Valerie Caulin

Holy Week is coming!

But wait, when everyone is planning their beach holidays, you know deep inside that you might pass on this one. With the global crisis which led to many companies in Philippines letting their employees work 3 times a week to lessen the costs, many of us cannot afford to travel.

Don’t be in distress for there are many ways to spend your Holy Week without spending a whole paycheck or swiping your credit card. Here are some of my suggestions:

Get some zzzs

Since getting back to work after the Christmas holidays, you might have been working hard or partying hard that you miss to sleep for 10 hours. Yup, 10 hours and surely you didn’t get enough of sleep.

So for one week, rejuvenate and sleep for 10 hours. So when you get back to work, you will look refreshed sans under eye circles without spending a penny!

Get into fitness and wellness

Lately, my friends and I have been exchanging fitness regimen and we jokily admit that as we grow older, we have become health-conscious. If you are not heading out somewhere, you can get back to shape without going to the gym.

Stretch and walk around your area. You can dance your heart out.  Do some yoga or some aerobic exercises from YouTube.

Eat healthy

Observing the Lenten Season means abstaining from eating meat – pork, beef and chicken as a way of sacrifice. So follow this church doctrine and you will not just fulfill a religious duty but giving your body a favor.

Eat your veggies and fruits and be friends with tuna. This way, you can get back to your skinny jeans in no time!

Bond with your family

You leave your house before the sun rises to catch the bus or train and arrives very late almost everyday. And during weekends, you either hang out with your friends or sleep and rest ignoring some quality time with your parents and the rest of the family.

Now, you have 5 days to eat with them, at least during lunch and dinner. There is nothing more enjoyable than sharing a laugh with your family and just let time pass. Take this opportunity to sit with your family for more than an hour and just talk and laugh.

Go to Church

Of course, Holy Week is a religious affair and you must at least go to Church in the week. You may go for “Visita Iglesia” which means visiting 7 ( I’m not sure) churches and pray the Station of the Cross.  I tried this last year and it is very therapeutic, not to mention fun going from one church to the other.Attend a procession and try to identify the saints from different wheeled pedestal.

Contemplate

Lastly, take this time to just breath and relax. Have some “alone time” and recall your dreams and what you have done to achieve those.  Meditate and internalize how you were as a child, a friend and a lover perhaps.

You may not have tan lines when you go back to work but you have full of energy to start a new working day felling well rested and refreshed!!!