Page 5 - MidWeek - March 9, 2022

MARCH 9, 2022 MIDWEEK 5
At the heart of Rani Hanohano’s business Kapolei Massage Institute, which celebrates its ninth anniversary this month, is her lifelong dedication to helping others.
by Ginger Keller
Finding Ways To Kōkua Is A Business Tactic
Rani Hanohano
who are like-minded and have the passion of helping others,” she says. “If they’re interested and committed, I’ll go ahead and teach what I was brought up with. Therefore, we’re helping and healing our com- munity, and honoring our kūpuna who gave the knowl- edge and skills.”
“I was always surrounded by family and neighbors who would help others in every fashion — if it’s a hot day and you’re passing my house, I’ ll shoot you with a water hose to cool you off,” says the Nānākuli native. “It was something as simple as help- ing to push your car off the road so you don’t get into an accident. Growing up, that’s what I was surrounded by, and being led by my kūpuna, help-
Her entrepreneurial spir- it — which was prevalent at a young age — always had a foundation of consideration for her community. As a kei- ki, Hanohano would speed home to sell her classmates ice cakes and li hing mui as well as popcorn in Ziploc bags for a quarter.
With a drive to do even more, Hanohano, who learned the art of lomi lomi massage from her ‘ohana at 4 years old, began thinking of ways to fur- ther her service.
Coming up is KMI Kids, a class for keiki to learn mas- sage techniques. The biz also launched clinical massages, where clients can use their health insurance to cover most of the cost.
ing others and giving respect to those who guided me was always at the forefront. That has stuck with me.”
has worked as a police officer for more than 20 years.
When asked how she man- ages to balance HPD, the biz and her personal life which includes caring for a family member (“‘Ohana always comes first,” she says), Ha- nohano explains that it’s all about being present.
sage Institute is not teaching students or massaging clients, they’re most likely undertak- ing some type of volunteer effort. Most recently, they’ve given massages to those who built houses for Habitat for Humanity.
Later in life, she decided to kick her goodwill up a notch by obtaining a bachelor’s and two master’s in criminal jus- tice-related fields, and even- tually joined the Honolulu Police Department, where she
“I started to wonder if I could massage one person and make them feel better and there’s a need for it and I have the skill for it, why not share it with others? It makes people feel better and helps them.”
“There’s a little bit of hus- tle and bustle,” she says, “but things are mentally prioritized for me. Where I’m at at the time, I’m going to do my best job and feel good about it so I can move on to my next task and feel focused and not carry anything over. Everything is given its own focus and atten- tion and I feel good and com- plete when I leave the door.”
“Massage is recognized as a preventive and maintenance part of the medical field,” says Hanohano.
She opened Kapolei Mas- sage Institute, a school that offers reasonably priced mas- sages from students and teach- ers to the community, in 2013.
Visit kmihawaii.com for more.
“My goal is to teach those
If the team at Kapolei Mas-
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