Be 10 years younger
If people approach you on the street and compliment you on your youthful looks, they are merely affirming what you may already know for yourself—that whatever it is you are doing, works!
But it does not end there. The story continues. At some point, after all the compliments, the questions begin.What is your secret? Will you share it with us? Will you teach us how?
Getting started
In the search for the regimen that best suits you, your lifestyle has to be taken into account. If you are…
Sedentary—A stay-at-home person with not much activity except supervision of the home and family can find plenty of time to devote to an active program.So, take a look at your schedule and set aside at least one hour a day for a visit to a gym or to enroll in dance class, yoga, pilates. If you wish to have private classes at home, there are personal trainers who can visit you.
Active—Career people often have to find time during their lunch break to visit a gym. While this may seem inconvenient at first, you will find it more comfortable for you as you go along. Promise.
Driven—There are people who are so driven that stress is their adrenaline. If you are one of those people, day-to-day pressure is familiar territory for you that, once removed from the regimen, you step out of your comfort zone.
The best prescription here is to find time at the end of the workday for light exercise and relaxation.
Pointers for age reversal
1. Detoxify the body—Make a list of all the things you do that you already know are not good for you like drowning yourself in alcohol, nonstop smoking, eating beyond your limit, sleeping later and later each night, downing too many pills (medication of any kind), bingeing on sweets.
Start cutting back on these bad habits. Better yet, try to break the habit today. Replace cravings with vegetables, fruits, herbal teas, nuts and grain.
2. Unload the mind—When your mind is constantly bombarded with worry, it goes on overload. A mind constantly fed with problems, fears, anxieties will also weigh down your own body.
3. Try to relax—Adopting a more positive attitude will instantly signal your body to be in a state of ease. Enroll in meditation classes. Or do mind-body exercises like Taichi or Qigong.
Meditation: Close your eyes. Imagine you are watching the sea, following the tides roll in and out. Feel at peace.
Catch your breath
No. Don’t hold your breath. Catch it. When you are in a hurry, you tend to breathe faster and take shallow breaths. This hastens oxidation in the body. Thus, it speeds up aging. Got it?If you stop rushing through the day, you will be kinder to your heart.Right now, do this: Breathe in, breathe out in slow counts of five. Keep practicing until it feels so natural to you. Now, smile. And keep smiling throughout the day and night.
Pampering tips
1. Go to a dermatologist. Have a facial and body scrub. If this is expensive for you, you can do it at home. Standard scrubs can use sugar or raw oatmeal—2 tbsp mixed with 1 tbsp virgin coconut or olive oil. Gently rub your body. A weekly ritual ought to give your skin its luster.
2. Always have a bottle of water by your side. Sip whenever you can. This will rehydrate your skin.
3. Avoid touching your face with your hands. Always use a tissue or cotton balls. If you have to touch your face, wash your hands first.
Affirmation
“I am ageless.”
Love and light!
“Celebrate Life With Cory Quirino” is on Aug. 18, 2-5 p.m., at SM Sucat. Free admission.
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=79593
Follow the feeling
“Surrender means letting go.” –Deepak Chopra, MD
Imagine a roller coaster. Who enjoys the ride the most? Those who clutch the railing tightly with fearful eyes or those who throw their arms up in the air with exhilaration on their faces?
Like clockwork
All human beings have an innate sense of the world. But more importantly, a sense of themselves. And yet somehow, in our “busy-ness,” this is forgotten.
Day in and day out, life churns out its routine. Waking up in the morning, rushing through breakfast, reporting for work or fulfilling our duties as members of the rat race, wining and dining, returning home, relating with family, finding time for community service and God—all this makes up the full spectrum of what we do.
And, in this regular regimen that we call a life, romance is lost. The clock continues to click and, in the midst of the living we do by rote, the magic is gone.
Reviving magic
It is said that the unknown, the wild and exciting are the territories of lovers. And rightly so for the sense of expectancy and the expectation of exhilaration are present.
What if we could look at the world like lovers once again? Would our lives be any different? Or would it turn out differently only in ways defined by our fantasies?
Romance is likened to a bud. It expects to unfold like a mystery waiting to be unraveled. Rule No. 1 then is paramount—maintain the mystery. And rule No. 2? Surrender.
Give in
The word surrender is not always associated with defeat. In another context it means to give in to what is deeply desired. Not necessarily to a person but to a feeling.
Most of our moments are focused on real needs based on bills, deadlines, schedules, etc. How about the real needs of the spirit? The heart? Don’t they manifest themselves in the form of dreams, fantasies, whisperings of the soul?
Explain why at your busiest time, you find yourself distracted, hearing all the noises around you, yet drowned by the voices inside of you saying one thing and one thing alone—escape.
Short list
Write down at this moment, all the adjectives that best describe you.
Then, write down beside it what action you did to deserve it. Example:
Adventurous - went white water raftingKind - donated to a Rotary street children projectLoving - hug my loved one each day
Now, write down the qualities you have that need addressing or that have not expressed themselves then the action that will fulfill them.
Passionate - three romantic nights in BoracayFunny - told jokes in a partyCourageous - tamed a lionMusical - sang in a concert
Magic is often found in the things we ought to do to complete ourselves. By rising above the ordinary, your uniqueness surfaces.
Listen to your urges
Supposing you could live this day as far away from your normal daily routine as possible. You would:
Not report for work but catch up on lost sleep.Go vegetarian for lunch instead of ordering your favorite steak or meat dish.Dance the night away instead of being glued to your computer.Read poetry to your beloved or to yourself.Visit Tibet or Egypt.Shake hands with a stranger.Smile at everyone you meet.Turn left and not right, hop and not walk, sing and not talk, praise and not grumble.
All about love
Your instincts are anchored in your heart. Between the brain and the heart, the wiser of the two is the organ that beats each day, pumping your very lifeblood.
When your heart says go, and the mind says no—go.
Love is not controlling the flow of life—for this is impossible. If you flow with the current of your feeling, you are being true to your being.
So, do not struggle over the what ifs. When you put your feelings over results, that is when real life begins. So, in celebration of life to mark the rainy season, why not dance in the rain with the one you love?
Love and light!
Reference: “The Path to Love” by Deepak Chopra, MD“Celebrate Life with Cory Quirino, SM,” a session on wellness and beauty, July 28, 1 p.m., at SM Bicutan. Open to the public, free admission.For inquiries, please call 3718197 or 6206834.
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=78328
