HineHau Short Film is Out: Inside the Breathwork Modality Being Born in Aotearoa

There is a moment, somewhere between the inhale and the exhale, when something older than memory stirs. For generations, the hā has moved through the people of Aotearoa as a taonga, a living thread connecting the present to the ancestral. Yet until now, no breathwork modality existed that was truly built from this land.

A newly released short film was made by Holly Beckham and Arpege Taratoa-Rangikura, who joined us during seven-day immersion at Lake Ōkataina in February 2026.

A Modality Born From This Land

In the global sphere of breathwork, many modalities exist. But HineHau founder Shannon Rose noticed something that nobody had yet addressed: none of them were rooted in Aotearoa.

None of them were built from this land, centred in te reo Māori, Māori cosmology, and an ancestral understanding of breath as a pathway to healing.

"In the global sphere of breathwork there are many modalities that are available, but in Aotearoa there are none," Shannon says. "This is why I am creating HineHau, so that it is relevant to the whānau and to the people that we share it with."

The 200-hour Breathwork Practitioners Training, globally accredited by IPHM, weaves mātauranga Māori with modern nervous system science, working across tinana, hinengaro, wairua and whānau. It is not just a certification. It is a kaupapa with deep roots and a long vision.

Remembering What Was Always There

For Rotorua-based practitioner in training Te Kirikāhu Kristin Ross, Ngā Kahu, Ngā Tara, the teachings felt less like learning and more like remembering. She was drawn to HineHau because its curriculum is centred in te reo Māori and Māori cosmology, aligned with her own values and whakapapa.

"I am here to learn and remember that connection to my breath gifted to me by the Atua," she says. "And how I can really embody what that relationship is in all aspects of my life, for ōranga."

She is now weaving breathwork into her coaching and community work with Māori wāhine leaders, carrying the practice into the spaces that need it most.

When Breath Becomes Leadership

HineHau trainer Rebecca Jennings, Ngāti Hāmoa, Ngāti Airini, Ngāti Kōtirana, first experienced breathwork at a ceremony with Shannon eight years ago. What followed was a quiet, steady transformation: from a high-stress career in film, to holding space for others as a facilitator and co-trainer.

"The more I was able to hold other people through their pain, and through their evolution, and see myself in them, and them see themselves in me -  that gave me a courage to step forward into a leader," she says.

Her story is not unusual at HineHau. It is the intention.

Two Best Friends, One Calling

Whangarei reiki healer and mother of two Holly Brooks had her first breathwork journey and knew immediately she needed to learn how to hold that space for others.

"As soon as I woke up from it I thought: 'Oh my gosh, I need to learn that to be able to help other people,'" she says.

She found HineHau online, felt the alignment, and enrolled alongside her best friend Holly Beckham. First they joined the two-day BreathWav Fundamentals wānanga in Auckland, then the full seven-day immersion and the 200-hour practitioner training. As two best friends trained side by side, they facilitated their individual healing and also deepened the friendship. 

Holly Beckham also directed HineHau short film, bringing years of experience in Aotearoa's documentary scene to capture the essence of what HineHau is about. It was co-produced with Arpege Taratoa-Rangikura, podcast producer and somatic guide.

The Vision: Wāhine Who Lead

Shannon's hope reaches far beyond the training room.

"We need more wāhine to be stewarding and supporting people through their healing process," she says. "To train wāhine that can go and lead this work into their hapori (community). My hope is that this work can facilitate that reconnection, and to be practitioners that come with integrity, that come with grace and natural ability to support others' healing."

Watch the short film above, and share it with a wāhine who needs to hear it.

We only have a few spots remain for the September 2026 Practitioners Training intake. Enrolments by application only. 

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