Moonology - Taha Wairua

Thursday 30th May I flew up to Auckland to a meeting. On my flight there I decide to read a book named Moonology. Now before I go further I need to retell of my connections I have had with the moon.

As a teenager my friends and I would spend nights outside looking at the stars and watching the moon in all it's glory. At the time we were just being clowns and doing silly things like wishing on stars for jandels, counting shooting stars and just bask in the light of the moon. It is one of the mos fondest memories my childhood friends and I remissness about. On time I also remember a time my parents took my sister and our friends to Mahia for a holiday here we experienced one of the most amazing connections with the moon.

We had been hanging at the beach that day and the sun had set, it was a warm evening and we were all at the beach with my brother and a couple of the cousins. It had gone dark and the moon was high in the sky. The water was settled as the tide had slowly made its way out. One of the mates asked one of the cousins if it was ok to swim at night to which he said yes, so that was us! All 8 of jumped in the water. Without a word of a lie the moon was so bright it made the water crystal clear and we glowed. It was one amazing experience to be moon lit once again.

Fast forward to Hawaii 2018 I was in a situation where we were sitting at the beach once again under moon lit night but this time it was cloudy and I was with a group of our Hawaiian cousins. As we consumed our inu a couple of  Hawaiian whānau took a dip in the sea and the moon lit so bright while they were swimming. It took me straight back to my first night swim in Mahia, it was an amazing experience to see the similarities with our Hawain cousins.

While over in Hawaiki we went to a Kamehameha Community College, while we were there we were shown some beautiful art pieces which had a Hawaiian version of the Maramataka. I totally connected to that Māramataka that when I received my new classroom when we returned I painted a huge moon and I painted my own Māori Māramataka. 

Since that trip I have been exposed to a whole heap of experiences surrounding the moon which included a seminar with Rangi Mataatua. After his seminar I was totally inspired about how our connection with the moon was so strong. Now, intuitively I knew this because our whare is te Whare o Hina and over the years in our experiences we always refer to Hina and all her different phases and work under her guidance and light. Ngā Uri o te Pō e ara e.

Now going back to this book, as I was on my flight I was totally zoned in to the book and it was through reading this it confirmed to me that I need to work more closely with the moon, she has so much to teach me like.

- always take time to look up at the moon

- the moon puts on an elegant show different every time in shape, color and nuance.

FFB!

May 2017 I was at the pinnacle of my fitness. We had finished our kapahaka campaign and I was happily maintaining my fitness and healthy lifestyle. In July my youngest daughter was struck down with a life threating disease and we relocated to Auckland where I tried really hard to maintain my fitness however, it slowly declined. When we returned to Ōtaki we slowly got back on track but life took over and I found myself back at my undesirable size and unhealthy lifestyle.

Nohi Mā and I calling out Nohi Ja and Nohi Jord

On April 25th 2018 Mahina Hakaraia and I were sitting at my home eating some chocolate and as our conversation progressed we decided we had had enough of the unhealthy predicament we were in. At that moment we decided to form a club! Our club needed a named so we chose FFBC. .(F=Fat F= swear word B= another swear word starting with B C= club)

We called out our two mates Jaleesa Wilson and Jordon Bingham to challenge us in a weight loss challenge to which they accepted.

We were all so excited as we all felt the same and we were sick of being FFB's.
We started off so well, meeting up doing workouts, eating healthy, encouraging each other.  Sadly, life took over and we all got too busy to complete our challenge and we remained FFB's

Why is this always the case? 

What is it that makes us default back to our ways?

Why is living a healthy lifestyle not important to us?

The internal battle of Tumataenga and Rongomatane continues to be my reality.

FFB needs help!

This is a post!- Taha Whānau

A what?

A post about the Silver Ferns Development Team!! Check us out!!

Tonight we had our first netball game with our team Silver Ferns development team.
The skill sets among st our whānau is dynamic. The way each player moves around the court was spectacular to watch. Each warrior had some fantastic movements on court, the way Tarns darted around the court to the way Karanama could fly from one end of the court to the other in the blink of an eye. Chaka and I missing all shots right under the goal post was a sight to behold. Taylah and her māmā playing to their hearts content. What more can I say but this journey had ignited the fun of getting fit!!

Te Utanga Tutahi

Te Utanga Tautuhi

This weekend we had the honor of listening  and watching Te Utanga Tautuhi talk about his whare Te Ngākau o te Toka.

Te Utanga talked us through many aspects of their processes and tikanga that left me feeling intrigued of wanting to learn more about our art.

When we went onto the marae atea I was totally mezmerized throughout his wero display. He had every little movement perfected. Every little turn of his taiaha was purposeful. Every step he took was done with precision. He embodied every movement with poise. I was in total awe of his display.

Te Utanga's display has made me think about my understanding of our whare and how much I do know and how much I don't know. I have so much to learn.
Watching him has inspired me to take time to perfect my own practice when I pick up the rākau.

Te awa O Haunui-a-Nanaia - Taha Wairua

Te awa  O Haunui-a-Nanaia

On Friday night we took a long walk down to this river, as we sat on the side of the river and learned our karakia I had a huge urge to jump into the river but it was 1-2am in the morning and that's just crazy and it was freezing.
I was delighted that on return to the marae on Saturday afternoon we detoured back to the river. As soon as the detour happened I just knew we were going back to the riverside. At that point, I decided I was absolutely going for a swim!!!
As we stood with our feet in the water I felt the aches of my feet disappear. When Tipi called it was time to go I dived into the water. It was the most refreshing feeling, in that instant, I felt at peace with myself and one with the awa, my body felt at ease, and I was overcome with calmness. 
As I got out of the water I had a real urge to go back and bathe for a bit but we had to keep moving. E rere ana ngā mihi ki te awa  O Haunui-a-Nanaia.

Ko au ko te awa, ko te awa ko au!

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, Taha Whānau

ZOOM!! 

I was there ready to show my walk out and my windmills too.

Rob the Nest - Taha Tinana

A lot of our fitness this weekend was based around games and having a bit of fun, this was so good! It was awesome to see a game we play with kids be so competitive for adults!

Here is a snippet of the Rob the nest contest that took place. I'm happy to say that our team were very successful and the different strategies we used assisted us in gaining many wins.