Taane Mete, one of New Zealand’s most celebrated and influential professional dancers, talks to Steven Oates about yoga, movement and coming home to yourself.
For many of us, yoga sits in the mental “maybe one day” pile — something we admire from afar but never quite roll our mats out for. Too bendy. Too spiritual. Too intense. Too many Lycra-clad bodies doing impossible things on Instagram. But according to Taane Mete, one of Aotearoa’s most respected dance practitioners, that intimidation factor is largely a myth — and one worth dismantling.
“Yoga doesn’t need to be practised every day, and it certainly doesn’t need to be hard,” Taane tells Steven. “That idea alone stops so many people before they even begin.”
Instead, he reframes yoga as something far more accessible: a practical tool for releasing stagnant energy and reconnecting with the body we already have. For anyone spending long hours at a desk, lifting heavy tools, or simply feeling stuck in their body, yoga offers a way back in.
The entry point, Taane explains, isn’t movement at all. It’s breath.
“The easiest way to access your personal essence is through slow nasal breathing,” he says. Sitting in a chair, lying on your back or side, he suggests simply inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the nose five times, repeating the cycle three times. “You’ll notice how slowing down the breath calms the central nervous system.”
It’s a deceptively simple practice, but one that lays the foundation for everything that follows. Once comfort is established, movement can be introduced.
For beginners, Taane’s advice is refreshingly uncompetitive. “Start with no expectations,” he says. “Yoga isn’t about performing postures like the most experienced person in the room. It’s about understanding that this is a journey — learning to listen to your body and respect its limits.”
That mindset shift is especially important in a culture obsessed with transformation. Asked whether yoga can help achieve the elusive “summer body”, Taane is measured. Yoga can absolutely support positive change and help people feel better in their bodies, he says, but it’s only part of a bigger picture that includes diet, sleep and consistency. “A summer body takes effort, but it helps when the routine is simple. Let yoga support you — just don’t let it rule you.”
When it comes to practical starting points, Taane keeps things grounded. One of his favourite beginner-friendly poses involves lying on your back, drawing both knees into the chest, then letting them drop gently to one side in a spinal twist, held for five breaths.
More than anything, he encourages people to make yoga enjoyable. “Make it fun — and make it social if you can,” he says. Going to a class with a friend or chatting to the person next to you can dissolve a lot of anxiety.
“The more present you are with your body and practice, the more transformative yoga becomes,” Taane says. “Not just physically, but in how you experience life.”
This philosophy is deeply informed by Taane’s own history. Known for his decades-long contribution to contemporary dance in Aotearoa — including work with Black Grace, Footnote Dance Company, Douglas Wright Dance Company and Atamira — his body has been both his instrument and his livelihood. After years of performance, yoga entered his life.
Fifteen years ago, he attended his first Bikram Hot Yoga class in Auckland. “It was pure survival just getting through the 90 minutes,” he laughs. The experience was intense and confusing — but the next morning, something shifted. “I woke up feeling alive, like floodgates had opened.”
Subtle changes followed. His mood improved. His body felt freer. His thoughts became less chaotic. “Then — bam — I was hooked,” he says. Yoga brought him closer to what he describes as his ‘true essence.’
Despite this, Taane is clear that yoga hasn’t replaced dance. “Dance will always be part of my creative DNA,” he says. Instead, the two practices support one another. Yoga and teaching ground him in health and wellbeing; dance remains his creative expression. Breath, he notes, is the common language — the starting point for movement, healing and balance.
Today, Taane sees yoga as both medicine and diagnostic tool — a way to check in physically, mentally and emotionally. “We all age,” he says, “but for me yoga gives reassurance that I can stay active without feeling limited by life.”
Perhaps most powerfully, yoga requires nothing external. “I don’t need a machine, a prop or even a teacher,” Taane says. “Everything I need to access myself is already there.”
Yoga, after all, means “to unite” — and for Taane Mete, it’s about reconnecting body, breath and self, one slow inhale at a time.
Taane Mete teaches and facilitates as a Retreat Leader at the multi-award-winning Aro Ha Wellness Retreat in Glenorchy.
Photos | Alex Judd
