Te Whare Tapa Whā

What is Te Whare Tapa Whā ?

Te whare tapa whā is a model of the 4 dimensions of wellbeing developed by Sir Mason Durie in 1984 to provide a Māori perspective on health. The 4 dimensions are:

• taha tinana (physical wellbeing)
• taha hinengaro (mental wellbeing)
• taha wairua (spiritual wellbeing)
• taha whānau (family wellbeing)

We are going to develop a personal well-being plan using this model.

Taha Tinana (physical wellbeing)

Physical well-being is really important for every aspect of life. A healthy body leads to a healthy mind. To keep myself physically fit, I will focus on eating a healthy and nutrient rich diet. Also, I will try to workout atleast 3 times a week. A workout can be anything from a small 15 min run or a body weight exercise set.

Taha Hinengaro (mental wellbeing)

As mentioned before, physical well-being plays a major role in mental well-being of an individual. So, the number 1 thing anyone could do for their mental well-being is exercise. Additionally, meditation helps overcome lot of stress of day to day life. I would take atleast 15 mins every day for deep meditation.

Taha Wairua (spiritual wellbeing)

For me, spirituality means to be in harmony with my core-self. I think to achieve this goal, it would take a journey of a lifetime. It requires self analyzing every day where I am lagging behind and what can be done to self correct. Different meditation techniques and mindfulness practices can help in this. Also, I believe being true to your moral values is really important.

Taha Whānau (family wellbeing)

I consider myself as a family man. For me family is the most important thing of a person. To maintain my family well-being, I would try to spend more time on weekends with my family. I have a 18 months old baby girl. I would try to spend as much time as I can with her. Lately, I haven't been able to connect much with my friends who live overseas. I will try to be in their contact more often and give them call atleast once a month.