Lifestyle & Features

LIVE WELL / CJ Rodriguez Last part Getting started in the practice There are a variety of sources to learn from to begin the journey toward increased mindfulness. You can get excellent advice and coaching from subject-matter experts/trainers, as well as from books, compact discs (CDs) and even magazines.

Jocelyn Noveck / The Associated Press New York—Here’s the thing about holding Fashion Week in February: No one really talks about the clothes—they’re too busy talking about the weather. This year, it was even colder than usual, which meant even more painful moments slip-sliding along icy streets and shivering one’s you-know-what off waiting for someone to decide to open the …

By Alvin I. Dacanay They’re undeniably Filipino, yet they’re not. Their slanted eyes and pale skin show how different they are, but their accent and speech also show how they are not that different. Their surnames may sound foreign, but everything else about them are not.

Leanne Italie / The Associated Press Grammy newcomer Sam Smith looked dapper in a white bow tie and Madonna rocked one of the awards season’s most eclectic red carpets last February 8 (last February 9 in Manila) in a bedazzled two-corner black hat and burlesque-esque corset with matching thigh-high boots.

By Cherie Mercado Santos Last part At other lookout points—seemingly within an arm’s reach, but in reality, hundreds of feet away—on rugged rocks and, at times, the seemingly smooth walls of steep mountains, you would see black dots, which I mistook for trees, but upon squinting and wearing my correction glasses, I realized they were rock climbers, conquering these steep …

LIVE WELL / CJ Rodriguez First part In today’s fast-paced, digital environment, it is a constant challenge to stay focused on one thing at any given time. Nowhere is this truer than in the workplace. When you sit in for a meeting, your attention may waver with the barrage of text messages and e-mail alerts from one or more devices. …

Award-winning poet Carlomar Arcangel Daoana launched on February 2 his latest book of poems, Loose Tongue, Poems: 2001-2013 (University of Santo Tomas [UST] Publishing House), at the Henry Sy Sr. Hall of De La Salle University (DLSU) in Malate, Manila. As part of the book launch, which was organized by the DLSU Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center and the …

By Leanne Italie / The Associated Press New York—Mark Miller has survived 19 years of online dating since his 1995 divorce, yet he still has a smile on his face.

Connie Cass and Emily Swanson / The Associated Press Washington, D.C.—Guys, if you want to get the girl, try bringing flowers—to her mother. With Valentine’s Day coming up, it’s something to think about: Winning over the mom may sound old-fashioned, but it’s still a smart strategy in today’s fast-changing, app-tapping, hookup-happy world of dating.

By Cherie Mercado Santos First of two parts In all those decades I’ve been dreaming of setting foot in southern France, I would never have guessed that my favorite place would turn out to be a stretch of road.