WITH more than 7,100 islands, it’s always the festival season in the PI. More fun, right? Yes, and more calories, too! You know how it is with fiestas, hopping from one household to another and dare not refuse the food offered.
 |
| The Eid'l Ftr was a feast of Mabuindeli flavors |
Let’s not count the number of birthday celebrations for year one to senior citizenship. There seem to be a heavy concentration of births on the mid-year months.
 |
| This is just one of the many mid-year celebrations. |
How does one resist the urge to partake of the celebratory spread? Will power? Mine crumbled.
 |
| Desserts, for me, are the hardest to resist. Even the tiniest can pack up a lot of calories, with its sugar converting to fats with a snap of a finger. (Maguindeli love- Ayesha with the Putri Manid, Joji with the B'rua, me holding the Tinagtag & Ken's hand holding the Dudul) |
I need to really “zip it”—tight. I did it before and I can do it again because…
First day blues: “You got bigger,” said one yogi. It’s been six months since I stepped on the mat and wapak! (the sound of truth on my face). Well, at least I’m back on the path…
The path on a more refined om moments…
Holiday Gym & Spa pulled out yoga from its Group Exercise room to elevate it from exercise to a discipline. The new space is more conducive for the practice, quiet and not to mention, more hygienic, thanks to the “no footwear allowed beyond the entrance” rule.
 |
| Spacious, more quiet & cleaner, the new yoga studio of Holiday Gym aims to elevate yoga from exercise to discipline |
“New room, new rules,” said the gym manager. “No bags (cubbyholes are available), no cellphones (of course), keep voices low are a few of the other strict rules to abide by. At least, if they get a chance to visit yoga studios elsewhere, they would know what to do.”
I get her point. Those who had the chance to visit a real studio would to, but not everyone have because there are those who met the change with (much) apprehension, like footwear should still be allowed because dust from the floor they step on will be transferred to their mats.
Seriously!?!?
Maybe it will take time for it to sink in, and it will. My classmates will appreciate the cubbyholes and enter the studio bringing only their mats. They will learn to appreciate silence and whisper if they need to speak. Most of all, they will learn to detach themselves from their mobile phones, leave it where it should be, or at least put it in silent mode so as not to disrupt the class with their beeping phones—during Savasana no less!
 |
| First day back on the mat & the new yoga studio of Holiday is in the company of the best instructors in town, Joanna Co, Fritz Freire, Laura Lorente & Nikki Honasan |
I don’t want to be left forever wondering that if old dogs and bitches (female form) can learn new tricks (like their dream asanas), will they learn to respect new rules and personal spaces of other yogis? Or, will sticking lemons in their throats to shut them up be a better method?
Namaste.
I honor you. I honor my body inside and out. I respect it by dressing it up with propriety… and style like a Mango Man. I want to be a Mango Man.
Eve came from Adam’s rib, but in this fashion label’s case the man was a spin off from the women’s line. Recently Mango Man opened at the Abreeza Mall sans the fanfare.
 |
| Mango Man at the Abreeza Mall |
 |
| The Davao press with Mango Assistant Marketing Manager Cai Gualberto & Country Supervisor Kelly Santos. |
 |
| Mango's play on white this season. Basic white shirt can go along, long way. |
To add a pinch of excitement, a twist come per season, like the print on trend or the hue of the moment.
 |
| A twist come per season, which is shown on the print, color & fabric |
Overall, Mango Man can cater to a wide age range. It’s a go-to shop with essential pieces, accessories included, which can make up a man’s wardrobe with styles that can go beyond the season it debuted.
 |
| Mango Man feeling blue. A hue for the season. |
 |
| Mango Man completes the man's basic wardrobe. |
If you will it, mouths can be shut. I’m staying positive because more often silence is more tasteful and stylish than noise—in whatever form.
***
[For more photos on this article & other lifestyle stories, visit http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/. For travel stories, visit http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com/.]
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on August 02, 2015.
.jpg)
