happy birthday to me

June is my birth month. Also, for this year, is my first year as a yogini. Many might think that I am already an expert with those asanas. However, I am still struggling with my poses and yes, I still can not do inversions (particularly, headstand) on my own. But inspite of my limited skills, I still can say that my progress is quite significant since I have learned and appreciate the benefits of involving myself to yoga. To be honest, one of my reasons why I wanted to be active in yoga is because I intend to lose weight and I want to slim down and lose those unwanted love handles. Because then, I had those feeling 'panget' and 'taba' moments and my self esteem was kinda low. Blame it on my age, metabolism slowdown plus of course, my undisciplined eating habits so I felt that I have to push (though I used to call it 'punish') myself more so that I could bring back my old body and hopefully feel good about myself again. But now, I feel that being sexy or fitting myself to size XS shirt is the least of my concerns right now. I just love practicing yoga and I feel that this is something I can do for a long time. So to sum it all, here is the list of things my own reflections and realizations for my first year as a struggling yogini:

1. I have learned to accept myself more.
2. Treat food as nourishment for my body and not as a reward or comfort.
3. Respect myself more. I cannot earn the respect of others if I do not know how to appreciate myself. It is always ok to say no if I feel I am uncomfortable with it.
4. Learned to respect others. Respect their personal space, respect their time, respect their values.
5. Know my limitations. It is ok to do variations if you're struggling for something.
6. Feel good about my achievements, big or small.
7. I deserve to have a 'ME' time, and 'ME' time = YOGA
8. Since I love myself more, i can see that people values me more.
9. I cannot please everybody, BUT I am not alone in this world. So I have to be more mindful and considerate.
10. As my yoga teachers would always say, it is ok to fall down, but you should learn how to pick yourself up.
11. drink, drink, drink! hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
12. i should always remember to thank myself.

it's not all about you.

It is almost the end of 2013. It has been a roller coaster ride especially with my relationship with other people. I got hurt..and yet at the same time I think I might have hurt someone too. I know I have this tendency to become self-centered. READ: always the victim, never the one to take blame.

Coffee-break @JCO Donuts

When JCO Donuts opened at Megamall some time last year, the place is always jam-packed. Good thing that the crowd now is much lesser so I don't have to wait for long hours just to line up and order. I really like the ambiance of the place and I think this is one of the nicest place to hang out and catch up with friends. Although I am not really a fan of their doughnuts, I do loved their coffee, much more than other more well-known coffee shops in the area. 

Nescafe 3-in1 Brown 'N Creamy : my oh-soooo-cheap alternative to starbucks

I cannot call myself a coffee addict but I can still say that I am quite dependent on coffee especially at work. But there are times that I am too busy that I cannot even afford to have my coffee break so I always make sure that I stock up on this. I know certified coffee-holic would feel grossed at the idea of having a 3-in1 instant coffee but as I say, I never claimed to be a coffee guru. And I swear just the smell of this instant coffee is enough to perk up my day. =)

'BER months....it's the time of the year again

It's BER months again. Christmas Trees are now already on display in some malls. People would soon start to line up once again in the stores to buy stuff for their loved ones. And as always, resisting to indulge in food would be much harder. So that would only mean additional calories and additional number on your weighing scale. But what the heck, Christmas Season only come once a year. Instead of trying hard and (most of the time) failing miserably in sticking to your diet, just let go, enjoy, and have fun with your friends and loved ones. Besides, it could give you much more reason and determination in getting fit once again at the start of the next year. =)

Love Yoga, Love Life.

A long long time ago, believe it or not, i used to be skinny. back then, at 5ft 2 inches height, I only weigh around 90lbs, considering my ideal weight should be 115lbs. during those times, people don't put that much interest in losing weight, i think people then knows how to appreciate their body and doesn't see the need to stay slim unless you are interested in pursuing a career in fashion or showbiz. if i have that body then now, i guess many would have envied me. I can eat anything i want without gaining any weight at all. but maybe due to my aging body, the slowing down of my metabolism, change in lifestyle, or just pure luck, my problem reversed. I now gained extra pounds and have curves in some of the most unwanted parts of my body. And now are the days that people are so obsess with slimming down. Gyms, health studio, slimming pills and crash diets are some of the hot search topics in the web. i think the society nowadays dictates what is beautiful, what is sexy, what is healthy, what is fab...practically what a perfect human being should be. and since the power of the internet makes these ideas readily available to anyone, it could either help a person to aspire to be better or it could bring more frustration and depression if they fail to meet those standards. I on my part fell prey to this trend. I tried crash diets and slimming pills as a desperate attempt to bring back my old body. I did lose some weight but i think my aging body is paying for it since I am now suffering asthma attacks which I don't have before. I have gotten slim but I have never felt more sickly as I was before. Thankfully, through internet, I got interested in yoga when in one of my research on how to handle asthma for adults, I read through an article on how yoga helps in managing asthma. Plus it is also a good form of exercise which I had assumed would help me in managing my weight problem as well. That's hitting two (or more since there are other benefits of yoga as well) birds in one, right?! So searching for the nearest yoga studio I could enroll, I managed to build up a courage to attend my first yoga class. And now I've been doing yoga for more than two months already. I still have asthma attacks and my weight is still see-sawing now and then. But there are more good things and realizations that yoga has taught me. I now realized more than ever that I really need to take care of my body. Not only for myself but for those people I love. Yoga also empowered me. It made me realized that age should not be a hindrance in learning new things and embarking on new endeavors. When my life before used to revolve on my family and my career, I now consider my yoga session as my 'ME' time. It is something I can do on my own and yet the love for my family and life and my willingness to be a better person is what I have in mind and inspires me during the practice. So yeah, I still don't fit in size 0 clothes but I feel more confident in whatever body frame I am in. I love my body and myself more. And I guess if you're in that state of being, everybody could not help but love you more too.

My Yoga Must-Haves

Whenever I go to the shala, I need to have the following with me:

Tote Bag: I was able to buy a large tote bag from Mango. I particularly love this bag because I can easily put my stuff in it and yet it still look stylish since it's not the usual gym/workout bags that people usually use when they have to go to the gym or studio. I bought this on sale at P1200.

Water Bottle: I use a 700-ml Lock&Lock sports handy bottle which I bought at P125.00 only (sale). This is really handy especially when I attend Hot Yoga because it is big enough to hydrate me during the class.

Toiletries: Although Yoga+ provides toiletries in their shower room, I still prefer to bring my own. They are basically shower gel (from BodyShop), body oil (from BodyShop), shampoo (L'occitane), and an alcohol spray for disinfecting.