Kai-o-saurus Turns 5!

Last weekend was another one of Kai's DIY birthday celebrations by his crafty mom and titas as he turned 5, Dino-style! We were invited for a vegan friendly lunch at Pipino at their newest branch in Jupiter. Someone joked that this must be one the few vegan kiddie parties celebrated in Manila yearly :P

Check out the prehistoric theme come alive with the brilliant designs and personal touches all lovingly handmade by Noelle Hilario, Alessa Libongco and Rizza Rawcliffe :)

The Vegetarian Kitchen

Not too far from Beyond Yoga Il Terrazo studio is a little nook called The Vegetarian Kitchen, a cruel-free restaurant that is operated by the Soliongco family.

My first time dining here was with FLOW co-founders, Denise and Noelle. We got to try the Rich Tomato Malunggay Lasagna, Cream Cheese Spinach Dumplings, Couscous Paella, Vegan Apple Pie and Calamansi Mint Tea. Everything was superb! If I could cook and bake like they do, I'm sure my husband wouldn't mind turning vegetarian :P

The Vegetarian Kitchen
62-B Mother Ignacia Ave. QC
Tel. 5447733 Cel. 0917-8300511

Got Heart

God read my mind when Got Heart opened right across my village a few months back! For my weekly organic needs, I no longer drive to the Legaspi Sunday Market in Makati.

My family and I have been talking about creatively repurposing container vans for quite some time now and finally a group did it in Manila!


"The shop is made of a refurbished container van and recycled materials. The best part is that the shop serves as an outlet to showcase the products of local farmers, artists and indigenous communities. The profits are given back to them in the form of cash and projects so they reap the fruits of their hard work and get to grow their enterprise sustainably." -Got Heart website

It's so inspiring that these young entrepreneurial founders truly HAVE HEARTS! One Kabbalah concept I recently learned, "If you are busy taking care of others, the light will make sure to take care of you"!

Do you live in the area? Make sure to pop by often as they claim to have fresh produce everyday!

Got Heart
Along White Plains, Katipunan Ave. Quezon City

Website: www.gotheartfoundation.org
Email: care@gotheartfoundation.org Contact +63917-58HEART (43278)

FLOW Yoga and Detox Retreat at Cintai

Are you a mother feeling domestic stress? Or a burnt out workaholic? Take time to reconnect with your body, mind and nature. FLOW brings you a Yoga and Detox weekend at the Balinese-inspired sanctuary, Cintai Coritos Garden, Batangas on February 16-17. This is the first of the FLOW luxe retreat series focused on different paths to wellness.

Experience a refreshing getaway to jumpstart your journey to a healthier you. Practice rejuvinating and relaxing yoga asanas amidst the lush green surroundings and pranayama exercises with pure unpolluted air. Discover the benefits of un-cooking from the Intro to Raw Vegan Food class, drink age-defying green smoothies and enjoy hearty nourishing vegetarian meals. Learn personal detoxifying tips from the founders of FLOW and health advocates: Denise Bernardo, Monica Eleazar-Manzano and Noelle Hilario.

Package Rate: P6,880

Retreat Inclusions:

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2D/1N Shared Aircon Accommodation

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2 Yoga Sessions (Sunrise Vinyasa Yoga and Sunset Yin Yoga)

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Healthy vegetarian meals and snacks

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Intro to Raw Vegan Food and Green Smoothie Class

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DIY Detox Workshop: Oil Pulling, Energy Cleanse Tonic and more!

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Flow Shirt and Eco tote bag

To register for the retreat, log on to www.flowsurfyogasamba.com or email flowsurfyogasamba@gmail.com

Kabbalistic Lessons from Yehuda Berg

Last night the gates of heaven opened and shed me with light. I met Yehuda Berg up close! If you are not familiar with Kabbalah, you might be wondering, "Who is Yehuda Berg?" To me, he's a modern spiritual warrior :)

Giddy like a child beside Yehuda who signed my Pinchas Zohar.

"Yehuda Berg is the son of Rav and Karen Berg. As Co-Director of The Kabbalah Centre, he is part of a long lineage of kabbalistic masters. He is a bestselling author in the field of spirituality, has written more than 30 books on topics ranging from self-empowerment and depression, to relationships and the Bible. Two of his bestselling books, The Power of Kabbalah and The 72 Names of God, have been translated into 20 and 14 languages respectively, and he also created a transformational 23-day audio package, The Living Kabbalah System.

In 2009 the GQ Magazine Gentleman’s Fund honored him for being an Agent of Change in the field of education. Yehuda lectures internationally, delivering deep and complex kabbalistic concepts in a simplified way that is applicable to daily life. His daily emails and Facebook insights, known as “tune ups,” are read by over 250,000 fans daily. Yehuda Berg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and five children." (www.yehudaberg.com)

Yehuda met with the Philippine Kabbalah volunteers and organizing group backstage before giving the lecture. He basically gave us consciousness: placed the protective red string on students who needed them, signed our books & Zohars, he even hugged every single one of us! 

Kabbalah Philippines is a growing spiritual community!

To be in the same room as Yehuda was intense!  As a yoga practitioner & teacher, I am more attuned to the energy of people and places. I certainly felt we were in the presence of a true beacon of light. When he read from the Torah, I felt shivers in different nadis/ meridians and down my spine. 

Yehuda translated the Aramaic text, he spoke about how we all exist because our parents, grandparents, lineage paved the way and made sacrifices for us to be here. Now, it's up to us to use this opportunity in our current lives to succeed or.. fail. (At this point, many of the students started crying!)

What I felt at that moment was extreme GRATITUDE and LOVE for my parents & family. No matter what issues you have with your family, you are related in this lifetime for a reason. What lessons do they bring you?

My parents and younger sister, supportive souls who attended

These are more lessons from Yehuda's lecture which I tweeted live last night:

• Two ways to live life: everything is random, nothing makes sense OR what's in our life is for a reason. There is a lesson there. I go through phases of both. There are moments of doubt, questioning God for this and that...and of course those times where I just feel CERTAINTY and blessings in my life. The real challenge is finding PURPOSE amidst the chaos and darkness. Yehuda said it last night, God is always there...especially when you feel abandoned.
• Whatever you are going through, find the light in the situation. Here's the tough cookie to learn! It's so easy to feel victimized. A Kabbalistic tool is to be the CAUSE vs the EFFECT of any situation. Take control of your life by turning disasters upside down when you find the light/lessons each chapter of your life brings.
• Our life is a puzzle like the book- "choose your own adventure" I loved these books as a child and I thought this was a wonderful way to explain to us how God works in our lives. Too often we are blindsighted. God sees the bigger picture, and WE should too! 
• Until we learn the lessons we need to learn, we will repeat the same circumstances in our lives, over and over again across lifetimes. This is my most favorite lesson which I picked up from my previous readings on reincarnation by Dr. Brian Weiss and from "To Be Continued" written by Yehuda's mother, Karen Berg.

When I got home from the event, my husband asked if I had any alcohol because I was acting weird: either I was drunk or wired. I replied, "Yes, I'm high from Yehuda's Kabbalah water!" Yep, I'm a confessed spiritual groupie. I stole his half-full Kabbalah water bottle right when he left and drank from it. 

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I've been studying with Kabbalah Philippines since last year. Group meetings are once a week at ADB with Skype supervision from Sarah Weston, our London-based mentor. Sarah is the direct student of Yehuda Berg and his family. One of the perks of being an active student is getting to do on-on-one Skype sessions with Sarah.

Lightbearers: Sarah Weston and Yehuda Berg

A few more Kabbalistic concepts for you to chew on...

10 Principles of Kabbalah

1. Acquire spiritual wisdom.

2. Take full responsibility.

3. Know and challenge your ego.

4. Be energized by obstacles and see them as opportunities for growth.

5. Accept your imperfection and the imperfection of others.

6. Know your power and use it.

7. Never give up because it's never too late.

8. Share.

9. We are all one.

10. Leaving our comfort zone can create miracles.

Want to know more about Kabbalah? 
Log on to www.kabbalahphilippines.com for details on classes, events and books for sale. 
Level 1 classes start on January 31, 2013. 
Sign up and be prepared for real transformation in your life :)

Claire Madarang (who sat next to me!) of Rappler published a well written article today. Please read it here: http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/19861-yehuda-berg-nothing-is-random

Sarah Powers in Manila

Beyond Yoga is thrilled to be bringing the founder of Insight Yoga to Manila this February! Sarah Powers has been an influential yoga and meditation teacher in the US since 1987. Her classes are a powerful weave of Yin Yoga poses (floor based poses to target the meridians of the body) with slow Yang poses that focus strongly on alignment from her Iyengar background.

"I think one of the main benefits (of yoga) is being more at home in our own skin. Whether we’re a large person, or very slight, and through the seasons of our lives- this body is our particular garden to take care of. And we start to have more respect and therefore more embodied dignity in the body. Rather than treating it like an object and comparing it to the ideal that we see in glamour magazines." -Sarah Powers

To know more about the upcoming weekend intensive, come join us for a free yin class by Dona Esteban on Jan 27 at Beyond Yoga Bonifacio High Street!

To register for Sarah Powers log on to http://www.igobeyondyoga.com/sarah-powers-workshop.html