“Taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care, too.”—Robert Waldinger, Harvard Medical School

A healthy relationship is the ideal kind of connection where two independent people make a conscious deal to make each other a more whole and meaningful being. This link is characterized by trust, honesty, mutual respect, openness, understanding and affection. Good communication is also the hallmark of a healthy relationship. It is the best way to reduce stress-induced issues.

Establishing clear boundaries and talking to a therapist are some measures to consider before ending a relationship.

During these toxic times of the pandemic, social relationships are important to support our emotional health and well-being. Disconnection could lead to emotions filled with fear, stress, anxiety and depression. Keeping a balance of being a strong individual with deep intimacy and being an integral part of a close bond is vitally important to have a lasting relationship.

The goal is to be authentically yourself while still having the ability to have a partner in your life, as the two individuals feed on each other’s energy to vibrate as one. In learning to see things from another person’s perspective during a crisis, the relationship is strengthened and could weather the toxic storm.

With so many distractions in my life right now, I have found my happy place on the beach where my longtime diving friends have reconnected. Staying present in the moment and fully living the adventures are great diversions to refocus my mindset.

One of the effective tools to practice staying present is mindfulness. By practicing mindfulness meditation, one becomes more accepting, open and nonjudgmental. Simply put, mindfulness is self-awareness, where we focus on emotional, cognitive and sensory experience in the present moment.

Power of two

Mindfulness in a relationship is about observing what the other person is doing in a nonjudgmental way. It is also about staying present and engaged in the moment during your conversations. Healthy communication is the effective exchange of thoughts and feelings between people. It is a balance of speaking and listening and, more importantly, feeling valued, heard and understood. This is crucial for sustaining long-term relationships.

For those looking for a different kind of romantic activity this Valentine’s weekend, do try the “Power of Two” partner yoga with Kundalini Yoga teacher Rosan Cruz on Feb. 13, 10 to 11:30 a.m. The partner yoga can be with your spouse, child, sibling, parent, or BFF.

The class will help blend contrasting polarities between you and your partner, to project love and caring, with the highest good for both. The partner yoga is online via Zoom and consists of yoga exercises, meditation and a sound healing gong bath. Make it a date! (Text tel. 0918-8889198 to join.)

I recently joined Rosan’s Kundalini session to vibrate to the frequency of love through yoga and meditation. Urban healer Rosan also conducts a gong bath cleansing after her classes. She is the master in clearing negative energy with sound. She cleansed my bedroom with sage and told me to do a general deep sanitation and cleaning.

Home cleaning

I hired Adwache Cleaning Services, a company that aims to provide the best professional cleaning services in Metro Manila, Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Bulacan, Rizal and Pampanga. The company offers a broad range of cleaning services, ranging from postconstruction, move-in and move-out cleaning, upholstery and mattress deep-cleaning, and carpet cleaning, to curtain cleaning, car deep cleaning, window cleaning, floor polishing and sanitation and disinfection services. They do both residential and commercial structures and create customized cleaning checklists for customers.

After recovering from the virus, I had Adwache thoroughly clean my entire room while I was diving in Solitude Acacia Dive Resort in Anilao, Batangas province. Everything was cleaned—my bed, sofa, carpets and my walk-in closet and bathroom.

Offering value for money, packages are reasonably priced, and all their cleaners undergo rigorous training to become experts in their fields and offer the best possible services.

Equipped with full personal protective equipment uniforms, the expert cleaners tediously vacuum, sanitize and use U/V light to disinfect the entire space. (Jhogie Quinawayan, tel. 0917-3015172; follow on Instagram @adwachecleaningph, Facebook Adwache Cleaning Services; email [email protected].)

Home improvement

For this Valentine’s Day, I will shop for all my family and friends online at the Wilcon Depot on Shopee Mall. The country’s leading home improvement and building store officially launched their online shop on Shopee.

Homeowners can explore online and shop for high-end products across multiple categories. Customers can find home items to build and refine their spaces such as lighting, large and small household appliances, kitchen appliances, bathrooms accessories and fixtures, kitchenware, tools, home decor and home care supplies.

The site features seven brands exclusively available at Wilcon: Hamden, Direct Hardware, Heim, Kaze, Alphalux, Ariston and Grohe. Wilcon also guarantees that more product offerings will be made available soon on its official store. There are also monthly deals and promos.

Shop at any of their 73 Wilcon Depot outlets nationwide or at the official Wilcon store at Shopee Mall by clicking this link: shopee.ph/wilcondepotph. You may also shop online at Wilcon Online Store by visiting shop.wilcon.com.ph.

May all the auspicious luck of the Year of the Water Tiger shower you and your family on 2022! I will be wearing the Swatch Tiger Power 2022 watch.

The brand’s latest Chinese New Year (CNY) special is rich in symbolism and style. The gold-toned dial with a Tiger head graphic symbolizes prosperity, while the red, featured on the stopper, loops and hands, is associated with joy, luck, vitality and happiness. The black of the biosourced strap and bioceramic case and bezel represents immortality, knowledge, stability and power. The CNY Special is now available in Swatch stores and online. INQ

Follow @seaprincess88 on Instagram.