Take a deep dive into the modalities of nine wellness practitioners, and the meaningful ethoses that drive their professions. 

This is an excerpt from Lifestyle Asia’s May 2023 Issue. 

A lightworker can be anyone—a mother, writer, actor, chef, teacher—they are here on earth for a specific reason: to bring light to the world. 

A lightworker is someone committed to living life lit up from their soul. They embrace authenticity and joyfulness. Life for them is expansive—full of fun and love. They are not in competition with anyone. Lightworkers typically have endured some type of spiritual awakening that spurred them to live a soulful and purposeful life of service. Often empathic and naturally spiritual and intuitive, these individuals constantly dig deep into their own self-awareness to better understand themselves and their journey. 

Get to know these light beings and discover various wellness modalities that are perfect to complement your soul’s journey. 

READ ALSO: Mindful Living: A Passion For Holistic Wellbeing

Biohacking with Eli Abela

Eli Abela has brought something different as she is the first to introduce and offer Biohacking to the Philippines. Biohacking is all about being in control of your own health and being vital and age-strong throughout the years of your life. It’s all about increasing health span and not just life span. 

Modeled after Upgrade Labs in Sta Monica, founded by Dave Asprey’s who is Abela’s mentor, she opened a nonmedical health optimization center called UNLTD (unlimited) that uses clinical-grade modalities to treat serious conditions like depression, late-stage cancer, anxiety disorder, PTSD, autism, Alzheimer’s, fibromyalgia etc. without health practitioners nor testing.

“The idea is to walk-in and walk-out of the place without much fanfare, without testing or consultations. I like to call it a “Cellular Spa” since we are really boosting the Vital Life Force, what you might call cellular energy or “Adenosine Triphosphate” generated by the powerhouse of the cell, the mitochondria” explains Abela. 

But it wasn’t until 2015, while living in Tagaytay, that she came across Bulletproof Coffee’s inventor, father of Biohacking, Dave Biohacking Asprey. She enrolled in his certification course in 2016 and the rest is history. “Biohacking and controlling my own health felt about right, being an iconoclast whose inner rebellious child spirit never waned”, shares Eli. So in 2018, the right energies blended together and she manifested the first Biohacking center in the Philippines, called UNLTD (unlimited). Abela advocates “that everything we need to transcend our current baseline, is already within our own DNA. The right tools and the right set of beliefs can do wonders.” 

Her clientele would often come to her with an insight–that they’ve tried EVERYTHING to get over their condition and nothing worked. A lot of them are discouraged by the current medical paradigm that seems too harsh or offers no real hope. 

Abela further explains that a person can use all the biohacking machines in the world, take all the supplements, do all the popular ways of eating, but if they are not able to clear stored childhood trauma and adult-onset conflicts, there will always be a portion of their human potential that will remain largely blocked and untapped.

To know more about Biohacking, you may reach Eli Abela on Instagram @coach_eLi_abela.

Shamanic Breathwork with Malou Araneta 

Breathing to heal–the power of Shamanic Breathwork. “Shamanic Breathwork is a powerful healing modality” shares Malou Araneta. “This practice involves connected circular breathing and chakra-attuned music to guide breathers in an expanded state of awareness. Individuals can be transported into an altered state of consciousness. Through this process, breathers are able to release trapped emotions or traumas and allow the person to access greater healing and transformation.” 

This breathing practice is an effective way to promote psychological and spiritual development. The process of shamanic breathwork involves techniques that are said to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and allow for a safe and sacred exploration of the inner self. 

“Clients come to me because they feel trapped and sometimes they can’t comprehend what’s going on with their lives,” says Araneta. “I love seeing their transformation from before we begin the session to after the session. You can really see the difference. Overall, I love hearing them share what they felt during the process.” 

This form of conscious breathing is a low-risk therapy and has been shown to be effective in chronic stress relief, anxiety and depression. It helps to lower high blood pressure, improve sleep and increase overall well-being. Araneta explains,“Shamanic Breathwork gave me a euphoric feeling the first time I experienced them. I wanted to share that same experience with others as well. I want to let people know that there are tools out there that you can practice to help transform your emotion into a blissful state.” 

Each individual’s experience of the Shamanic Breathwork process is different. Participants have reported altered states of consciousness; feelings of eternal bliss; struggles or battles with negative forces, spiritual rebirthing; and release from old, negative patterns. Because each journey is so unique, it is impossible to describe the process accurately. It is truly something that must be discovered through one’s own experience. 

Important to realize though is that each of us has the gift of self-healing and realization. If you are looking for a way to empower yourself, become your own inner healer and bring wholeness back into your life, shamanic breathwork is the perfect modality for you.

To know more about Shamanic Breathwork, you may reach Malou Araneta on Instagram @livewithresonanc.

Acupuncture with Dr. Phil Tan-Gatue

The ancient art of acupuncture has been used in Asia for centuries to treat many conditions and relieve pain. It’s commonly being used now in the United States and other Western countries to ease everything from low back pain, to nerve pain, to headaches, fibromyalgia, menstrual cramps—and more. 

“With regards to acupuncture, what I find most useful about it is that it is non-pharmacologic,” explains Dr. Phil Tan-Gatue. “Everything we take orally, whether it be pharmaceutical drugs, vitamins, or whatever supplements to herbs, will have to pass through the liver and kidney. Acupuncture is a magnificent option for patients who are already taking too many things that might just knock their kidneys out. Also, because its mechanism of action is different, I find it can be very good in complementing or enhancing the effects of medicines. I remember patients whose trigeminal neuralgias wouldn’t disappear with oral meds alone and acupuncture alone would only offer some relief, but combining the two eliminates the pain eventually.” 

Traditional Chinese acupuncture involves the insertion of extremely fine needles into the skin at specific “acupoints.” This may relieve pain by releasing endorphins, the body’s natural painkilling chemicals and by affecting the part of the brain that governs serotonin, a brain chemical involved with mood. 

Tan-Gatue shares, “With acupuncture, for most people, they get muscle pain and tightness relief. There are also a lot of people who just want maintenance to help with their sports and fitness activities. Some patients also come for help in relaxing. They have better quality sleep and generally feel less encumbered by life’s tensions. My best ever case was a stroke patient, who combined with physical therapy, went from absolutely no movement in his left side to now practicing to play basketball again! Granted, that’s a best case scenario though!” 

Acupuncture definitely has its rewards. Tan-Gatue says “I get a kick out of seeing patients get immediate improvement in their range of motion or pain control. And I get a big kick out of finding ways to relieve pain without sticking a needle in the affected area – proving the efficacy of traditional Chinese medical theory.”

To know more about Acupuncture, you may reach Dr.Phil Tan-Gatue on Instagram @philtangatue.\

Sound Vibrational Healing with Lee Grane

It’s the passion and curiosity about the healing aspect of sound that brought Lee Grane , a musician of 20 years to paths that led to extensive training in the study of sound as a tool for raising consciousness. 

Sound Vibrational Healing as Grane explains, “is different because you are working with the subtle energy body. It utilizes vibrations which are non- invasive. You don’t need to touch the physical body of the client but they will feel the effects. When a sound is created, its vibrations can help synchronize the vibration of the client’s body, restoring harmony and balance.” 

“What makes my sound healing session different is incorporating my voice into the session” shares Grane. “I tune in to what the client needs by doing an assessment pre-session and tailoring the harmonic keys missing or lacking in their auric field causing the imbalance they are experiencing whether on a physical level or the subtle level. My work is centered around strengthening the missing sound (which also addresses the weak colors from their aura) in their field. This ancient wisdom comes from the secret of the Music of the Spheres in relation to the human body. 

With Vibrational Healing, it helps in restoring balance & harmony addressing all aspects– physical body, mental body, emotional body, energy, and spiritual body. Given that everything has a vibrational frequency, including ourselves, it makes sense that sound frequencies impact how we feel. That’s why particular songs and types of music often bring about specific types of emotions from us. Sound healing, which is an ancient healing technique that uses tonal frequencies to bring the body into a state of vibrational balance and harmony, plays upon this. 

To know more about Sound Vibrational Healing, you may reach Lee Grane on Instagram @lee.grane.musiq. 

The Path of Yoga with Francesca Regala

“The Path of Yoga is the foundation from which I draw upon- where I constantly get to apply the teachings and principles of yoga to attain overall wellbeing, balance, harmony, joy, and inspiration in my everyday life” shares Francesca Regala. 

Regala has been a student and practitioner of yoga for the past 25 years and has been teaching Yoga as an Integrative Path to Wellness through breath (pranayama), movement (asana), yoga philosophy, and meditation (dhyana) for the past 20 years. 

“The style of Yoga that I teach combines Yoga Philosophy with very specific Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment that enables the practitioner to move from intention into conscious action. The Yoga philosophy I draw upon is Tantric in nature, which seeks to expand one’s conscious awareness of the Self as well as one’s relationship with our outer world–our families, our communities, our planet.” 

She explains that “Yoga as a Path is a way of Being, a Paradigm for Living. It is a path of discovering everything there is to know about your own Self, to awaken to your own inner Yoga Knowing. It is how to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, how to breathe, how to still and quiet the whirlings (vrittis) of your own mind. To Listen Deeply…how to honor and take care of your unique body as a Sacred Vessel on this earth. How to move your Body, Mind, and Spirit deeper into alignment with your soul’s purpose and to realize that we are all interconnected beings.” 

The philosophy of yoga gives us a blueprint to follow, which leads us to a happy, healthy and peaceful life. Happiness that transforms into deep and long-lasting contentment. Health that keeps our bodies and minds vital and vibrant. Peace that not only manifests within ourselves but also with the world around us. 

With gratitude, Regala happily shares “I love witnessing students feel good, nourished, and empowered in their bodies. I love being a part of people’s discovery, insights, and encounters with their own set of victories, challenges, weaknesses, edges, and helping them move through that whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. I love witnessing how people connect with the inherent intuition and wisdom they hold within.”

To know more about The Path of Yoga, you may reach Fran Regala on Instagram @francescaregala.

Read more by purchasing a copy of the Lifestyle Asia May 2023 magazine via SariSari.shopping or select newsstands in National Bookstore and Fully Booked. Subscribe to the E-Magazine via Readly, Magzter, and Press Reader. 

Photos by Excel Panlaque of Kliq, Inc.