Pivoting to online teaching this ECQ

Week 10, day 61. The government has extended the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for another two weeks and called it "modified" enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).

The MECQ will be implemented in areas tagged as containment zones. These areas with less than 20 cases. It still feels like a lockdown with movement limited within the zone for essential services and work. There are selected manufacturing and processing plants that are allowed to resume operations up to a maximum of 50 percent workforce. There is still no public transportation operating. And, schools are still suspended.

The good news is we are allowed to go out and walk around to exercise. A few weeks ago, I was experiencing cabin fever and I was a bit distressed, to be honest. I'm now sort of getting used to this ECQ or MECQ way of life and learned to pivot to survive.

I'm definitely grateful for the technology of zoom to keep me connected to everyone and even use it as a platform to teach yoga online. I don't think there will be face-to-face opportunities soon so I'll continue teaching online until the yoga studio opens, and if it opens.

Kundalini Yoga at Life Yoga studio.

I'm sharing a throwback to 2016 when I was teaching at Life Yoga studio. I didn't know that there was a reporter who joined the class. I guess it was a full moon class. She wrote "It was, in my head, one of the most unusual yoga classes I have ever attended, beginning with a discourse on the significance and meaning of the full moon, followed by some astrological trivia, and then chanting... It's not exactly what you'd expect of a typical yoga class, but the results to be felt almost immediately, are also not quite like any other. .. Remember the gong I was saying that the teacher plays at the end of the class? It's my favorite part - the melodies striking of the gong sending soft waves through my body. After the class, you'll feel lighter inside, with a more positive demeanor. "

Come to join my online class if you haven't. There's no gong though. It's strange that the gong's overtones won't go over zoom. I teach Kundalini Yoga every Monday and Thursday at 5:00 pm, with Aegle Wellness every Thursday at 11:00 am and with Rebel Yoga Manila every Sunday at 10 am. I also teach workshops and do private classes. Here's the link to my online class schedule.

It's another two weeks, whether you are alone or with people you love, always stay safe and look out for each other.

Buddha says "Everything changes"

the 49-ft Maitreya Buddha

Week 8, Day 55. Today is a flashback to Thikse Monastery in Ladakh where the 49-ft Maitreya Buddha is located. It's quite timely to honor Buddha yesterday during Wesak and to be reminded of one of his Universal Truths that "Everything changes."

This lockdown is a glaring reminder that nothing is permanent. Impermanence is the very nature of life and is the only permanent thing. It teaches us to let go of things that make us happy as well as to let go of the challenges.

As Buddha taught, in this testing times, this is an opportunity to discover within the depth of our courage and resilience. There are so many things that I've realized that I can live without and thankful that I've learned how to adapt to this new normal.

We have another week in lockdown and hopeful that it's also another week closer to the end of it.
 Impermanence is the very nature of life and is the only permanent thing. It teaches us to let go of things that make us happy as well as the challenges. As Buddha taught, in this testing times, this is an opportunity to let go and discover within the depths of our courage and resilience. 

view of the Himalayas from the monastery

There are so many things that I've realized that I can live without and thankful that I've learned how to adapt to this new normal. We have another week in lockdown and hopeful that it's also another week closer to the end of it. Count your blessings! 
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Watch what you eat during lockdown

Week 8, day 50. I can't believe that it's been 50 days already. I've lost track of time and I'm extremely grateful to Peter who kept tabs through his online journal.

My healthy blend for breakfast

The government will lift the lockdown in two weeks and I'm now committing to keep my body healthy by juicing, eating raw food, and having light dinners to make sure that what comes in gets eliminated quickly.

According to yogic science, when food remains in the body for longer than 24 hours, the waste product beings to rot, and harmful toxins are absorbed back into the system. The liver, which is responsible for removing toxins from the bloodstream, becomes overloaded, and the whole body becomes contaminated.

Check yourself: are you experiencing a lack of energy? Is your tongue coated in white? Do you have bad breath? Are you irritable, nervous, or feeling constipated? These are some signs that may urge you to switch to easy to digest foods.

Coach Francis sent me the top 10 Fat Burning Foods to help me with my diet. He actually gave a more detailed presentation on how to combine exercise and macros (or macronutrients) to lose weight. 

First, calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) by multiplying your weight in kilos by 7 and then, divided by 700.  There are two types of training -Cardio and Resistance. If you stop training in cardio, you stop burning calories. If you stop training in resistance, calories are burned up to 32 hours after a workout.  To get the recommended heart rate for the Fat Burning Zone is to multiply your age by 65%. To lose weight, he recommended resting 1 to 2 minutes between sets and to eat 30 minutes after a workout.

Let's see how it goes. I might need an app to calculate my calorie intake. Stay healthy!! 

Bored this lockdown, here's 8 free access sites to choose from

Source: dreamtime.com

We're now approaching the second week of the month-long enhanced community quarantine aka lockdown. If you're bored and want something new and different from Netflix, I'm sharing some sites that are offering free access:

1. Learn how to cook from Michelin-rated chef Massimo Botura. He has set up #kitchenQuarantine on his Instagram and shares worth-while cooking tips. 

2.  Why not learn from Ivy League professors during this time? There are 495 free courses to choose from. The subjects range from science, music, philosophy to art and design.  

3. Watch top Broadway shows. Playbill has shared eleven best-filmed broadway shows for free, but you have to be on amazon prime HD to watch.

4. If you're a music fan, NPR has listed concerts that are being streamed from all over the world. 

5. For fitness, my favorite yoga studio Rebel Yoga Manila has recently put up Rebel Yoga TV on youtube offering yoga classes for free. I've actually shared two pranayama techniques. 

Watch how to boost your immune system with this breathing technique

6. Visit twelve world-class museums that you can tour online from the Louvre, the Vatican to St. Petersburg's Hermitage. 

7. Watch the opera from New York Metropolitan at 7:30pm EST.

8. London's Royal Opera House is also streaming opera and ballet performances. 

And I'm also offering free meditation classes every Tuesday at 5:00pm (GMT). Check out the schedule here.  Do you know of other free sites?