Food to Keep Us Young

Here's an interesting news from yahoo enumerating the "7 Anti-Aging Super Food".

Their list includes: chocolates, blue berries, fish, nuts, wine, olive oil and yogurt.

Why these foods? Visit this link http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/7-anti-aging-super-foods-272163/;_ylt=An.59owXPy.Bq56WyCfEKSZabqU5

The Sattvah Method

Sattvah Wellness Group is a newly opened alternative medicine center that offers stress management and wellness through intergated natural energy therapies in Katipunan, Quezon City (Philippines).

The basic premise of their service is to work on the energy emitted by the human body. This energy has been named in various Asian traditions -- "Chi" in Chinese, "Ki" in Japanese, "Prana" in Yoga traditions. It is what acupuncturists make flow using needles to enhance health. When the body’s natural energies are flowing, there is balance in mind and body.

The Sattvah method is about integrating various energy therapy methods to bring balance to the individual.

For more information about the programs and services of Sattvah, visit their website at www.sattvahwellness.com or email them at sattvah@yahoo.com

Brainy Surprises

The human brain is one of the most fascinating things in the universe. And this is held true by the book "Phantoms of the Brain" by neurologist V.S. Ramachandran. In this brilliant account of different cases on neurology, Ramachandran gives us a peek into the inner workings of the human mind -- how we deceive ourselves, how we perceive our world, why we laugh, why we are depressed, why we could unconsciously be in denial of many unnacceptable things in our body and in our life and why we believe God.

Many of the featured cases here are bizarre. His experiments are simple. But his deductions about brain function would just jump through you and will make you look at life yourself in a different way.

It's a witty and insightful book about many things we never knew about ourselves. And this is just one of those books that I would always remember for the rest of my life.

My Tiramisu Love Affair

The first time I fell in love with this popular Italian dessert is at Petra's restaurant (Connecticut st., Greenhills) owned by Paolo Bustamante several years ago. And from then on, I have always craved for a tiramisu experience. I must say that many of the tiramisu cakes are quite bad even among popular Italian restos.

Here's a list of some of my best tiramisu around Metro Manila

* Bread Talk (right serving, consistently rich taste)

* Chocolat at North Edsa & Mall of Asia

* Edsa Shangri-la Cafe (soft, jelly type)

If you know of any place in Metro Manila with a must try tiramisu, please leave a comment :)

Visiting Ngong Ping 360

The beautiful commercial village of Ngong Ping 360 in Hongkong is a forty minute cable ride away from Tung Chung train station. This carefully designed community sits beside the gigantic Tian Tan Buddha statue. There are numerous interesting souvenir shops for tourists in the area as well as entertainment and dining shops awaiting its visitors.

Guests are greeted with a beautiful landscape upon arriving from the cable car

An interesting entrance at the village.

One of the finely crafted statues guarding the giant buddha

The steep climb to the Tian Tan Buddha Statue

Your Private Yoga Class in Ortigas

Chi, The Spa at Edsa Shangri-la is now offering a personalized yoga class for everyone. So whether your goal is to have a relaxing session of stretching or a dynamic and muscle toning class or simply to breathe away the stress of the day, there's yoga class for your specific needs right at the heart of the most luxurious hotel in Ortigas (Philippines).

This elegant spa offers of one of the most beautiful yoga studios in Metro Manila -- serene, quiet, it even has a small library for its clients to have a deeper understanding of the yoga lifestyle.

This private session may also be availed by two individuals -- perfect for couples or friends who would like to enhance their relationship through a fun and interactive partner yoga class. In this kind of yoga, clients perform their yoga poses together with their partners building trust and connection in the process.

Classes are conducted by a Yoga Alliance USA registered instructor. Each session costs Php1500 (good for two individuals; additional Php500 for a third participant). You may call Edsa Shangri-la at (632) 6338888 to request for a schedule anyday of the week.

My First Year Teaching Yoga

It has been a year since I attended my Yoga Teacher Training. And looking back, my life has dramatically changed.

First, I now teach seven days a week. I grow with my students and they inspire me to have a deeper yoga practice.

Teaching 15 classes a week, have made me let go of several television and film projects. But It is a decision I would never regret.Because teaching yoga does not require me to go on late nights with killer script deadlines, kiss ass with entertainment executives and deal with tantrums from "wannabe stars".

Teaching yoga simply requires to be myself - adventurous, appreciative and nurturing. It does not require me to wear nice fitting signature pants,expensive watches and other fashion statements shouting "look at me, I'm a creative person". Everyday, I simply wear my most comfortable shorts andsneakers geared to face the harsh urban Manila.

And because I can simply leave my fashoin in my closet, I can now afford not to drive my car. With the onset of exorbitant gasoline prices, I'm just glad that most of the studios I teach in has a direct access to a train station. Now, I can pay for the food that I crave for without thinking of my gasoline and parking expenses for the next day.

For the most part of the week, I only teach in the evenings. For this reason, I have gained enough free time to write about things closest to my heart: yoga, my queer advocacies and the philosophies that I stand for. I have written scripts for films which have earned praises from critics and have grown three blogswith hundreds of readers a day. And for the first time in my life, I am publicly recognized as a writer.

Aside from the great wonders of a lifestyle change as a yoga teacher, my practice has deepened. I am now entering the realm of backbends, something for me was impossible for the past three years of my yoga practice. My meditation has become deep enough for me to have an overmhelming appreciation of my life and the world around me. Having attended the Asian Yoga Conference in Hongkong has taught me that there's a huge world of yoga outside of Manila. And there's a limitless direction into how I want to grow my practice.

Let me end this note with my most important lesson so far -- I have learned that our lives are anchored on our mind and our body. The lifestyle of yoga leads us to a better body and a better mind. Hence, as I grow in yoga as a teacher and as a practitioner, I live a better life and so do my students.