Kristina Cavit has spent the past 8 years in Aotearoa and abroad, working with youth living in poverty and dealing with stress and trauma. What she has learnt is that no matter where a person is from, their likelihood of thriving depends on their ability to manage their mind and emotions.

After Kristina experienced Mindfulness, Yoga and The Work of Byron Katie as profoundly effective in overcoming challenges in her own life and the lives of those she worked with, she founded The Kindness Institute, a charitable trust with the dream of creating a world where everyone has the tools to manage stress and live meaningful lives.

Kristina spent 8 years working with communities here in NZ and abroad, for an international NGO supporting orphaned and abandoned children throughout Latin America, and setting up NPH New Zealand to support almost 4,000 children. In 2015, she went on a research trip looking into best practice in mindfulness and stress reduction. She trained with world leading organisations including Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Center for Mindfulness, The Holistic Life Foundation, supported by Harvard and John Hopkins Medical School and The School for The Work of Byron Katie.

Kristina and her team of teachers now deliver stress reduction, Mindfulness and Yoga-based programs for individuals, schools, youth who’ve been kicked out of school and women in prison, under the auspices of The Kindness Institute . As a social enterprise, The Kindness Institute’s mindfulness work with businesses, schools and private clients funds programs for those who can’t afford it.

Kristina is also a 200 hour certified yoga teacher.

In 2014, Kristina was nominated for the Young New Zealander of the Year award and received a Local Hero Award for this work.