It’s one of the best-kept secrets in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, with busy professionals treating themselves to a sensual rub-down known as a kahuna lomilomi massage.
My idea of total relaxation is a trip to the day spa for a blissful few hours and an escape from my busy life.
But today my knowledge of relaxation is taken to the next level as I experience a Hawaiian style massage that some say is so powerful on the table you can experience an earth-shattering orgasm.
Of course I was curious.
To be clear, this is not a happy ending massage. It is a sensual – not sexual – massage and there is no contact with the genitals.
I may not look like it but I was nervous about what to expect from my kahuna lomilomi massage
Some say the Hawaiian-style massage is so powerful that you can experience an earth-shattering orgasm on the table
After tracking a suitable masseuse trained in kahuna lomilomiI have been invited to the practitioner’s home studio to try out the massage myself.
Just quietly, I’m terrified.
I arrive nervously at my appointment, high on the cliffs of Dover Heights, overlooking the ocean in eastern Sydney.
I’m welcomed into Steve’s sleek studio, where he gives me a general overview of what to expect from our session.
“It’s like making love without any sexual focus or intention — just pure caring touch and connection,” he tells me.
Covered only with a modest towel, this treatment requires you to “let go of your inhibitions” and focus on your breathing.
Steve explains that it is more than just a physical massage, but an energy exchange, and can be a healing experience that harmonizes body, mind and soul.
‘Letting go’ is not one of my strengths, and for the sake of research I have to go ‘a la naturale’ as I try forget that I got a sensual massage from a man I found through Google.
I arrived at Steve’s home studio in Dover Heights for the session
Behind the scenes of my very first Kahuna lomilomi massage
Steve massaged my calf with his elbows during the session
Draped in nothing but a sarong and towel, the massage begins with a dry body brush, before moving on to heated oils and hot stones.
While this wasn’t a sexual experience in any way, I can’t pretend my body didn’t respond.
The whole body is massaged with long, rhythmic and sweeping strokes, imitating the gentle rocking motion of the ocean, using the hands and forearms.
Often different parts of the body are massaged at the same time.
Sometimes I felt like a Romanian gymnast – stretched, bent and at one point twisted blindfolded around the massage bed.
I was warned that this massage was like nothing else.
Steve explains that women make up up to 70 percent of his clientele; however, there are times when his male clients keep him just as busy.
He explains that it is not unusual for some people to get emotional during sessions and even have a spiritual experience.
Recently a friend of mine shared her experience of receiving the same massage but from a different masseuse.
She experienced a spiritual, out-of-body orgasm that you only read about in erotic fantasy novels for women.
“It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was the best orgasm of my life and there was no penetration,” she boasted
While I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the table with Steve, my happy ending was very different from my girlfriend’s.
After the 90 minute treatment I was smiling from ear to ear, feeling freer, lighter and rejuvenated than expected.
I have already booked a return session with Steve next month.