Amani

Peace begins with… Shayla @ Amani
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This Sunday, join our darling Shayla for Gentle Yoga: Sunday Sādhana — a gentle invitation to slow down, turn inward, and create a little more space for yourself. 🌿

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Shayla’s approach to yoga is grounded in Svādhyāya — self-enquiry: cultivating awareness, reflecting with curiosity, and noticing what brings us closer to living in alignment with our truest selves.

Her teaching is simply exquisite, reminding us that yoga is not about how a shape looks, or whether our practice resembles somebody else’s. Instead, we might ask: How does this feel in my body? What do I notice? What do I need today?

Through gentle seated and standing movement, nourishing stretches, floor-based shapes and moments of meditation and rest, Shayla offers space to explore both movement and stillness — without striving or comparison.

And perhaps, little by little, what we practise on the mat begins to accompany us beyond it: slowing down enough to listen, creating space before we react, meeting ourselves and others with greater awareness, and choosing how we wish to move through the world.

Gentle Yoga: Sunday Sādhana with Shayla this Sunday, 9.30AM at the Heretaunga Women’s Centre🤎

Book: https://amanibooking.as.me/gentle [link in bio]

🌿 THROWBACK TO JUNE | PLANTING PEACE 🌿

Back in June, something pretty special happened…

Our beautiful Amani whānau pulled on their gumboots, grabbed a spade, and joined Andrew and me to help plant 785 native trees on our whenua. 🌱💚

There was mud. There was laughter. There were tired bodies and dirty hands. And, little by little, there were hundreds of tiny trees finding their new home in the earth.

For us, this was about so much more than planting trees.

It was about restoration — returning native life to the land, creating future habitat for birds and insects, supporting biodiversity, and caring for this little piece of Papatūānuku that we have the privilege of tending.

And it was also a beautiful reminder of the kind of peace we speak about so often at Amani.

The peace that can be found when we step away from the noise and spend time outside. When our hands are in the soil. When we notice the birds, the wind, the changing light. When we work alongside one another without needing to rush.

There is something deeply grounding about remembering that we are not separate from nature — we are nature. 🌿

Those 785 trees have been quietly growing through the winter wind, rain, and frost. One day, we hope they’ll form a thriving pocket of native bush — long after the muddy gumboots and aching muscles of our planting party have been forgotten.

And knowing that our Amani community helped put those roots into the earth makes it even more special. 🥹

To our wonderful whānau who came and planted alongside us — thank you. For your time, your energy, your care, and for helping us leave this whenua a little more abundant than we found it.

Perhaps peace can look like this too:
people coming together, caring for the earth, and planting something they may never see fully grown. 🌱

With so much aroha and gratitude,

Paula & Ānaru 💚

Peace begins with…

the quiet beneath the noise,
the breath beneath the busy,
and the little moments that remind you
there is nowhere else you need to be.

Slow down. Soften. Breathe.

Let life meet you where you are.

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A pause for thought; a pause for peace.

The Slow Down — Yin Yoga with Zara 🌿 Zara 🌞 | Mindset & Movement

🌿 Every Tuesday
9.30–10.30am
Heretaunga Women’s Centre

$koha

All mats and props are provided.

Book your place today:
https://amanibooking.as.me/yin

🌿🙏🏾💛

PEACEFUL WARRIOR | Jane Goodall 🌿

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall

Our Zara has nominated the indomitable Dr. Jane Goodall, who for more than six decades, invited us to see the world differently — with curiosity, compassion, and a deeper recognition of our connection to all living beings.

Beginning with her groundbreaking observations of wild chimpanzees in Tanzania, Jane challenged long-held ideas about what separated humans from other animals. She documented chimpanzees making and using tools, while her patient, relational approach revealed their complex personalities, emotions, family bonds and social lives.

But her legacy reached far beyond science. As an environmentalist, humanitarian and tireless advocate, she showed us that the wellbeing of humans, animals and the Earth are inseparable.

Jane spoke often of hope — not as passive optimism or simply believing that things would somehow get better, but as something we actively create. Her hope was grounded in action: in restoring damaged ecosystems, protecting animals and their habitats, empowering young people to become changemakers, and encouraging each of us to recognise the impact of our everyday choices. Through initiatives such as Roots & Shoots, she placed particular faith in younger generations, reminding them that their voices and actions mattered. Even in the face of climate change, biodiversity loss and immense environmental destruction, Jane continued to insist that giving up was not an option. For her, hope lived in the decision to care enough to act — again and again, together. 🌿🕊️

Jane’s life embodied a beautiful kind of peaceful resistance: gentle, persistent and profoundly powerful. She reminded us that peace is not only something we seek between people, but something we practise in our relationship with all beings and the natural world.

And while her voice may now be gone, her invitation surely remains: What kind of difference will you choose to make? 🌍🕊️🌿

Peace begins with… Susy @ Amani
✨

This weekend, we have the pleasure of being guided by our gorgeous Susy, at Gentle Yoga: Sunday Sādhana. 🩷

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For Susy, yoga is a practice of connection — to self, to others, and to the natural world.

Her teaching honours the roots of yoga while creating space for individuality, autonomy and exploration. Through āsana, prāṇāyāma and meditation, Susy invites each person to listen inwardly, cultivating their own sense of strength, stillness and calm.

But for Susy, yoga doesn’t end when we roll up our mats.

Guided by the Eight Limbs of Yoga, she carries its teachings into everyday life — particularly ahimsa, the practice of non-violence. Compassion, truthfulness, contentment and self-study become ways of meeting herself, others and the world with greater awareness and kindness.

There is something very Amani about Susy’s understanding of practice: that the peace we cultivate within ourselves can ripple outward into how we live, relate and move through the world.

We’re so grateful to have Susy sharing her practice, presence and wisdom with our Amani community.

Join her at the Heretaunga Women’s Centre, 9.30-10.30AM.

Book: https://amanibooking.as.me/gentle [link in bio]


🖤🤍🤎🌈♾️

PEACEFUL WARRIOR 🕊️ | Eliza Hatch

For our first Peaceful Warrior, Amani teacher Susy has chosen British photographer and activist Eliza Hatch, founder of Cheer Up Luv — a platform challenging gender-based violence, misogyny and harassment through photography and storytelling.

The project began after a stranger told Eliza to “cheer up” in the street. When she spoke about the experience, she began questioning why behaviour that makes women feel uncomfortable or unsafe is so often dismissed as harmless.

So, in 2017, she picked up her camera.

Through Cheer Up Luv, Eliza photographs people in the public places where they have experienced harassment, giving them space to tell their stories and, symbolically, reclaim that space.

What began as a photography project has since grown into an international platform for activism, education and conversation.

And this is where Eliza’s work speaks so beautifully to our exploration of peace.

Because peace does not mean remaining quiet.

It does not mean accepting harm to avoid conflict.

Sometimes peace asks us to speak, listen, challenge and disrupt.

To believe people when they tell us they have been harmed.
To question what we have been taught to accept as normal.
To create communities where everyone can move through the world with dignity, freedom and safety.

Eliza reminds us that activism doesn’t always begin with a grand gesture.

Sometimes it begins with noticing something that isn’t right — and deciding not to look away.

A camera can become protest.
A story can reclaim power.
Listening can become solidarity.

And making space for another person’s voice can itself become an act of peace.

Thank you Susy, for introducing us to your Peaceful Warrior. 🕊️

May we imagine peace not simply as the absence of violence, but as the presence of safety, dignity, justice and freedom — for all.

What do we mean when we speak of peace? 🕊️

At Amani, peace is at the heart of our name — but we believe that it is more than the absence of war.
More than quiet.
More than harmony when all around us is already harmonious.

Often, peace is protest.

It is the courage to stand against violence, injustice and oppression while refusing to reproduce them ourselves. It is choosing compassion without complacency. It is recognising that there can be no meaningful peace while others are denied safety, dignity, freedom or belonging.

In the yogic tradition, we find this expressed through Ahimsa — often translated as non-violence or non-harming. Ahimsa asks us to consider not only our actions, but our words, our thoughts, our relationships, and the way we move through the world.

It asks us to widen our care.

Peace for one another.
Peace across cultures and borders.
Peace for the earth and all living beings.

And this mahi begins somewhere very close to home.

Within.

When we learn to meet ourselves with greater compassion, to listen inwardly, to soften the battles we carry inside ourselves, we create another possibility for how we meet the world.

Inner peace and collective peace are not separate conversations.

They belong to one another.

And peace does not mean that we never become angry, speak loudly, challenge injustice or disrupt. Throughout history, some of our greatest advocates for peace have been extraordinarily courageous agitators for change.

Peace can have a backbone.
Peace can resist.
Peace can be revolutionary.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing the stories of our favourite Peaceful Warriors — historical and contemporary people whose courage, wisdom, activism, spirituality and humanity have helped advance movements for peace, justice and non-violence.

Some names may be familiar. Others, less so. Their approaches will not all look the same — because peace has never had only one voice.

We hope their stories invite reflection, conversation, and a little inspiration for our own lives.

Because peace is not simply something we wish for.
It is something we practise.

For ourselves.
For each other.
For all beings.

Together. 🕊️

Peace begins with… Savannah @ Amani
✨

This weekend, Amani’s koha Sunday session, Gentle Yoga: Sunday Sādhana Heretaunga Women's Centre is hosted by our darling Savannah. 🌺

Savannah’s teaching is slow, intentional and deeply grounding, drawing on the foundations of Hatha Yoga while gently weaving in spiritual wisdom and practices from different cultures and traditions. Through mindful movement, breath, stillness and reflection, she creates space to soften, turn inward and become curious about what is arising within.

At the heart of Savannah’s teaching is a belief that the way we meet ourselves on the mat can shape the way we meet life beyond it. By slowing down and learning to listen inwardly — to the body, breath and quieter parts of ourselves — we cultivate a deeper connection to our own inner wisdom.

And as she beautifully shares, “When I listen inward on my mat, it helps me to listen with my heart when I step off it.” Her classes are an invitation to practise with presence and intention, nurturing a sense of connection that can be carried from the mat and into the world…

Book: https://amanibooking.as.me/gentle [link in bio]


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Peace begins with… Paula @ Amani
✨

Sunday REST with Paula 💛

Sunday REST Keirunga Gardens carries a simple invitation: slow down, soften, and hold yourself with deep compassion.

Together, we begin with the unhurried peacefulness of a restorative practice, exploring each shape with curiosity as we sense, reflect, and respond to the body’s needs. From there, we settle into the meditative practice of Yoga Nidra, resting deeply as we reconnect with our true nature and an inner sense of peace.

Wrapped warmly in blankets and supported by props, you’ll be invited to release effort, soothe the nervous system, and simply receive. Our wish is that you leave feeling grounded, peaceful, replenished, restored, and ready to meet the week ahead.

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Paula’s teaching is rooted in compassion, curiosity, and deep listening. Through her invitational approach, she encourages exploration through the senses, empowering each participant to trust their own experience and honour the wisdom of their body. Rather than striving for a particular shape, you’ll be supported to sense, feel, and choose what is right for you in each moment. Her classes cultivate a welcoming, inclusive space where every body is valued, and where peace, rest, connection, and self-discovery can naturally unfold.

Book: https://amanibooking.as.me/rest [link in bio]




🖤🤍🤎🌈♾️

Peace begins with… Ariane @ Amani
✨

Gentle Yoga: Sunday Sādhana with Ariane 💚 Heretaunga Women's Centre

Our Ariane’s teaching is guided by intuition, holistic principles, and mindful contemplation, creating space to reconnect with yourself and cultivate meaningful connection with others. She shares a gentle, heart-centred practice that invites you to slow down, listen deeply, and move with intention. Through gentle movement, conscious breath, and moments of stillness, this Sunday Sādhana offers an opportunity to restore balance and return to your true nature.

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At Amani, we believe yoga is for everyone. That’s why our community classes are offered for koha, making it easier for all wāhine to access practices that nurture wellbeing and connection.

Our Sunday sessions are hosted by a different member of the Amani whānau each week, so be sure to catch us all - we can’t wait to yoga with you!

Whether you’re seeking gentle movement, a moment to breathe, or a place to simply be, you’ll be welcomed into our supportive and inclusive community.

Book: https://amanibooking.as.me/gentle [link in bio]





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