Visit the neighbors: Molokai & Lanai

On the neighboring island of Molokai visitors can totally disconnect with the modern world, staying at the Beach Village at Molokai Ranch. Tent-sided bungalows with hammocks and hot showers invite long nights under the stars and days of quiet tide pooling. On Lanai a long, relaxed guided beach walk can be followed with a spa experience at either of the island's two luxury resorts; The Lodge at Koele or The Manele Bay Hotel.

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RELATED ARTICLE: Hula for Health

For many, hula represents the romance of the islands. Swaying palms and swaying hips have inspired singers, songwriters and visitors to the islands for decades. Once near extinction from missionary disapproval, the hula is alive and well and danced everywhere. Referred to as the "heart of Hawaii," it is a lifetime commitment for many.

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Learning hula steps and motions and dancing every day is a great way to keep a body flexible while enjoying Hawaiian music. Hula classes can provide the basic steps. Shops feature CDs, videos and "How to Hula" books that allow you to take the lessons home. Don't be shy. Learn "Lovely Hula Hands" and be the hit of any gathering.

Lomi Lomi

Practiced for hundreds of years, the "loving touch" of lomi lomi is a form of massage unique to the Hawaiian people. The process is about massaging with relaxed hands, using the strength of the practitioners body. No pressure, no digging into muscles. The entire arm is used, including the elbows. It may be hard to imagine that an elbow can be "loving" but descriptions often include comments like, "it feels as if they are right inside my muscles, knowing exactly where to go," or "it is like waves moving over my body and moving pain and stress away." Many of today's Hawaiian lomi lomi practitioners come from the lineage of Aunty Margaret Machado. As a kahuna (healer), she decided to prepare a multitude of students to share lomi lomi with the world. These lomi lomi experts work intuitively, seeming to "dance" as they make full body strokes, re-programming the muscles and eliminating pain.

Learn more at www.huna.org, www.hawaiiantherapies.homestead.com