How can whānau be physically active?

What you do and how much you do is important for your mauri, your wairua and your hauora.  Remember that even small increases in physical activity can improve your health.  It is never too early or late to start.  Be active every day, in as many ways as possible!   You’ll be in better overall health, have more energy, have better posture and balance, have stronger muscles and bones, you’ll have fun, it’ll raise your self-esteem, help you manage your weight, improve your fitness, improve your sleep, and you’ll feel more relaxed, and less stressed!  Not sure on how much physical activity you should be doing?  See the below recommendations for pēpi, tamariki, pakeke, kaumātua/kuia, and hapū mama.  Remember, large scale change occurs when lots of people change just a little.

Pēpi

From birth to five years of age, tamariki experience a significant amount of physical, mental and socio-emotional development.  Physical activity, through play, encourages this development and enables tamariki to develop skills that will give them the motivation, confidence and ability to be physically active as they grow.  It is important that they experience physical activity in everyday life environments, including nature, to encourage creativity, imagination and exploration.  Our bodies are made for movement, not for sitting or lying down. 

Tamariki (children 5 to 17 years)

•    Do lots of physical activity

Do at least 1 hour of moderate or vigorous physical activity spread over each day.  Also do a variety of light physical activities for several hours a day.  Include vigorous physical activity and activities that strengthen muscles and bones at least 3 days a week.

•    Don’t spend much time sitting

Spend no more than 2 hours a day on recreational screen time.  Sit less, move more, and break up sitting time.

•    Get enough sleep

   o    For 5 to 13 year olds, get 9 to 11 hours of quality uninterrupted sleep each night.
   o    For 14 to 17 year olds, get 8 to 10 hours of quality uninterrupted sleep each night.

•    Have a regular bedtime and wake up time.

•    For greater health benefits trade indoor time for outdoor time, and replace sitting time and light physical activity with more moderate or vigorous physical activity. 

Pakeke (adults)

•    Do at least 2 ½ hours of moderate or 1 ¼ hours of vigorous physical activity spread throughout the week.  Moderate intensity activity causes a slight, but noticeable, increase in breath and heart rate. You can still carry on a conversation.  Vigorous intensity activity makes you out of breath – you can’t do these activities and chat at the same time.

•    For extra health benefits, aim for 5 hours of moderate or 2 ½ hours of vigorous physical activity spread throughout the week.

•    Do some muscle-strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.

Kaumātua/Kuia (Elders) 

Staying active is important when you’re getting older (including if you have health conditions).  Regular physical activity can improve your health and wellbeing, and make it easier to perform daily tasks.

Spend more time being physically active and less time sitting down.  Do lots of daily physical activities such as, walking to the shops, vacuuming, gardening, washing the car.

•    Do 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on 5 days or more per week, such as brisk walking, ballroom dancing, cycling, kapa haka, lane swimming, playing with mokopuna.

•    Try to add 3 sessions of flexibility and balance activities, and 2 sessions of muscle-strengthening activities per week.  

Hapū Māmā

•    It’s important to stay active during your pregnancy because being active and healthy helps both you and your baby.  It also helps to prepare your body for the birth.  It is very important talk to your midwife (or specialist doctor) before you start any new activity to make sure that the exercise you do won’t harm you or your baby.  Walking, swimming and pilates or yoga can all be good exercise in pregnancy.

Our world around us influences the choices we make about physical activity, just as it affects all other choices.  The marae can play a big role in helping whānau to be more physically active.  In days of old, the marae / Pā was where many sports and games were played including kaipara (athletics and martial arts), tī ringaringa (hand games), whai (string patterns) and karetao (puppets), and tamariki also played with toys made from natural materials.  Nowadays, social gatherings at the marae are mainly for tangihanga, celebrations, and other hui, and it is often just the tamariki who are being active, running around and playing games on or near the ātea.  Let’s change this whānau!
 
Hapū leaders who are well respected by their whānau are in a good position to promote the positive kaupapa of physical activity, hauora and wellbeing, while the marae itself can provide a safe venue for activity to take place.  It is great to see some marae rekindling traditional practices such kapa haka, mau rākau/weaponry, as well as modern activities such as line dancing and fitness sessions, and inter-whānau and inter-hapū challenges.  Let’s keep this up!  When looking to increase physical activity for your whānau, hapū or marae, adopting a holistic approach and including activities to promote whakawhanaungatanga, karakia, tikanga and kōrero hītori (discussions around historic events and practices) are a great idea to ensure whānau have the best possible chance of maintaining their physical activity and benefiting from all that our hauora brings. Te Ao Māori – The Māori World View is about incorporating all aspects of wellbeing into our adopted practices and activities and bringing these components together increases the chances of sustainable success.  In terms of being physically active, this means including elements of our wairua, hinengaro, and whānau into our physical activity programmes and there are many examples of this taking place on our marae today.

Here are some more ideas to get whānau active on the marae:
    

• There are a range of physical activities that have always traditionally taken place on the marae which promote healthy living, often without being noticed.  For example, powhiri, where tangata whenua welcome manuhiri on to their marae, is filled with physical activity.  Starting with the karanga initiating the wairua of the pōwhiri where physical emotion cannot only be seen through body movements and physical expressions, but also felt.  Kaiwero will display skill, power and strength, as too with the kaikōrero.  Physical expressions are also continued through waiata tautoko and also any waiata ngāhau by the tangata whenua to entertain their guests during the hākari.  Behind the scenes, ringawera engage in physical activity in the wharenui, wharekai, wharepaku and marae surroundings where they ensure the tikanga of manaakitanga is upheld.  This unintended activity, which often goes unnoticed, counts towards leading an active lifestyle and helps keep our bodies moving.  
   

• Pa-Wars is where an inter-marae challenge occurs, normally involving sports and other physical activities with tikanga Māori (Māori cultural practices) interwoven into the various activities.  Pa-Wars can involve any sport, from petanque to touch and everything in between.  This kaupapa is a good way to increase physical activity and also incorporates whakawhanaungatanga between associated marae, hapū, and local community networks.  Check out the below video which showcases the Tūwharetoa Pa-Wars challenge from 2015.

  
   

• Marae-based wananga (workshops) are also a positive way to get whānau being active on the marae.  These wananga bring together whānau and hapū onto the marae to discuss and plan ideas and initiatives to increase physical activity, promote health living options, and identify tikanga (protocols) on the marae to help whanau to be healthy.  This can be undertaken through the strengthening of wairua (spiritual wellbeing) and hinengaro (mental wellbeing).  Wananga were a key aspect for traditional Māori society in terms of sharing tribal knowledge to ensure learnings and experiences were passed on for the success and holistic wellbeing of an Iwi’s descendants.  In today’s society wananga provides a similar function through the delivery of educational seminars, conferences, and as a forum to discuss and consider issues and developmental opportunities for whānau.
   

• Marae-based physical activity classes for whānau are a good example of the marae bringing together whānau and walking the physical activity journey together.  Activities such as tai chi, karate, and kanikani are popular options.  Click here to see a good example of this from Manurewa Marae.  Whānau or your marae committee may be keen to get something like this underway for your hapū. Support and planning for these activities can be initiated through whānau and the wider community interests associated with your marae by simply pulling everyone together and identifying key people and resources to deliver a programme/kaupapa that suits the needs and aspirations of your hapū and marae.  So KIA KAHA and get things happening on your marae to keep everybody physically active, healthy and connected with each other.
   

• The marae is the heart of the hapū where whānau meet and celebrate, and is the cultural focal point of all things within Te Ao Māori.  A lot of the time enjoying kai and mixing and mingling with whānau takes place on the marae, whether it is when holding hui, when mourning a lost whānau member, when discussing significant issues such as the wellbeing of hapū members, and when looking after te taiao (the environment). Therefore, it makes sense to also activate our whānau and hapū members on the marae and encourage whanau to be more physically active.  This will benefit everyone from tamariki through to kaumatua and kuia.  In this way the promotion of healthy kai and nutritional habits, enhancing whakawhanaungatanga (social connections), and how we connect with the whenua, wai and te taiao through being more physically active outdoors is all taking place at the most significant cultural place we know as Māori - our Marae.

Tikanga Māori and Te Ao Māori concepts are important for Māori whānau in regards to being active and healthy.  These can be promoted and developed through the marae setting.  Iwi and hapū can promote Māori traditional games, activities and weaponry as forms of physical activity, while they also bring entertainment, learning opportunities, and help to develop coordination skills. 

Examples of these kinds of activities include: 

• Kapa haka is a traditional and contemporary dance and performances utilising Te Reo Me Ona Tikanga.  As a physical activity, kapa haka is vigorous and requires good co-ordination, timing and strength.  As well as being good for your health by keeping you fit and moving, kapa haka can provide other benefits for hapū that are cultural, social, educational, and economic.  It can revitalise and promote te reo through the incorporation of other cultural elements of Te Ao Māori, and is an excellent way to retain our knowledge and whakapapa that underpin who we are and where we came from.  Kapa haka competitions within schools and marae all aim for the ultimate goal of participating in Te Matatini, which is the pinnacle event for Māori Performing Arts.

• Mau rākau is a form of traditional martial arts that involves a series of skillful movements. Much of traditional Māori society was based on warfare and weaponry of which mau rākau was part of.  The upbringings of young warriors were conditioned to be experts in weaponry which required being physically and strategically skilled to fight and defend your whānau, hapū, and iwi.  Today, mau rākau is taught and practiced through wananga and formal programmes to maintain the physical and mental prowess that our tupuna possessed.  On Mokoia Island in Rotorua there is a prominent mau rākau wananga for students wanting to learn the traditional weaponry and acknowledge the practices and spiritual connections to our past.  Similar wananga are now held all around Aotearoa.

• Waka ama activities – The sport itself has cultural and historic connections for Māori and other Polynesian nations and is based on the racing of outrigger waka in either a singles or teams format.   As a physical activity and a form of exercise, waka ama has quickly become one of the fastest growing pastimes for Māori and is an excellent form of being physically active, connecting with whānau and the wider community, and participating in an activity that links you to your tupuna and how they became the first arrivals in Aotearoa.  Waka ama caters for all age groups and levels of abilities and is a significant physical activity event for Māori throughout Aotearoa and beyond.  To find a Waka Ama club near you click here.

• Regular hikoi (walks) - Hikoi to historic places of local significance not only provides exercise but can benefit whānau spiritually by encouraging a deeper understanding of the natural environment, encouraging discussion and learning about tribal knowledge such as histories, legends, ancestors and place names, native plants, and the sharing of knowledge about rongoā (medicines) and Māori healing practices.  Takahia ngā tapuwae a o tūpuna - Retrace the footsteps of your ancestors.
  

• Explore your maunga - Work towards a goal of walking your maunga, climbing a part of your maunga, or walking the summit of your ancestral maunga.  An alternative may be for you to return to your forest to walk and be revitalised by the presence of Tāne-mahuta.  Hokia ki to maunga kia purea e koe i ngā hau o Tāwhiri-mātea - Return to your ancestral mountain so you may be cleansed by the winds of Tāwhiri-mātea.

• Being connected to your ancestral maunga can be empowering in terms of knowing who you are and the history of your tūpuna. So why not start regular hikoi or oma up and around your maunga together as a whānau and hapū following in the historic footsteps of your ancestors to maintain your physical activity journey, and ensure we keep our traditions alive.

• Kohinga kai – Collecting kai has been an activity that has long been practiced by Māori and requires significant physical strength, capabilities, and stamina.  Whether it is fishing, diving, collecting kai moana, hunting, or collecting other indigenous Māori kai, they all require you to be physically strong and active and are a fun activity to do with whānau and reap the yum rewards!

• Water activities and sports – Rivers, lakes and the ocean are an integral part of New Zealand culture, and have particular cultural significance for Māori who have a special connection to wai.  Water is essential to life and identity for Māori and represents vitality.  It is an area of play, amusement, a place to bathe and wash, a source of spiritual sustenance, healing and nutrition.  Water activities and sports which involve being active can include fishing and diving, swimming, waka ama, hoe waka, and collecting kai moana, as well as bathing in ancestral waters. 

• Iron Māori is an endurance event that promotes Māori physical health through training and participation under the “Ironman” sporting concept.  It involves long distance running, swimming, and cycling.