As her name implies, R. Makana Risser Chai has a background that bridges the business world and the world of Hawaiian healing.

She practiced law in Silicon Valley for 10 years, then founded Fair Measures Corporation, a national company providing legal training for managers. In 1993, she authored a popular book about law published by Prentice Hall. National Speakers Association designated her a Certified Speaking Professional in 1995. More than a thousand business and professional groups have enjoyed her humorous, interactive programs.

Due to her stressful lifestyle, she had one of those life-changing experiences that began in the hospital. As a result, she decided to return to her roots and practice the massage she learned as a girl from her Gypsy grandmother. She graduated from massage school in 1995, and became a yoga and pilates teacher.

She is a long-time student of healing practices taught by kupuna (native elder teachers). She studied lomilomi (Hawaiian massage) with Auntie Margaret and Nerita Machado on the big island of Hawai’i, completed an internship with the Lomi Shop in Kaneohe, and practices lomilomi as a Hawai’i licensed massage therapist. She researched and edited a book of 19th and 20th century oral histories from native healers, published by the Bishop Museum, entitled Na Mo’olelo Lomilomi: The Traditions of Hawaiian Massage and Healing. Currently, she works as Director of Operations for the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association.

Makana is a certified Stress and Wellness Consultant through the Institute established by Dr. Hans Selye, the physician who discovered stress in the 1930s. She combines her knowledge of traditional Hawaiian practices with stress reduction tools proven successful in more than 70 years of clinical scientific research.

Within a few days of moving to Hawai’i, Makana was hanai (“adopted”) into a Hawaiian-Chinese family, and later she met and married one of the sons. Her husband, Mark Chai, is a renowned sculptor. Her mother-in-law, Tutu Elizabeth Pa Chai, gave her the name Makana. Tutu often says, “I gave her the name Makana o Mana Pono Aloha o ka Lani because she is truly a gift of love from heaven.”