Transformational Hā – Breathwork for Emotional Release & Clarity

Breathe to Feel – Somatic Breathwork for Clarity & Calm

Shift what’s stuck. Reconnect to yourself. Come back to calm.

Transformational Hā is a guided breathwork experience designed to support emotional release, clarity, and deep nervous system regulation. Using conscious connected breathing, we create a safe space for your body to soften, your mind to quiet, and your wairua (spirit) to be heard.

Whether you carry stress, past hurt, or simply feel “stuck” — this session helps you release emotional pressure that may be sitting just beneath the surface.

🌀 What Is Transformational Hā?

This is not just breathing. This is a powerful practice that taps into your body's natural ability to heal and regulate itself.

Led by Julia Wikeepa, each session is trauma-aware, culturally grounded, and held with deep care. Through a rhythm of connected breath & music, you'll be guided to:

  • Release built-up stress and emotion

  • Regulate your nervous system

  • Experience clarity, stillness, or emotional release

  • Reconnect to your wairua and inner knowing

Let the music guide you — a powerful blend of waiata Māori and contemporary sounds — as you journey inward.

🌬️ The Wairua (spirit) of Breathwork – Why This Practice Works

It’s incredibly rare that we spend 50–60 uninterrupted minutes simply breathing — with no distractions, no roles to play, and nothing to fix.

That presence is where the healing begins.

In te ao Māori, we speak of Te Kore — the vast nothingness, the space before creation. It is the void, the clean slate, the realm of pure potential. When we breathe with full awareness, we enter this same space — the space where we are not doing, but simply being.

From Te Kore, all life begins.
From this stillness, expansion and creativity are born.

As the body breathes, the heart opens.
You may feel waves of emotion — sadness, joy, grief, laughter, tears, or deep gratitude. You may receive insights, clarity, or a felt sense of connection. For some, discomfort or resistance may arise before the release. All of this is welcome. All of it is part of the process.

This is why Transformational Hā is so powerful — because it’s not just a technique.
It’s a return to Te Kore. A return to self.

🔬 The Science of Breathwork – What’s Happening in the Body

Transformational Hā breathwork guides the body through intentional cycles of activation and restoration. Using a connected, conscious breathing rhythm, we stimulate the nervous system, release stored tension, and support the body to return to a state of deep calm and clarity.

Here’s what’s happening in your body:

  • You’re building nervous system resilience.
    By intentionally activating the sympathetic nervous system (our alert state) through connected breath, then guiding the body back into the parasympathetic state (rest and repair), we train the nervous system to move between states with more ease — a vital skill for modern life.

  • Your oxygen–CO₂ balance is shifting.
    Continuous breath temporarily lowers carbon dioxide levels in the blood, which can shift blood pH and brainwave activity. This altered state of consciousness can bring powerful insights, emotional release, and a sense of expanded awareness.

  • You may experience emotional or somatic release.
    Breathwork activates interoceptive awareness — your internal sense of body and emotion — allowing you to access and release stress, emotion, or memories stored in the muscles, fascia, or nervous system. What the mind represses, the body remembers — and breath can help it move.

  • The vagus nerve is stimulated.
    Conscious breath — especially extended exhales — activates the vagus nerve, which promotes relaxation, digestion, and emotional regulation. This helps increase heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of nervous system health.

  • Circulation and lymphatic flow improve.
    Deep diaphragmatic breathing assists blood return to the heart and stimulates lymph movement, supporting the body’s natural detox and immune processes.

Think of this practice as a workout for your nervous system — energising, restorative, and emotionally liberating all at once.

🌿 What to Expect

  • A 2-hour group experience

  • Breathwork journey with music approx. 50–60 minutes

  • Intro with gentle grounding and safety practices to begin

  • Clear explanation of the breathing method

  • Guided transformational breathwork

  • Optional sharing, reflection, and integration to close

Every experience is unique — some feel calm, others release tears or tension, some receive answers, and many simply feel lighter. All responses are welcome.

❤️ Important Safety Information

Transformational breathwork can be physically and emotionally powerful. While deeply healing, it also moves the body between activation and rest — like a workout for your nervous system.

This practice is not recommended for people who are:

  • Pregnant

  • Living with serious or uncontrolled respiratory conditions (e.g. asthma, COPD)

  • Managing heart-related conditions (e.g. arrhythmia, history of heart attack)

  • Living with epilepsy or a history of seizures

  • Recovering from recent surgery or medical procedures

  • Experiencing unmanaged high blood pressure

  • Navigating significant trauma or PTSD (especially without professional support)

  • Have a family history of aneurysms

If you're unsure whether this practice is right for you, please reach out — we’re happy to kōrero and help guide you safely.

🧺 What to Bring

Please bring the following to help you feel safe, grounded, and comfortable:

  • A yoga mat or blanket to lie on

  • A warm blanket or extra layers (you may feel cold during breathwork)

  • A small pillow or cushion

  • A water bottle

  • A pen and journal or paper to reflect and write after the session

  • An open mind and willingness to breathe deeply

💸 Cost + Group Size

  • $300 per session includes:

  • Facilitation for 12 participants (maximum 15 if needed)

This session is ideal for:

  • Workplace teams seeking deeper connection and calm

  • Women’s/men's wellness circles and wāhine/tāne Māori kaupapa

  • Community wellbeing groups

  • Addiction recovery and trauma-aware environments

  • Retreats and holistic wānanga

📩 Booking & Contact Details

To book a session or find out more, get in touch via the contact form on this page or email:
📧info@hahabitnz.com

When enquiring, please include:

  • Who the session is for (e.g. workplace, group, kaupapa)

  • Approximate group size

  • Preferred location

If you don’t have a venue, I can arrange one for you — just note that an extra cost will apply.

I’m also happy to travel for bookings outside of Tauranga.
Mileage is charged at $1.04 per kilometre.

Let’s kōrero (talk) and co-create a deeply grounding and healing experience for your rōpū (group).