My graduation from Te Huarahi Māori at Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau: one of the happiest days of my life “He kokonga whare e kitea, he kokonga ngākau e kore e kitea.” “A corner of a house may be seen and examined; not so the corners of the heart. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had about this with friends, whānau, clients, classmates and students. Everyone who is contemplating learning, or has started learning te reo Māori will come up against their own st

Te Taha Whenua, connection to land, is the last part of my 5 part series talking about Te Whare Tapa Whā, a holistic Māori model of health that I LOVE. Like most whare, houses, our whare hauora or house of health has four standard walls, yet what would it be without it’s foundation, the earth on which it rests? Here we come to an aspect of wellness that has traditionally been excluded from Western medicine, yet goes so far to explain why and how we may be struggling to mainta

Explore the importance of Social Wellbeing to overall health through this personal narrative exploring Te Taha Whānau, part of the holistic Māori health model, Te Whare Tapa Whā.

Te Taha Wairua is part 3 of my 5 part series talking about Te Whare Tapa Whā, a holistic Māori model of health that I LOVE. These take a narrative form as I share my own stories and learnings and apply them to hauora. The headings in this article are direct quotations from Te Whare Tapa Whā: Taha Wairua The capacity for faith and wider communication: I’ve always been a spiritual person. For as long as I can remember, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were my best friends. I’m no

Growing up, I was allergic to sports. I was always last in the cross country and my dad said I ‘lacked hand-eye co-ordination’. It’s true.

I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression for most of my life, and certainly between the ages of 8 and 36 my mental health seemed to dictate what I could and couldn’t do. For a long time I didn’t understand what was happening to me. Crushing sadness that never seemed to leave, panic attacks at the thought of certain academic tasks, psychosomatic illness to avoid school and being bullied. When I finally had a name for what I was experiencing: “mental illness”, I felt the nega

I used to think yoga was just another type of exercise class my gym offered. At least, that was how I got into yoga. And that’s pretty...

Are you a once a year massage person or as often as you can afford it? I was recently down in Whangamatā working in a massage clinic, and...

While the idea of setting resolutions or intentions once a year doesn’t really resonate with me, sankalpa does. Sankalpa is a sanskrit...

In January all around the world people often set New Year's intentions. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. And one of the reasons is...

I know I know, who has a relationship with their phone? Sounds ridiculous right? But in reality, anyone who lives in the modern age has a...

Over the last few weeks I’ve noticed that whenever I drive anywhere in Tāmaki Makaurau -Auckland- I immediately feel stressed. I’ve had a...

A wise woman in Aitutaki once said to me, “Laura, one day you will realise that all the travel in the world will not even come close to...