Push Fitness Integrates te reo Māori year-round through holistic wellbeing
Push Fitness is taking action to weave Te Reo Māori into everyday gym life, ensuring the language thrives well beyond Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.
Grounded in the holistic wellbeing model of Te Whare Tapa Whā, the fitness center encourages all community members Māori and Pākehā alike to embrace the language in an open, supportive space.
Co-owner Shaun Graham highlights the unique position gyms have in reaching everyday people.
"We just see it as a good way, well, I mean we have the ability to I guess interact with a lot of people and it’s good to probably reach people with the reo that might not usually use that, or might not usually be surrounded by it in those sort of environments," Graham said.
By grounding their practice in hauora, the connection between language and physical training feels natural.
"You know although, I only know a little bit but you just it’s about using what you do know I guess, and a big part of our gym is that it's based on the hauora, you know, Te Whare Tapa Wha and that and so we can easily sort of link our kupu into that," Graham explained.
Rather than limiting language efforts to a single week, Push Fitness displays Māori vocabulary on screens throughout the facility all year.
"I know it’s, people get probably excited ‘oh yup te wiki o Te Reo Māori lets go hard’. We’re trying to do it like guess more maintainable and just do it more year round rather than just it one week and then forget it, just by us doing the simple things putting the kupu up on the screen it’s there all year round," Graham added.
For gym ambassador Kristie Rei, bringing Te Reo Māori into fitness spaces enriches the experience for all participants.
"It just adds another dynamic to one participation in the gym and two because this is a hauora, tapa wha based kaupapa within push fitness it’s really important to reinforce that," Rei shared.
Rei noted that this inclusive approach fosters a sense of cultural connection and security.
"Yea it’s been really cool, for me personally a little bit of a sense of belonging, like I’m not fluent in Te Reo at all, I know a little bit of kupu, know a couple of phrases," Rei said.
Ultimately, seeing the language integrated into daily workouts has inspired deeper personal connection and growth.
"Having it reinforced within the week of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori has kind of peaked my not interest, but more of a wanting to learn a little bit more," Rei added.
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