Birthday happiness and Kundalini Yoga in Siargao

Double happiness!! I'm so happy to be back in my favorite destination in the Philippines to celebrate my birthday and happy to share my current love which is Kundalini Yoga with special friends living in the island of Siargao. 

It was a perfect holiday! We started the day early with a two-hour kundalini yoga and meditation session led by yours truly and our host BFF Gai Olivares served raw food breakfast as we soaked up some prana. 

The theme of the three-day Kundalini Yoga workshop was to release inner anger.  The sets were quite intense and I was amazed that everyone was able to keep up. The workshop was designed to restore personal power and move through blocks to hopefully create some shifts in the short time that we were together. At the end of the workshop, they can speak from the heart with less fear and begin to forgive themselves for the past and look to the future with hope and positive energy. 

Susan, Aileen, moi, Feilani, Joie and our host Gai

I asked for some feedback and Susan B. wrote "Over the three days, Rosan took us through a process of acknowledging the emotion, ones that we all have repressed and provided us with a safe place to bring things to the surface. It was challenging at times but the release was very clear. We worked on opening the heart chakra and after the third class, I was able to openly communicate things to my partner that I had held back from sharing. I'm grateful to have had this opportunity and look forward to attending more classes with Rosan." 

Do you understand why I was so happy on my birthday? I'm finally being of service to others, elevating others. I've set this intention in the beginning of the year and I am grateful to be guided and witness my intentions come to fruition. 

Marcela, moi, Aileen, Caroline, Joie, Gai and Susan

Breakfast view

Ricky, TonTon, moi, Kitty, Gai, Lee and Malu

Of course the trip wouldn't have been a birthday fete without some R&R. Malu, Kitty, Jomi, Tonton and Ricky flew in to join. We went around Siargao and Malu and Nicolas played a round of golf.

The highlight was the boat trip to Dako Island onboard Lee's boat called the Galatea. Dako means 'big' in Visayan. The island is the biggest of the three islands in Siargao.

We were the only tourists on the island that day. Lee grilled some fresh caught fish and chicken and served salad, vegetables, pasta and fruits for lunch.

The trip was definitely special filled with laughter and joy. Happiness indeed and grateful to everyone especially Gai!

Onboard the Galatea

Naked Island

happy revelers

Nice spending my Solar Return in Nice

enjoying Ricard pastis in Villefrance-sur-mer

Thank my lucky stars crossed my mind while I was heading down south on the train to Cote d'Azur, to Nice where the K3s - this is, Kebo, Karen and Kopi (their french bulldog)- were holed up for a month.

Each year I try to celebrate my birthday, actually my solar return in a different time zone from where I live. This is in the hope that it may positively change the experience of the year to come.  Astrologically speaking, a solar return is when the sun returns to the same exact position in the sky as one is were born.

the K3s 

I was thanking my lucky stars because that day, the train that I was supposed to be on encountered an accident somewhere in Brittany and luckily, I was able to get on another train to Nice despite the peak summer season and be upgraded to first class. The trip though was much longer but I was happy that I was able to get on board enjoying the scenery while reading Sadhana Singh's "Everyday Excellence".

I arrived in Nice ten hours later and the K3s were there in the train station to greet me. They all looked tanned and lean and Kopi looked well adjusted to the European life. We walked to their flat which was near the beach and while walking, Kopi would say hello to the dogs along the way.

It was truly nice to be in Nice in the summer where the well-heeled were out to play. Coming from Manila and maybe even anywhere else in the world, I've never seen so many opulent toys out. When we were in Cannes (half an hour away by train), I swear I counted ten different colored Ferraris while walking down the Croisette. And the night we were in Monte Carlo, it was all royalty. The paparazzi were waiting outside the Opera for HSH Prince Albert II, HSH Princess of Monaco and HRH Princess of Hanover to show up for the Love Ball Riviera. We didn't get to see them but enjoyed viewing all the luxury yachts of their guests moored in the bay.

luxury yachts moored in Monte Carlo 

La Fontaine du Soleil in the old town in Nice

the beach in Cannes

The K3s were perfectly located since Nice is a train hop to everywhere down the coast of the French Riviera. In Nice, we practically spent most of our time in chic, eco place called Hi Beach which was a short walk from the K3s, along the Promenade des Anglais.

As for my lucky stars, well, it really does not help to go somewhere to try to change the stars.  As Stanley Kowalski said in A Streetcar Named Desire, "You know what luck is? Luck is believing you're lucky."