Dancing with the spas: Four Seasons' Botanical Cure

A massage treatment that means "to break apart from the heart" might sound scary to the uninitiated. But spending some time with Sabina Mallanalli Visarraga puts my mind at ease regarding the lomi lomi nui.

Visarraga, from Mexico, is heavily spiritual and emits a positive, calm energy as she tells me the history of the massage. "Lomi lomi was first practised by Hawaiian kings and royal family," she says.

While you might have seen lomi lomi massages on offer before, the nui (flight) - which involves intricate dance steps performed around the body during the massage - is new to Hong Kong.

Traditionally, the massage served as a Polynesian rite-of-passage ceremony. Visarraga says: "You should have this at important times of your life. When it's your birthday, or when you are undergoing a big change."

This should resonate with auspicious beliefs of many Hongkongers.

There are only a handful of people in the world qualified to teach the lomi lomi nui technique and Visarraga is one of them. She has a background in TCM, but these days she spends most of her time working with therapists to teach them how to conserve energy, so they can bring greater benefits to their clients. The unusual, therapeutic experience is part of a new Botanical Cure treatment at The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong.