How the Maramataka became the backbone of a 90-day wellness programme This structure I call the 90-Day Engine, the Maramataka integration —all of it—didn't come from a whiteboard session or a literature review. It came from a determination to complete an alcohol-free period, where I found myself struggling to stick to that fasting period. Then, suddenly, in the second week, it seemed to be a lot easier. That shift is where Te Ara o te 90 Rā was born. Walking My Own Programm

A Māori Christian’s Journey Through the Whakapapa Dilemma, Religious Trauma, and the Cave That Changed Everything I did not lose my faith. I lost the colonised version of faith that had been used to wound my wairua. As a child, my Christian faith was unshakeable. God was real. The Bible was the truth. I didn’t question. By my mid-twenties, it had all crumbled. Not because faith is wrong, but because the version I’d been given couldn’t hold the complexity of my actual life — m

Find Out Before You Choose Your 18-Day Practice Mōrena e hoa mā. Let me ask you something before we get into the 18-day practice plan. Have you ever started a wellness habit full of energy — and then quietly abandoned it around Day 5 or 6, not because you didn't care, but because something about the approach just didn't fit how you work? If that sounds familiar, this is the post for you. Here's what I've learned, both from developing Te Poutama o te Ora and from working with

The Double Exile, and Why You're Not Broken — You're Colonised I want to tell you about a particular kind of loneliness. The loneliness of being surrounded by people in two different worlds and belonging fully to neither of them. For a long time, I thought this was my personal failure. A character flaw. Some essential inadequacy in me meant I would always be slightly too much in one direction and not enough in another. It took me a long time — and a forced stop, courtesy of a

Kia ora koutou, Over recent months, I have been quietly developing a new part of the IAnTeMo Counselling journey — a living daily rhythm experience integrating Maramataka and Te Poutama o te Ora (TPO), my nine-dimensional wellness framework. Today’s Alignment is designed as a gentle daily guide rather than a productivity tool or traditional calendar. It offers a reflective space to pause, observe rhythm, and consider how energy, focus, well-being, and restoration may be mov

The Healing Dimension of Creative Expression Ko te auaha te ara e tukuna ai ngā kōrero o te whatumanawa. Creativity is the pathway through which the stories of the heart find release. Let Me Tell You About a Poem A few years ago, my daughter wrote a poem for me. It was about plastic windows. On the surface, that does not sound like much. But when I read it, I felt something shift in my chest — a recognition so deep it was almost physical. She had found language for something

There is a world that exists before a life is born. A threshold. A held space between what is and what is becoming. Our tūpuna knew this. They built everything around it. The Whakapapa of a Wound series traced a wound from childhood through to the next generation — from the child at the washing basket to the Tamariki asking why they cannot go home. But there is a place the series did not reach. A place before the washing basket. Before the child draws her first breath. Befo

Series Introduction Humble Beginnings: Matapihi Kirihou – The founding backstory of Te Poutama o te Ora The plastic windows were never just plastic. They covered what glass couldn’t be afforded. They let in light, but not clearly. And they were the beginning of a backstory that travels forward — into bodies, into relationships, into the homes our children grow up in, and sometimes into the arms of experiences, others and systems that step in when those homes become unsafe.

Trauma Bonding, Debt-Based Love, and the Wound That Goes Looking The continuing story of Mere She is in her forties now. She left the first one after seven years. She told herself she had finally chosen better. New city, new beginning, new person. She believed it completely. The second one looked nothing like the first. Different face, different voice, different reasons she fell. It took four years before she realised she was standing in the same room with different wallpaper

Consider this: The thoughts of not being good enough stem from that time when you first felt anxiety about being inadequate, or you faced a situation in life that you said you couldn't handle, and you reasoned this to be - "It's because I'm not Good Enough". If I then proposed that: Anxiety is a weed , with the root of that weed stemming from a dysfunctional belief or thought . Further, if it is a thought, then it likely can’t be medicated. Instead, you must train your br

A three-phase Te Poutama o te Ora reset for when life piles up, and momentum goes missing. Consider this scenario Do you know that feeling — when life has quietly piled so much onto your shoulders that you can no longer remember what your plans were, what you were working toward, or even where to begin? The to-do list has grown into a to-do novel. The inbox feels like a living thing with demands of its own. The body is tired in that deep, specific way that sleep alone does no

In the quest for wellness and deeper understanding, many seek to explore concepts that blend tradition, technology, and healing. One such intriguing term is iantemo . This word carries layers of significance that resonate with those interested in indigenous knowledge, holistic health, and the integration of modern technology for personal growth. This article delves into the meaning behind iantemo, its cultural roots, and how it can inspire new approaches to wellness. Understa

The maramataka is a traditional Māori lunar calendar that has guided indigenous communities in Aotearoa New Zealand for centuries. It is a system that connects people with the natural rhythms of the moon, the environment, and seasonal changes. For those interested in wellness, indigenous knowledge, and using technology to enhance healing, understanding the maramataka offers a unique way to align daily activities with nature’s cycles. This beginner maramataka guide will introd

We now look at the final steps in the Life Re-Alignment Series: Steps 4-9. Awareness was introduced in Steps 1-3 to show how colonisation impacted and fragmented your behaviours and livelihood. From digital and societal algorithms that learned your preferences, they served you ‘just what you were looking for’, ‘at the right time’, and ‘with a bargain, once-only opportunity’ to engage, like, subscribe, and purchase what was being offered. You established boundaries, built prac

Picture this scenario: - You pick up your phone 'just to check' and three hours vanish into scroll after endless scroll. You meant to pay attention during dinner, but your mind was everywhere except at the table. You promised yourself you'd move your body today—but here you are, exhausted before you even started. These aren't personal failings. They're patterns of colonisation. Systems designed to extract your attention, time, energy, money, and life force—and make you blame

In te Ao Māori, the Puku – the gut, the stomach - isn’t just where you digest food. It’s where your Tuakiri lives. Your identity and sense of self. When someone says they have a ‘gut feeling’ or feel something ‘in their stomach,’ they’re acknowledging this ancient wisdom. Your Puku knows things your mind hasn’t figured out yet. It processes your world in ways logic cannot. It carries your trauma, joy, and knowing. But here’s what colonisation did: it severed that connection.

This post is the first of three that look at how Te Poutama o te Ora can be applied in a practical manner to everyday challenges we all face. The first is Digital Wellness. Understanding Digital Wellness: A Path to Sovereignty Picture this scenario: Have you ever arrived home from work and realised you can’t remember the last five minutes of your drive? Not because you were tired, but because your mind was somewhere else entirely, scrolling through imaginary social media feed

From Plastic Windows to Wellness Framework: How Lived Experience Shapes Indigenous Health I am breaking from my usual weekly post to introduce you to where Te Poutama o te Ora originated. A kaupapa that must be shared. When you hear about health frameworks and wellness models, they often arrive wrapped in academic language—clean, theoretical, and somehow removed from the messy reality of actual lives. But what if I told you that one of the most comprehensive Māori wellness fr

We look again at why some patterns—like stress, health issues, or even resilience—seem to run in families? Modern science has an answer, and it’s something Indigenous communities have known for centuries: experiences can leave marks that echo across generations. What Is Epigenetics—and Why Does It Matter? Epigenetics is the science of how life experiences—like trauma or nurturing—can change how our genes work without changing the genes themselves. These changes can be passed

We pause from goal setting and activities to let that settle with you and turn back to the topic of Epigenetics. From Understanding to Action: The Nine-Step Path Understanding that we carry epigenetic patterns is profound. But understanding alone doesn't create change. This is where Te Poutama o te Ora moves from insight to transformation—offering a practical pathway for working with what we've inherited. The framework's nine steps weren't designed with epigenetics in mind, y