In 2016 when I became a newly single parent I took myself off to a session with a spirit energy worker (to whom I was recommended to by a gorgeous lady in Morningside who ran an organic shop), this is a perfect example of paying attention, taking action and investing - a process I live solidly by. In all 5 sessions I attended with the healer Caroline (also from NZ!) shared that she could sense there was a big (in size), powerful chief like man at my side and with me at all times, she described this huge carving he had around his neck, long hair, bare chested with a face full of tattoo, basically the type of person you would not mess with. At that time it all seemed a bit ‘far out to me’ but I listened with an open heart, love, trust and respect. What Caroline was describing was a Maori Chief, he somehow let it be known that he was at my side to support me through what was going to be a bumpy ride, not only then but he’d always been by my side. That he’d seen that I had important work to do both on myself and in the community and he was around to make sure that I was protected energetically (cool eh!). Still didn’t totally buy it **AND I was willing to go with it and remain open.
Far from home and almost broken
It was during that time when I was close to broken and feeling very far away from home, I felt alone, afraid and full of uncertainty about what my future would look like and what my relationship with my home and how the physical human to human relationships would fare with so much distance. It was somehow really comforting to be told that there was this energy of a Maori chief with me and that was really the start of me deepening into the sense of being supported by the unseen. That no matter what course life took, I had tribes of support around me. My sense was (and is) that it's not just my Maori ancestors that support me, but this deepening sense of everything and everyone being part of the same energy and that we’re simply here as spiritual beings having a human experience.
My heritage was discouraged And it lives on strong in me
Maori culture wasn’t encouraged in my family growing up and so it took a little while for me to get into the rhythm of really identifying with my Maori heritage and to feel within my rights to to call myself a New Zealand Maori. My mother's late mother was part Maori and she started the early part of her life with her twin sister growing up in a Marae; a Maori Meeting House. It wasn’t possible for their parents to keep them, and they were adopted and raised by respected Maori elder Hera (Dovey) Katene-Horvath Q.S.M Dovey by all accounts was famous in NZ for forming young people and cultural community spaces and clubs, choreography, song writing, lyrics and Poi. Some words from the above article which support this statement:
'From infancy, Hera was fondly known as Dovey, because her father often called her ‘My Little Dove. At school, Dovey was involved in drama and music and began taking dance lessons at an early age. She loved to entertain. She was educated in Ponsonby, Auckland and later at Te Wai Pounamu Girls College in Christchurch. She assisted in the formation of Ngāti Poneke Young People’s Club of which she later became a life member. Dovey spent many happy years with the young Māori members who had migrated from the country to the Capital. The young club was the focal point of Māori social life in Wellington for several years.
Dovey achieved outstanding acclaim from adjudicators both regionally and nationally for choreography, best song, lyrics, and poi. Her winning waiata included ‘I Nga Ra o Mua’, ‘Hoea Mai Ra’ used to pōwhiri Prince Charles to Wellington and ‘Te Ra Pouri’, which was dedicated to the memory of the late Prime Minister Norman Kirk.
She had a special affinity with nature. Dovey used to sit in the forest and become one with the trees, the birds, and streams. She also loved the sea. This feeling became evident when she composed such songs as ‘Kua Eke Mai Ra’ ‘Hoea Ra’ ‘I Roto I te Ngahere’ ‘Tio Tio Tio’ and ‘E Tangi e te Tai’.
I’m so inspired to learn about the path that was paved before my arrival on this earth, that my maternal grandmother was being raised by a woman with these qualities and interests. There are 0 doubts in my mind and a total knowing in my soul that I've directly acquired some of that gear.
CHOOSING TO DEEPEN INTO MY ROOTS THROUGH NIA DANCE
In the years it followed up until present day I have deepened into my connection with my Maori heritage. In 2017 after moving to Burntisland to start a life as a single parent in the UK I started my journey with NIA dance. Something woke in me, something that felt like part of my being, my soul. When I reflect back now I clearly know it to be the ‘awakening’ of something tribal and oh so familiar but almost forgotten inside of me. When I did my first Nia White Belt training in Burntisland in 2018 with Letizia Accinelli and Britta von Tagen I knew that if I didn’t give this‘something’ inside of me the right kind of love, respect and attention it would go back to sleep. I made a decision back then that I wasn’t prepared to let that happen.
I’ve gone on to do more Nia training with Britta and have looked to her as a mentor for several years. I’m inspired by her commitment to the planet, her love of community and for her discipline and passion for spirit led movement. This inspires me so much. The first time I danced with Britta I felt this surge within me which to this day has left me feeling strong and empowered in ways I still can’t mentalize. It was on the strength of attending one class with this Nia teacher/Trainer that had me sign up for a week long training starting the following day. I experienced absolute certainty that this would have a profound impact on my future, how I show up as a parent, as an individual and ‘dance my way through life's challenges and adventures’.
In 2021 when visiting Scotland to deliver another training, Britta before leaving gifted me a NZ pounamu (Greenstone) carving, with the words ‘I was given this by someone before leaving Idaho and told I needed to give it to a kiwi living in Scotland’. #Truth! I wear this pendant everyday, it connects me to the magic and mystery in the world. The pounamu symbolizes ‘the bond between two people, connecting the lives of friends, family or loved ones’. Cool right!
THE TRUTH OF WHO WE ARE MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME
Living and speaking with Truth, dance and the words I say and write infuse every part of how I do life. It feeds into the way I am in community, the spaces I hold and the way I'm able to create a space that allows people to feel safe to be free - we all know that dance and free expression as an adult doesn’t come easy to begin with, we somehow lose it along the way. I believe I have my Maori heritage to thank for finding it not only easy but essential in creating these spaces.
IN THE INTERESTS OF ALL
I've always been incredibly community-minded. Someone dear to me once shared words that ‘I'm like the net that catches people, that weaves communities together, that weaves people into community in a way that people really feel a sense of belonging’. I have to agree, being this way in the world is fundamental to my core. There's always been a theme throughout my life where I've been very motivated to draw people together, to hold people so they feel safe to be who they’re meant to be. My dancing community seems to be growing by the day just now, (largely because it's been a key focus for this year). I feel so strongly about creating safe spaces and bringing people of all ages and stages together to shake off the stuff that gets in the way of being the best versions of themselves. Best case scenario I'd do this on a 1-2-1 basis (I love forming and nurturing deep and intimate connections), but that’s just not realistic, there just aren’t enough hours in a day. Next best is running classes offering the things I love and trusting those that are drawn to my vibe will come in and take the medicine their systems need.
Over the years I've travelled and I've lived in different countries and been part of different communities. There's always always been this tribal sense that has come along with me and yeah it makes total sense that it’s probably my Maori heritage massively feeding into that natural inclination.
As an aside, this is the power of giving and receiving coaching and having mentors and people around you who are kind of paying attention to how you're showing up in life. It’s easy to get lost amidst all of life's happenings; so having this type of thing reflected back to me assures me that I'm on track with the person I came to this world to be, and shows me that I'm surrounding myself with the right people.
My growing ability to feel connected to my Maori heritage comes with a certain strength which means I can feel equipped to hold the types of things that community spaces bring up. I have a sense of an increasingly strengthened backbone, of understanding myself so well and having my own back that I’m better equipt at ‘safely and supportively containing’ the people in my life and within my community. And I'm not talking in a rescue-y kind of way but in a nourishing, boundaried, supportive ‘come on, you can do this’ kind of way.
A DESIRE TO CHOREOGRAPH DANCE
I desire to choreograph more of my own dance, hugely inspired by my Maori roots. To date I've choreographed one song. I've shared it in different community spaces and in my classes. It feels powerful and like the ‘perfect starting point’. I share with everybody before we dance those moves, that ‘this is the song and these are the moves that connect me to my heritage, my ancestors, my homeland of NZ, my truth, to everyone and everything. There’s some really beautiful movements where we invite those that love and support us from the seen and unseen, then we get on a waka (a traditional Maori canoe) and journey forward together as a community working together in everyone's best interests.
TRIBAL VIBES
When I did my Nia training in 2018 along with Irish participant Elizabeth Doherty (who is now now a very dear friend) she identified in me a warrior-like strength, a tribalness, and a kind of badassery that goes with being a blood relative of the indigenous people of a land. She sensed this Maori energy then (when it was only just awakening in me). As I cast my attention back to 2018 and then forward now to 2024, I'm surprised that a whole six years have passed. I feel like a completely different person and as I write this post it feels also quite refreshing to sit with the fact that my friend had witnessed this tribal energy in me way back then that I was pretty much unaware of. Liz has also shared that being in my company supports her to also deepen back into her indigenous Irish roots. #LoveThat.
MY BADASS SPIRIT SONGBIRD TATTOO
Earlier this year (March 2024) I got a tattoo of a bird which I call ‘Spirit Songbird’ from ‘Aphra of Spaghetti Tattoos’, a tattoo artist, badass friend of mine. I’d been planning on getting a tattoo for several years, and in early 2024 (the 10yr mark of being in the UK) I knew the time had come. There's been some really profound things that have happened for me over the last 10 years, things which I can only describe as intuitively led and spiritual and they've involved blackbirds every single time. Like sensing I was pregnant in NZ and asking for a sign to confirm I was right - then walking into the living room to find a Blackbird stood at the door eyeballing me. My decision to move to Burntisland was marked by an entire tree of Blackbirds. When I feel a little derailed in life I think to myself ‘I can’t do this, please show me i’m not alone’. When I am doing something brave, bold and brilliant a blackbird will often show itself to indicate I'm right on track! And similarly the song blackbird (I love Eva Cassidy's version) comes on the radio at the most random (or not) of times to assure me that i’m absolutely, completely, totally, exactly on track and that whatever I might be questioning just dissolves with the sight of a Blackbird or the sound of Songbird. Beyonce also recently released a cover of this very song this year in 2024. I'm telling you, the signs are everywhere!
Sometimes things feel bigger than me. This sense that I don't have the capacity to know how to handle what I'm dealing with. I’m rapidly increasing my ability to surrender, connect to the earth and deliberately reach out to my ancestors for support. I very quickly feel connected to something bigger and then things feel manageable again, I’m able to see a clear way forward.
Call it my Maori ancestry, intuition, spirituality a bloodline, call it what you like. It's my birth right and a knowing that I'm called to share in these ways.
Connecting to my Maori culture through movement, creating community spaces and events, and honouring those who have gone before me has played (and will forevermore) a huge role in my personal transformation. I always share what I love, if it's good enough for me it’s good enough for my family, my community and all of humanity.
When I work 1-2-1 with a client there’s a kind of ‘spiritual plugging in’ that happens. Coaching conversations, interactions and a deep sense of spirituality CANNOT exist separately, it's a full package. It delights, excites and comforts me when I see the unfolding of a coachees truest self emerging as the sessions unfold. And how more deeply connected to the sacred parts of themselves they are willing to be.
If you're interested in benefiting from this kind of interaction, book a call with me to embark on your journey of self-discovery. If you're not ready to make the leap, consider attending one of my movement classes.
Thank you for your sweet time and attention today. I see you and I see your truth. Do you?
Bron xx
**AND from above, I intentionally use 'and' in place of 'but'. It’s something I've learned through Nia and Transformational coaching Training. It focusses on positive/optimistic aspects and is less excuse-like :)
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