Heartspace

15/09/2026

2 spaces have become available for tomorrow at Keirunga, Wedesday, 5.30-7 pm. $20 pp. You can book on below link.

https://heartspace.nz/product/casual-ticket-for-wednesday-yoga-at-keirunga/

13/09/2026

11/09/2026

While I was resting in my acupuncture session yesterday with I noticed that my thumb and middle finger on my left hand naturally met. I explored with curiousity how it felt to move the fingers apart. It needed effort to move them apart, so I just let them be. It felt like almost a magnetic attraction of the 2 finger tips. Meanwhile my right hand was fully relaxed. I tried how would feel to also move the thumb and middle finger together on the right hand and it felt like real effort to move them together, almost like the opposite of the my left hand.

When I was recently guiding a Mantra / Mudra practice in my yoga classes I noticed how the practice wasn't landing in my hands / fingers. It felt strained and and my fingers almost felt uncomfortable from the effort of repetition. I have other times where I do this practice without noticing. The fingers meeting one after the other.

I feel like the awareness of my body and energy and natural tendencies of what is needed when, is becoming more natural and in tune the older I get and I am so grateful that. I feel really at home in body and I am able to feel energy. When it draws me in when it moves me away, when it feels warm or cold, buzzy or depleated, good or yucky, when it flows or when its stagnant.

If you are familar with Mudras in your yoga pracice it makes sense that certain fingers might be attracted to eachother at certain times. I have noticed this is a lot in the past few months, that certain fingers want to meet naturally and I just follow my intution and go with the flow.

When thumb and middle finger meet, its called Shuni Mudra or the "seal of patience" or the Mudra of intuition.

There are different theories where certain fingers are associated with certain planets or elements. We also have a lot of nerve endings in our hands and fingers and some energy meridians end in the hands / fingers. Also the hands and fingers are often used in energy healing practices like Reiki. I use my hands a lot in Reiki to transmit energy, so I am wondering if my hands have become more senstive to energy.

Has anybody else noticed this or am I just weird?

04/09/2026

Fully booked Nourish session today at the The Yoga Space Hastings.

After around 7 or 8 years of guiding this 2 hour session with slight variations its still one of my favorites.

Guiding people into deep rest just feels right in this fast paced world. Tuning into our bodies, needs, feelings, being gentle and slow on purpose, creating some space and time for ouselves to just be is so essential to keep our own cups full.

Stay tuned for more of this.

So grateful to be able to hold space for people to come back home to themselves.

01/09/2026

Heartspace News September 2026 - https://mailchi.mp/c9e7e1b050bb/heartspace-newsletter-december2023-20684068

01/09/2026

2 spaces have become available at Keirunga in Havelock. Wednesday, 5.30-7 pm $20 pp

https://heartspace.nz/product/casual-ticket-for-wednesday-yoga-at-keirunga/

31/08/2026

Yoga Bliss...

Thank you to the team for organising us all to come together to learn, practice, connect and be inspired at the Napier Yoga Festival. Its such a big job to put on an event like this.

On day 1 I usually fill my own cup and so grateful for all the beautiful spaceholders for being brave enough to share their gift. I attended a slow flow, a menopause class, a breathwork class by our local Helle, a mindfulness and Irest Yoga Nidra, a Hypnosis and Reiki, a Yin Yoga & Nidra and rounded everything off with Somatic Dance by the local AbunDance crew.

On day 2 I usually guide one of the first classes. I am so grateful for all the people that came and trusted me to hold space for them. We had some beautiful circle connection time, which has become a bit of a tradition over the years, some dynamic movement, some slow movement, some sound healing and even a dance! Thank you for being there. And thank you to the local support crew for all the hugs and encouragement beforehand, because after 20 years of my own practice, 12 years of guiding sessions and 4 or 5 years at the festival my body apparently still doesn't know its safe for me to be on that stage! I always have a sleepless night beforehand and develop a good bout of anxiety. Special thanks to my helper Angeline who supported me this year and snapped these pics, because I have managed to take exactly 0 pictures all weekend. You will never see me posting pictures of people at my classes and retreats, but I make one exception every year at festival time.

Day 2 had so many fabulous facilitators again. I managed a moon salutation, some more breathwork, a beautiful Slow Flow by Bridget, and Kirtan with the Hawke's Bay Kirtan Collective.

I highly recommend to give the festival a go if you haven't been yet.

And I highly recommend to support your local spaceholders in person. I do appreciate the convenience of online events some times, but nothing is as good as real in person connection and practicing with people together to amplify the benefits the practice and to cultivate that sense of human connection.

Thank you and maybe see you again next year.

26/08/2026

A simple question to ask when you do things: How does this make me feel?

To me that is often what matters most these days. I don't need to fully understand things intellectually, scientifically, extensively.

My yoga practice, my art, my walks, when I rest, my writing leave me feel good. Thats sufficient evidence for me these days. My innate knowing that something feels good to me in this moment is enough. If something really interests me I read, research, study, but feeling into it first.

Everytime I step on my yoga mat to practice or guide I feel better afterwards.

I am so grateful for that.

In todays class I introduced a mantra / mudra practice and I realised that I look more towards how certain practices make me feel rather that remembering what sound means what and what finger represents what. Its good to know, but its more important to me how it feels when I do it and how my students feel when they do it.

I apply similar principals to my movement practice. What feels good right now, what is my body asking for, what do I need in this moment?

Captured this little lightbeam before class today in a moment of stillness.

26/08/2026

The 2026 Hawke’s Bay Yoga Festival is nearly here. We are looking forward to sharing a weekend of yoga, wellness & rejuvenation with you. Here is some housekeeping before the event.

Festivities will take place
Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th August.
Napier Conferences & Events Centre
48 Marine Parade, Hawke’s Bay
The event is an indoor all-weather festival.

Please remember to bring
• Your ticket (printed or mobile)
• Your yoga mat, bolster, strap & block. Plus a towel or blanket you can use to keep warm or roll up as a bolster if you don’t have one.
• Wear layers to adapt to your practice and stay warm
• A water bottle to stay hydrated.

Registration
• Save time and register early on Friday afternoon 3:30pm-5pm.
• Regular registration opens 8am Saturday.
• You can register at any time throughout the festival.
• Registration on the first morning can be busy we appreciate your patience.
• You can save time by downloading, printing and filling out the event waiver here (otherwise, we will have waivers for you on the day).

Classes: Queues will be open 20 mins prior to the class start. There is no other form of class registration, we have found this to be the best way of dealing with the changing requirements of participants as each day unfolds. At the end of each class we may empty the space first before letting the next class in. This is to prioritise the participants who have queued outside.

We’ve had an amazing response to the festival, and classes. We expect the festival to be well attended especially on Saturday morning. We encourage you to explore and enjoy all six spaces, each offering sessions throughout whole weekend.

To make the most of your experience, it’s a good idea to have a backup class in mind in case your first choice is full or already in progress. Please note that once a class has started, late entry is not permitted. We also ask that you stay for the full session to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted experience for both the instructor and fellow participants.
Thank you for your understanding! You can see the full program here.
On the day timetables will be on the wall of each space.