Michelle Van Schadewijk used rongoā Māori to heal from an ankle injury.
Michelle Van Schadewijk used rongoā Māori to heal from an ankle injury.
When Rotorua woman Michelle Van Schadewijk started using rongoā Māori for an ankle injury, she says it “snowballed into a whole lot of self-care”.
As well as easing the pain in her ankle, the 45-year-old says the traditional Māori healing method helped her change her diet and return to the gym. She also says she no longer takes medication and feels “calmer”.
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) started offering rongoā Māori as a recovery option in 2020 and says claims almost doubled in the past year, with more than a third of clients non-Māori, like van Schadewijk.
ACC will host the inaugural Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) Rongoā Māori conference at Rotorua’s Energy Event Centre on Wednesday and Thursday.
Rotorua's Energy Events Centre. Photo / Andrew Warner
The conference aims to bring together rongoā Māori practitioners and health providers within the rongoā community to whakawhanaunga [build relationships] and grow understanding of rongoā Māori and its place in Aotearoa’s health sector, an ACC media release said.
Rongoā Māori is traditional Māori healing and includes mirimiri [massage] and romiromi [bodywork], whitiwhiti kōrero [support and advice] and karakia [prayer].
The ‘biggest promoter’ of rongoā Māori
Van Schadewijk told the Rotorua Daily Post she had a fall earlier this year. She was experiencing constant pain in her ankle and not walking on her foot properly.
She initially had acupuncture - which was “just as good” - but decided to try rongoā Māori “for something different”.
After finding out it was covered by ACC, Van Schadewijk started having sessions with Rongoā Māori practitioner Tuihana Riri, who works at BodyFix Rotorua.
“She was just totally in tune with what my energy was like, where my pains were ...
“It kind of tied in really with your holistic self ... your whole body, your thinking, your physical, your aches and pains.”
Van Schadewijk has done six sessions so far and has noticed “quite a few changes” including what she was eating, her health, and things she may have suffered from previously that had nothing to do with her ankle.
“It kind of snowballed into a whole lot of self-care really.
Michelle Van Schadewijk used rongoā Māori for an ankle injury.
“I used to take medication … because I was just a bit low. And now since I’ve been to Tui, I haven’t been on it.”
Van Schadewijk said she was the “biggest promoter” of rongoā Māori.
“There’s no Māori blood in my veins but it’s definitely the mirimiri and the Māori side of it that really helped me to connect to my own knowing self.”
A ‘heartwarming’ resurgence of rongoā Māori
Tuihana Riri (Te Arawa) said she worked with the client’s wairua [spirit] and their mauri [energy].
“We look at all aspects of a person … their physical health, their family health and environment, the health and wellbeing of their spirit if they have any kind of spirituality, then their mind, their thoughts.
“Sometimes people come in, they’re stressed, they’ve got sore backs, so we’ll give them a good mirimiri but we also share kōrero … making sure they’re getting movement in their body, making sure they’re in a good environment and if not, ways to get out of it.”
Rongoā Māori practitioner Tuihana Riri who works in Rotorua.
Riri said many Māori did not know rongoā was covered under ACC and it had been “heartwarming” to see the resurgence of traditional healing across Aotearoa.
“The more we can do to build that awareness the better.”
Riri said it was “a big deal” for Rotorua to host the conference for networking opportunities.
“There are some parts of rongoā Māori that will work for some people and not for others, so it is really important for us to come together as a community of providers and help each other.”
Rongoā Māori helping to deliver equity for Māori - ACC
An ACC media release said ACC had been offering rongoā Māori as a healing option since June 2020 and its popularity had grown.
ACC’s head of Māori health partnerships Eldon Paea said offering rongoā as a rehabilitation service was part of its continuing efforts to deliver equity for Māori and offer injured New Zealanders more choice in their recovery options.
ACC head of Māori health partnerships Eldon Paea.
On the conference, Paea said: “We want to bring together our health providers and rongoā practitioners to share, learn and see how we can work together to meet all the needs of our communities.”
ACC research showed Māori were more likely to sustain a serious injury than non-Māori, but less likely to make an injury claim.
ACC data showed rongoā Māori claim volumes almost doubled in the 12 months to January 2024, with 6,016 claims using rongoā in the year ended January 2024.
Fifty-nine per cent of clients accessing rongoā Māori were Māori and 41 per cent were non-Māori.
ACC is supporting the conference with Te Aka Whai Ora and Te Puni Kōkiri.
