Journal

May 12, 2008

10:09 mmMassage
It's been a week since I started teaching BODYJAM classes regularly, and I've really been feeling the physical load. Even though I also teach BODYBALANCE (and this has really helped me keep loose and injury-free), I've yet to adjust to the amount of exertion two Jam classes a day requires.

I've started using the steam room inside the Fitness First locker rooms. Teaching Jam takes a toll on the voice, particularly since a majority of the clubs don't have microphones in their group exercise studios. After my shower, I duck into the steam to allow my strained vocal chords to relax in the moist heat. My other body parts also thank me for this, particularly my thighs and back, since the heat soothes them and I'm able to stretch them further.

But sometimes, you have to ask someone to do the stretching for you. Just to take out the kinks in my body, I got a massage yesterday at Big Apple Express Spa in Robinsons Galleria. I never thought I needed them before I started working as a group exercise instructor, but in this line of work I've realized I've got to have them. Because treatments at Big Apple are priced reasonably (299 pesos for a one-hour full-body massage), I never feel like I'm splurging, and at the Galleria branch specifically I never feel like I'm wasting my money. I entered the treatment room with aching calves and thighs, a twinging lower back (which interestingly enough didn't start from doing Jam and Balance), and a lot of stress. I exited feeling so much lighter and more free in my range of movement.

I'm going back into the group exercise grind today, but at least I know I've got somewhere to run when my muscles get all tied up. I think I'll start doing this regularly.

Tags: Group Exercise, Massage

May 04, 2008

23:38 Now Airing: Gone FTW Laoag
Curious about what exactly went down during my trip to Laoag back in February?

Noelle, the writer, and Miche, the host

To find out, catch my latest Living Asia Channel project, Gone for the Weekend: Laoag. It's airing on the following dates and times:

• May 5: 7am, 8pm
• May 6: 4am, 12pm, 5pm
• May 7: 1am, 9am, 2pm, 10pm
• May 8: 4am, 7pm
• May 9: 3am, 11am, 4pm
• May 10: 12am, 8am, 1pm, 9pm
• May 11: 5am

Living Asia Channel is available on SkyCable and Home Cable (channel 99) and Global Destiny.

Tags: Living Asia Channel, Television Appearance

May 02, 2008

13:36 A Change Will Do You Good
Les Mills launch season here in the Philippines is almost over, and all the clubs have changed over to the new releases for the next four weeks, at least.

BODYBALANCE release 40

BODYJAM release 44

A year ago I never imagined I would have two fantastic jobs -- as a group exercise instructor, and as a writer. I never even thought that I'd have regular classes at this point. My main goal for last year was just to cover enough classes in BODYBALANCE to pay off my training fee. Starting next week I'll have five Jam classes and three Balance classes under my name regularly.

• Mondays: 6pm BODYBALANCE (Fairview), 8pm BODYJAM (Fairview)
• Tuesdays: 8:30am BODYJAM (Metro East), 5:45pm BODYJAM (Eastwood), 7:45pm BODYBALANCE (Metro East)
• Wednesdays: 6:30am BODYJAM (Eastwood), 7:30am BODYBALANCE (Eastwood)
• Fridays: 11am BODYJAM (Eastwood)

Last May I was about to resign from my 9-to-6 job, ready to pursue my dream of writing in the media. Little did I realize that my teaching at the gym, which I thought I'd do only on the side, would become what enables me to pursue my passion for traveling and writing. It's the freedom of time (just one hour per class!) that allows me to head off to the Living Asia Channel office in Makati to do research, or attend pre-production meetings, or write scripts. It's the financial structure (if you do more classes, you get paid accordingly) that allows me to work intensively for several weeks, then pack up and leave for a six-day trip with the channel.

Right now I just feel so thankful that God's given me this lifestyle. I'm still trying to strike a balance between the two jobs, but every change that He's brought into my life has always been for the better.

Tags: Work

April 21, 2008

10:04 That's Hot!
Let's play a guessing game: Where am I? I'm lying on my back, wearing a two-piece, and it's really hot because sweat is pouring out of every pore of my body.

If you guessed that I'm sunbathing at the beach because it's all I talk about here, you would actually be wrong. Ü I'm describing lying in Savasana (Dead Body Pose) during a Bikram yoga class.

not the beach

The circumstances surrounding me trying out Bikram yoga for a week did stem from a beach trip, though. I met Bikram Yoga Greenhills director Aljarreau Galang during my New Year in Boracay, and tried my first class in his studio one week later. Life got in the way over the next three months, which is why yesterday was only my seventh session. But I've seen and experienced enough to know that Fitness First has definitely got some competition on its hands with this.

The Difference: So what is this Bikram yoga thing anyway, and how different is it from what I teach (BODYBALANCE, a yoga-inspired group exercise workout) and what Fitness First offers (Flow Yoga)? Since the first Bikram yoga studio opened here in the Philippines two years ago, a dedicated local clientele has grown around doing 26 postures and two breathing exercises in a stifling hot room. And ever since the BYG studio opened six months ago, my students at Fitness First Greenhills have been asking me what it's about.

That first class back in January was a doozy. The heat is something I wasn't used to. BODYBALANCE is taught at room temperature, and I hadn't tried the hot flow classes being offered by FF North EDSA, MOA, and Trinoma.

The postures were demanding; it's the same 26 for everyone, always (unlike Balance where every three months we have a new set of choreography, or Flow where there's a much larger repertoire of poses).

Coaching style is radically different from Balance, where we're taught to vary our cues; for Bikram yoga, cues are largely memorized and recited in a specific order of phrases called "dialogue." Also, if you're used to gentle verbal nudging from a Balance instructor, you'd be unprepared for the disciplinarian style of a Bikram yoga instructor.

L to R: the hot (literally and figuratively) BYG teachers Betty Khumtong, Sherie Dyer, AJ Galang, and Ginger Diaz

I whinged about that first class to AJ; I had a lot of comments and didn't want to go back into that heated room any time soon. He took my comments good-naturedly; he probably knew I'd be back anyway.

Three weeks ago, I tested the waters at head instructor Sherie's class and had a great time. Then I let down my mental barriers enough to take the plunge into a week's yoga practice.

Monday (AJ's class) was hellish because I hadn't hydrated enough beforehand. During the standing balance series, my vision started to cloud over, my hearing became muffled, and I realized at several points I was about to lose consciousness. Tuesday and Wednesday, a lot of work gave me a break and I wanted to make up the time. I went Thursday (Ginger), Friday (Sherie), Saturday (AJ), and Sunday (Betty). Pretty much by the end of the week the heat didn't bother me as much, class didn't seem to take so long, I'd made some progress in the postures, and... I might be hooked.

I learned to do this in BODYBALANCE, though.

The Target Market: I've entered the studio with many different shapes and sizes of people, but it's largely an upscale market. Membership is approximately 4,000 pesos a month for unlimited use, so you really would have to have the budget to spare.

But most of these are also people who have other gym memberships (or maybe they did, in the past). I've encountered at least three FF members regularly in BYG, and several more in FF clubs who have told me they've tried it. It's something new, different, and offers them the hope that maybe they can experience a change in their bodies.

And then there are those who seem like they're aiming for a change in their minds, those who seem like they've done their fair share of soul-searching. Aiming for mens sana in corpore sano -- a sound mind in a sound body.

It's a small market. But it can be a fanatical one, for whatever reasons they keep coming back.

The Teachers: Staying inside a sweltering box for 90 minutes at a time may be more than enough for some students on any given day, but I've gotta hand it to these teachers. They teach and attend (more than once), every day. There are even some days they all practice together for two hours in an advanced class. Oy.

And since you can't eat heavy meals at least two hours before taking class, one might wonder how they manage to stay nourished. According to Betty, if the first class is at 6:30 am, next one is at 8:30, then the advanced class at 1pm, they have their first big meal at 3pm. Fruit shakes in between.

Dedication, indeed.

The Community: "Even though there are other yoga schools, this one is special," Sherie said last Friday. There's a certain sense of connection people feel when they've been through a trying time together, and that's certainly the case after a class where you breathe in each other's sweat, breath, and odor. Of course I'm being tongue-in-cheek there. But there's no denying that the people involved in BYG (whether teacher or pupil) have created very real relationships with each other. Ultimately that's a powerful motivator for anyone: feeling like you belong.

The Verdict: Bikram yoga isn't for everyone. You might choose to conduct your search for release from stress somewhere much cooler, like a golf course. You might prefer to lose weight through dancing or other ways of moving your body. Or you might want a little more variety in your asanas so a different yoga school might be better for you.

I experience a sense of accomplishment each time I get a little further in Backbend, or holding my balance longer in Standing Bow Pulling Pose, or getting and keeping the proper alignment in any of the other postures. This, reinforced by genuine feedback from the teachers ("Good work today, Noelle" and more recently "You did very well in first row today" when I had to move there to make room for another student), could quite possibly keep me coming back for more. I'll definitely be hanging around for the last two weeks of this month...

Someday. Maybe.

For inquiries or more information, visit the Bikram Yoga Greenhills website, or contact them through telephone (+632 721-8350) or cellphone (+63917 828-1035).

Update: Here's the Philippine Daily Inquirer video interview with Sherie and AJ as they explain the philosophy behind Bikram yoga.

Tags: Bikram Yoga

April 15, 2008

12:00 BODYBALANCE: 10 Years
Despite becoming a BODYJAM instructor, I haven't forgotten about my first program, BODYBALANCE. It's celebrating its 10th anniversary with release #40 (do the math: 4 releases a year for 10 years!). We Balance instructors have some special surprises up our sleeves as we launch the new release. It's gonna be a big one!

I'm launching at the following clubs and times:

• ABS-CBN: Thursday, April 17, 8:35pm
• Eastwood: Monday, April 21, 6pm
• Ortigas: Tuesday, April 22, 5:30pm
• Metro East: Saturday, April 26, 3pm
• North EDSA: Saturday, May 3, 2pm

Hope to see you there!

Tags: BodyBalance, Fitness First Philippines

April 07, 2008

09:42 Notes from Boracay: the Sun's Up!
On our last full day in Boracay, the sun came out bright and strong. We started the day right at Real Coffee.

Yum yum yum!

There we bumped into Neil, Peter, and Yamil from Scuba World, a dive shop on Station One. They offered us a great deal on kayaks, so after spending an hour or so just swimming we decided to take some kayaks up to Friday's Resort on the northern tip of White Beach.

I'm paddling, I'm paddling!

We landed on the shore of Friday's and rolled around on the powder-fine sand. Boracay's sand all along White Beach may be the best in the world, but at Friday's the sand is extra special.

Noelle on the beach.

We spent the rest of the day just on the beach. The sky was cloudless, and we realized this would be the first and last sunset we'd see on this particular trip to Boracay.

sitting in the sunset at The Tides

It was the perfect end to our vacation in Boracay. I didn't buy any souvenirs, but I did get a tan.

'Til next time!

Check out my Multiply site for more photos of my Boracay trip.

Tags: Boracay

April 04, 2008

23:00 Notes from Boracay: State of the Beach, and Poi
Because this time around I've committed to doing things I've never done in Boracay, I woke up really early so I could take a long walk down to the end of Station Three. As I walked along the shoreline, the feel of the beachfront establishments changed from urbanized to rustic; I've been told that Station Three preserves a little more of the old Boracay, where things are more laidback.

As the sun rose, it turned into an overcast morning. Going into the water was also an ordeal due to heavy algal growth on the beach. And due to some seawall newly built on another part of the island, the currents on White Beach have been crashing more heavily into Station One's shores, eating away at the beach. Not really a good state of affairs when development starts to destroy what is part of the charm of a place.

We're the pretty sight.

I was introduced to poi twirling yesterday, and it challenged me so much that I went out and bought a pair for myself. No, I'm not about to start my own firedancing career (a la Rachel Lobangco), but it's a pretty fun way to burn some calories. Now if only I could figure out how not to hit myself on the head so much.

It's so much fun!

I also tried riding a flying fish today and got thrown off on our last round. Tomorrow I think I'll stay close to the shoreline and maybe try to get a kid to teach me how to skimboard.

Tags: Boracay

Recent Posts

mmMassage, Now Airing: Gone FTW Laoag, A Change Will Do You Good, That's Hot!, BODYBALANCE: 10 Years, Notes from Boracay: the Sun's Up!, Notes from Boracay: State of the Beach, and Poi, Notes from Boracay: Rain, and a Menu, Notes from Boracay, Death by BODYJAM, and more in the Archives.