Te Whare Tapa Whā
Te Whare tapa whā was developed in 1984 by Sir Mason Durie. This model describes hauora (health and well-being) as a wharenui (meeting house) - a house of four walls.
Each wall represents a dimension of our health and our connection to the whenua/land forms the foundation.
These four aspects are taha wairua (the spiritual); taha hinengaro (thoughts and feelings); taha tinana (the physical); and taha whānau (family and social).
When one or more of these walls are out of balance, our hauora (well-being) is impacted. We need these different dimensions to be in balance for strength and stability. By nurturing and strengthening each of these areas, we can support our holistic health and well-being.
We created this visual below so you can see how these four dimensions overlap and influence each other. Often we can focus on one aspect and others can be left out of balance, affecting our well-being. For example, it doesn’t matter how much you are focusing on your nutrition if your emotions are getting on top of you, or how much you are exercising if you are not getting enough sleep. It is important to check in on all aspects of your well-being to support your overall health and live a happy and healthy life.
Physical
Taha tinana relates to our growth and development. It can often be quite clear that something needs to change if things in this dimension aren’t going well. Change one thing at a time with consistency!
This includes:
Movement
Conscious breathing
Strength
Flexibility
Confidence
Ways of caring for our body
Nutrition
Relaxation
Mental and emotional
Taha hinengaro is about how our mind connects to our heart, our consciousness and our thoughts and feelings. How we think, directly relates to the way we feel, communicate and act.
How we manage setbacks that are out of our control can usually be a good measure of this pillar.
This includes:
Communicating thoughts and feelings
Resilience
Enjoyment and fun
Problem-solving
Attention span
Decision making
Positive self-talk
Self-regulation
Spiritual
This pillar of our house is crucial. It’s who we are, what drives us and our sense of purpose of where we are going. It can be different for everyone - religion or internal connection - understanding your own values and beliefs.
This brings your identity and self-awareness. Knowing who we are and having a sense of purpose are both directly related to our overall happiness.
This includes:
Sense of purpose
Values
Goal setting
Appreciating nature
Gratitude
Connection to self, others and the world
Social
Research shows that social connectedness is just as important for our health as eating nutritionally and exercising. Taha Whānau is the health of our family. Family can mean different things to people - they can be the friends we choose ourselves.
This includes:
Social interaction
Sense of belonging
Kindness
Compassion
Helping others
Empathy
Contribution to community
Cultural value
Relationships
How can you find balance and support your well-being?
We provide adult and children workshops to support different dimensions of your hauora - check out our programmes and workshops here.(LINK)
If you are interested in learning more about hauora, here are some handy links:
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/populations/maori-health/maori-health-models/maori-health-models-te-whare-tapa-wha
https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/healthy-living/t/te-whare-tapa-wh%C4%81-and-wellbeing/
https://sparklers.org.nz/activities/fill-my-whare-tapa-wh%C4%81/
