Te Ara Orama:
The Pathway To Light
Indigenous Practices & Philosophies Of Wellbeing
Te Ara Orama is a 12-month journey of traditional Māori healing and deep self‑connection.
Return to your centre. Reclaim your wellness. Remember who you are.
A safe and sacred space to learn, heal, and reconnect with your tinana, hinengaro, and wairua.
This is a pathway of remembering — a guided return to the wisdom that has always lived within you.
Begin your journey home.
A Journey Home To Self
Throughout this wānanga, you will be held within indigenous philosophies, ancestral practices, and the living presence of wairua as you move through the realms of both Papatuanuku and Ranginui.
At the center of this journey is the practice of Romiromi, Takutaku and Kaupare — the primary tool, method, and vessel through which transformation unfolds.
This wānanga will guide you from a foundational understanding through to the confidence to offer romiromi safely.
Across our time together, you will be supported to remember, reclaim and embody traditional practices that nurture holistic wellbeing a-tinana, a-hinengaro, a-wairua, a-whānau.
Before you start
Please note that our foundational wānanga Hau Maranga is a prerequisite to beginning your journey of Te Ara Orama. If you have not yet completed this two-day wānanga please head over to the Hau Maranga website to register.
What you will explore
Papatuānuku — Grounding into the Body
Reconnect with the whenua through romiromi, mirimiri, haemata and embodied practice. Learn to anchor into your tinana and listen to the wisdom held in your takuira.
Rangi — Navigating the Realms of Wairua
Move into the celestial spaces through takutaku, waiata, taonga pūoro and wairua. Learn to invoke, protect, open, and trust the unseen currents that guide you.
Purākau & Raranga — Understanding Your Story
Reconnect with the whenua through romiromi, mirimiri, haemata and embodied practice. Learn to anchor into your tinana and listen to the wisdom held in your takuira.
The Three Hearts
Throughout the year, you will learn to navigate life through the three manawa:
- Pūmanawa – Emotional Heart: intuitive knowing
- Manawa – Physical Heart: emotional clarity & connection to IO
- Whatumanawa – Spiritual Heart: wairua and insight
Balancing these hearts becomes the foundation of balancing your life.
What you will learn
Beginning with core foundations, you will learn what romiromi is, how it works in wairua to help release blocked energy, trauma and disease, and why safety, integrity and spiritual protection are essential when working in this way.
You will be introduced to the realms of the atua, the whakapapa of energy and vibration, and traditional tools such as waiata and takutaku and kaupare that our tūpuna used to navigate their lives and stay in right relationship with themselves, each other and the natural world.
As you move deeper, the wānanga expands into more detailed exploration and practice of romiromi. You will work with haemata (pressure points), the whatumanawa and the subtle energetic systems of the body, learning how to establish and maintain spiritual safety while holding space for others.
Through whitiwhiti kōrero, pūrākau, karakia, waiata and hands-on bodywork, you will experience romiromi as a powerful modality that addresses physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual dimensions of health, supporting the body to return to its natural state of tau.
We will learn traditional tools and knowledge of our ancestors to help us navigate our way through this modern world.
Who this is for
The kaupapa is open and inclusive – whether you are just beginning or already working as a healer, whakapapa Māori or not, you are welcomed into a space of mutual respect, humility and shared learning.
This journey unfolds over 12 wānanga days throughout the year, honouring the diverse lifestyles and learning rhythms of our community.
