Working the body and revitalising te reo Māori are what Natalie Muller of Ngāpuhi is aiming for in her morning fitness classes in Auckland.
It may be dark and wet at 6am in Kingsland, but it is Te Reo Māori that is awakening.
Muller has begun using te reo Māori in her high-intensity interval training. She says she has been taking classes for a year or so and when a friend suggested she organise a time and place for reo enthusiasts to workout, she decided to do so.
Muller runs up to five classes a week, and for the next seven weeks will run two of those a week completely in te reo Māori.
Riki Teteina is the principal of Newton Central School, one of the schools where Muller works as a relief teacher.
He is supportive of Muller's initiative. particularly the opportunity to be immersed in te reo. He says, "We know the calls in English so transferring them into Te Reo Māori just gives us that opportunity to learn the language."
With interest in learning te reo Māori in Auckland increasing, Teteina says learning it through Muller's classes is "a fun way to do it."
Muller says even ahead of her first class this morning she had received messages from people in other regions saying they were keen on implementing something similar.
Her hope is to see many more people in many more regions using te reo Māori in this way.
In the meantime, at 6am every Tuesday and Thursday morning for at least the next seven weeks, te reo Māori, as well as sweat, will be flowing in Kingsland.