A healing and leadership retreat for Māori and Indigenous peoples
Tāne te Waiora
A space for healing
Tā te Manawa is a retreat aimed at nurturing Māori and Indigenous leaders in mind, body and spirit through connection to nature, our inner selves and one other through the beautiful taonga of our cultural heritage.
"Makaira is a fantastic facilitator. He created a safe, warm space to explore and be vulnerable"
Tāne te Wānanga
Leadership and purpose
The retreats offer a unique opportunity to explore "leadership from within" through fun creative play activities and deep wānanga designed to connect with our own heart and wairua, and the voice of tamaroto, our inner child.
"This experience was life changing."
Tāne te Tokorangi
Making a difference
The taonga of our tūpuna which lie within our people and culture are very much needed to bring healing to the world. The retreats are both a way to look after yourself by reconnecting with nature, heart and spirit, and a way to reconnect with your purpose in life and find your way forward. For Māori, for Indigenous peoples, this is a way home.
"A journey of self discovery and healing from a Māori perspective"
"I don’t even know where to begin. This retreat has been massive for me and couldn’t have come at a better time. It was life changing. I will forever treasure the taonga Makaira has gifted us. I never realised how much I needed this."
"The retreat was inspiring. The food was delightful. I really enjoyed Makaira’s attention to small detail - flowers, blankets, taonga, lavalavas etc - to help make the wānanga experience sensually rich. Makaira’s ability to give direct, appropriate and personalised feedback to individual members of our group was an invitation to engage deeper at each stage of the wānanga. We were always invited to participate. This was very empowering."
"Spiritually and emotionally healing, with no judgement."
"This was a significant wānanga for me. It was awesome to do it with my hoa rangatira, I really think it has brought us closer together. The focus on self care and the most careful way you challenged my ways of being ensured that I am strong and my tank is full. I have been using many of these tools since returning home and really believe that this experience was life changing."
"I was privileged to share and build trust with my colleagues. The greater understanding I gained towards them will make me more enthusiastic and dedicated to open honesty in the workplace. I loved the musical wānanga session with its simple joyful expression."
"This retreat is very beneficial for implementing change in your workplace through the journey of self-love. Achieving that as a team builds a stronger connection for our mahi in the community."
"The activities opened my heart and mind to the gifts I can share with the world, and enabled a recognition of my true self. This experience opens your heart to love."
"I really enjoyed the entirety of the retreat. The meditations were great and I loved the work we did on ourselves and our self-worth. I have put the kind words from all my workmates on my fridge and read them on a regular basis when I temporarily forget my self-worth or how much I love myself or my team. Sometimes my struggles with my mental health make it easy to forget my self-worth so I really enjoyed doing some mahi around this. The walk that we did in the bush was beautiful and I truly believe I reached a higher level of consciousness whilst on that journey.
The last meditation was a real game changer for me. When you let us know what we were going to be working on I felt a little bit uncomfortable but soon felt very relaxed by the meditation which took me somewhere a million miles away. Thanks to the vulnerability you had shown over those two days I felt inspired to share, which was a weight off my shoulders that had been there for years of my life. The kōrero that followed was such a beautiful thing, I feel all the people in that space really bared our hearts and souls. There were lots of tears, some laughter, and lots and lots of healing. Some of the people that didn’t speak as much spoke volumes in their silence. The tears and hugs that followed that session has changed my relationships with some of my coworkers completely in the most beautiful ways. The healing that happened for me during that workshop has changed my life, it has been the most beneficial work I have ever done in this space and was unexpected, but I am extremely grateful to yourself and my amazing mahi whānau for this."
"I had a space to heal under safe facilitation, and share all of who I am. I was free, relaxed and safe. I was guided by tikanga and our environment, and left feeling at peace."
- Trish
- Raukura
- Waikōhatu
- Bridie
- Robbie
- Irihapeti
- Sami
- Robbie
- Hannah
Tā te Manawa in México
The first Tā te Manawa retreat outside Aotearoa was held in Ayutla, Oaxaca in March 2024 for the local Ayuujk Jä’äy community.
"A huge thank you to Makaira for this incredible work transforming hearts and lives.”
“I am infinitely grateful for the retreat. I have learned that it is important to love and value myself. I know that words are not enough but I am returning home very happy. It is a gift for me.”
“I want you to continue sharing this retreat in many other places because it is practical and grounded in everyday life. It is very worthwhile giving ourselves this space because in this way we contribute a grain of sand towards bringing love and healing the planet.”
“I gained new friendships and greater knowledge and trust with those I already knew. With all my heart I thank you for your kindness, generosity and willingness to make this wonderful experience a reality.”
“The retreat is an experience to reconnect with the spirit and with oneself to heal one's own path and recover the energy to continue, in an atmosphere of love and respect.”
“The body meditation was powerful because I connected with my ancestors and with my inner child, and took the opportunity to give myself a lot of love and pampering. In the guided walk in the forest, I witnessed and participated in the miracle that happens when you connect body, mind and soul.”
“I took with me the self-love that I needed. I had forgotten how good it feels to be in contact with Mother Nature, and connecting with her helped me open my mind more, and my spirituality. From my anxiety and depression, I truly returned to earth to feel alive as I am but in a new version."
“The walking meditation was powerful. I was able to feel in my body what it really means to stop controlling, stop thinking, expect absolutely nothing and just be.”
"The moments of contact with nature, with the earth and the water were the most powerful because they gave me confidence in myself, a confidence that I had lost, and helped me feel less afraid of my own body and what I can do. The retreat is a safe and respectful place where you discover the love and the divine that is within us. Makaira transmits love and respect to us through activities that reconnect us with our true divine self.”
- Yanina
“I obtained the peace and tranquillity that I was looking for, a safe and respectful place where I could be present and overcome my fears. The retreat is very well structured to guide you to live in the present moment and connect with spirituality, with your body, and with nature. It is a totally practical retreat where you experience trust, love and life."
"I am filled with light, energy and hope. I know that I am not alone, that there are people who love us and push us to continue fighting. I will meditate and transform what hurts me, and then share it with my children and family.”
- Mätsä
- Kayo
- Elvira
- Liuba
- Liuba
- Flor
- Nancy
- Soledad
- Catalina
- Norma
“The retreat was one of my best experiences of my life, it came just at the time when I most needed a guide for my life. I felt so stuck, then it came at the right time when I was trying to get out of that abyss.”
“I got just what I expected and even more. I was at a point in my life in which I needed to connect with my inner world to find the peace I needed, and I did find it with the guidance of Makaira and Tania.”
- Soledad
- Nancy
“The retreat is a spiritual experience that encourages a reunion with yourself, with Mother Nature and with the divinity that exists in all human beings. It is an opportunity to gain trust and security, and thus be able to give yourself and others love.”
- Flor
The Art of Reconciliation
The Art of Reconciliation is a series of two-day wānanga to foster connections between mana whenua in Taranaki and nurture wellbeing through collaborative art making that celebrates the taonga within us.
Powerful group processes from Tā te Manawa retreats will bring participants into deep connection with each other to share personal stories about their values and the times they’ve embodied them in acts of bravery and commitment, kindness, compassion and vulnerability.
These stories will be developed into artworks crafted to celebrate the person they belong to, their inner beauty and the courageous choices they've made to take action on the things that really matter in life.
Share your hopes and dreams, your fears and frustrations, and by showing up for ourselves and one another, let us begin the adventure of healing and bringing our people together for a future with hope.
“I would describe this as a wellbeing course with great understanding of the Māori culture and how it relates to our lives. I gained knowledge, wisdom and kindness that I know I had within, but working with you and the group really brought it to the surface."
"I have walked away with such a connection and understanding of the beautiful culture I was lucky enough to have been brought up around and engaged with. I have learned so much about myself and have grown a greater appreciation of others, myself, and the land and spirit within and around us."
“I gained confidence, new friends, a different outlook on life, and an understanding of the deeper meaning behind Māori concepts such as wairua, mana and pounamu. New goals and more self love. I will continue to hold space for people whether it's family, friends or even a stranger. Don't stop what you're doing. You helped me more than you ever know.”
“Makaira, I found your course very meaningful to help me understand my family.”
"You were able to engage everyone in kindness and connect us to a greater source within our hearts and the hearts of others. This was a fantastic experience that will live within forever."
"Forever grateful. I will use each practice in everyday life. I have noticed such a positive change over the last five weeks and will continue my growth. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would love to stay in touch and hear of any future kaupapa.”