Feb 25, 2018

SUP Yoga with Lalah de Dios at Fox and the Firefly

Location: Fox and the Firefly Cottages, Loboc (municipality), Bohol (province), Philippines
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

Gung Ho
When Joan invited me to join Lalah's SUP Yoga at Fox and Firefly, I was curious how my vertigo from a face-landing on a 22-foot cliff dive would hold up. Still reeling from a 28km bike ride with Juan earlier, I felt gung-ho. I couldn't get enough of life after a CT scan showing no head trauma. I was sqeezing everything I could from my new lease on life.

Lalah de Dios
Lalah is a 200-Hr Ashtanga Yoga Teacher and Certified SUP Yoga Teacher who founded Aquanimous Yoga to take her students' journey into self-love, self-discovery, self-acceptance, and self-transformation. Her yogic epiphany came in 2008 while surfing in Bagasbas Beach.

Aside from yoga, Lalah is also a Vipassana meditator. Her cuing talked about observing sensations without any reaction - it was the give-away for me. Increasingly, I meet people who have done Vipassana. They somehow have this unmistakable carriage to them. Collectively, they represent a swelling tide of people who see reality as it is...not the way it was fabricated to be.

SUP Yoga
Instead of drifting with the current, the SUPs were tied up on a lodged tree along the river. Joan was SUPing around, taking pictures and video as Lalah took us into the sequence of weaving asana with breath into a meditative vinyasa. Yoga on an SUP takes on new dimension as mundane balancing poses on solid ground present new challenges.

Ending Thoughts
This yoga really did it for me - going back into the practice after my CT scan, hanging out with Joan and Lalah, pushing it fresh from my vertigo and meeting Natalie and Sara. The mat brings out the best in people with their positive energy...and that's what you come away with.

Thank you Joan and Lalah!!!

--- TheLoneRider
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

pictures and video by Joan Christine

participants of the Aquanimous yoga retreat

Reader Comments:

Joan

Fox & The Firefly Cottages
(Feb 28, 2018) Thanks for writing it on your blog ❤

Lalah

(Feb 28, 2018) 🙏 🙏 🙏

Leonard

(Feb 28, 2018) Back with the shenanigans I see!! Good job Git!

Next stop: Jeffrey's Cardio Program

Loboc Map

Loboc, Bohol, Philippines

tourist attractions

Cruz Daku - 80-foot white cross erected in 1986 on top of Loboc's highest mountain
Virgen de Guadalupe - giant statue of the Black Madonna perched on a Loboc summit
River Cruise - river cruise on a floating restaurant serving lunch with cultural presentation
Busay Falls - accessible only through the river cruise
Loktob Spring - cold water spring, free admission, huts for rent
Zipline and Cable Car Ride - at the Eco-Tourism Adventure Park

hotel

Fox & The Firefly Cottages - SUP paddle boarding, luxury riverside native cottages, mountain bike tours, SUP yoga
Lyn's Backpackers Inn - family-run guesthouse in the heart of Loboc

Bohol Travel Info/Tips

Bohol FYI / Tips

the tourist area where most of the hotels, restaurants, ticket offices, tour operators are, is located within the Alona Beach area
the tourist attractions in Bohol are far apart and spread-out. It would be difficult to visit them all using public mass transit. Better hire a van (P3500/day) if in a big group, or rent a motorcycle (P400/day + gas)
Bohol relies on its tourism for revenue. As expected, everything they can capitalize on from tourism is extensively used and developed

Tagbilaran Port to Panglao

You can charter any tricycle from the port all the way to Panglao (~P300), but if you want to do it on the cheap,

don't take the tricycles lined-up inside the port. Walk past the port gate and immediately outside, you'll see many tricycles. Take one to the bus terminal in Dao (~P15)
in Dao, take the jeep that plies the Panglao route (~P20)

Tagbilaran (Bohol) to Cebu City by boat

** schedules and rates keep changing, call for latest schedule

Weesam Express - departs 6:15 AM, 11:30 AM, 4:00 PM
one way: Economy (aircon) P500.00, Economy (non-aircon) P400.00, First Class P600.00
round trip promo (at least 2 days advance booking): Economy (aircon) P600, Economy(non-aircon) P500, First Class P1200
round trip promo (1 day or on the day booking): Economy (aircon) P800, Economy (non-aircon) P700, First Class P1200
Ocean Jet - departs 6-7:05-8:20-9:20-11:40AM, 1-2-3:30-4:20-5:30-6:30PM, 2 hours, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
Open Air / Tourist Class P800, Business Class P1000
+63(32)255 7560 / +63 (32) 255 0115 / 0917 638 0000
SuperCat (2GO) - departs 5:50-11AM, 3:45-5:25-8:15PM, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
P 500.00
+63 32 233 7000

Things to do, Places to go in Bohol

Chocolate Hills - this is a clustering of more than 1200 hills within a 50km² area. They range in height from 30-50 meters. What's unusual is their near-perfect conical shape resembling an individual chocolate chip. No one knows how they were formed. Entrance is P50/pax.
Tarsier Conservation Area - located Upper Bonbon, Loboc. The tarsiers are no longer being played at by tourists as circus props, but instead, visitors now view them in cordoned-off areas in their natural 6ha habitat. As they are territorial and nocturnal, they are predictable on where they can be viewed. P50/pax.
Alona Beach (Panglao) - Alona Beach is the tourist hub of Bohol. It has 1.5 kms of white sand beach lined-up by bars, hotels and restos. Alona is also the jump-off point for Balicasag Island, a world class dive destination.
Danao Adventure Park - located in Barangay Magtangtang, 72 kms (2 hours ride) from Tagbilaran. Adventure activities include river trekking, tyrolean traverse, rappelling, bouldering, rock climbing and ziplining.