Holistic wellness massage in Ōrākei. Wellness blogger, tangata tiriti, host of Teachers Can podcast.
21/01/2026
“Is he sleeping through the night yet?” triggers me big time! 😬
It’s built on this Western myth that all babies should be independent before their time, and also that all babies reach the milestones at exactly the same time.
Well, as a first time mum, it’s a s**t question cause you start to question what’s wrong with your baby, or what are you doing wrong?
As a breastfeeding co-sleeping mum of a 7 month old, I’m ok with what sleep looks like for us(wakes up every 2-3 hours), even if sometimes I feel hungover in the morning. Nothing an afternoon nap cant fix.
Sleep looks completely different now compared to pre-baby life, and what keeps me sane is not comparing our journey to anyone else’s.
19/01/2026
If you need support to get some real me time in, (not dissing your precious shower time) give me a buzz 🙏
I know what it’s like, I’m right in the struggle with you all with my own nearly 8 month old, and I love nothing more than spreading the relaxation with stressed out mums, (or dads, or teachers, or humans in general)
14/01/2026
It takes a village to raise a child…How often do we say this? But how hard is it to achieve in our globalised capitalist world?
As I am finding out, super hard when global immigration politics are involved 😡
I now have a new appreciation for what some immigrants go through to come to a place like Aotearoa Nz, even just for a visit 🥹
I am super grateful to my sister in law for her generosity to drop everything to support us 🙏
And I am grateful to Immigration NZ for having a heart (in this instance)❤️
If anyone wants to immerse themselves in Spanish and Colombian culture, drop by for a cuppa sometime!
08/01/2026
It is so good to go away and also so good to come back! ❤️
Availability: This Sat, next Wed, Thursday, Fri & Sat, and more.
This is my LAST SUMMER of tent massage so if you haven’t been yet, maybe this is your time?
Book via link in bio
16/12/2025
Life doesn’t always work out the way you plan it, and that’s ok 🥹
What matters is your ability to ride those waves and come up for air again and again when you get knocked off 🏄♀️
Don’t know why I used a surf analogy 🙄
Last week we were supposed to have my sister in law here. She is not here yet, thanks to a huge backlog at Immigration NZ.
So what was meant to be my first week back at mahi with childcare all sorted, didn’t work out that way.
Which meant a more than stressy time juggling all the demands of being a new māmā and self employed woman.
But the universe always provides, and while I’m a little tired, my wonderful partner .huguett and our houseguest have stepped up to fill all the gaps, and my awesome clients have been very patient.
I’m pretty well fully booked till Kirihimete, with maybe one slot at 2pm next Mon available.
I will open my 2026 bookings once Immigration NZ stops ghosting us 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞
May we all find out way in the flow of life 🙏
09/12/2025
Today marked my return to mahi and a huge milestone in my māmā journey 🥹
I’m not sure I was ready but do you ever really know when you are ready for such a huge life adjustment?
I could hear pēpi grizzling halfway through the massage and felt torn. It’s hard to let go and trust that everyone else has got my back, and that peps will be able to cope.
I also wondered if I’d remember how to massage after 8 months away 😬
But you know what? Pēpi was fine when I got to him, my team had everything sussed, and my hands have still got it 👌
Thank you to my beautiful clients for also having my back and trusting me with your bodies.
I think I have one space available till Christmas, but I may get cancellations and I may also open up so surprise slots so subscribe to my email list (pop up on website) for last minute slot availability.
This is my last summer of glamping massages! I will have more space in the new year and I hope to see you soon 😍
FYI Lotus Belle tent from 🙏❤️
30/11/2025
Today I was interviewed by this lovely lady Debbie for her podcast about my journey from burnout to balance 🧘🏼♀️
It felt really great to go back in time and revisit my journey from passionate educator, through burnout, my yoga and massage training, to my current balance of the two worlds.
I definitely had a few mama brain moments where I lost my train of thought, but Debbie was so patient and eventually we got there. I think I may have even said some wise words 🥳
Debbie is a teacher with 15 years experience, and has just graduated as a Master Health Coach. She is passionate about empowering educators to live their best lives ❤️
Ngā mihi nui e hoa! LOVED our connect today, we had so much in common and I can’t wait to see what you get up to next 😍
Please give Debbie a follow and support her to support our most valuable resources: our kaiako 🙏
P.s. think this podcast episode is out early next year sometime, but she’s already got a bunch of goodies up.
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I went all the way to India to learn to relax. Well, thats not entirely true, I went to learn how to teach yoga, but what I really got was a profound sense of peace and relaxation that hasn’t quite left me. And has become one of my number one driving passions in life.
You see, stress used to be my middle name. Laura Stress-Bucket Alpe. Mum always told me that teaching is stressful, so I put off entering the profession for a good 10 years. But once I’d learned and fallen in love with Te Reo Māori, there was no going back and Education seemed like the natural next step. In fact, it was a wero (challenge) laid down by my second reo teacher that led me into teaching; “What are you going to do to ensure that our language survives Laura?”
After three years of pouring my heart and soul into my job, my classroom and my gorgeous tamariki, I ended up getting sick. What started as a fairly constant low-level anxiety led to mental exhaustion, physical sickness and ultimately, burn-out from the job I loved. I felt like I wasn’t alone. Many teachers, nurses, social workers and other professionals shared with me their struggles to ‘manage’ their stress and to find balance in their lives. Something had to shift.
I made the heart wrenching decision to leave teaching for a year to pursue my own wellbeing. What felt like a selfish choice at first, became the best thing I’ve ever done. I studied relaxation massage at Wellpark College of Natural Therapies and there I discovered my gift of touch. I loved being able to help bring relaxation and wellbeing to others, which in turn brought relaxation and wellbeing to myself. Life, for the first time, started to resume some sort of natural rhythm with periods of busy time interspersed with down-time. Balance!
India allowed me to experience a culture where everything was bustling and alive, yet no-one seemed stressed or anxious. People stopped to smile, look into my eyes and say “namaste”, acknowledging the light within. People were present. Yoga added a deeper element of grounding through connecting movements to the breath. Massage, yoga and breathing have become my preventative first aid kit. My wellbeing 101 that keeps me mentally and physically balanced and able to return to my teaching job that I love.
