Practitioner Assessment
INFORMATION
For Graduates Preparing for Practitioner Certification
After completing your 6-day Spiritual Hawaiian Lomilomi Massage training, you may be ready to take the next step: becoming a Certified Spiritual Hawaiian Lomilomi Massage Practitioner with The Institute of Living Aloha.
Certification offers multiple benefits and opportunities:
1. Recognition of your skill
Formally acknowledge that you are working at a professional level, supported and recognised by your school.
2. Offer Lomilomi professionally
Provide sessions with confidence, charge industry-standard rates, and gain professional insurance coverage.
3. Join our Practitioner Team
Certification is the first step toward joining our official Practitioner Team, representing The Institute of Living Aloha and benefiting from ongoing membership support. (Membership is required if you intend to work toward teacher training.)
This pathway includes the required Paʻa Session, designed to ensure you are truly mākaukau (ready) to move forward with assessment and confidently step into your role as a professional Practitioner.
Preparing for Certification
To be considered for Practitioner Certification, you are expected to give enough Spiritual Hawaiian Lomilomi Massage sessions after your initial training to reach a place where you genuinely feel ready to offer sessions professionally.
There is no fixed number of sessions — readiness is about confidence, consistency, professionalism, and embodiment of aloha in your practice.
Pa'a Session Requirement
Before booking your Practitioner Assessment, you must complete a Paʻa Session.
This session will help you:
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Reflect on your growth and integration since training
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Confirm whether you are mākaukau (ready) for assessment
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Receive guidance around next steps
During your Paʻa Session, you will be invited to speak about at least five Lomilomi sessions you have given since your last training with the Institute of Living Aloha.
When you feel ready: book a Paʻa Session with Charlie Snow here.
Once this has been completed, you may arrange your Practitioner Assessment.
Practitioner Assessment Options
Assessments may take place in one of the following ways:
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During another 6-day training
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At a Lomilomi Refresher Workshop
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By giving a Lomilomi session to a Senior Practitioner
For Those Wishing to Join Our Practitioner Team
If you would like to be listed on our website and formally represent The Institute of Living Aloha, your assessment will include giving Lomilomi to a Senior Practitioner.
This may occur:
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As part of your initial assessment, or
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After your Practitioner Certification, depending on the pathway that feels pono for you
Please note: Practitioner Certification does not automatically grant entry into the Practitioner Team.
Our Practitioner Team is reserved for practitioners who:
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Work at an exceptional level of professionalism
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Work in inclusive and trauma-informed ways
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Consistently embody aloha
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Can wholeheartedly and actively represent the Institute of Living Aloha
If this is something you feel called toward, we recommend practicing professionally until you feel truly paʻa. When the time feels right, you are welcome to contact us and apply to join our Practitioner Team.
Practitioner Assessment Criteria
You will be asked to conduct your assessment session as if you do not know the receiver, and as though they have never received Lomilomi before.
This allows you to demonstrate how you work with a new client, including how you:
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Explain Lomilomi
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Establish safety and consent
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Hold space professionally and with aloha
Before the Session
You will be assessed on whether you:
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Communicate clearly about scheduling and booking
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Are dressed appropriately for giving Lomilomi
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Allow time to connect and check in before beginning
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Ask if there is anything you need to know about the receiver’s body
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Ask how the receiver is feeling and invite sharing if they wish
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Ask for and correctly use the receiver’s pronouns
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Invite the receiver to set an intention
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Clearly explain what Lomilomi is
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Explain body autonomy and consent
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Invite communication during the session
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Explain practical details (getting on the table, what happens at the end)
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Share a Hawaiian pule (prayer) at the beginning
During the Session
You will be assessed on whether you:
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Work in a professional manner
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Choose music appropriate for Lomilomi
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Use an appropriate amount of oil
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Drape the sarong appropriately at all times
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Use long, flowing strokes, stretches, underbody work, and focused work appropriately
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Respond to anything the receiver shared about their body or needs
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Use your breath intentionally
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Work intuitively
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Remain fully present and practice with aloha throughout
After the Session
You will be assessed on whether you:
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Share a closing pule
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Conclude the session in a grounded, clear, and supportive way
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Allow space to check in with the receiver
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Maintain professionalism at all times
Assessment Outcomes
Ideally, to pass your Practitioner Assessment, the answer to all criteria above will be a clear YES.
Occasionally — often due to nerves — a practitioner may miss one or two small elements. If these are minor, the Senior Practitioner will discuss this with you after the session.
If it becomes clear that you usually meet these criteria and the Senior Practitioner feels confident in your readiness, you may still pass.
If, however, vital elements are missed or it is clear that you are not yet working at a professional level, the Senior Practitioner may discuss this with Charlie Snow before a final decision is made.
If you are not passed, this will be communicated with aloha, along with encouragement to continue practicing, integrating feedback, and returning for reassessment when you feel ready.
Feedback & Review
You are welcome to request feedback from the Senior Practitioner assessing you. This is shared at a time that feels pono for both of you, often sometime after the session.
In the rare event that someone does not pass and does not agree with the outcome, they are welcome to request a discussion with Charlie Snow.