5 Things We Unlearned About Wellness at Allure Destinations
While wellness involves lifelong learning, part of this journey is also unlearning—particularly the habits, thoughts, and perceptions that no longer benefit us.
“This is a safe space for authenticity, vulnerability, and truth.”
Those words from Maxene Magalona, actor, yoga and meditation teacher, and wellness advocate, marked the start of the first-ever Allure Destinations, a two-day experience held in The Farm at San Benito that brought together individuals who are sparking conversations in the local beauty and wellness landscape.
Through mindful activities like a sharing circle, a meditative flower arrangement session, and a gentle yoga class, the mini retreat allowed guests like actress Pamela Prinster, model Anshel Lim, and content creators Iya Omaña, Yna Omaña, Belle Rodolfo, Jeline Catt-Juan, Cy Canlas, Kristine Francisco, Cherry Millen, and Kiara Mae Yau to discover and redefine wellness and self-care for themselves.
Miles Wency
Miles Wency
“At Allure Philippines, we believe that beauty isn’t only about what you see in the mirror—it’s also about how grounded, nurtured, and whole you feel within,” shares Rissa Mananquil Trillo, editor in chief of Allure Philippines. “[Allure Destinations] is a chance to be reminded that caring for ourselves is not indulgence, but intention.”
Miles Wency
Throughout the two days, here are five things we unlearned about wellness:
1. Wellness isn’t just about physical or mental health. Emotional health plays a key role in well-being, too.
The intimate getaway began with a sharing circle, where guests had the opportunity to listen to their peers and share about themselves. The judgement-free circle emphasized how being well and feeling well involves some level of emotional vulnerability, something we tend to overlook when we only think of wellness as a physical or mental investment.
Magalona, who facilitated the sharing circle, says, “I get a lot of students who come up to me and say, ‘Thank you so much for that practice. I haven’t felt that in a while.’ Our hearts open up when we start to connect to our feelings and feel things that we’ve never really felt before. In our modern world, we get too focused and fixated on the external. But when we go back to [what’s on the] inside, we find that there’s a treasure chest just waiting to be opened.”
Miles Wency
2. Wellness is not one-size-fits-all.
While we’re often fed the idea that wellness looks like heading to Pilates in a coordinated fitness set with a to-go matcha in one hand, this practice doesn’t have to be the same for everyone.
“My own journey taught me that wellness is unique to each individual,” agrees content creator Iya Omaña. “We all carry different experiences, challenges, and ways of coping. For some, healing might come through exercise. For others, it’s through creativity like creating videos or painting, or even through exploring the world. What works for one person may not work for another, and that’s the beauty of it. Wellness should be about finding what resonates with you.”
Miles Wency
This unlearning was echoed by Iya Navarro, assistant brand manager of Dove Body Wash, which partnered with Allure Destinations. “While we [can] come together in how we care for ourselves… It doesn’t have to be a one-size-fits-all kind of care.”
3. Wellness doesn’t always mean stillness.
Guests also took part in a mandala flower arrangement session, where they took the time to create a flower arrangement in a bowl filled with water. “This is actually a form of meditation,” shares Joji Panopio, The Farm at San Benito’s spa guest relations associate. Even if you aren’t sitting down with your eyes closed, the experience is still, at its core, meditative, because “you’re giving your full attention to what you’re doing.”
In meditative flower arrangement, there are no rules—you can fill your bowl with as many leaves and flowers as you’d like, for as long as you’d like. “Some guests do this for 20 minutes, while some do it for an hour,” says Panopio. “We’ve been told that the experience is very therapeutic. It gives guests an outlet to ‘let things go.’”
Miles Wency
4. Wellness doesn’t happen in a moment. It’s a practice.
While the two days at The Farm helped guests carve out time for mindfulness, the experience was meant to kickstart or reignite a wellness practice—something they can do in their day-to-day lives. “This was a great reminder that wellness doesn’t have to have ‘timing,’” says content creator Belle Rodolfo. “The more you practice it by slipping it in in your everyday life, the more it will benefit you. Caring for myself looks like consistency now.”
Miles Wency
5. Wellness doesn’t need to be expensive.
Miles Wency
Eating more vegetables, enrolling in a gym, going to talk therapy—all these come with a cost. But they don’t always have to. “When I started my yoga practice, I just watched YouTube videos that are free,” shares Magalona, who recommends the channel Yoga Upload by Maris Aylward, a Filipina yoga teacher based in the U.S. “For a year, I just took [her] free classes until she inspired me to become a yoga teacher myself.”
For those looking for someone to talk to, Magalona also recommends the Kalingang Bumbero hotline—0962-458-4237—a free 24/7 mental health crisis hotline spearheaded by members of the Bureau of Fire Protection. According to the Philippine Information Agency, the initiative is an “extension of the Bureau of Fire Protection’s commitment to public safety in light of the rising mental health crisis in the country.”
Magalona says, “Wellness can even come from spending time with family, from spending time in nature. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to be authentic and sincere.”
Miles Wency
