A Mommy's Me Time

It’s true what they say. Once you become a parent, finding time for yourself is an everyday struggle. Make it twice as hard if you don’t have a yaya. Don’t get me wrong though; I love being around my child and I love taking care of her. You know, there was once a time when guilt finds its way to me the moment I go to the spa or have lunch out with my friends. I felt the world judging me.

What is “me time” anyway? I used to find it in little things, like that 5-minute shower when Allie was still an infant. Now that she’s a bit older, I get my “me time” fix while waiting for her class to end. I go to my barre3 class, or make paper flowers, or paint. Having this time for myself made me more patient and rejuvenated. I decided that everyone really needs a little “me time” every so often. I put guilt in the backseat and finally convinced myself that that “me time” is a means to an end.

We used to live in a two-bedroom condominium. Cleaning was a breeze. But now, cleaning all four floors we call home is not exactly my cup of tea. It takes up all my free time! For general cleaning, I had to hire professional cleaners who can do the work in a quarter of the time I can. But for my everyday cleaning routine, I try to get the best cleaning materials out there.

I tend to choose cleansers that are concentrated, efficient, effective, and easy-to-use. In the long run, I save money while keeping my home clean and fresh, fast. A favorite of mine is Pine-Sol. For a long time, I thought there was only one scent -- the original. Then I learned that there were more scents available. I was so happy! Lemon Fresh and Orange Energy are perfect for the kitchen to remove oil and grease while keeping it freshly scented. Sparkling Wave is great to use in bathrooms because it disinfects and has that ocean-y smell to it that is very invigorating. My favorite is Lavender Clean to keep my bedroom smelling like fields of lavender.

Because Pine-Sol is very effective, I only spend a sliver of time cleaning the morning mess of breakfast, giving me more “me time”.

Case in point – a couple of weeks ago, a couple of friends of mine asked if I wanted to join a celebration of “me time” by doing yoga and having lunch with friends courtesy of Pine-Sol. It started in the morning so I had to scramble making breakfast and cleaning the kitchen. It took me a few seconds to spray and wipe my kitchen counters. An eighth of a cup of Pine-Sol is all you need for half a gallon of water. I left the kitchen sparkling and fragrant.

Our morning yoga session was held at Sofit/LeSpa, Sofitel’s health and fitness center, and was facilitated by Joanne Santos.

Before it started, we shared our thoughts about “me time” with each other. Some said the usual – going to the salon, shopping, or getting mani-pedis. A number mentioned doing chores and going to the grocery. A couple responded they haven’t even heard of “me time”. Haha.

What a treat it was for us, mommies, because we all felt relaxed by the end of the class. We all needed that.

We were then ushered to a private lunch party, where we had the tastiest and healthiest dishes. We learned about calorie counting and detoxification from the ladies of Sofitel’s aesthetic center Vietura.

During lunch, Pine-Sol brand manager Renelle delos Santos shared with us some value tips that I find true.

We all had an amazing time learning about having a clean home and just chatting with each other. It was such a fun event that I lost track of time. I was among the last ones to leave. Haha.

Nevertheless, when I got home, I spent my additional “me time” painting my favorite scent.

Lavender Clean Pine-Sol

Thank you so much Pine-Sol for the relaxing and yummy treat, and thanks to Mish of Momma N Manila, and Patty of Mrs C's Sugarcoated Life for organizing this wonderful event. I will be forever grateful for letting me experience the ease of cleaning by using your products.


Some useful links:
The Value of Pine-Sol
House cleaning tips

Follow: Pine-Sol Philippines on Facebook

Photos by Jay Santos

Body: Style Origin 2014 from My Point of View

I've always admired ramp models and fashion bloggers. They just exude that special confidence. Models walk like it's nothing. Fashion bloggers post their own photos on their blogs. I am neither of the two. First, I don't have the height and the body to become a model. I'm 5'5" and I weigh ... uhm, let's not talk about specifics. Fine, I'm a size US 4 for tops and 6/8 for pants. Second, I haven't dwelled too much on the idea of becoming a fashion blogger, and it's really because I feel insecure about my body, especially after I've given birth to Allie. I know I shouldn't but I really do. Although I'm almost at my pre-pregancy weight, I don't think I'll ever have my pre-pregnancy body ever unless I have plastic surgery.

Mommies, you know what I am talking about -- stretch marks, preggy tummy fat, and oversized hips. Oh yeah, put that bigger boobs on that list, too. I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually prefer smaller ones. Don't tell me husband I said that. Haha.

I've tried quite a few workouts - I had a personal trainer at the gym once upon a time, then I tried anti-gravity yoga, then just plain yoga, and more recently, crossfit. Nothing kept me going. Going to the gym just makes me super hungry afterwards, and I actually gained weight from it. I had a bad experience with anti-gravity yoga -- never again in a million years. Ordinary yoga was kinda alright, and I'm willing to try it again. But crossfit and my body are still incompatible as of today. I will try it again soon when my body's stronger, but not yet. It's too strenuous for me. But I am about to embark another fitness regimen to make my body more fit and leaner. I'll talk about that next time.

A few weeks back in June, I got invited to guest at a fashion show for Style Origin that was held in Trinoma. I figured it was going to be fun, and I get to tackle my body insecurity head on. So I joined. Well, I was in for a big surprise. I didn't expect it to be big, BIG. But it was BIG. I walked the ramp with professional models, fashion bloggers and celebrities. Oh my gosh. It was even directed by Mr. Robbie Carmona himself.

First, I got to pick my own clothes from Ensembles, a local brand that I really like. We were asked to bring our own shoes, so that really helped my confidence. Then, I met with my fellow bloggers and practiced walking. Eek, I think I was the most inexperienced one. But I told myself, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. 

I had my hair and make-up done by the Shiseido team. They transformed administrative offices to temporary hair and make-up studios. The place was insanely busy. So yeah, I felt really out of place, and my insecurity was just building up. My consolation that time was that my make-up artist told me I had really, really good skin. He even asked me what products I use.

Okay, so when the time came for us to go backstage, the professional models and celebrities were there with us.  The organizers were arranging the clothes to be worn by the models. It was crazy messy. It was like they were having a warehouse sale. Well, that, and there were tons of abs everywhere. Yes, those abs made me forget about the butterflies in my stomach for a moment.

I was the first blogger to walk, and I was still getting the jitters at the last second. Bloggers walked alone. I came after these beautiful, skinny models. Thank goodness, I was able to go through with it. Here's proof that I was there. Haha.

Yes, I know I probably was the one with the fattest body who walked. I felt like it too. I learned not to care what other people think by then, as long as I feel comfortable and beautiful like the Dove women that I see on commercials, I'll be fine. Just keeping it real folks. Besides, I think I was the only mommy blogger there, so kudos to me. Haha.

I'm glad I joined. I felt I could do anything. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

Body: Better Yoga at ECHOyoga Shala

Yoga has become very popular choice of fitness now more than ever. Sometimes, I feel it has this very commercial connotation to it already as tons of yoga places seem to have sprouted everywhere overnight. Even fitness gyms now have yoga sessions in their schedules.

My first experience in yoga was not that effective probably due to self-teaching and I used to do it with my husband using a fitness video that was too vigorous. My second was sadly one that I vowed never to do again because I got sick. But when Janice invited me to attend a beginner's session at ECHOyoga Shala, I decided to give it a final shot. I said to myself I might as well start at the very basic.

ECHOyoga is the wellness side of ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle, the green retail store. ECHO means Empowerment Care Health and Oneness. Jeannie Javelosa, co-owner of ECHOstore, has been teaching yoga for close to 15 years, and with her co-teacher Marilen Elizalde, launched ECHOyoga five years back, offering weekly and corporate classes. Today, the two certified yoga teachers bring their passion for wholistic living through yoga in a new space called ECHOyoga Shala, located in Kalayaan Avenue, behind Rockwell in Makati.

The ECHOyoga Shala itself is what I thought yoga was all about -- pure, simple and open. 

Along with several mommy bloggers, I experienced the Gentle Flow session with Ms. Jeannie Javelosa, who has the calmest and most relaxing voice I tell you. It made me block out the noise coming from outside the shala. I almost fell asleep as we did the corpse pose. Hahaha. I came out feeling refreshed, strengthened and relaxed after the Gentle Flow session. 

We all sweated it out too. Muscles that I didn't know existed were stretched. My body felt sore the day after -- in a good kind of way.

“Yoga has always been my grounding that brings me to my center, especially with my life as a busy mother, homemaker and wife. Through teaching yoga, I expand my awareness and can share this beautiful practice with many.” -- Marilen Elizalde

“Launching ECHOyoga Shala in a new space is for me a natural extension and addition to support ECHOstore’s philosophy of a sustainable lifestyle. Yoga is my disciplined practice that wholistically connects the Body, Mind and Spirit.” -- Jeannie Javelosa

The one thing that Jeannie told us that stuck to me was to practice yoga in life away from the mat, and that there is no line between them. 

That certainly hit home because living in a concrete jungle called Metro Manila is no easy feat. Every day we get bombarded with nasty traffic and terrible surroundings that stress us out to the max. We need time to relax our mind and body too. I had lost my interest in yoga before, but I now know that this is the kind of yoga that fits me, and I will certainly do it again. 

Thank you so much ECHOyoga Shala for having us. I'm pretty sure we'll be back. 

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About the New ECHOyoga Shala

ECHOyoga Shala opens its new space with the objective to offer a wholistic approach to a sustainable lifestyle, strengthen community collaborations and bring a deeper understanding of yoga practice. It is open daily, from 6:30 am to 8:30 pm with five daily classes, weekend schedules and workshops plus a daily early morning Self Practice space.

Yoga in all its varied expressions will be offered to beginners, intermediate and advanced students classes like Gentle Flow, Restorative Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga Vinyasa and Power Yoga. ECHOyoga Shala’s thrust to go beyond just the physical practice of yoga as exercise includes sessions on Meditation, Breath Control (Pranayama) for distressing, and even “Off the Mat” community talks are led by certified and trained yoga teachers, with international experiences. Other offerings include counseling and life coaching sessions, and body-energy work therapies.

If yoga is to be embraced for a sustainable lifestyle, ECHOyoga Shala’s classes, sessions, workshop, community talks are sequenced and offered to guide the students in their yoga practice and discipline to develop a strong healthy Body, a steady focused Mind, a compassionate Heart. The ultimate goal is the development of a personal Self-Practice and tools that can be used for a deeper appreciation of life.

The Values: ECHO

Empowerment, Care, Health, Oneness

ECHOyoga takes the lead in bringing practitioners of yoga together in a community space to share practice and experience their lives through yoga. “Shala” is a sanskrit word that means “house”. ECHO means Empowerment Care Health and Oneness. Through one space, ECHOyoga hopes to further bring these core values forward through strengthening community collaborations and bringing a deeper understanding of yoga practice towards living a more sustainable lifestyle.

WORKSHOP PACKAGES COMING UP MAY

Kids Yoga (ages 6-10 years old) May 6 – 29

A fun way to spend summer afternoons of May /Tuesday & Thursdays, 3 – 4 pm

Package fee of Php 4,000

Early bird rate of Php 3,800 if signed in on or before April 15

Drop in rate: Php 500 per class

Eight sessions that will help kids ages 6-10 years old

* breathe - tune in a focus

* have fun - be creative and playful with friends

* balance - feel posed, composed and alive

* stand - become stable, strong and grounded

* forward bend - reach release and flex

* back bend - be supple, open and trustful

* partner - have fun working together

* time in - unwind, rest and revive

To be led by Teacher Marilen Elizalde: Marilen is first a mom with three children, then was a Middle School teacher and is now, a certified Yoga Instructor. Allow Marilen to transform an hour into a session of insight, loving action, playful stretches and spontaneous heartfelt joy.

PRE-NATAL YOGA

Package of Eight Classes being prepared for May

AWAKENING SUBTLE ENERGY BODIES (Friday Nights) –Package of Eight Classes being prepared for April and May

* Pranayama and Meditation

* Sound and Meditation

* Chakra Cleansing Meditation

* Manifesting through the Chakras

* Yin Rhythms and Meditation

 Here's how to get there:

 *All photos courtesy of ECHOyoga Shala