one of the single and almost instant
benefits of lomi-lomi.
How much Of the virtue of Iomomi is to be
explained by the principles of animal magnetism,
we leave for those to determine who are versed
in such matters.
Fot the benefit of those who may wish to try
it, we append the following directions for the em-
poyment of the lomi-lomi:
l. To the Operator.-l. When treating
H. Er,bs Ia, ,,an;rrlat;,rs ha anrlia6 in srcb
direction as to drive the blood toward the heart.
2. The pressure or grip Of the operator must
not be continuous and there must be on appre-
ciable interval of time between. one motion and
the succeeding one.
3. The grips, or pressnres, had better not ex-
coed in frequency fifty or sixty in a minute.
4. The force of the manpulations must never
be so great as to cause pain.
5. Avoid unpeasantly tickling the patient.
6. When applying the lomi-lomi to the head,
use the rounded prominences of the hands and
fingers
Z. Always consult the comfort of the patient,
and be guided by bis sensations in modifying the
force and form of the manipulations.
II. To tie PotienL-I. Take that position,
whether reclining or sitting, which is most COM
Portable.
?. Yield the muscles passive and relaxed into
the hands of the manipulation.
3. Resist the feeling of tickling as much as
possible for it is greatly under CONTROL and de-
oreases under the exercise of the will but becomes
stronger aud more troublesome if INDUCED.
4. Take notice of the different forms of mani
pulation, and Immediately report any that are
particularly pleasant as well as those that are
painful.