Events + workshops
Deepen your practice and connect with others through our events + workshops. These immersive sessions are crafted to inspire growth, mindfulness, and a sense of community.
Embodied Integration
For ACC Sensitive Claims clients
with Tash + Lisa
Tuesday, 21 April – 16 June | 9:30AM – 11:00am
Trauma-Informed Yoga creates a safe space to reconnect with your body and regulate your nervous system. It supports grounding, ease, and resilience helping you move beyond tension, hyper-alertness, or numbness.
We offer warm-hearted and inclusive Trauma-Informed Yoga (TIY) classes. The classes are gently paced throughout the 8 weeks, so new tools and strategies can be introduced in class and practiced in participants’ everyday lives.
You can expect:
- simple movements guided by the facilitator with ongoing invitations to choose, notice, and explore.
- time for rest and integration, supported by grounding cues.
- an optional space after class for quiet reflection, tea, journaling, or connecting.
This program is for women aged 18+ with an approved ACC SCS claim and a current ACC registered therapist.
Participants can enrol by contacting the organisers or discussing it with their ACC registered therapist.
Participants should be able to engage in a small group setting and benefit from supportive structure and choice-based practices.
No prior yoga experience is required to join this group.
About the facilitators:
Tash Coneybeer – Yoga Facilitator
Tash is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 200), specialising in Yin Yoga, Vinyāsa and Yoga Nidra. Teaching at Yogabee in Whanganui, Tash offers classes, workshops, and events that blend mindful movement, stillness, and breathwork with an emphasis on accessibility and holistic wellbeing.
Trained in trauma informed and mental health aware practices, Tash is passionate about creating safe, inclusive spaces where students can reconnect with themselves at their own pace. Her approach prioritises choice, presence and self-compassion, guiding individuals and groups in cultivating resilience, balance and ease.
In addition to teaching in her community studio, Tash is also a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider® (YACEP®), qualified to support yoga teachers in their ongoing education and growth.
Lisa Chaplow – Counsellor and Certified Hakomi Somatic Therapist
Lisa is a Counsellor, Certified Hakomi Therapist and Teacher working in Whanganui. Lisa’s work is grounded in compassion, collaboration, and embodied healing. She integrates Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy with EMDR and other counselling modalities. Her specialties include addressing developmental and sexual trauma, with a strong emphasis on somatic, relational, and mindful methods to support healing and growth.
Lisa is an experienced group facilitator, having facilitated groups locally at Jigsaw Whanganui, Family Works, and on the Aotearoa Hakomi Professional Training.
For more information please reach out:
Tash: [email protected]
Lisa: [email protected]
Grounded Awareness
For ACC Sensitive Claims clients
with Tash + Nathan
Friday, 21 April – 16 June | 9:30AM – 11:00am
Trauma Informed Yoga provides a safe space to reconnect with your body, support your nervous system, and build calm, grounding, and resilience. Gentle, choice-based practices help release tension, reduce hyper-alertness, and reconnect you with your body.
We offer warm, inclusive Trauma-Informed Yoga (TIY) classes designed to support safety, choice and gentle reconnection with the body. Over the 8-week program, sessions are slowly and thoughtfully paced, allowing new tools to be introduced, explored and integrated into everyday life.
In these sessions, you can expect:
- Simple, accessible movements guided with invitational language, supporting personal choice, awareness and curiosity.
- Time for rest and integration, with grounding and supportive cues.
- An optional space after class to settle and reflect with tea, journaling or quiet connection.
This program is open to all genders aged 18+ with an approved ACC Sensitive Claim and a current ACC-registered therapist. Participants can enrol by contacting the organisers or discussing it with their ACC-registered therapist.
The group is suitable for anyone able to engage in a small group setting and benefit from supportive, choice-based practices.
No prior yoga experience is required.
About the facilitators:
Tash Coneybeer – Yoga Facilitator
Tash is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 200), specialising in Yin Yoga, Vinyāsa and Yoga Nidra. Teaching at Yogabee in Whanganui, Tash offers classes, workshops, and events that blend mindful movement, stillness, and breathwork with an emphasis on accessibility and holistic wellbeing.
Trained in trauma informed and mental health aware practices, Tash is passionate about creating safe, inclusive spaces where students can reconnect with themselves at their own pace. Her approach prioritises choice, presence and self-compassion, guiding individuals and groups in cultivating resilience, balance and ease.
In addition to teaching in her community studio, Tash is also a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider® (YACEP®), qualified to support yoga teachers in their ongoing education and growth.
Nathan Williams – Tauwhiro | Registered Social Worker
Nathan is a Registered Social Worker and trauma-informed therapist based in Whanganui. He works primarily with adults, supporting people who have experienced trauma, grief, and complex mental health challenges.
Nathan brings extensive experience from community mental health, rehabilitation settings, and trauma-focused therapy. His work is grounded in safety, nervous system awareness, and supporting people to reconnect with themselves at a pace that feels respectful, empowering, and choice-led.
Drawing on approaches such as EMDR, DBT, ACT, and somatic-informed trauma therapy, Nathan is passionate about integrating psychological understanding with embodied practices. He values collaboration and works alongside facilitators to create spaces where participants can build regulation, presence, and self-trust.
For more information please reach out:
Tash: [email protected]
Nathan: [email protected]
Theme: Your Voice Animal Totem
Enter a meditative, altered state through rhythmic drumming, voice, and sacred sound. Guided in a safe and intentional space, you’ll journey inward to access insight, clarity, and deeper connection.
Either seated or laying down, the experience will be supported by chants, rattle, and drum, transformation unfolds naturally.
A ceremonial dose of cacao is offered to gently open the heart and enhance receptivity*
*optional
Helpful to Know:
Some shade is provided by large trees for those who prefer to stay out of the sun.
BYO yoga mat, beach towel, or simply freestyle and enjoy connecting with the earth.
We recommend bringing layers, a hat, and sunscreen.
Look for the YOGA flags to find us at Pākaitore on Taupō Quay/Bates Street (formerly Moutoa Gardens).
Koha donations are appreciated and can be placed in the koha box onsite.
This series is brought to you by a collective of Whanganui Yoga Teachers who share yoga with the local community.
Class Schedule (subject to change):
26 Dec – Simone Grant
27 Dec – Emma Dickinson
28 Dec – Kathy Greensides
29 Dec – Radha Iveta
30 Dec – Martin Nagle
31 Dec – Kathy Greensides
1 Jan – Martin Nagle
2 Jan – Radha Iveta
3 Jan – Angelina Horne
4 Jan – Tash Coneybeer
Classes are weather dependent — if it’s raining, classes will be held at an alternative location.
A comment will be posted on the Facebook page by 9:00am to advise of any change.
Please Note:
All classes are open-level. Please listen to your own body and practice within your limits.
Teachers don’t take responsibility for any injury or illness that may occur as a result of participation. If you have any concerns, check with your health professional before attending.
Location:
Pākaitore — our tūrangawaewae, a gathering place for all to remember, acknowledge, celebrate, and enjoy.
An experiential and phenomenological learning process that reveals the hidden dynamics shaping our lives and relationships.
Through guided group exercises, personal constellation sessions, and integration time, you’ll uncover unseen patterns, release entanglements, and reconnect with your natural flow and strength.
Ideal for those comfortable with self-enquiry, somatic work, and being present with strong sensations or emotions.
Come with curiosity and willingness — leave with greater clarity, lightness, and freedom.
Community Kirtan + Cacao feat. Special Guests
with Radha, Yee Ley & Rob + Adhyatma and Anna from the Wellington Kirtan Collective
Saturday, 22 November | 4PM – 6PM
Kirtan is an invitation to drop into the Heart and let it express itself through sound.
You don’t need any prior experience or singing ability—this is not about performance. It’s about experience—allowing the power of mantra chanting and the Yoga of Sound to bring you into inner peace, a state of meditative absorption and an experience of heart-felt joy that springs from within.
~ MANTRA ~
Our practice will begin with the meditative practice of repeating a mantra 108 times which helps calm the mind and connect one to a deeper sense of presence. With each repetition, the mantra becomes an anchor, drawing the awareness inward and inviting a sense of peace and clarity.
The mantra will be chosen to attune us to the energy of Spring Equinox.
~ KIRTAN ~
Kirtan is an invitation to drop into the Heart and let it express itself through sound. You don’t need any prior experience or singing ability—this is not about performance. It’s about experience: allowing the power of mantra chanting and the Yoga of Sound to bring you into inner peace, a state of meditative absorption and an experience of heart-felt joy that springs from within.
The experience is simple and profound: the kirtan leader sings a mantra, and the group responds, singing it back. A single chant may continue for ten or even twenty minutes, drawing us into deeper presence through repetition.
As we chant together, a sense of unity, love, and inner stillness emerges.
Kirtan is a universal, non-denominational practice – the song of the Soul.
~ CACAO ~
We will share a cup of ceremonial cacao as a heart-opening ally to deepen our meditation and chanting.
This cacao comes from Amma Cacao in India and will be offered as a gentle potentiator—nourishing the body and softening the heart into presence.
Who Can Join?
Everyone is welcome—any age, background, belief, or experience.This is a warm and open community gathering.
What to Bring:
If you play an instrument and would like to join in the music, we’d love that! Please arrive 15 minutes early to tune in and connect.
Contribution:
Pay what you can ~ suggested minimum contribution: $15 for kirtan and cacao
Tune in 〰️ Cacao, Restorative Yoga + Sound Journey
A special collaboration with Radha + award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Phill Jones
Sunday, 30 November | 3PM – 5PM
Join us for a nourishing afternoon of self-care and deep relaxation.
We’ll journey with a cup of ceremonial cacao, melt into restful yoga postures, and be carried by the sounds of live acoustic music from award-winning musician and multi-instrumentalist Phill Jones.
~ Ceremonial Cacao ~
Cacao has been honoured since ancient Mayan times as a sacred plant of the heart known to awaken feelings of love, joy, and connection. Rich in nutrients and natural mood enhancers, ceremonial cacao supports both body and mind: it increases blood flow to the heart and brain, uplifts mood, and fosters clarity and presence.
When shared with intention, cacao becomes a beautiful ally for meditation and emotional healing, helping us to soften, open, and reconnect with what truly matters.
~ Restorative Yoga ~
Restorative yoga is the art of deep rest through gentle, supported postures that invite the body to release tension and the mind to grow quiet. With the help of props, the body is held in comfort, allowing the nervous system to settle and the inner landscape to open.
This practice is a balm for our busy lives: soothing, grounding, and deeply nourishing.
~ Meditative Live Music ~
Since ancient times, music has been one of humanity’s most natural medicines, a way to soothe and to connect. It speaks directly to the heart, bypassing words and touching something deep within.
During this session, the space will be bathed in live acoustic sounds by professional musician and award-winning composer Phill Jones, who will weave a rich tapestry of instruments from around the world.
This sound journey is an invitation to listen with your whole being and to feel how every note arises from silence and dissolves back into it. As Eckhart Tolle writes, “Every sound comes out of the silence and quickly disappears back into the silence.”Music, in this way, becomes a pathway into stillness and presence, a meditation and a true nourishment for the soul.
~ What to Bring ~
Wear warm, loose clothing. All props will be provided.
Avoid eating in the two hours before coming and drink plenty of water before and after.