Māori Issues
Te Karere

Watch: Kids taught mindfulness through Māori mythology and yoga in classrooms

August 14, 2018

The programme is popular within schools in Wellington, and yesterday it was first trialled in Auckland at Westmere School.

A new programme that focuses on mindfulness and Māori mythology through yoga movement in primary schools has been launched.

Creator Jason Te Patu says the M3 programme provides peace and balance with three main components.

“I kind of look at this whole programme as hauora really, Te Whare Tapawhā. Through the mindfulness we tackle hinengaro and wairua, through movement obviously tinana, and then through doing it together in the sense of whakapapa and learning our stories, that sense of whakawhanaungatanga.”

The programme is popular within schools in Wellington, and yesterday it was first trialled in Auckland at Westmere School. 

Te Patu says there are a lot of benefits to the programme, including teaching tamariki to be present in the moment.

“That’s what mindfulness means to me, is being present in everything that we do. We’re just distracted with [phones] or [computers], all that stuff, but how can our kids benefit from just having moment to moment, breath to breath.”

Yoga is something you rarely see Māori men practicing and Te Patu has been paving the way for the past 27 years as Māori men.

“If I can help our Māori brothers to be able to give them some tools that can allow them to deal with stuff better, so they’re calmer, more mindful brothers, then koirā te kaupapa.”

Students weren’t the only ones having fun. According to Tui Ross, teachers were all for it too.

The kaupapa will open to schools in central Auckland with the off chance of it becoming a part of all schools across the country.

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