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Indigenous

Shake those hips and move your body to uplift the spirit

Maori Television is launching a new show called Ōranga Ngākau to amplify kaumātua issues and keep them fit using Zumba.

At 70 years old, Yvonne Te Wanahi Edwards says age should not be a barrier to stop exercising.  “I love helping the elderly stay active and it gives me so much joy to share my passion for exercise.”

Ōranga Ngākau came from her work during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Her inspiration and motivation were to help the elderly stay fit and active during a time when everyone had to stay home where many elderly were isolated from family members and unable to attend their usual social group activities.

“There are many problems facing older people today but the biggest I think is loneliness.  It’s important to give support and keep connected to our older whanau.”

Te Wanahi has been dancing Zumba for over 13 years and has seen many benefits contributing to better health, happiness and living a youthful life in her later years.

“The best thing about my classes is seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces, and the spirit of our elderly bubbling with life.”

Ōranga Ngākau is an exciting new lifestyle exercise series focused on health and wellbeing for kaumātua and goes to air this coming Monday.  Each episode has curated exercises with short-form content, giving older New Zealanders a platform to share their stories and issues.

“We need to take more care of our kaumātua who are mostly home alone and live in retirement homes. Most still have a lot of life in them - they just need some music and dancing in their lives to get them going again.”