A DAY OF LEARNING: Inside Out: How Cortisol, Creative Art, and Gut Health Shape Our Lives

Maria Pearson is a Hawke’s Bay-based personal trainer, life coach and registered exercise specialist with a Master of Physical Education from the University of Otago. An ATG Certified Coach and REPs registered professional, Maria supports people of all ages, with a particular passion for helping older adults build strength, confidence and wellbeing. Her approach combines practical movement, positive mindset coaching and evidence-informed health knowledge. As a podcaster and women’s health advocate, she brings warmth, clarity and encouragement to conversations about ageing well, staying active and navigating life’s changes with resilience, curiosity and optimism every day, at every stage of life.

SESSION TOPIC:
Staying robust and independent as we age

As we get older, our bodies inevitably change. Our balance, strength, speed, power, confidence, and independence can be affected. Navigating stairs, sitting on the floor, travelling, playing with the grandchildren, and keeping up with daily tasks can become a little more difficult.

As a healthy aging advocate, Maria will explain these changes and will explore ways we can keep our bodies strong and able despite the passing years. Her goal is to help people stay robust, independent, and confident in their bodies as they get older. The session will be informative with a bit of fun and laughter thrown in.

Dr Sally Rye is a researcher and thought leader focused on the science of gut health and its impact on cognitive performance and ageing. Her work explores the gut–brain axis, translating emerging microbiome research into practical, evidence-based strategies that support memory, mood, and long-term brain resilience. With a strong emphasis on real-world application, she connects complex biological systems to everyday choices around food and lifestyle. Sally is passionate about helping people over 50 maintain mental sharpness, curiosity, and vitality, empowering them to stay intellectually engaged and socially connected through a deeper understanding of how gut health shapes brain function.

SESSION TOPIC: Feed Your Brain: How Your Gut Shapes Memory, Mood, and Mental Sharpness

Dr Rye’s research examines the gut–brain axis as a critical driver of cognitive health, particularly in adults over 50. Emerging science shows that the gut microbiome plays a central role in regulating inflammation, neurotransmitter production, and neural signalling, directly influencing memory, mood, and resilience to cognitive decline. By focusing on diet, microbial diversity, and evidence-based lifestyle interventions, this work highlights how optimising gut health can help preserve brain function and support lifelong mental sharpness. The findings translate complex science into practical strategies that empower individuals to enhance cognitive vitality, sustain curiosity, and maintain meaningful engagement with the world as they age.

Helen Dynes has a lifelong passion for art, knowing from childhood she would become an artist. Born in Ireland, she earned her MA in 1983 and has taught art in the UK and New Zealand for over 30 years, including Art as Therapy.

Emigrating to Napier in 2003, Helen is an accomplished artist known for her naturalistic, light-focused paintings of the human figure. Her work is held internationally.

Beyond her own practice, Helen generously shares her expertise through tutoring. Believing deeply in art’s therapeutic value, she recently launched The Pandora Project to help others discover their creativity.

SESSION TOPIC: Art as a Pathway to Reflection and Wellbeing.

This illustrated presentation explores the therapeutic role of art in fostering self-awareness, emotional resilience, and personal growth. Drawing on my own creative practice, I will share artworks developed through compassionate self-enquiry, reflection, and mindful observation. The session considers how artistic engagement can provide a space for contemplation, insight, and healing, regardless of previous artistic experience. Through stories, images, and discussion, we will examine how creative expression can help us navigate life's transitions, deepen our understanding of ourselves, and cultivate greater wellbeing. Participants will be invited to reflect on the transformative potential of art in everyday life.

Jo Dowley is the founder of ReFrame Lab, a neuroscience-informed coaching and facilitation practice based in Hawke’s Bay.

Originally from England, Jo trained and worked as an Occupational Therapist, later leading one of the largest hand therapy units in the UK before moving to New Zealand in 2009. Her own “squiggly” journey has included leadership, entrepreneurship, vineyard ownership, co-founding a start-up, psychosocial facilitation with the New Zealand Red Cross, and ultimately creating ReFrame Lab.

Passionate about human behaviour, nervous system safety, emotions, and the brain, Jo translates neuroscience into practical and accessible insights that help people better understand themselves, their relationships, and the patterns that shape how they think, feel, and respond to life.

Her work explores how the brain is constantly predicting and responding to the world around us, how stress and safety influence thinking and behaviour, and how greater awareness of our own nervous system patterns, triggers, environments, and responses can help us think more clearly, adapt more effectively, and create lasting change.

Known for her warm, thought-provoking, and conversational style, Jo combines science, storytelling, and real-world experience to create engaging discussions that leave people reflecting differently about themselves and others.

SESSION TOPIC: Cortisol: Friend or Foe?
We tend to hear about cortisol as the villain - the "stress hormone" we're told to lower or avoid, but the real story is a bit more interesting. Cortisol is actually one of the body's most important energy and rhythm hormones (circadian rhythm). It's what gets us out of bed in the morning. It helps us to focus and carries us through the day. It only really becomes a problem when the balance tips.

In this session, Jo will explore what cortisol actually does, why it rises and falls across the day, and what's going on when we feel "wired and tired", wake up at 3 am, or hit that mid-afternoon slump. Jo will draw on neuroscience and psychology, but keep it warm and relatable, with a few simple science-backed things people can do to work with this hormone rather than against it. Because it ties so closely to sleep, energy, and resilience, this is a session you do not want to miss.

Fee Webby is based in Hawke's Bay and is the co-founder and Managing Director of Love Heart. Fee is a dynamic leader known for her ability to operationalise high-impact educational initiatives. Having served as the General Manager of The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab, Fee has been instrumental in delivering postgraduate programmes and workshops that focus on digital skills, human potential, and sustainability. With a background that spans both creative agencies and executive education, she possesses a deep understanding of behavioural shifts in the workplace and how to remove barriers to learning. Fee is highly regarded for her ability to connect people with the tools they need to succeed, making complex concepts accessible through her engaging and optimistic approach to learning.

Facilitator