Taha wairua

Explore your taha wairua (spiritual wellbeing)

One in five Kiwis experiences a mental illness each year. Almost all of these people will recover or live well with the right tautoko (support).

Te Whare Tapa Whā is a model of health that helps us identify where we need extra support. It describes health as a wharenui (meeting house) with four walls. These walls represent:

• taha wairua (spiritual wellbeing)
• taha hinengaro (mental and emotional wellbeing)
• taha tinana (physical wellbeing)
• taha whānau (family and social wellbeing)

Connection with the whenua (land) forms the foundation. When all four walls and the foundation are strong, we feel strong too, including our top two inches (our mental wellbeing).

What is taha wairua?

Taha wairua explores your relationship with the environment, people and heritage in the past, present and future. Your spiritual essence is your life force – your mauri. This is who and what you are, where you have come from and where you are going.

The way people view wairua can be very different. For some, wairua is the capacity for faith or religious beliefs or having a belief in a higher power. Others may describe wairua as an internal connection to the universe. There is no right or wrong way to think of or experience wairua, but it is an important part of our mental wellbeing.

As part of exploring your way to wellbeing we encourage you to think about what wairua means to you and the things you can do to strengthen your wairua.

Perhaps you might explore your creativity, or volunteer in your community. Or you could develop mindfulness techniques that you can support your wairua as you are dealing with stress at work or building resilience during your studies. 

Why is taha wairua an important way to improve wellbeing?

Feeling comfortable in your identity, values and beliefs will help you to feel secure in who you are and what you stand for. When you are content with yourself you are better able to cope with challenges, build strong whānau relationships and discover the things that uplift you.

At mahi and during study, taha wairua needs may be supported through creating a respectful environment where mindfulness and kindess are encouraged, bullying is not accepted and diversity is embraced.

Exploring your way to wellbeing through taha wairua

• Display your values – the actions, attitudes and beliefs that your uphold. If you don’t currently have them, ask the people around you for input and create some you all agree to share.
• Read about how one of our MAS Here for Good Scholarship recipients changed the culture of his workplace to be more inclusive of different perspectives.
• Learn a workplace waiata that represents the values of your mahi. Sing it at the start of staff hui.
• Learn a karakia that you can say to start or end your day or ground and centre yourself during times of stress.
• Consider finding a mentor – someone you admire who can support, guide and encourage you through challenges and triumphs.If you're a woman working in the health professions, Wahine Connect is doing great work connecting mentors with mentees.