As a leader in the mindfulness-in-schools space in Aotearoa, Pause Breathe Smile is committed to creating content and delivering training that continues to evolve and develop to become even more bi-culturally responsive.
The Pause Breathe Smile programme, including contents, activities, and other resources, was created with an intention to incorporate and respect the bicultural nature of Aotearoa New Zealand; our organisation does not purport to be an expert in mātauranga Māori, instead establishing and promoting best practices for mindfulness in schools, while listening to and learning from experts in te ao Māori from its inception through to today.
What follows is a non-exhaustive list of links between the Pause Breathe Smile approach and te ao Māori:
Pause Breathe Smile incorporates Professor Sir Mason Durie’s model of Hauora, Te Whare Tapa Whā. During each lesson of Pause Breathe Smile, tamariki explicitly relate what they are noticing about their wellbeing back to the four pou of the whare, noticing how mindfulness supports wellbeing in:
This holistic approach helps young people notice the ways in which mindfulness supports wellbeing in these four interrelated dimensions of hauora.
Prioritising Ontology (ways of being) over Epistemology (ways of knowing) – Contemporary educational principles and practices often stress the importance of what we “know” and can reproduce on an assignment or assessment, but bringing an attitude of awareness, curiosity, and presence to each moment is vital for creativity and learning.
Pause Breathe Smile marries deep grounding in evidence from psychological and scientific literature with respectful acknowledgement of states of being.
Over several years, we piloted an explicitly Māori version of the Pause Breathe Smile programme, Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau, in a kura Māori. The key findings of that pilot programme were then fed back into the continuing research and development of the programme both in the mainstream English-medium and te reo Māori immersion settings.
Helping tamariki find their tau – The quality of Pause Breathe Smile as a mindfulness-based intervention means helping individual children and groups of learners learn attention regulation, emotion regulation, and kindness to be more resilient and equipped to navigate life’s ups and downs.
The Māori concept of mauri tau (settled, calm, landed) aligns with key principles of mindfulness practice and we recognise that each person’s tau (state of calm) might look a bit different to others’. Pause Breathe Smile enables participants to practice different ways of cultivating calmness, including seated and reclining mindful breathing; mindful moving; mindful eating; doing gratitude practice; participating in kindness activities; creating mindful art; and having conversations that develop emotional literacy.
Room for teachers and whanāu to incorporate cultural practices that resonate for them – Many concepts and practices from mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) already capture the wairua (spirit, deeper essence) of mindfulness, including
As a leader in the mindfulness-in-schools space in Aotearoa, Pause Breathe Smile is committed to creating content and delivering training that continues to evolve and develop to become even more bi-culturally responsive.
Qualified trainers sharing the Pause Breathe Smile programme encourage adaptations and personalisation to support kaiako, tamariki, rangatahi, and whānau Māori in celebrating and incorporating the cultural identities with which they resonate. We are not here to dictate how kaiako implement the programme but support adaptations kura make to ensure relevance to your tamariki, location and setting.
The Pause Breathe Smile programme has always been intended to benefit all New Zealand tamariki and to embrace our nation’s bicultural identity and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The Members’ Resources Pātaka contains a suite of te reo Māori resources which is available for all trained educators. These include educator handbooks and teaching cards, student learning journals, posters, activities, and a research development report. Each resource has been thoughtfully translated and trialled within a kura whilst in development.
To complement the printed resources, the Pātaka hosts a wide range of te reo Māori guided audio tracks and mindful movement videos to support classroom participation.
