In this issue of Te Mahau, we spoke to Jase Te Patu (Ngāti Apa) Founder and CEO of M3 Mindfulness, a wellness programme that utilises the power of Māori pūrākau and whakataukī to share mindfulness and movement with school communities.

Kō wai koe? Nō hea koe?

Tēnā koe, otirā, tēnā koutou. He mokopuna ahau o ngā uri o ngā tūpuna o Kurahaupō waka. Ko Ruatea te tangata. Ko Ngāti Apa tōku iwi. He mokopuna ahau hoki o ngā uri o ngā tūpuna o Te Arawa waka. Ko Ngātoroirangi te tohunga. Ko Te Heuheu te tangata. Ko Ngāti Tūwharetoa tōku ingoa.

I was whangai-ed by my grandparents in Whanganui. It was a humble but loving upbringing. My early years were fraught with estranged parents, living with a schizophrenic uncle, and attending schools where I often felt like I didn’t belong. The biggest challenge was being from a generation that had lost te reo Māori. Even though the marae was my favourite place growing up, I never felt Māori enough. My whole adulthood has been about reclaiming my/our reo me ōna tikanga.

What is your mahi, and what brought you to this space?

I am the Founder and CEO of M3 Mindfulness. At M3, we utilise the power of Māori pūrākau and whakataukī to share Mindfulness and Movement with a school community. Our programme includes all learners, and we are proud to be the only resilience programme using indigenous wellbeing practices in Aotearoa. Our work is available online and in-person for the whole school ecosystem – teachers, learners, and whānau- providing a seamless flow of mātauranga Māori into the wider community.

As an adult, my dance career ended after a crippling achilles injury which dropped me into depression. My injury helped me to find yoga, Mindfulness, and meditation. These practices saved my life. I have also been in the wellbeing industry for 31 years, so I know what it’s like to be unwell and how to thrive in wellness again.

M3 Mindfulness was borne from the death of my little brother. I saw how my nephews and nieces struggled with his passing and wanted them to learn, as I did, some tools for their kete to help them navigate their way through big emotions.

Even though I’ve worn many hats throughout my life as an international Trainer for Les Mills, a dancer and performer, plus a yoga teacher and studio owner, my work with M3 is why I’ve been out here on this earth.

I love how Mindfulness practices can mitigate stress, regulate our emotions, build resilience and, with practice, create a life full of peace and happiness.

What do you aspire to achieve through your unique approach to mental health?

M3 Mindfulness’ vision is to empower communities and impact change with an indigenous resilience programme using Mindfulness, Māori practices like pūrākau and whakataukī, and Movement. We’ve worked with over 57,000 people throughout nearly 800 school communities and are only scratching the surface.

We are also a preventative programme, not the ambulance down the bottom of the hill waiting to react. We get to work in a school environment with teachers, students AND whānau, which is a first for an external education programme. For example, our teachers begin with a PLD in Mindfulness, so they know the journey the students are about to embark on. Then we work with rangatahi over 15 weeks, building their wellbeing toolkit with Mindfulness based resilience practices, which they then pass on to the tamariki of local early childhood centres and Kōhanga Reo. The whānau get access to our M3 Whānau App., which allows them to jump on the M3 waka. There are short and simple practices of Mindfulness, Movement and Māori pūrākau sleep stories that pakeke can follow along to in their own time and space. Perfect for the busy parent with very little time to spend on their wellbeing.

In summary, we want to empower the whole community to take better care of their mental health, using our 3 Ms.

What are your biggest concerns for Māori mental health as we emerge from COVID-19?

I believe our Māori, in particular, need access to more practices and services that can tend to people’s mental wellbeing needs right across the spectrum.

In the school/education sector, we are experiencing more people (teachers, students and whānau) with depression and anxiety. There are more behavioural issues with students and enormous absentee challenges too. It means that our M3 mahi is needed more than ever in schools. We were booked out in 2022 and have 80 school community bookings for 2023. We are also bringing on board six new Facilitators to deliver our mahi throughout Aotearoa.

Mental Health challenges are increasing amongst Māori, and services like M3 are needed more than ever.

We know that our knowledge systems and practices are instrumental to whānau wellbeing. How can service providers connect with you and your mahi?

The way that tāngata can connect with our mahi is through our website. There is a complete list of our services, meaning that people can book what’s needed in their hāqpori. We encourage people to book in for the whole Te Reo Tuakiri school experience, though, because, as we said, our kaupapa works with the entire ecosystem: teachers, students and whānau. You can ask Qs or contact us anytime via kiaora@m3mindfulness.com.

If you want instant wellbeing support in the palm of your hand, then download the M3 Whānau App on Apple or Google Play.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Our beautiful Māori whakataukī sum up what our M3 kaupapa is all about…

Whāia te hauora hinengaro kia puāwai ai te hauora tangata

There is no health without mental health.