Dark Kitkat

Tired...

Have a break...

Have a...

Flight delayed...

At the Davao International Airport just waiting. Flight was delayed by 3 hours. The airline offered some provisions... chickenjoy and water. Good thing I had dinner before I left home so I'm good. I won't starve really.

Mind is fragmented. Can't think of anything to write... haven't been writing for a while... except for that vegetarian eatery, my bro's birthday, and time spent with family and frients... nothing worth blogging happened. The vegetarian eatery, I've blogged already... my bro's birthday and time with family and friends... priceless. Photos will be uploaded soon... but not today.

Cheers.

The Old Shalas

...

...

There are 5 kinds of mental modifications which are either painful or painless. They are right knowledge, misconception, verbal delusion, sleep and memory. (YS I:5-6)

When a mental modification of an object previously experienced and not forgotten comes back to consciousness, that is memory. (YS I:11)

The Birthday Cake

"May you always have all you need to keep you well in this lifetime"

Thank you for all the kind words.

***

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Om Shanti. Shanti. Shanti.

Kit Kat Caramel Chunky

Just had one 65g Kit Kat Caramel Chunky. I wonder how my blood sugar would be like. I'm sure someone in the family got diabetes so there's a reason to be watchful of the sugar intake.

Ahhh... life is too short to be very stringent about every thing.

It's time to have a break... have a kit kat. ;-)

Temporary Freedom

It's the weekend in this part of the world (Thursday and Friday are weekends in Saudi) and got a one week mid-semester break so I have 9 days of temporary freedom. The original plan was to go to Jeddah and take a diving certification exam but that was canceled. The alternative plan was to go to Dubai, spend time with friends who work there, and take yoga classes at Zen but decided to just stay and save the dosh as I'll be traveling for the rest of the year.

So here I am, spending some time in cyberspace before I start practice. I'll just pretend I'm in Samui or Goa doing a 9-day yoga retreat... kriyas, pranayama and asanas in the morning, nice vegetarian meals, lazy afternoons, and even lazier evenings.

I'll have more time to spare in the kitchen so food photos will flood this blog for 9 straight days. Let's just hope that laziness, one of the obstacles in the path, does not set in.

Here's a video of us chanting Om Sahana Bhavatu during our teacher training graduation last summer. Thanks Jasmine.



Okay, it's vaman time. Cheers.

Alia's Guesthouse & Om Cafe

Practice was great this morning. One realization... look forward when jumping through... really forward, not only on that space in between the hands. It keeps the shoulders down and makes the lift higher.

Got this link from the ashtanga yahoogroup. Might check it out when I'm there this July. The guesthouse price is beyond my budget though so staying there is not an option. But for afternoon tea or meals, definitely.

Berries Good for the Heart

A new study shows that eating moderate amounts of berries every day may lower blood pressure and raise good cholesterol. The problem is, I'm not really a fruit eater... or maybe I'm just not used to Western fruits as I eat bananas almost every day. Aside from the fact that it's easy to eat, it goes really well also with my daily muesli and yoghurt breakfast. I also love mangoes and papayas but they are expensive here in Riyadh.

I bought some kiwis, strawberries, cherries and plums about 2 weeks ago and guess what? Most are just rotting in my fridge. Threw the strawberries already but the rest are still there. They still look edible so I might eat them soon.

Nothing much exciting. Had steamed rice and fried tofu with chili garlic and hoisin sauce. It was nice.

Subway and Kitkat

Practice was good last night. Thought would only do primary because had to finish by 7pm to prepare for a personal training session with Jehan but one 2nd series asana lead to another and the next thing I know, I'm done with my intermediate routine (first few poses).

Still not back at the cooking routine so it was Subway for lunch and 65g of caramel flavored kitkat bar for snack today. The nutritional content of a 41g caramel flavored kitkat is published here.

Just at the office waiting for 6pm Health Club hours to start. Still feeling the depression brought about by the new moon. But everything's cool. Things will get better soon.

Enigmata Tree House in Camiguin

"We arrived in the treehouse at night, which made it difficult to see the entire structure. Despite that, it was easy to feel charmed by the place. Quaint is not the word to describe it; rather it is artistic and bohemian in look and feel. Ros, the owner, welcomed us and had us remove our shoes before leading us to our room, the Eagle’s Nest, on the third floor. The rooms are built around a big acacia tree and are supported by poles. The staircase is narrow but not even it was missed by details. In between steps are wood planks carved with varying patterns from nature such as leaves and flowers." - Debbie Sion

Debbie is one of my good friend Fritz's high school classmates and is based in Davao City. I haven't met her personally. She wrote a good review of the Enigmata Tree House in Camiguin and it made me want to visit my paternal grandmother's home island this July.

Go Nuts!!!

Not the doughnuts... but nut-nuts... Alrifai Nuts and Kernels is one of my favorite shops here in Riyadh, the macadamia nuts are really good... but it's an indulgence... because it's expensive... and I don't really need it.

Check out their website at www.alrifai.com. The products listed online are not complete. They have really good barbeque flavored nuts here. The website only listed cheese and plain varieties.

Build a Better Salad

• Add more dark green leaves like spinach, romaine lettuce, arugula or chicory (not actually familiar with this one) to get the most folate and beta-carotene.
• Mix it up with light green leaves such as iceberg to tone down the bitter taste of the dark leaves.
• Add fruits and vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, brocolli, red and yellow peppers (the author of the article doesn't recommend the green one), carrrots, sprouts (cooked to avoid risk of salmonella and E.coli).
• Limit corn, artichoke hearts, beets and sun dried tomatoes.
• Avoid large portions of dried fruits like cranberries or raisins (too much sugar)
• Stick with fresh fruits like berries, pears, or orange slices.
• Add about 3 ounces of protein like tofu, beans, or chickpeas.
• Limit nuts, seeds, olives, or avocados to about 1/4 cup. They are healthy source of monounsaturated fats.
• Limit cheese to about 4 dice worth (I like cheese so I probably won't follow this, hehehe) and choose low-fat. You can also mix half of regular and half of its low-fat version, or stick to lower fat varieties such as goat and mozarella cheeses.
• If you want carbs, crush 3-4 crackers or baked chips into your salad. (or perhaps baked croutons?)
• Limit dressing to 1-2 tablespoons.
  

Read the full article here.

Hardin ng mga Diwata (Garden of the Nymphs)

The acro-yoga-inspired piece that I choreographed for the UP Pep Squad's concert held last Feb 28 at University Theater, University of the Philippines in Diliman. This year's concert was also a part of the year-long centennial celebration of the University and marked Coach Lalaine's 10th year as the head coach of the team.

Photos courtesy of Alric Mondragon, a UP Pep Alumnus.

The inspiration

How much of the Philippines have you visited?

Took this test here and got a grade that most of my students here at PSU dread for. A "C"!!! My goal is to have an A+ in two years. Sabi nga ni Dr. Jose Rizal, "Wag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan..." (As Dr. Jose Rizal said, "Don't be a stranger/foreigner in your own country").

My Lakbayan grade is C!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Here's for the Visited Countries' version.

Energy Expenditure of Ashtanga Yoga

Subject Profile

• Age: 30
• Sex: Male
• Ethnicity: Asian (Filipino)
• Height: 1.67m
• Weight: 59kg

Body Composition

• BMI: 21 (Normal)
• Waist Circumference: 77cm
• Hip Circumference: 93cm
• W-H Ratio: 0.83 (Low Risk)
• Body Fat%: 13% (Very Good)
• Lean Body Mass: 51.33kg
• Fat Mass: 8kg

Tool

• F4 Polar Heart Rate Monitor
• Primary Series with Sharath Rangaswamy CD

Raw Data (Table & Graph)

Table 1. Heart Rate Data on Mysore

Graph 1. Average cal/min in a Mysore class.

Table 2. Heart Rate Data on Led Class

Graph 2. Average cal/min during Led class

Findings

• Mysore burns an average of 6.02cal/min; Led burns an average of 5.68cal/min.
• Mysore burns more cal/min compard to led.
• Behavior of HR is basically the same for both formats.
• Ashtanga follows the current exercise guidelines in terms of suggested METS during warm up, workout proper and cool down.
• In terms of METS, Mysore is 1 MET higher than Led.
• In Mysore, maximum heart rate was recorded during the first part of the seated sequence, while in led, it was during the 2nd half of the seated seqence.
• Total time for Mysore was 1 hour 43 minutes 21 seconds while Led was 1 hour 11 minutes 30 seconds.
• No comparison between In Zone data as it was not recorded during the Led class.
  

First Attempt at Video Editing

Enigamata Treehouse Ecolodge in Camiguin

Googling for inexpensive places to stay in Camiguin Island, I was led to this website. It's looks cool and artsy... and guess what? It's vegetarian-friendly.

Why Camiguin? It's a place which reminds me of childhood and my paternal grandmother. The last time I was there was almost 2 decades ago. I think it's time to revisit the place, appreciate it as an adult and pay homage to my grandmother's birthplace. All I really cared about 20 years ago were the beach and the meat. Yep, I was a mean meat-eater in my past life. I never liked vegetables and was really a brat towards my grandmother if she won't serve me chicken and pork adobo... which reminds me... was really lovely. I can actually cook her adobo but uses tofu now. It doesn't taste the same of course but who cares?

Visit their website here.

2008 Travel Plans

Got excited after learning about Tiger Airways' new route to Bangalore. Thought I'd never be able to save some from the airfare but with Tiger Air's good news, half of the air ticket budget would be saved.

Here's my travel plans for the 2nd half of this year including the expected airfare expenses:

June 21
Flying from Riyadh to Manila. PSU will pay for this one-way ticket since this will be my final exit. I'm not planning to renew my contract after this academic year... the 3 months summer holiday this year because of the movement of the Ramadan month but nah... I'm done here.

June 28-July 2
Will be seeing Paul in Manila. Still need to contact Yoga Manila to ask if I can attend the Mysore classes because it's a teacher training schedule. Paul said I can see him but got to ask the host studio regarding classes.

July 3-6
Tempted to attend the Asia Yoga Conference in Hong Kong. But will need to pass. Don't have enough dosh to spend on unnecessary things. As Paul said, "do only what's necessary". Will probably stay in Manila or fly down south to Davao anytime and stay there until the 16th. One-way ticket from Manila to Davao costs PHP 2,394.56 (59USD), tax included, via Cebu Pacific.

July 17
Flying from Davao to Singapore via Cebu Pacific. Bought the ticket last November when they had the PHP999 promo. Total ticket cost is PHP 2518.00 (62USD) one-way. Cost of the ticket if bought today is PHP 3,459.00 (85USD). Planning to explore Singapore for 3 nights/2 days and probably stay at one of these cheap hotels. Might attend Mysore classes with any of these two authorized teachers as well: Stanley A'Lim or James Figueira. July 20 Flying from Singapore to Bangalore via Tiger Airways. Return tickets cost PHP 10,579.83 (260USD).

July 21-October 22
Studying at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India.

Oct 24
Return flight to Singapore.

Oct 25
Singapore to Phuket via Tiger Air. One-way ticket costs PHP 3193.35 (78.40USD).

Oct 25-Nov 1
Visit Julie. Still waiting for her confirmation though if I can visit her at this time.

Nov 2-5
Fly to Bangkok via One-Two-Go Airlines and explore Bangkok for 3N/3D. Might stay at Suk11 as suggested by Maria or with Ate Kris. One-way ticket costs Php2539.611 (62.30USD).

Nov 5
Fly back to Manila via Cebu Pacific. Ticket costs Php 3998.10 (98.15USD).

Nov 5-onwards
Be a wandering yogi... wherever the wind blows.. the yogi shall follow.

Total expected expenses for air tickets (MNL-DVO-SIN-BLR-SIN-HKT-BKK-MNL): 619.85USD. Cheap, aye?

Wish me luck.

Kitcherie Saved the Day

It's the new moon and even though I usually follow the Ashtanga tradition of resting on moon days, I did practice this afternoon because I only do asanas 4x a week now. And only a week after coming back and just as I was readjusting to my daily routine, someone called me up over the mobile phone hiring me as her personal trainer. I said yes of course since I want to save up as much as I can before I become a wandering yogi starting July.

So after the depressing morning at work... had a great afternoon practice... and kitcherie for early dinner with papad on the side. Prepared it before doing the asana practice. It was delicious, filling and nutritious. There was also an uplifting feeling after the meal... probably because it was made with fresh ingredients and prana-filled... so now, I'm alive... and just killing some time before I go to the personal training session with Ms. J.

Moon days... it can really put you off balance.

(edited this for the 3rd time... posting an entry without proof-reading it can be a disaster)

Pinoys Everywhere

They say we're like the Chinese... we're everywhere...

Here's a photo that Maria sent me today... a Pinoy Sari Sari Store van in Ireland... just wondering if they're selling bagoong (a kind of shrimp or fish paste) and patis (salty fish sauce)... hahaha...