Maja listens to her heart… and her body

MANILA, Philippines -  Her voice may crack a bit from all that shouting and lashing out as feisty Lily Cruz in her hit ABS-CBN teleserye Wildflower. But Maja Salvador hardly looks like she’s ready to throw in the towel.

Not when producers are trusting her with not one, but a series of shows called Maja on Stage at the IEC Convention Center, Cebu on Feb. 4, The Big Box East Jurong in Singapore on Feb. 18 and Kia Theatre on March 23. Not when she hopes to do a Star Cinema project with Zanjoe Marudo after the concert tour.

Yes, it can be taxing. But this workaholic knows when it’s time to slow down.

“It’s important to listen to your body,” says Maja.

So like her proactive character in Wildflower, the actress finds ways to help herself. She asks for a day of rest after working nonstop for seven days, just to recharge and regain that work-life balance.

This is why you’ve been missing Maja lately in the noontime show ASAP. All that running, kicking and jumping in Wildflower can drain even a millennial like her.

“Ayaw ng handler ko na mabugbog ang katawan ko. Sometimes, I even have provincial shows on weekends,” she explains.

Good thing her home network ABS-CBN understands. Network bosses granted her wish to skip ASAP while she’s working on the remaining episodes of Wildflower, which will soon air its finale scenes.

Maja knows the value of stepping back — especially with her family — even before her Wildflower days. After all, she works hard for them, and neglecting her family because of too much work is pointless.

So, she’d get away from it all and spend a few weeks with her mom in Alberta, Canada, and her siblings, who live in New York during the Christmas holidays.

“I work almost every day on the first, second and third quarters of the year,” she relates. “Then, I find time to be with my family. It’s important for me.”

Last year, Maja boarded two planes to visit her family on the other side of the globe. She spent one week each with her mom and her siblings.

“Mahirap puntahan ang nanay ko. Pagsakay ko sa eroplano, sakay pa ako uli.”

But she doesn’t mind. In fact, she comes home to the Philippines recharged and ready to work like there’s no tomorrow again.

If you think back-to-back tapings and shootings have robbed Maja of a lovelife, you’re wrong. The Kapamilya actress is seeing her non-showbiz barkada of 15 years.

“Kung masugid, walang problem. There’s always time. Push! Text-text, bisi-bisita. Yes, I’m happy,” Maja says with a lilt in her voice, a sparkle in her eyes.

The relationship works because it rests on a strong foundation — long-time friendship.

“Its foundation is different — friendship. We talk about what’s happening in his world. We talk about many things. We know each other very well,” says Maja.

It also helps that her special someone is non-showbiz. The relationship, to borrow Maja’s words, is “more peaceful.” There are no headline-hogging intrigues, blind items and questions that make Maja clam up or change the topic during interviews and presscons.

No wonder her mindset this year is #lovepeaceandharmony.

It’s an upbeat mindset — just like Maja, who always finds time to pause — for her family and her special someone — even when her schedule seems too packed for anything else beyond work.