Stars celebrate International Yoga Day
Besides Fathers' Day, celebrity couple Troy Montero and Aubrey Miles celebrated International Yoga Day last June 18. Instagram/Aubrey Miles
MANILA, Philippines — More than just for weight loss, yoga offers a wide range of benefits, from good breathing and posture to remedy for withdrawal syndrome.
Since it is now over 2,000 years old, yoga has evolved into hundreds of permutations – from “surya namaskar” and “kapalbhati pranayama” that studies show are great for weight loss, to “doga,” which began in New York in 2002 and includes pets as props to achieve different positions.
In Hollywood, among those into yoga are models Gisele Bundchen and Christy Turlington; actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston; and pop stars Madonna and Katy Perry.
In celebration of International Yoga Day on June 18, stars share their love of yoga and how it has helped them achieve not only a celebrity’s skin and body, but also good health and wellness.
Katy Perry performs during 'Katy Perry - Witness World Wide' exclusive YouTube Livestream Concert at Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts on Monday, June 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP)
Katy Perry: Yoga for battling suicidal thoughts
NEW YORK (AP) — Katy Perry opened up about having suicidal thoughts during a marathon weekend livestream event.
"I feel ashamed that I would have those thoughts, feel that low, and that depressed," she said Saturday on YouTube during a tearful session with Siri Singh from the Viceland series "The Therapist."
The pop star has been livestreaming herself, filming her life for anyone with an internet connection to see. She has been doing yoga, hosting dinner parties, sleeping, applying makeup and singing, of course.
By Sunday, the most revealing 60 minutes of the four-day "Katy Perry — Witness World Wide" event was her time with Singh.
Perry told Singh she struggles with her public persona. In the past, she said, she has had suicidal thoughts. She talked about the challenge of being her authentic self while promoting her public image as she lives "under this crazy microscope."
"I so badly want to be Katheryn Hudson (her birth name) that I don't even want to look like Katy Perry anymore sometimes — and, like, that is a little bit of why I cut my hair, because I really want to be my authentic self," she said.
Perry is sporting a new short, blond hairstyle.
The YouTube event is a promotion for her new album "Witness." The livestream will culminate in a free concert in Los Angeles for 1,000 fans.
Kylie Padilla: Yoga toward natural birth
Any time now, actress Kylie Padilla is due to give birth to her firstborn with actor Aljur Abrenica.
To prepare for it, she is into all organic food and drinks, as well as vitamins for the baby and her. She complements this healthy lifestyle with exercise, particularly, walking and yoga
“Ngayon lang ako nagiging emotional, so I’m into yoga to suppress my hormones,” she told Philstar.com in a recent interview during a Watsons event.
When she feels like she is getting emotional, she would tell herself: “Okay, this is just my hormones, so chill ka lang!”
Edu Manzano: Yoga is anti-aging
Actor Edu Manzano is already in his 60s, yet he says he has never suffered from “old people ailments.”
His secret?
“Balance. It’s a balance between my food, exercise and supplements,” he told Philstar.com in a recent interview during the launch of Watsons Switch & Save.
“I think it’s very important to listen to your body. Kasi your body starts to complain after a while. Everybody will receive an ailment one way or another.”
Besides getting his affordable stash of vitamin C, pain killers, and daily multivitamins from Watsons, he is into stretching, badminton, and, just recently, yoga.
“Yoga enables me to find peace with myself,” he enthused. “It took me this long (to try it) because I never really took yoga as an exercise. Pero now, I see friends, families, men, I see how yoga has helped shape their lives again.”
Edu, who discovered yoga through friends and family, encourages other men like him to try it as well.
“More and more men are taking up yoga. It can’t kill you! You have to try everything even just once in your life!”
Tolentino with fellow Watsons Switch & Save ambassador Edu Manzano. Philstar.com/Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo
Instagram/Lorna Tolentino
Lorna Tolentino: Yoga for peace of mind
Positive thinking, according to actress and mom Lorna Tolentino, is how she stays happy and beautiful all these years, she told Philstar.com during a Watsons Switch & Save launch.
She complements this with yoga, as seen from her social media posts:
Aubrey Miles: Yoga for variety
Actress Aubrey Miles keeps herself in top shape by weight training, walking, running, swimming, and yoga, she told Philstar.com during a Nike event.
Philippine-made yoga jeans
Arnold Sabado, brand director for Freego Philippines, believes that yoga is big and will continue to boom in Manila and in North and South Luzon.
So, for the first time ever, the brand launched yoga jeans, arguably the first jeans that can be used for yoga.
Due to its natural, quick-dry and stretchable fabric, the new yoga jeans contour with the body and follows the body’s movements, enabling one to work out in the morning, go out with officemates for lunch, and go out with friends in the evening, Sabado says.
Available in acid-washed, indigo, blacks and white, the new yoga jeans have hidden pockets for holding locker keys, a phone and coins, Sabado notes.
Although originally made for yoga, the 100-percent locally-made jeans, says Sabado, can also be used for boxing, running, and other sports.
In general, he recommends it for women who squeeze in workouts and parties in their daily lives.
Freego/Released
Tim Tayag: Meditation
The first step is letting go. For stand-up comedian Tim Tayag, this has been key.
“Now I can let go of my past, my mistakes, my false minds, and even meditation itself. As a result, I have a better disposition, and I am much happier.”
Meditation is the process of reflecting on one’s inner self to deeply understand ourselves. When we know ourselves completely, we can live the life that we want. Through meditation, we can find wise and practical solutions to all the root cause of our problems and complex situations that we face in our daily lives.
At Makati Meditation and Ortigas Meditation, practitioners often start with a lecture before meditation, which includes achieving the proper posture and participants are guided through the session accordingly. For beginners, this is a helpful process to orient oneself to the practice. Even longtime practitioners find guided meditations helpful when they’re finding it particularly difficult to quiet the mind.
The change towards lasting happiness starts with self-reflection. Through the practice of meditation, the time and energy spent on useless thoughts are lessened, allowing one’s self to focus on the most important things in life.
Before people start new things, they should take time to look back to the past and assess themselves. This also applies to workplace, school and community. Through meditation, one examines one’s success and failures; one learns from past mistakes and prepares to do better in the future.
— Reports from Associated Press
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