Ang aktres at ngayon ay isa nang yoga teacher na si Maxene Magalona, ay kasalukuyan pa ring nananatili ngayon sa Bali, Indonesia kasama ang kanyang asawang si Robbie Mananquil. Sa Bali mas pinili ni Maxene na mag-training ng yoga magmula noong ipatupad ang lock down, at nang matapos nga ang training, ay nagpasya ang mag-asawa na huwag munang umuwi ng Pilipinas. Sa Bali na rin masayang ipinagdiwang ni Maxene ang kanyang ika-34th birthday noong nakaraang buwan.
Samantala, bagama’t sumailalim na sa yoga training ay mas minabuti ni Maxene na sumailalim rin sa meditation upang makatulong sa tuluyan niyang paggaling.
At kamakailan nga, ay ibinahagi ni Maxene na sumailalim siya sa 10-day silent retreat o kilala sa tawag na Vipassana meditation. Ito ay kilala sa India bilang pinakamabisang paraan ng meditation.
Photo credits: Maxene Magalona | Instagram
Sa Instagram noong ika-7 ng Disyembre, masayang ibinahagi ni Maxene ang kanyang naramdaman matapos matagumpay na nalagpasan ang 10-day silent retreat. Saad nga ng aktres, ay malaki ang pasasalamat niya dahil ang katiwasayan at liwanag ay habang buhay nang mananatili sa kanilang puso. Malaki rin ang naitulong sa kanila ng Vipassana na nagbigay sa kanila ng kaliwanagan sa mga bagay-bagay lalo na sa reyalidad ng buhay.
Photo credits: Maxene Magalona | Instagram
“The feeling of overwhelming gratitude coupled with clarity and lightness will forever be ingrained in our hearts. Vipassana means ‘clear seeing’ or ‘insight’ and that is exactly what the retreat helped us achieve. Learning this meditation technique allowed us to see reality just as it is with no judgment, stories or labels. We suffer from pain, fear, doubt and anxiety because we tend to create narratives around situations. We have so many expectations and when things don’t go our way, we get extremely frustrated. It seems as though we only want to taste the sweetness of life while avoiding its bitterness and sourness. As much as we embrace the pleasures this world has to offer, we must also accept its challenges and difficulties. The sooner we learn to do this, the better we will be able to flow with the universe.”
Photo credits: Maxene Magalona | Instagram
Pag-amin naman ni Maxene, noong unang araw ng retreat ay nahihirapan siya dahil halos 10 oras umanong nakaupo ng buong araw. Sumakit raw ang kanyang paa, ngunit dahil nasa kalagitnaan ng meditation ay hinikayat sila ng kanilang guro na indahin ang nadaramang sakit sapagkat pansamantala lamang ito. Sa mga natirang araw nga ay nakasanayan na ni Maxene ang sakit, hanggang sa tila wala na siyang nadaramang sakit.
“Meditation trains our minds and bodies to accept all kinds of sensations. During the first few days of the retreat, I was experiencing so much distress and frustration because I wasn’t used to sitting in meditation for 10 hours a day! My legs were in so much pain! I couldn’t stop fidgeting and squirming. Our teacher @meditationdave encouraged us to try our best not to react and just sit through the discomfort as he assured us that the pain was only temporary. True enough, the less I reacted to the uncomfortable feelings, the less it became unbearable. I started getting used to it. The Buddha said, ‘See sensations as sensations,’ and that’s exactly what I did. I sat in stillness as much as I could and welcomed all the sensations that came up. I didn’t label them as positive or negative. I just allowed myself to feel everything and not react.”
Photo credits: Maxene Magalona | Instagram
Pagbabahagi naman ni Maxene, matapos ang 10 araw ng hirap na kanilang naranasan, ay wala umano siyang pinagsisihan. Dahil ang tanging nadarama niya matapos ang naranasan, ay pawang katiwasayan at kaligayahan. Dagdag pa ni Maxene, ay ipinagkatiwala na niya ang lahat sa Diyos, lalo na ang pangangalaga sa kanila.
“But after the 10-day practice, Maxene said she has no regrets going through the challenging experience. “Towards the end of the retreat, I was happily floating inside my body. My legs were still in a lot of pain but the upper half of my body was in pure ecstasy. I found myself smiling as I realized that this was exactly what life was about —a blissful balance between pleasure and pain. We just have to surrender and trust that God will take care of us. We need only be still. ??♀️ ??♂️ #MeditatewithTheMananquils”