Hearth and Soul NZ

The annual Napier Yoga Festival has been for 2026. There were beautiful moments and my highlight was a simple line.

'You really took me there.'

Leading a session involving chanting the Gayatri Mantra is something special. It was the second to last session on the last day; tired yogi and high energy colliding. Sitting directly in front of me was an Indian woman. She did not need the hand out with the words.
After talking about sound vibration and why we chant, I asked people to imagine their way down the winding streets of Rishikesh to the beloved Ganga River, passing the chai wallah boiling his brew. When we had chanted, we walked back past the chai wallah and into a little room in Napier.

'You really took me there,' she said with a voice laden with India. 'Now I need chai.'
We laughed that next year I would make some for the session. Her friend, who had arrived to join her the Yin session following, told me she makes the best chai. My heart was full.

I admit to utter nervous wreck levels of anxiety when I am on the front mat and the people that yoga belongs to are in the session. Her voice, the rhythm of her chant, was powerful and I found the point between our two ways to lead from. In the back of my mind, nerves jangled.

To take here there, home, to the banks of the sacred river, was such an honour. My chai is going to need to be epic for next year.

Spring is arriving in my garden, and the energy right now feels potent for nourishing our inner soil ready for planting - early nights, good food, and greeting the dawn.

This Wednesday night we're gathering Be Different Studio, Napier by Clare Babbage for the monthly cacao, tarot and yummy circle of curious minds. Come and fill your cup. Message me for the details.

I'm back to my usual classes Hello Sunshine Studio There's a new timetable arriving in October so I'll update you soon on the changes once that's announced. For September:
Monday
10am Slow Flow
5.30pm Power Flow
6.30pm Slow Flow
Tuesday
10am Slow Flow
11am Yin
Friday
9am Slow Flow
10am Yin
The September Yoga Soak is Sunday the 20th. Cacao, Yin, Slow Flow, a touch of Nidra and, Monty, of course. 3-5.30pm. Bookings on MindBody.

Soul Chats and massage spaces are available Wednesday at 3.30 and Friday at 1pm this week. Snaffle them up if you want some in person goodness.

Collective grief can catch us unawares and a couple of people have asked me what the big deal is; is the massive outpouring performative, or is it real? I think the depth of grief for Dolly Parton might be the most real some people have felt in a long time. I think that is both testament to her and a reflection of a period in time where we have, rightly, questioned what is real and what is performed. Here's my experience of grief as I sit here this morning with a very real ache in my heart:

This deep, gut deep knowing, that we have been witness to something that won't be seen again. A someone whose reach was so huge, so collective, and so beautiful that while the legacy lives on, and she made sure it would, the sparkle of her in the sky is nothing compared to her earth side presence.

I just watched a Tennessee raised, black, le***an talking about Dolly and the space she made for her by never leaving her roots. The books in her house were Imagination Library books. Her son has Imagination Library books. And when her family didn't make room for her being q***r, there was Dolly saying all of God's children and meaning it.

I remember 9 to 5 on the radio and really hearing the lyrics for the first time. The call for something different. And who hasn't belted out Jolene at all the different stages of life it makes sense. Then there's World on Fire if you need an anthem.

And there's her lessons in how to do wealth. We have some despicable examples of selfish, heartless, ethically desolate wealthy people. And then there is Dolly Parton. She appreciated her wealth and fame in a public, constant, beautiful way. She also gave and created and gave and created and kept on right up until the very end which was too soon in all our books, including hers. She wasn't finished.

We aren't finished. So as the grief settles in, I'm sitting this morning with a question Cyndi Lauper says she would ask herself: 'What would Dolly do?'

Someone asked about the other 'big lady' and here she is. These are huge wall hangings that hung in parts of the Palmy yoga studios, my first made during lockdown, and this one as the house hunt began in Napier. They are guardians of 'Ngahere', my little house tucked into a growing forest, who finally has a name.

This week is my last teaching the Tuesday night double Hello Sunshine Studio that means there's 9 ways to catch yoga with me this week...oooh...actually 11. I'm teaching at the Napier Yoga Festival Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday 4.45pm a yummy end of the day slow deep session.
Sunday 2.45pm a guided journey to a spot by the Ganga River and the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra.

It's also Full Moon on Friday a partial lunar eclipse. That means readings...a 20ish minute audio recorded personal reading dropped in your inbox of choice along with the general reading for the moon.

If you'd rather an in-person session, pop me through a message. There's a couple of spaces available and if you're traveling for the yoga festival, I can fit in around your schedule (and my classes) as the sanctuary at 'Ngahere' is only 5 minutes drive from the festival venue. Or you might need a massage after a day of yoga.

I hope you have a beautiful week. I hope you create moments to sit with the changing season, and be with the emerging blossom and the delicate sunshine.

Monty has a new fan club here in Napier. The kind that light up if he's in class. Who stop to scratch his head even when he's kind of ignoring them by napping. Who let him steal their bean bag. Who ask after him, and are definitely not so happy when he's not in class.

But what is he like to live with?

Right now he's snuggled in beside me on the couch. He cuddles, follows me from room to room, sits by the heater suggestively should it not be on. He also finds his favourite patches of sun - in Winter the front porch in the morning if I'm home, the back porch on 'his' couch. He takes his time out to be, Monty.

And as for w.a.l.k.s, no you can't mention that word without recognizing it is a contract with responsibilities and a time frame of immediate movement towards being ready. Monty is, most definitely, allowed to be a dog.
Sniffs.
Ball chasing.
Tug of war.
Treasure hunts.

Is he woo?
Okay, let's go there.
He will tell me when spirit is around.
He will question energy.
He will sit with people who need him on a level they might not be able to voice.
He is a beautifully sensitive soul who has travelled with me before.

And he chose.
Oh my goodness, he chose.
The first night, at 16 months old, he napped through 3 yoga classes.
He's on his third yoga teacher training.

And I am so, so blessed by his quirky, cute presence. ❤️🐾

I know it's easy to get caught up in constantly working on yourself, but sometimes that becomes avoiding living in all its glorious messiness and little joys.
What brings you joy?

There's nothing quite like the joy of a good massage. I have to shout out to my gorgeous neighbour Amber Rose whose facials are my delight because her face, neck and scalp massage...oh my!

There's a moment in a massage when the bracing stops, particularly if someone is used to it hurting. There is a melting and sometimes people brace back up - is it okay for it to feel nice? Absolutely! Your tension is releasing in your time, as you're ready rather than being forced to, and that can feel amazing. It's not that I'm not working deep, it's that I let your body decide how deep, slowly, sometimes lingering in a spot, sometimes leaving it a while and then returning. I was taught to stay, work it, go deeper. I was used to massage hurting. I'm glad I found another way.

There's a couple of spaces Friday afternoon if you feel like floating into your weekend.

Mmmm...the Sunday Soak is nearly here.

Hello Sunshine Studio for a luscious end to the weekend.
$45...make a nest and do some, all, or simply rest
Monty snuggles optional ❤️🐾

There's a theme in my work - restoring - and I've been working with it in my life lately; I know, a bit late to my own party. Restoring is a decision to stop looking, searching, seeking, outside ourselves, a constant upward momentum. It's taking what we already know and going inwards, finding the well of energy we've been depleting during those years of outward motion, and giving it a chance to replenish. It's nourishing our roots. Slow, gentle, deep; the work of putting together a life that supports us. It's the opposite direction to where we're taught to go-go-go, constantly moving upwards towards something. It can be uncomfortable, and sometimes we've crash landed there, deeply fatigued and needing the uncomfortable rest of encountering our stillness. It's beautiful, building life around it; a sacred well and deep rooted tree; a handmade life.

This week there's a beautiful new moon so if you'd like a new moon reading drop je a message do I can pop one in your inbox of choice.

Speaking of restoring Sunday sees the August Cacao and Yoga soak Hello Sunshine Studio This is from 3-5.30pm and all the yumminess from cacao to yoga nidra, yin to slow flow. There are generous doses of the singing bowls and, of course, Monty. Bookings for that on MindBody.

I'm up for my usual classes and a few extras this week - including Saturday 10am so check the Hello Sunshine Studio MindBody for more on that.

And I've got a Saturday session space available for a Soul Chat or massage, or maybe a combination of the two. 3.30pm so drop a message if you'd like to nab it. Otherwise I'm taking bookings for the week starting August 17.

Whether you're a comfy arm chair person or a floor dweller, the Sanctuary at Hearth and Soul has a space just perfect for Soul Chats. Monty might even drape himself over you if he decides you need snuggles.

Soul Chats can be with or without the tarot cards, can range from relationship to business 'stuff' to how to embrace your fabulous life. There's the option of cacao, a pot of chamomile, green or peppermint tea, and plenty of inspiration to head out the door with.

You can also put a package together, soaking in the vibes on the massage table after your Soul Chat. I've been deepening my massage practice lately, exploring techniques and getting more comfortable with my style. I love the moment someone reappears afterwards looking like they're emerging after a really good sleep.

Hearth and Soul feels like it's nestled into the rhythm of my life now. I've found the gentle groove where it belongs. The sun is streaming in and Monty has finished snuggling...blessed.