Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori: Weaving Te Reo into Your Morning and Your Hauora

We are proud to be a New Zealand owned medicinal cannabis clinic, the largest of its kind here, with our roots firmly in Aotearoa. This is home for us, and te reo Māori is part of what makes it home. So Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, which runs from 14 to 20 September in 2026 under the theme Ake, ake, ake, a forever language, is a week we are glad to mark.

One of the nicest ways to honour the week is also one of the smallest: weaving a few words of te reo into how you start your day. Starting the morning with a bit of ritual is good for you anyway. A few quiet minutes to check in with your hinengaro (your mind and emotions) and your tinana (your body) before the day takes off can set the tone for everything that follows. Even the first words out of your mouth can be te reo. Kei te oho koe? (Are you awake?) I pēhea tō moe? (How was your sleep?) Doing it in te reo makes the ritual yours, and helps the language become part of everyday life, which is exactly what this week is about.

Language and wellbeing sit close together

For many Māori, te reo is not held apart from wellbeing. It carries identity, whakapapa and belonging. Being able to say who you are and where you come from, in the words of your own people, is its own kind of nourishment. Language also lets us name what is going on inside us and share it with the people around us, and being able to express yourself and stay connected to others is part of staying well in anyone’s book.

A helpful way to picture this is Te Whare Tapa Whā, the model of health developed by Sir Mason Durie in the 1980s. It describes wellbeing as a wharenui held up by four walls: taha tinana (the body), taha hinengaro (the mind and emotions), taha whānau (family and relationships) and taha wairua (spirit). If one wall is weak, the whole house feels it. A morning check in touches all four, and it gives you a simple way to notice which wall needs a bit of attention today.

Kupu for how you are feeling

This is the heart of the morning check in. One of the simplest questions that we are all asked at home, work or social events: Kei te pēhea koe? (How are you?) Most of us answer that on autopilot with a “good thanks”, even on days when good is a stretch.

Here are a few more honest or reflective options in te reo. A few kupu (words) for naming a mood:

• mīharo (amazed, impressed)
• hiamo (excited)
• māia (bold, confident)
• hōhā (fed up, over it)
• pukuriri (angry)
• whakamā (shy or embarrassed)
• māharahara (worried, anxious)

Try answering “Kei te pēhea koe?” with the word that actually fits. Kei te hōhā au. Kei te māharahara au. Naming a feeling, in any language, tends to take some of the sting out of it, and it makes the next question easier: knowing how you are, what do you need today?

A few minutes of quiet, in te reo

The check in works best with a little stillness first, and that can be meditation of whatever sort suits you. A karakia, a guided practice on an app, or simply a few slow breaths at the edge of the bed. One of the Reo at Home posters is made for exactly this, pairing te reo with the breath:

• Me aro ki tō hā. (Focus on your breathing.)
• Tukua ō whakaaro kia rere mai, ā, kia rere atu, kaua e puritia. (Let your thoughts come and go without holding on to them.)
• E haumaru ana, e mauri tau ana hoki koe i tēnei wā nei. (You are safe and grounded in this moment.)

Sit with one of these lines instead of an English one. It is a gentle way to practise the language and settle the mind at the same time, and it gives your emotions a quiet moment to surface before you name them.

Reading the check in: what your day might need

Here is where the morning ritual earns its place. Once you have had a moment of quiet and named how you are feeling, you can ask the next question: what do I need today to look after myself? Te Whare Tapa Whā gives you a way in, one wall at a time.

If your tinana feels heavy or restless, that can be a nudge toward movement, some fresh air, or an earlier night. If your hinengaro is racing, those quiet few minutes might be the whole answer, or it might be putting the phone down for a while. When your wairua feels flat, time outside or in a space that settles you tends to help, because our surroundings shape us more than we give them credit for. And when your taha whānau is running low, the answer is usually a person: a text, a call, a cuppa with someone who gets it.

Think of the check in as a way of noticing, early in the day, what your whare needs to stay standing. 

When you are working with a clinician and have a treatment plan, the same daily check in becomes a useful record. Noting how you are sleeping, how you are feeling and anything you notice alongside your treatment gives you and your doctor something concrete to talk through at your next review. Bring those patterns about your tinana and hinengaro with you. They help the conversation, and any decisions about your care stay with you and your doctor at that appointment.

Where we fit, and where we do not

We are a medicinal cannabis clinic, so it is worth being clear about our lane. When you sit down with one of our doctors, the conversation is about one thing: whether medicinal cannabis might be an appropriate option for you. That is what our doctors are there to discuss.

Your wider wellbeing sits elsewhere. Your mental health, an ongoing condition, the day to day management of your care, all of that belongs with your GP, a counsellor or therapist, or a kaupapa Māori health service if that suits you better. A morning check in is a lovely habit for anyone, and it sits alongside that care rather than standing in for it. Whatever language you use, and whoever you see, the thing that matters is that you are talking to someone.

Give it a go this Te Wiki

You do not need permission or a certificate to use te reo Māori. Nor do you need to be the best at pronunciation; it’s about intention, and giving it a go. Start small, every day, and make it yours.

Some questions you may weave into your day: 

• Kei te oho koe? (Are you awake?) on your way to wake the kids.
• Kei te pēhea koe? (How are you?) to a mate. 
• Me aro ki tō hā (Focus on your breathing) on a rough day.

If you want more phrases and the full set of Reo at Home resources, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori has them at reomaori.co.nz. Print a poster, put it by the kettle or the bathroom mirror.

Ake, ake, ake. A forever language, and one worth a place in our lives, hauora included.

Ngā mihi o Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.