The Problems we are working to solve:

We believe that most societal problems start with undigested trauma which often unbalances us and can lead to disconnection with others and ourselves.
Trauma-informed wellbeing skills are not routinely taught to teachers or frontline workers.
Body shame is the result of complex historical, cultural, and personal trauma and is present in 3/4 of females in New Zealand and is rising among males and is actually 8x more common in those who are gender diverse than women.
Body shame impacts personal and family health and well-being and left untreated has significant societal and financial impacts.
Youth are facing a mental health crisis as they see their future negatively impacted by older generations and they have little power to influence it.
Mainstream media, our rapidly polarizing political systems, and social media algorithms are creating cultural forces that appear to be separating and isolating people instead of connecting them, increasing our mental health and safety issues.

Of all the things to focus on...why body gratitude?

Because world peace starts with how much "Self" energy a person has. Big "S" Self-energy is the part of us that is deeply rooted in compassion, is non-judgmental, and loving towards self and others. For many people historical, cultural, and life traumas have blocked access to this energy. One of the first indicators of that is how people treat their own and others' bodies.

Do they see bodies as beautiful sacred incredibly complex organic machines gifted to us by our ancestors to help us bring good into the world? Or do they see their body as something flawed and unworthy?

Body shame is the trailhead that points to personal, family, and community trauma. You fix the relationship with Self and you can begin to support family, community, and then ultimately world harmony but the starting point is our relationship with our very body. A person who understands the sacredness of their own body is less likely to harm another or even harm the ultimate body of Papatuanuku (Mother Earth).

What we do:

Our goal is to be facilitators of peace.

We help people learn how to amplify the voice of the big "S" self. We weave people together and we help reconnect people with the balanced loving part of themselves that naturally seeks peace and connection. The part that stays curious instead of judgemental towards self or others.

We do this by running programs that teach people how to identify and process their historical traumas. We work with parents and youth using art creation, movement, nature, and our award-winning creative well-being framework to deliver our impact. We hold space and offer support while our community members shift their traumas just enough to let the true authentic part of them come up for air. We teach them how to know the difference between authentic Self-energy and the energy of trauma. Then we give them tools to help that compassionate, resilient Big "S" Self-energy to take over more of the daily running of life. We support people to transmute the traumatized burdens into strengths.

And we teach educators how to do it as well (while they look after their own mental well-being) in our Embodied Education Professional Development Programs.

We seem to be doing something right because a movie made about our work has won multiple awards and is playing in film festivals around the world. And our programs keep winning community awards. But most importantly we have woven together a national group of young creatives that use our tools to look after themselves and each other and collectively have created Create Happy Media - New Zealand's largest by youth for youth media company. The whole purpose of which is to use words to weave people together.

How we help

How we started

Christmas 2016

Location Mandi Lynn's kitchen in Upper Hutt New Zealand.

"Auntie Mandi?"

"Yes, Harper?"

"Am I fat?"

She was five and her name was Harper. She was our founder's niece, and that exchange, followed by the death of her daughter's dear friend, Holly, to suicide were the turning points that lead to the founding of Every Body is a Treasure Trust. Horrified that Holly’s gift to the world was lost and that Harper’s gift was being dialled down through body shame, Mandi Lynn, a holistic nurse and master photographer, gathered her creative community around her to start the trust. The goal is to support youth to develop a life-enhancing skill base of self-compassion, holistic well-being, and non-violence.

We are supporting the development of leaders who are heart first, self aware and skilled in tools necessary to create positive community change.