GottaLoveMom

SELF, an online publication focused on health and wellness, beauty and style, hosted a panel discussion on “Race and Wellness” on January 30, 2018. Despite the windy and freezing temperature, wellness enthusiasts travelled to the Conde Nast building at One World Trade Center in New York. While waiting for the event to start, I was talking to one of the attendees and exchanged reasons on what brought us to this event. We were both addressing our renewed focus on our own health and wellness and wanted to learn how to engage the communities we work with to do the same. I mentioned that it was difficult for me to practice meditation on a daily basis because I preferred praying, and lately, my mind kept wandering off when I tried to meditate.  We also exchanged our opinions of the meditation app, headspace, and agreed that it’s one of the best meditation app because it’s all about clearing your mind without getting spiritual – now, if I can only make my mind not wander for 3 ...

Are there benefits to running? When you google “benefits of running”, the search engine will list the following articles: 7 Benefits of Running for Just 30 Minutes | Let's Do This 6 Benefits of Running | Active Benefits of Running: Why You Should Start Jogging | Runner's World 25 Reasons Why Running is Better than the Gym | Men's Fitness  30 Convincing Reasons to Start Running Now | Greatist 6 Ways Running Improves Your Health | Runner's World The cold temperature in the winter months  makes you feel like you're trapped indoors. I enjoy running outdoors but I need a challenge to be motivated to run more than a mile. Last week, my inbox reminded me of an upcoming event from the New York Road Runners (NYRR) - the SHAPE Women's Half Marathon in Central Park on April 15, 2018  - that's about 11 weeks from now. So how does one train for her first half marathon? REGISTER .   Signing-up for a race is the first step. It encou...

How to Instill a Love of Fitness In Your Kids by Erin Vaughan Let’s face it: most days, it’s hard enough to get yourself to the gym without adding an eight-year-old into the mix. But the lifestyle choices you teach kids now could have a huge impact on the rest of their adulthoods. Research shows that healthy habits formed in early development are more likely to stick, so it’s never too early to get kids stretching their muscles! Kids over six need about an hour of activity a day to stay healthy, and weekly strength training to promote the development of strong bones. But you don’t need me to tell you that getting kids up and going isn’t always easy, especially when there are video games and toys calling from the other room. Still, there are a couple of ways you can give kids a nudge in the right direction—and closer to a healthy adulthood! Make It Fun As grownups, we tend to treat working out like another chore on our to-do list. But to turn exercise into a lifetime...

Philippines is known for its beautiful island resort and beautiful scenic provinces. My youngest brother, Benjie, recently got into hiking and it all started with his first solo trip to Batanes, Philippines. Batanes,  a province of the Philippines located at the Northernmost part of the country, is an isolated region, and the smallest both in population and land area. So what makes someone want to explore Batanes? For most, Batanes offers a peaceful place to unwind. It's a place where you can travel solo because it allows you to make time to learn more about yourself, to listen, and to explore. Although others prefer to travel in groups, travelling solo allows you to get the full experience of the ruminative ambiance of the place. When my brother visited Batanes, it was recently hit by typhoon, therefore, the was no internet, which gave him the chance to truly be unplugged, to reflect and to meditate. The plane ride from Manila to Batanes was about 1/2 hour. Ther...

I’m a Psychologist by profession, born and raised here in the Philippines. I worked in the Human Resources world for the past two decades before I ventured into my online teaching and tutoring career – teaching English to foreigners in relations to their business communication needs. I’m a staunch advocate for caring for the environment and  wellness programs leading to volunteerism. It’s the life we embraced as a family since the early 90’s. I got married late but I’m thankful that we’re blessed with one dutiful son named “Vyasadeva das.” His name, “Vyasadeva” was derived from a Sanskrit name which means the literary incarnation of ‘Krishna’ and the word “das” meant servant. I went to Centro Escolar University in Paranque (aka Generosa de Leon Memorial School), an all-girls institution, where I completed my  secondary education.  I got my taste of what it was to be with all the girls in completing my academic and co-curricular requirements...