Hearth and Soul NZ

14/05/2026

Why meditate?
The modern reasoning is likely to be centred on ourselves; about stress reduction and neural pathways. The reason I was taught to meditate was very different.
Meditation was about growing the energy of peace for the world. It was about expanding the energy in a time where peace is harder and harder to find as the meditators job was to maintain that energy, for everyone. We didn't meditate to better ourselves but to add to the world's reservoir of peace. Quietly. Alone or in group meditations. Not centring that meditation on ourselves but instead as an act of service.
How does that land for you?
Could it change your experience of meditation?

Image is of Monty's daily meditation on the world passing by our gate.

13/05/2026

Autumn sun. A good time to soak, to be in the quiet of leaves dropping, tight buds waiting for spring. In yoga there is a lot of contemplation of impermanence, not from a nihilistic perspective but instead from a juicy view point that life is precious, alive, vivid, and fleeting. Yes, you can wander the rabbit hole of austere practice or you can marvel in the wonder of life and life force. I'm definitely the latter: Joy in the little things. Pleasure in moments of turning my face to the sun. A slow breath that soaks me in the quiet.

Fancy a Sunday afternoon deep yoga soak (17 May), with cacao? There are just two mats left 3-5.30pm $45 with booking on MindBody

Did you know you can get a weekly dose in your inbox?
30ish minutes of slow yoga
30ish minutes of restorative Yin yoga
A general tarot reading
A meditation
And a wee inspiration from me
For koha...yep, every week.
Message for details

I'm off to record this week's sessions. Monty at the ready🩷🐾

03/05/2026

It still feels like full moon energy, and what a deep dive that was. This week is a really restful one for me so my next available bookings are Friday. It's a time to nourish, teach beautiful yoga classes, spend some time in my garden and with the little Monty dog.

There's a new class this week as the demand for Yin is increasing so catch that on Tuesday...
Monday
10am Slow Flow
5.30pm Power Flow
6.30pm Slow Flow
Tuesday
10am Slow Flow
11am Yin
Friday
9am Slow Flow
10am Yin
Booking through MindBody

Wednesday is Cacao and Tarot night
6-8pm it's a chance for the tarot curious to tge seasoned practitioner to come and play, ask questions and pull a reading apart. This month we're also looking at the Queens of the minor arcana and what they can teach us about balancing Yin. $50 including a 20ish minute personal reading dropped in your inbox, or $25 if you're just coming for the night.

May your week include moments of noticing beauty, the simple and sublime.

23/04/2026

My teaching voice has disappeared. I don't mean I've lost my voice, it's just there isn't a teaching voice and a me voice anymore. My beautiful Taking Yoga Deeper crew pointed it out over the weekend and I've been gently working with the idea all week. It was a huge compliment and here's why...

I'm not switching anymore - from this role to that, this audience to that. I'm simply me across all the different roles. I don't need to be different ways anymore in each space. What's fascinating is that it happened, I'd say gradually, and I didn't notice or think about it. Becoming. Belonging. Two words that have lingered in the last few years, making sense through my voice.

I know I'm feeling those feelings and more centered and grounded than ever before but how awesome that my voice is now just one voice.

The picture is the hearth of Hearth and Soul with the boddhi tree growing up and out, and a gorgeous art work working river magic over the mantel from one of the Taking Yoga Deeper crew.

19/04/2026

So setting the healing bed up went well...Monty thinks it's a huge bed just for him and the first person to rest on it did have a sleeping Monty companion, with their consent, of course. Whether it's to rest with the singing bowls or to recalibrate your energy, this side of Hearth and Soul is ready. More offering options are on the way...

This week sees the usual classes and the beautiful Sunday session is this weekend. 3-5.30pm so a deep soul soak with cacao, intention setting, meditation and yoga all wrapped up in the delicious vibes of the studio. What a way to spend some of the long weekend. And, yay, my Monday classes are all go next week so enjoy some day-off yoga goodness.

Tarot night is the first Wednesday of the month. 6-8pm. Cacao, stories from the tarot, a reading pulled apart and put back together and some juicy questions about the woo. All you need is curiosity.

And...a little ramble
I spent the weekend teaching the Taking Yoga Deeper crew about the chakra system. Not theoretically but practically. What does grounding look like, feel like, do to our body and experience? It reminded me, over and over again, how the human world we live in is so out of whack with our body. We would pause and lament this with frequent references to patriarchy and then try to figure out ways to live well within the system, and to take back some of the power. I'm sitting on the other side of the weekend recognising that it's like being in the spin cycle when really you need to be sitting by a river. It's why people arrive to yoga and often collapse on their mat, or fall asleep when they try to meditate because they haven't rested enough. I think, as yoga teachers, if we understand this, we can hold a more compassionate space, one not pushing for performance but instead rooted in presence with rest at the centre and movement branching out from there. It's an emergency department when we need a garden to sit in, but for now it will have to do.

12/04/2026

It's balmy warm and still this morning, the wild night having passed and we're breathing out slowly here in Napier, never far from memories of Cyclone Gabrielle. Today's yoga will be all about grounding, and being gently present to all the edges people might have been on. It's one of the many things I love about teaching; arriving into a class and taking the collective temperature then shaping the yoga around that. It's the thing I can't do for the online crew, I'm guessing as I put those sessions together and hoping I reach people, while I'm tucked into my lounge between the couch and the kitchen table.

This week is New Moon so if you'd like a reading popped in your inbox, let me know. There's a whole lot going on astrological so it's a wildly energized week.

Bookings are open next week for in-person Soul Chats and massage.

Classes are the usual brews this week. Incoming is a deep soak on Sunday April 26. Cacao, intention setting, meditation, yoga and deliciousness from 3-5.30pm all for $45. It's been a while since I did one of these so I'm looking forward to it. All bookings on MindBody.

Monday
10am Slow Flow
5.30pm Power Flow
6.30pm Slow Flow
Tuesday
10am Slow Flow
Friday
9am Slow Flow
10am Yin

Take good care of your precious selves and the life you are creating ❤️🐾

01/04/2026

We take a patch of sun and a chair each
The window of the healing room let's the sun flood in
The big full moon energy dances
And rest beckons

29/03/2026

It's Cacao and Tarot Wednesday 6-8pm ...whoop whoop...and the crystal singing bowls are making an appearance. Message me to book in.

There's been a few weeks of recalibration and I feel like this week is about finding flow. With the full moon arriving I'm nestling down with cards, cacao and crafts, while welcoming people to my beautiful slice of Napier. There's room for Soul Chats or massages so take some time for yourself.

Yoga this week
Saturday I'm teaching the 10am Slow Flow and 11am is Yoga Nidra if you want a yummy Easter treat .
Otherwise this week:
Monday
10am Slow Flow (full)
5.30pm Power Flow
6.30pm Slow Flow
Tuesday
10am Slow Flow
Thursday
9am Slow Flow

And the subscription email pops into inboxes on Friday with links to....
Yoga Flow 30ish minutes
Restorative Yoga 30ish minutes
Meditation
Weekly insight reading - full moon this week
And some inspiration from me
All for koha

How do I recalibrate when the world feels crazy? I've spent time sitting at the beach, watching the waves and my breath and the way my thoughts untangle if I slow down. I've made yummy, nourishing, simple kai that my body loves and popped some in the freezer for when I feel overwhelmed. I've had coffee with people I can share all the ups and downs with and asked for truth bombs to help shift any crap I can't see myself. And I've slept - early nights and early mornings.
What works for you?

24/03/2026

The urge to hibernate has been a little loud this week and while the dark mornings can do that, the mess humans seem intent on making of the world is definitely part of that desire. So, time to do the opposite, to get out and about and give some loves, starting here.

If we believe in human goodness and kindness then everything else is an abhorrence, a deviation, something to view with the disdain it deserves while continuing to support kindness and goodness. Living this idea isn't at all light and love, it's a deep dive into the roots to make sure I'm in the right soil and choosing to grow in the right direction, not getting sucked into the abhorrence. It's an understanding of how powerful choice is and how opening up spaces where the choice can be made is vital - kindness and goodness need feeding, nourishing, nurturing, freedom and equity (that last one especially).

In the sh*t-storm we find ourselves in it's even more important to water our roots, w**d our garden, grow our compassion and our bu****it detector. It's also important to grow community so...a few ideas for nourishing our tree...

A weekly meditation, sound bowl gathering, koha based, starting after Easter. Message me for location and details.

Tarot night, next Wednesday 6-8pm. Message to book and for details.

The weekly subscription took a break last week and is back this week
A Yoga Flow, a restorative yoga, a general tarot inspiration, a meditation and an inspiration, delivered to your inbox via email
Koha based so get on the list

And there's classes to get yourself into, including some longer 90 minute sessions incoming.

I'm fond of plant analogies so remembering sunlight, water, and good airflow are important for us humans. Take yourself for a walk, dance in your garden or kitchen, cultivate your peace.

10/03/2026

A wee ramble about coping when it all seems a bit heavy. This is in response to multiple requests for support in the last two weeks and knowing that means the need out there is huge...
Listen to This and that Responding to the current crises by Natasha Mathis on

Yoga teacher and creative

07/03/2026

A wee ramble and what's on...
Taking a soft, well worn shirt through a makeover today, starting with buttons. I'm always surprised by how much of a difference buttons make. Lately it's been the little things making a difference, particularly not waiting for something to be a big job. Little pieces add up - a bucket of w**ds, a room dusted, a cupboard cleaned. Like this shirt, it takes time, but breaking it into smaller pieces makes it doable and stops the little things climbing on top of and feeling insurmountable.

Hearth and Soul has room for massages/healing/Soul Chats on Thursday, Friday and Sunday this week. There's also room for some online goodness with check-in sessions - $35 and dropped into your inbox of choice as an audio recording.

Weekly online subscription crew, there's a special podcast edition this week featuring a chapter of the book I'm writing, along with the yoga, tarot and meditation goodness. This subscription is by koha so let me know if you'd like more details.

Classes
Bookings through MindBody app
Monday
10am Slow Flow
5.30pm Power Flow
6.30pm Slow Flow
Tuesday
10am Slow Flow
Friday 9am Slow Flow
10am Yin

Take care crew
Love and blessings