FLOWin’ off to Negros!

22. May 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Yoga Retreats

Looking for a way to end your summer with a bang? How about joining the super mommy trio of Flow SurfYogaSamba as they Flow their way to Negros this June 28-30, 2013. This time, the Flow team takes retreat participants to the exotic private island paradise sanctuary, Punta Bulata White Beach Resort and Spa in Negros Occidental.

Participants will set their internal rhythms strait and clear up their energy channels through a sunrise Vinyasa and sunset Yin yoga practice with resident yogini, Monica Eleazar-Manzano. To help bring this cleanse off of the mat, Vegetarian advocate, surfer and artist Noelle Hilario will teach participants how to make Green Smoothies and simple but nourishing live food snacks at a health workshop hosted by Moringana and Breville.

Also in store for participants is a Danjugan Island Tour where they will most definitely relish being in nature and be in awe at it’s raw beauty. Danjugan Island is a marine reserve and wildlife island sanctuary home to 55 different bird species, 6 different bat species and is also a nesting site for sea turtles. Guests may snorkel at one of the 5 lagoons with marvellously diverse coral reefs (as diverse as the Great Barrier reef of Australia!).

What better way to end the weekend but with a relaxing massage at the Ayu Spa of Punta Bulata???

Email flowsurfyogasamba@gmail.com or fill up registration form at www.flowsurfyogasamba.com to sign up! Register early to get the early-bird rate of P8,000 only until May 28. Retreat package rate is P8,860 if you pay May 29 onwards.

Flow Luxe Yoga Escape Weekend Retreat is sponsored by:

Moringana, Belo Essentials Sun Expert, Strip, Browhaus, Rawlicious, Nyogi Coconut Water, The Juice Barista, Breville, Lagu, Team Manila, Cutieverse and Travel Magazine.

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To the Beat of the Drum

22. May 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized

I was at one of the studios I frequent last night and was surprised to see that the drum that usually is at one little corner was gone. It’s funny how I never really paid attention to it, but last night, I was frustrated about something and just wanted to tap my fingers on top of the drum and just fall into the beat of the drum. There’s something powerful in it, I think. I don’t really know what it is, but it is amazingly soothing. I had to settle for drumming my fingers on the floor and that sufficed. Perhaps I should get that alesis drum at Guitar Center haha.

Seriously, though, I wonder what it is about the beat of the drum that really connects with people. I guess it’s because it can mimic the sound of the heart? I dunno. In any case, I shall experiment with this more in my classes :) Let’s see how that goes.

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Universal Yoga in Manila

21. May 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Workshops

The first time I heard about Universal Yoga was when the super fun and amazing international yoga teacher Will Lau was here last March for a Continuing Education Training Intensive series with Beyond Yoga. Apparently, Universal Yoga is quite big in Europe and in other places around the globe, but it definitely was the first time I came across it then. In the classes he taught, we used two mats crossed over each other (to form an “x”) and the poses took as all around all four corners of the crossed mats. Through going around the mandala, as Will called it, we really got to feel what it is like to balance out the bodies. The poses often called for the union of opposites, so we would, for example, work different arm and leg pairs together, and then switch. To be honest, it still is a little hard for me to explain the whole process, and it really is something that should be experienced in person. The Universal Yoga class is a challenging and powerful class that allows any practitioner to see the practice in a new light :) More »

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Savasana Songs

21. May 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

One of the things I have tried to learn as a yoga teacher is how to teach without music in the background. When I first started, it was so hard for me to not have my playlists keeping me company as a cued poses and led classes. Over time, however, I have slowly learned how to do it :) Yey me. I do try to still play something during savasana, nonetheless. Whether it is a very nice, slow, inspirational ballad or an apt chant, I keep it low in the background. One day, however, I would like to play an instrument when my students are in savasana. In the studio I teach in, there is a harmonium, and that’s one that I would probably like to try. Or perhaps a ukelele, that I can strum quietly, or perhaps something like the lyre at wwbw that I had seen. Or a harp. Hmmm :)

In the absence of instruments, the typical songs I play in savasana are Yellow by Jem, Fix You by Cold Play, Live Like You’re Dying by Lenka and Om Mani Padme Hum by Mercedes Bahleda.

What’s your favorite savasana song?

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What is the sound of….

19. May 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized

I just wrapped up a two week kids yoga program and boy, was it the most amazingly fun way to spend a summer! We went on different types of yoga journeys, did all sorts of experiments, and explored how we can use our body to do a whole lot of things, including making sounds. One of the classes was about sounds and so we came up with different types of innovative percussion instruments with scrap materials. Of course half the time it didn’t work, but the kids loved it nonetheless :)

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