Hot Hour at Yoga Plus Ortigas

I attended my first Hot-Hour Yoga class last Wednesday (1230 to 130pm) at Yoga Plus Ortigas Branch. To prepare myself for the 1-hour class, I followed the top 1 advice I got from what I had researched from the web which is to 'Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!'. I think that helped me a lot to get through with the hot hour and made me enjoy the class without minding the heat and the sweat. Surprisingly, I did not feel exhausted during the class though I did sweat a lot. However, I had a hard time following the poses maybe because I (**stupidly) positioned myself in the front row (hahaha!).

Below are some tips I could give for those who want to try Hot Yoga:
1. Eat a healthy breakfast.
    **I usually eat oatmeal during breakfast but since I am attending the 1230pm class, I decided to have rice instead since Im not supposed to have lunch before the class.I had 1/2 cup of rice, 1/2 boneless bangus, 1 boiled egg, and 2 glasses of calamansi juice with honey.

2. Hydrate.
    **Before I left for work in the morning I already drank 2 glasses of water at home. While in the office, I think I had consumed around 3-700ml water before I left for the studio. And I think I had also consumed another bottle of water while waiting for the instructor.

3. Come on an empty stomach.
        **Make sure that you don't eat at least 2-3 hours before the class. Since the one I am attending is at lunch time, I decided to have a fruit shake (mango-banana) at around 11am as my snack so that at least I would not get hungry while doing the yoga.

4. Arrive early.
    **For every yoga class that I attended, I made sure that I arrive early so that I could pick a good spot where I can comfortably see and hear the instructor and where I would not feel too conscious of my fellow yoga students' presence. It also gives me enough time to relax and medidate before the class starts.

5. Take a quick shower before the class.
    **This also helps you to relax before the class and at least you wont have to worry that you're going to smell bad.

6. Bring a towel and water for drinking.
    **You are allowed to have occassional sip during the class especially during pauses to rehydrate.

7. Dress as comfy as possible.
    **For Hot Yoga, they usually wear skimpy clothes since it is expected that you will sweat a lot. As for me, I wore a sports bra, tanktop, and knee-length tights.

Yoga+ Ortigas

Since one of my resolution for this year is to focus more on my health, aside from being watchful on my diet, I also decided to enroll in a yoga class. I know that this could also help a lot in my asthma and scoliosis problem. Scouting for a studio nearest to my office is not much of a challenge since there are lots of gym/studio existing in Ortigas area. However, one of my concern is the schedule of classes/sessions because I need to factor in my time at work and the time that I need to be home especially that my son's school already started. So that's why I chose Yoga+ Studio (Ortigas) because aside from its proximity to my office (roughly around 8-min walk), they have several classes throughout the day that I can conveniently choose if my schedule permits me.

If you're a beginner (just like me who is totally zero experience in yoga), they offer 1-week unlimited trial class worth P1000 or an unlimited 1-month for P3000. Fee includes unlimited yoga classes (you may check their website for their weekly class schedule), free use of yoga mats, free water (just bring your own bottle), and they also offer free use of towels. They also have a really nice and well-maintained shower area (toiletries included). They also have a branch in BGC, Taguig City and next month they'll be opening another branch in Makati. 

Location: Ortigas Wellness Alliance, 22nd Floor, Strata 100 Building, F. Ortigas Jr. Avenue, Ortigas Center, Philippines

my membership card

studio (photo courtesy of yogaplus.ph website)

changing/shower area (photo courtesy of yogaplus.ph website)

Weekday Lunch at Gilligans MegaStrip, Ortigas

When my officemates and I wants to have an affordable lunchout, we usually opt to go to Gilligans. Aside from the fact that it is not that crowded during lunch hours unlike other restaurants in Ortigas area, they also offer affordable group meals that you and your colleagues can enjoy. They offer the usual grilled and pinoy dishes. They are famous for their crispy pork sisig.

typical weekday lunch hour

For our lunch today, we ordered their F5 meal which consists of sinigang na bangus belly, fried chicken, inihaw na liempo, a bowl of rice, and 4 glasses of iced tea. This is good for 4 pax and costs only P481. If you are on tight budget, they also have P99 meal (just add P21 for a glass of iced tea).

F5 Meal for only P481

iced tea

 

3 for P120