Adjusting the Mic
Adjusting the Mic is the homegrown podcast from the New Zealand College of Chiropractic - where we sit down with leading voices in chiropractic, share stories from the field, and spark ideas to help you grow your impact in practice and in your profession.
Adjusting the Mic
Te Ao Māori in Practice: Dr Te Rina Hingston on Culture, Spirituality and Healing
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Dr Te Rina Hingston shares how she's blending chiropractic with Te Ao Māori healing to create a more connected, whole-person approach to care. From mauri (life force) and wairua (spirit) to presence on the table, this conversation explores what it really means to practise authentically and help patients thrive on every level.
Introduction & Te Rina’s Journey Post-Graduation
MattHi everyone and welcome to the Adjusting the Mic podcast. I'm here today with the wonderful Te Rina Hingston, a chiropractor just working outside of Wellington. And we're going to talk today about her journey and how she's experiencing life in the associateship role she's doing. Te Rina, welcome to the podcast.
Te RinaKia ora. Thanks for letting me be here.
MattSo we usually start with asking about what your journey was like once you graduated. So do you want to talk us through what you've done, your experiences in the last few years?
Te RinaI graduated end of 2019. And then as we all know, COVID came into place. So it was a bit rocky. But when I graduated, I had plans on opening up my own practice. But also behind that all was I was wanting to reconnect back to my culture and learn our like Māori healing techniques. So that was a massive journey. I think it was like three year full-time studying. It was just basically learning about myself. Yeah, it was just mainly reconnecting back to my culture because in Te Ao Māori, it's very different. The way we see the world, it's all interconnected. So I had to retrain my mind coming from university where everything's categorised and it's just so much learning. When Te Ao Māori, it's completely different. Like it's very spiritual in a way, and there's no right answer. But that was a big journey. And while I was learning, I did a lot of locum work too. Where I was able to learn off other chiropractors around New Zealand and I had my business running too. But it was very free-flow. Yeah, these last couple years have just been about learning.
Learning Te Ao Māori & Shifting Perspective
MattRight. A lot of graduates, when they leave, they're like, Oh, I've done five years, I'm out of the College now. Please don't make me study anymore. Obviously, you were inspired to do more. So, what was it like coming in as maybe someone who'd already done a degree going into that space where you're doing something similar but a bit different? How did you find it? Did you find the balance between work and study okay?
Te RinaYeah. Because I studied at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. It's very laid back compared to the university level, I'll say. But it was hard just trying to get my mind learning new concepts. It took me a long time to actually adjust to learning to Te Ao Māori.
MattThat's really the question. Did take a long time to adjust, definitely. What I would say is for you, were you able to integrate a lot of what your learnings are into your chiropractic practice? Was it something that you could just easily slot in on a daily basis, or did that change your worldview and your thought process with your patient interactions?
Te RinaOh
Bridging Chiropractic & Māori Philosophy
Te Rinayeah. It's very similar. So at the chiro college, or even just the philosophy in general of chiropractic, we learn about innate intelligence and universal intelligence. So when we talk about universal intelligence, that's like the order in our universe, or there's something that controls our universe. And that's similar to wairua. So that's like the spiritual essence or energy that is in all things. And then innate intelligence is like the inborn wisdom that we all have that we can heal and adapt to our environment. So that's very similar to what we call Mauri, which is basically the vital force. When our Mauri is strong, then we are thriving in health. So that interlinks on how I see Te Ao Māori, but also the chiropractor world. So it was really easy to cross-link everything.
MattFrom a philosophical perspective, there was a lot of similarities.
Te RinaYes.
MattWith your general practice, what sort of components of that Māori healing have you brought into your practice?
Integrating Māori Healing Into Practice
Te RinaI do all sorts. I do a lot of, we call it Rongoā or Rongoā rakau, which is the plant medicine. So I make different balms, but more specifically to deal with our joints and the conditions or common conditions that we get when people come and see us. So I use that a lot. I've been learning mirimiri and romiromi, which is more for body work. It's similar to what we do as chiros. So our intentions I find is like we're clearing the system or we're clearing the body for like interferences or blockages. And so that's very similar to the mirimiri and romiromi. So we have the same intentions. We just have different ways of doing it. So yeah, it's very similar, but I think I have a really strong belief in Te Ao Māori and from our chiropractor way as well, that it just emphasises everything that I'm doing.
MattGreat. And so are there people that come in to see you maybe for Māori health work? Is it mirimiri? Is that what you said before? The massage things. And do they end up going, what's this other chiropractic stuff that you have as well? If you've got any interesting stories, feel free.
Te RinaI've been to heaps of we call them wānanga. So wānanga are like learning seminars. And when I say who I am and I'm a chiropractor, I always say it looks like, oh, is she trying to like see what we're doing. But even the way we practice is very similar. Like I see some practitioners or mirimiri practitioners that are adjusting like us. But they have different these different intentions. So I used to do a lot of community work as well. I'll be sorely just doing chiropractic, but everyone that saw me, they were like, Oh, you're just doing mirimiri. So everyone can see the connection that chiro looks very similar to mirimiri.
MattRight.
Patient Perception & Communicating Holistic Care
Te RinaA lot of my people don't know that I'm doing chiropractic. Seems like mirimiri until I say what I'm doing, I'm like, no, I'm doing like an adjustment here that'll free up this and that. So yeah, there's a lot of cross links that I've done.
MattAnd do you ever find that that's confusing, or are you able to like compartmentalise or even better just integrate it all together and say, hey, this is what I do, and this is the part that chiropractic helps with. But as we know as a chiropractor, people who are subluxation free do better on all levels. Is it something where you're like, everybody should have subluxation-based care on top of everything else that they do?
Te RinaYeah, basically just integrating them all because even with all our science that's coming out, it's like our evidence of like when we're clearing our systems of those interferences, our innate intelligence can thrive. Well, that's like our Mauri can thrive. But now we have science backing it up that this is actual that our innate, even though you can't really measure that intelligence, the effects of the body, like people able to like adapt to the environment or they are feeling better, the joints are moving better. That's like evidence that I know that chiropractic can work. And then I just use like the other modalities that I do just backing me up as well.
MattAwesome. So I know you work as an associate. How have you gone with, say, the principal of the practice, you know, bringing them this information, which is probably quite different to what they were expecting? How has that gone down?
Te RinaSo there's like different learnings I've learnt being there. So the practice that I'm currently working at, it's very just hands-on, I find. So I'm able to learn the manual techniques again, a position, also the type of communication that we do is a little bit different. And I had to retrain my mind of talking a different way. So it's kind of like the opposite of what I'm used to, but I need that right now because I've really drifted into the energy side of Te Ao Māori, but I want to bring stuff back into balance. So working at this associate's been really good and challenging. But it's just bringing my balance back.
MattSo if
Finding Balance as an Associate
Mattyou were talking to, say, one of your classmates or one of your colleagues, and they were like, I'm really interested in integrating some of my culture and some of my upbringing into my practice, what would you say to them as a good direction to first start that process?
Te RinaJust maybe practice on your family first, family and friends. It's like trial and error. But just when you're standing strong, even in your technique skills, you know that you can do it. So when you're integrating other things, just let it flow. Just do it, I reckon.
MattOne of the things I know a little bit, and I'm not an expert in Māori healing, but the whole concept of tūpuna, where you have the different walls of your house, which all relate to different components or important aspects of Māori health. How much do you integrate those things like spiritual and emotional and family into your practice?
Te RinaSo I'd say the taha tinana, which is the physical health. That'll be more for our adjustments, focusing on muscle release, getting the joints moving better. And then I'll say our taha hinengaro, so that's our mental wellbeing, just regular checking in, seeing how their stress levels are, making people aware of the life that they actually live. And then for taha whānau, that's more of just having a chat about your support systems, like how's your work environment, how's your home environment? It's just bringing awareness at every appointment. And then lastly, would be your taha wairua. For me, that's when I either do more of our mirimiri stuff. Or I also use our plant medicine. So I do things with our kawakawa. Have you heard of kawakawa?
MattI have, yeah.
Te RinaSo I do poulticing.
MattOh, wow. Talk us through it, yeah.
Te RinaOh, a poultice is a game changer. So you're using our leaves. I've actually got a plant right here. The leaves tell your story. So we kind of call it like an x-ray. You'll put a poultice on someone's eyes and it draws things out. So we say that it draws out either emotional pain, spiritual pain, different areas on the leaves will tell us a different story, and they change colors. So once they're finished, it's very different and very spiritual practice.
MattAnd do you find that switching or changing between patients in practice where you've just done that and maybe made that connection on a spiritual level, and then you go to the next person, and it is more in that physical space. How do you find the transition between the two? I know a lot of chiros are very much like I'm a manual guy and that's what I do, and I just adjust them, and then the next person comes through five minutes later, the next one comes through. How do you make that shift in yourself? How do you gain that strength to be able to do that?
Te RinaOh, I just find it easy. It's like you're like sussing out your patients. You listen to how they speak. If you know they're not into that, I wouldn't even bring it up. I'll just keep it surface layer, ask them how they are, do the adjustments, but always between my appointments, I'm dropping little seeds. Just bring awareness.
MattSo is it more of it like you introduce them to these other concepts? How would you say that? We have a little bit where we give tips to our listeners just about things they can do to maybe drop some little thought points to their practice members. What would you say to someone who maybe comes in quite physically minded and you're picking up something else? What would we do in that scenario?
Te RinaI would always refer it to stress because everyone's stressed. Yeah, I'll be like, oh, stress. So what's happening? Is there anything happening at home or work? And they're like, oh yeah, that's why I'm always tied up here, or like got a lot of neck tension. I'm like, yeah, that's all stress. And I was like, but that's also where we hold the stress. So sometimes our emotions get stored in our muscles, and that's what you're feeling. So just little drops like that all the time until they will roll their eyes at me and be like, oh, okay, gone too far. It's never like that.
MattYeah. Most people will reach that level where they're like, okay, I'm willing to try this or to do this, or my partner said you need to come in and do this or that. That's pretty cool. Now you mentioned that you'd done some outreach work. Is that right? Was that any marae-based or koha based work?
Community Work, Growth & Business Challenges
Te RinaYeah, so just down the road, it's like a community hub. So I was able to just rent a room once a week where I can integrate my romiromi with chiropractic and all my, I call it wairua stuff, which is like the spiritual energy stuff that I do too. So I've just started that last week. Very exciting. I had a lot of people wanting to book in, which was surprising because I'm not really immersed in my community here in Wellington. So yeah, very excited. Learning.
MattIt's good for a lot of our new grads, just what you've touched on, getting involved in the community can be quite a struggle. Are there some things that you would recommend to maybe a new grad moving into a town they've never been in before? Things that could help them to get more immersed. And that could be anyone from a specific culture or even just a general international, because we have a number of Canadians obviously here as well. What would you recommend is a great way to get in touch with the community?
Te RinaJust talk to your patients. You get so many different patients that come and see. When you learn to know what they do, just be yourself. Tell them that you do other things or tell them that you want to do community work and they'll point you in the right direction. We get so many people that see us and everyone that gets on our table, they all have stories. If we just listen, they just point us to where we need to go, basically. That's what I did here in Wellington. Is a lot of my patients have told me that they either work where now I live and that these spaces are available, they rent out, and they'll just spread the word.
MattWow. Yeah, word of mouth is the number one. That's what we want, definitely. So for you moving forward, do you think it'll be a balance between the chiropractic and that traditional Māori healing? Or will it be that you'll keep that Māori healing stuff that's more of a focused work to maybe the community hub? How do you think you'll do this long term? Because obviously you may decide to be an associate, but if you plan on opening your own practice, do you think you'll fully integrate everything together?
Te RinaYeah, that's the big goal is fully integrating all my learnings together. Yeah, that's pretty much it. So all together, even allowing me to flow. So I'm not restricted to anything anymore. And I'm forever learning. So I'll probably learn other techniques or other chiro techniques that resonate with where I'm at.
MattYeah. So for our Māori and Pacifica peoples who are listening, maybe as chiropractors, because it's not a large number, but hopefully we're growing. I would say, what's some advice that you could give as someone who's been out for a few years now in practice to maybe help those people, help that community to really thrive and connect? What are some tips or some advice that you could give to build stronger networks? I think one of the easiest things is like what I did. I just went and done a course. I did an romiromi course. You can even do a Te Ao Māori course, they're everywhere. That's like one thing, connecting back to your community. Because when you're learning the language again and you're learning our healing techniques, you're forced to learn about yourself. So I think that's very important. When you learn about yourself and who you are, it builds you stronger. So when you're practicing, we call it tūturu. So tūturu is like standing strong and who you are. And being like your most authentic self, because that's what people are attracted to, is when you're real. Definitely. I would say if you were maybe a Western or you know, a pākehā who's maybe got a very limited patient base, and we were trying to open to have a bit more members of the Māori and Pacific Island community to come into practice, what are some things that they should think about from that perspective if they are going to do that?
Te RinaI've maybe emphasised our own philosophy about innate intelligence, universal intelligence, because that makes sense to most indigenous cultures. We're all virtual beings, we're all energetic beings, and chiropractic, those are our foundational principles. So if you talked more about that, then I think that'll attract so many more Māori and Pacific patients to your practice.
MattSo just resonating with something that's a massive part of your culture.
Te RinaYes.
MattSo we usually end with a couple of little things to talk about. One of the things we look at is what is the best piece of advice that you've been given in your chiropractic journey and something that you often call on in these days? Something that you've thought about, and you're like, man, I can remember. Someone told me that. I always use it.
Te RinaI remember studying at the College, Dr B, she was like one my faves, I remember when I told her that I wanted just to open up my own practice, and she was like, do it. Just do it. So that's all I hear. Whatever I want to try something new or do a new technique, I can just hear her voice saying, just do it, Te Rina. Because I hold so much respect for her. But yeah, Dr B, that's all I can hear.
Speaker 2And Dr B is still at the college, so feel free. Reach out. And if there's anyone out there who's had the same thing, definitely I could see Dr B saying that as well. That would be the voice. Just do it, Te Rina. That's what you need to do.
Te RinaYes, yeah.
MattSo I know a lot of associates, a lot of principal chiropractors out there, they come up with a really amazing idea. And sometimes the only thing that's stopping them from doing that idea is themselves. So, number one, in terms of stepping into your own power, what I'm taking from you, is just get out of your own way. Just do it. Just get out of it. And if you've got a plan, look, if you think it's really way out, maybe get one of your colleagues and have a chat. But in most cases, you're not going to be off base. There's something that you've identified and you should really go with it. That's awesome.
Te RinaExactly.
MattSo for you, how do you at the moment stay connected with, I suppose, things on social media, podcasts? Are there a particular study or learning or books that you read that really helped you in practice? So a lot of people with podcasts at the moment, which seems to be the thing, hence we're doing this one. What sort of things do you draw some other inspiration from?
Te RinaI'm, currently been listening to Dr Joe Dispenza, been I've read a couple of his books. I didn't realise he was a chiropractor as well. So I was like, oh my gosh, this is why it makes a lot of sense.
MattDo you just want to say the books for everybody that just so you know?
Te RinaI think one of them is 'Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself'.
MattOkay.
Te RinaReally good books. I mean, he talks a lot about my neuroplasticity, all these chiropractic terms that we've learned. And it's all about empowering yourself, basically. So I've been listening to his stuff a lot. I still catch up with a lot of my chiro mates that I graduated with. So if we've got any worries or any complicated cases, we still reach out to each other. I still attend different wānanga. So these last two years I've been learning mirimiri, but I've also got back into our. So it's like every couple months we meet up at different marae. Where we go over all our learnings, more for support.
MattIt's like a mini Lyceum.
Te RinaYes.
MattGet together, have some food, some kai, and then basically talk. I think that's something you've touched on is really important. Those connections that you've made as a student went through four or five years of training with people, and it is a difficult training process to go through. It's very tough, rigorous, and you build connections. And maintaining those connections and reaching out to your colleagues is one of the best things you can do. And I definitely recommend it as well. Because you never know. People sometimes are, you know, not doing the best. And you can actually help to pick them up and get them to reach the next level. I think it's a fact that we're all chiropractic family. I understand that's important in Māori culture as well, right? We're all connected as one. And I think we might be a step family, if you know what I'm saying, in chiropractic. We all come from different cultures and relationships, but we're all chiropractors. So I would say bringing that in and really talking with your team and saying, hey, how are you going? Here's a case that I've got. Here's a challenging situation. How would you guys deal with it? And ask questions and see, and you'd be surprised what answers come out, right?
Te RinaYeah. Because we all practice different too. So we all got our own learnings and skills. So if we just share it all together, then it just builds us stronger.
MattYeah. I know there are some chiros, and we often get some emails in to say, hey, I'm struggling in practice. I'm struggling, I feel like I've plateaued, or I feel like I'm just coasting and I'm not inspired. What advice could you give, say, someone who's maybe been out a while? You know, five years is great in any profession, but they're getting to a point where they're like, uh, I'm really not happy with what I'm doing. What could you advise in that state? You sound like you're very excited and very fired up about what you're doing, and that's what I love to see. So how do you encourage someone who's maybe not in that space yet?
Te RinaWell,
Advice, Inspiration & Powerful Patient Outcomes
Te Rinawhat I did, because I kind of went through, it was a lot of ups and downs. Yeah, I'll just message one of my chiro mates, or if there are any chiros, and I'll just observe them. And it was like really inspiring to see how different chiropractors work. I was just like, oh my gosh, they do it this way. I could do it this way. It's just getting that inspiration again. Cause I think all chiros we're so amazing, but all healers are amazing too. So if we can just watch how others work, it can spark us up again.
MattYeah.
Te RinaOh, that's what I did.
MattAwesome. I mean, there's always this fear that someone's like, oh, they won't let me watch, you know, am I gonna steal all their ideas? I've never found that with any chiro. I've found that they're like, no, come in and see how we do things here because there's more than enough people. In fact, as we know, it's only five to ten percent of the population is usually seeing chiropractors. There is such a big number of people who need us and need our care. So that is awesome. Reach out, connect. You mentioned that there were some struggles and challenges. Are you okay to share any of those? Was there anything that you're okay with sharing?
Te RinaYeah, some of the struggles would have been building up my practice in terms of being business mind oriented. I think because when I was trying to integrate my Māori healing, a lot of that we do koha. And there's like a weird balance. I'm trying to bring the balance into the Māori healing side. So those were a lot of the struggles is I was doing a lot of community work, a lot of koha doing my chiropractic as well. I need to keep this at a level. Most of the struggles were in terms of like my business. I got confused on integrating both worlds. I wasn't holding chiropractic to its pedestal that it sits on as well as more Māori . Just a bit lost for a bit.
MattYeah. And do you think it's because you didn't have a clear vision on what you wanted to achieve?
Te RinaYeah, definitely.
MattHow did you go about finding that in that space? Did you start writing down? Did you start talking with people and planning out? What was your strategy? Because I think you've touched on something that a lot of chiros struggle with too, is that if you have a practice and it's ACC, but I want to be wellness and I want to see PEDs and I want to do this and that, and all of a sudden you're pulled in multiple directions. And also I want to give back and do some outreach. And all these things seem to pull you in different directions. How do you make sure that you're being congruent with your message so that you can be that authentic self?
Te RinaWhat I'll do is, because I'm just building up my own practice now. I have my practice, my business where it's normal, but then once a month or once a fortnight, I'll go to a marae and I'll do my community work. So I do that for koha. So that's me giving back. That keeps me uplifted. But then I've also got my business and that's going to look after me. So giving, but then I'm also receiving as well.
MattRight. And again, clearly documenting, clearly putting things in the calendar and mapping things out, then you know it's going to happen. So nothing's happening by accident, right?
Te RinaYes.
MattYou know, two weeks' time, that's where we're gonna be, and you can be excited about that and also probably be inspired by what you see and then come back into practice and convey that. That's awesome. Is there any, I suppose, tips you could give a chiro to put into practice maybe next week, something that they could use that you use on a regular basis that just keeps them switched on or keeps them fired up?
Te RinaI think just being present with your person, with every person, because sometimes we can have really busy days where it's just very booked out. But once someone's on your table, just remind yourself that you're here, your person's here. Kind of like tune into the body, do your thing, and then you can let that person leave. Next person comes in, be present, tune in, do your thing.
MattHow would you do it? How would you tune in on that person? Is there a strategy, something you do, or is this the secret? Oh share, please.
Te RinaWe all do it. I'm pretty sure we all do it. So as soon as someone jumps on my table, I just place my hands onto their legs and I just I'm having a chat, but I'm just feeling their body, I'm feeling the muscles, letting them know that I'm here to help. And then I start doing the work. But it's just mainly just bringing myself in, saying I'm here, allowing the person to trust me, and then I could start getting to work. But it's like a conscious thing.
MattAwesome. So conscious application, I'm now present with this person, that's great. Forget about what's happening with the kids, forget about what's going on and the rugby score and all those things, and now we can just focus. That's great. One last thing. Are there any stories or things that you're happy to share about a practice member? Obviously, no names or things, but is there something that you really go, okay, I know I'm in the right place now because of this patient interaction or amazing experience? Is there something you can share with us?
Te RinaSo two days ago, that's when I had my first day of working for myself. One of my ladies that came in, she was a bit skeptical because she's never been adjusted before. She's never seen a chiropractor. But I did a bit of a posture scan, got her to jump on the scales, just showing her the physical tests and measures, and she was like, Oh my gosh, wow! And then when I got her on the table, that's when I integrated my mirimiri different activation points, and I talked her through the wairua aspect, which is the spiritual essence of what I was doing, but then also telling her that I'm adjusting this hip here because now it's creating this much tension here, and she was able to feel the energy rush up her body while I'm adjusting. Well, and she was just like, oh my god, this is something else I've never experienced before. So at the end of that session, it left me on a high that what I did, integrating both worlds together, allowed her eyes to open to trust chiropractors to trust our western medicine. But it was beautiful.
MattBeautiful. That is awesome. So if people are interested in finding out a little bit more about Māori healing, maybe the mirimiri, even the poultices, I think you might have some people wanting to find out about Kawakawa. So I'm excited here. Where's a good resource that they could reach out to or look at to investigate a bit more?
Te RinaI reckon follow me on Instagram. Or follow my social media because I've started posting and sharing more about the different healing modalities I do. Because to learn about that, you have to learn off people. So you're going to your Wānanga. You're going to learn from your elders. It's not a textbook thing, which is it's a whole different way of learning Te Ao Māori.
MattSo if they're gonna follow you, what's your Instagram?
Te RinaIt's dr.terinachiro . But it's under Tohu Healing. So give me a follow. I've been sharing a lot about our mirimiri practices, our rongoā practices, and how I'm integrating it into chiropractic as well.
MattPerfect. Te Rina, thank you so much for joining us today. That was amazing, and I look forward to hearing how your journey continues over the next few years.
Te RinaCool. Thanks for having me.
