Let’s be real: exams are around the corner, and as a working student doing my master’s and juggling everything in between, I know how quickly hauora can slip down the priority list. And when life gets this busy, it’s hard not to look to the endless wellness advice filling our feeds for an answer.
There’s an entire culture built around the pursuit of wellness. Right now, your algorithm is probably stacked with it: morning routines, fitness trends, iced matchas, supplements, cold plunges, skincare, protein goals and beautifully organised Sunday resets. Honestly, it’s nice to see looking after yourself become something worth talking about. But when every wellness trend comes with its own shopping list and an ironclad set of rules, feeling good can start to feel like another look you’re just expected to pull off.
Te reo Māori offers an entire universe of kupu that speak to being well: ora, hauora, waiora, mauri ora, and toiora, to name a few. They overlap, but each brings a different facet of wellbeing into focus. So, consider this a styling session for your hauora. We’re building a wellness wardrobe that actually fits you, with the right basics, layers and finishing touches built for every season life hurls your way. Because feeling good should look good on you, too.
Start with the Staples
Every wardrobe needs a staple or two to anchor everything else, and mauri ora is yours. It's that spark of life within you – feeling alive, energised and switched on to life. Maybe you feel it when you kanikani, sing or run. It could be when you create something, get outside or are surrounded by your friends. Maybe it’s when you're at the gym lifting something ridiculously heavy or enjoying the protein hit afterwards. It could even be when you're in the kitchen cooking for everyone you love. When exams take over, it’s easy to forget these things matter as much.
Self-care doesn’t always have to be a statement piece or catered to the ‘gram. Sometimes it’s an early night, a swim in the moana (that’s a cold plunge here in Ōtepoti), deep-cleaning your room, blasting your favourite waiata, a proper kai after a long day, or laughing around a table with people who recharge you. These are the pieces worth keeping in rotation.
Dress for the Season
Not every piece in your wardrobe needs to be worn every season, but every good fit responds to its surroundings. Waiora brings your relationship with the natural world into focus – especially when student life becomes a constant loop of lecture theatres, the library, your bedroom, and whatever screen is currently demanding your attention. Your brain might be thinking of the next thing on the list, but your body might just want to go outside. Ōtepoti isn't short of places to do this. Walk somewhere without headphones. Find the moana. Sit in the sun when it decides to make an appearance. Put your feet on the whenua and breathe in some of the fresh air. Sometimes, the best study break is simply getting out of the student bubble for a while. Think of it as dressing for the season you’re actually in, rather than the one you think you should be.
Accessorise Accordingly
Then come the finishing touches. Toiora is about the everyday choices and ways of living that support your health, so there’s room here for the wellness habits filling your feed. And during exam season, this is exactly what you need. Move your tinana. Eat something that makes you feel good. Enjoy a lush morning routine. Buy the yummy vanilla syrup matcha if it makes an ordinary day a little sweeter. Wellness does not have to reject modernity to embrace tradition; it’s about learning what restores you. Just be wary of the knockoffs: wellness habits that look good on someone else but don’t fit your life. Sometimes, the best thing for your hauora is discipline, and sometimes it is rest. It could be getting up and moving your body, or it could be giving yourself permission to stay still and not feel guilty about it.
The point isn’t to own every piece, but to know what works for you, and wear it well.
Find Your Feel-Good Fit
Wellness culture can sometimes look very individual: my routine, my goals, my body, my self-care. But that’s exactly where it falls short. Sometimes, other people restore us – through a shared kai, a good kōrero, calling home, or simply being around people we don’t have to perform for. Maybe that’s what te reo Māori offers in this wellness moment. So many kupu Māori relating to wellbeing point us back towards life – ora. Not perfection or perfect productivity. Not becoming the most optimised version of ourselves. But life with movement and rest. Purpose and play. Quiet days and very loud ones. Solitude and community.
Personal style is about what makes you feel good in your own skin, what you reach for without thinking, and what can stay on the hanger. Your hauora still matters when the semester gets messy, deadlines pile up and the finish line blurs. So, before you tear another trend off the rack, turn and do a quick fit check: does it actually make you feel good?
Look good, feel good.
