Technology Meets Treatment at Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort

The wellness programming at Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort focuses on helping people live longer, healthier lives through the Sensei Way, which distils preventive health science, data and research into three simple paths: move, nourish and rest.  Sensei Guides and practitioners leverage cutting-edge health tools and technology to gain knowledge and insight to create a highly personalized program.  Sensei takes things a step further by interpreting this data for guests and providing them with a road map to a healthier lifestyle.

One of the leading technologies used is thermal body mapping (TBM). In the comfort of a private spa quarter known as a hale, massage practitioners use exclusive, Sensei-developed technology to create a visual map of the body, revealing asymmetries, muscle tightness and areas of pain. The practitioner scans the front and back body with the thermographic body-mapping machine, which produces a heat map. The map shows "red" where heat centres. Using these key data points, the practitioner provides a custom massage with targeted bodywork, helping the guest gain greater flexibility and muscular alignment while discovering a new appreciation for the body and the way it carries one through the world.

The benefits to TBM go beyond the massage table. The Sensei Team says that seeing one’s body mapped with thermal imaging can help guests focus on areas of imbalance and point out areas that might be suffering from inflammation or tightness without pain. This can be helpful in highlighting an injury or issue that one grew accustomed to or didn’t even notice.  With such awareness, people can then leverage stretching, posture, and protection, or try to strengthen that area through targeted exercise. During a visit, massage therapists can recommend classes to address any muscle tightness seen in the TBM images, such as a Functional Fascia class.  The data can also be passed along to the guests’ fitness practitioners and guides, who can help put together a plan to address these points in a 1:1 session.

Guests who book the Discover Sensei Experience can enjoy the treatment as part of their overall program, where they can choose from a selection of wellness and island activities to create the perfect escape. Along with priority class access and a private or semi-private session per stay such as fitness, nutrition, yoga, or mindset, guests will enjoy a USD 600 daily credit towards spa treatments, wellness classes, private guided sessions or island activities.*  

The architecture of the spa hale was inspired by Japanese design and envisioned an intimate sanctum for healing and wellness. Each of the 10 hale has oversized treatment tables, sauna, steam and outdoor shower, ofuro bath, plunge pool, changing area and bathroom, allowing each guest an experience focused on the individual.  Two hale feature outdoor Watsu pools for unique aquatic bodywork. The rich teak panels, gently infused light and artwork throughout the hale intermingle with the sounds and scents from nature and combine to create an environment that is elemental and yet luxury personified; an environment that nourishes.

* Minimum two-night stay.