A Day with Cory Quirino A PINAY'S HEART AND SOUL FOR HEALTH & WELLNESS
Cory Quirino, ia a woman of awe and incredible poise, beauty and positivity. Mature ladies and young women all look up to her for wisdom and advice. Cory is still one of the most beautiful Filipinas and she has kept fit and healthy through good health practices including daily exercise and a smart diet. Even her career as a spokesperson for healthy living, among other advocacies for Filipinos, is helping many women realize that taking care of one's body is the best way to stay fit forever.
REACH: How does the day usually start for Miss Cory Quirino?
CORY: I begin my day the same way I end it, with prayer and meditation. You calm your mind and spirit so that your body can do what it needs to do for the next day. Then, I do my wellness rituals--I practice oil pulling. Which is a 500 year-old Ayurvedic practice ( ancient traditional medicine native to India ) using sesame oil. I use organic coconut oil instead, and swish it around my teeth for 10 minutes like a mouthwash. The coconut oil acts like a magnet for the bacteria in one’s mouth. Health professionals claim that the population of bacteria found in one’s mouth is larger than the population of living people in the world, so that should always be a cause for concern for healthy living and wellness. After that, I take 2 glasses of water in the morning for cleansing.
I place a squeeze of calamansi in the cleansing drink. For breakfast, I eat raw and fresh produce for meals - unlimited portions of fruit and vegetables, and not just anything that can be cooked for breakfast. I end my day the same way I started it, taking 2 glasses of water, 2 hours before sleeping. My dinner is also raw, fresh food like fruits and vegetables or sashimi. My day ends relaxed with meditation and prayer.
For three times a week, I am in the gym working out. And if I don’t have time for gym, I jump on my rebounder—a trampoline—for around 100 jumps minimum. And then I have my treadmill exercises. Eighty percent of my diet is made up of vegetables. So if I fill a plate, 80 percent is vegetables and fruits, and the rest will be carbohydrates and protein, but no beef or pork for me. I haven’t eaten meat in 20 years and I really don’t miss it.
REACH: What is your secret for maintaining beauty and wellness over the years?
CORY: Above all else, the most important is to have a calm spirit. A mind should always stay open and one's soul should stay loving and forgiving because this is not a perfect world and people are not perfect. So, if we are expecting perfection from everyone around us, we might be very disappointed. Keep a very calm spirit, an open mind and a very loving heart. I also thrive on passion and a lot of energy. I have a lot of energy to push my passion forward and make my goals all happen. And that passion helps me keep going and challenges me to remake myself to be better always. Everyone is entitled to redefining themselves and I always tell myself everyday that the best is yet to come.
REACH: For you what is the most important lesson in health and wellness that you regret you didn’t do when you were younger?
CORY: I wish I did not eat beef and pork ever. Of course, my parents did not know any better about the long term effects on health of eating meat. But I still will not give up my fresh fish meals. Always eat natural and locally grown veggies or fruits that are fresh and eaten uncooked.
REACH: What is up with your recent advocacies and campaigns like managing Miss Philippines?
CORY: After we won the Miss World pageant, Megan Young really inspired me to work harder. I believe it was no accident that she won Miss World! With the crown she can raise funds for charity and bring the cause of the Philippines to people, wherever she travels in the world.
Whenever she speaks with the world as our representative, she can promote an awareness of the plight of the less fortunate. Especially those devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda. Megan has a humanitarian mission as Miss World-Philippines and she has already raised a lot of money. She visits 45 countries soon, and she already has a tie-up with the Sun broadsheet in England. People believe in her because kids there are giving 1 pound each for her charity work. She is also the best ambassador for the country right now.
The other advocacy I will never give up is promoting health and wellness nationwide. I speak before big local civic groups and organizations all over the country to promote health and wellness. Because of my radio show at DZMM, which is already 8 years running and ranks number 1 in its time slot; I get to reach more listeners simply because people want to stay healthy and beautiful forever.
REACH: What was the recipe for success of Miss World Philippines, Megan Young for winning the crown?
Cory: I think that to win the Miss World crown for our country is more than just fate - it is destiny. We are just blessed that she joined the Miss Philippines pageant. And if there was any indication of how she would perform, that was it really. She didn’t let us down because everyone had that sense when she was crowned Miss Philippines, she would be the one who would eventually win. Take note that she was the first Miss World (and) there will be a second. (Cory smiles warmly)
REACH: How can women excel in a business, an advocacy or a good cause?
Cory: First thing to do is ask yourself where your biggest passion lies. You have to follow your heart and not your head. It will bring you to the right path. Once you are happy with what your passion is, you will excel. How would I know that I would end up in health and wellness? Because I love to share good things about staying healthy and enjoying life more!
I just love sharing what I know about health and I also do more research to keep up to date. Even if I do not have the MD title after my name, people are assured of good advice because I share knowledge based on my personal experience. Even groups like the Philippine College of Physicians ask me to speak in their conventions; making me realize that even doctors need to look after their own good health.
REACH : What is your suggestion for women in their prime so they can age gracefully?
Cory: I reject the word age as a description for maturing. It is not in my vocabulary and I prefer to say that one will unfold like a thousand petals of a lotus. I am a follower of Deepak Chopra’s philosophies and his book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, and Gary Zukav’s The Heart of the Soul. These books are my inspiration bibles. And as Deepak Chopra said, “Look to the land where no one is old. It is nowhere but in yourself.”
(REACH: How young are you now?) Forever young! Just like my best selling series. To explain to you how this works, I have a good friend in the Inquirer, Jaime Lichauco, who also has his radio show on DZMM. One day, we decided to just collaborate on a book and it took 3 years in the making.
Finally, it came out in National Bookstore published by Anvil. Our books was called Super Minds, Super Body - it is our first collaboration. To our surprise, the book sold out! And we did not even have a formal book launching, just showing you how many people are so into health and wellness. They just are so hungry for information. In our book, I reviewed almost 30 diets. At the end of the book, my advice was that the simplest diet of all and the easiest to do; always be (in) moderation rather than thinking of suicide because you deprive yourself and can’t eat what you wish. I think that the word diet alone connotes deprivation.
REACH: What is your life statement that can serve as an inspiration for other women out there?
Cory: Women especially, are gifted with hearts that are loving. And women have a natural instinct to love unconditionally. My only advice to all is to listen to your heart, and love. Many women forget that love also applies to taking care of one's self. How can you give love if you don’t have love in your soul for yourself?
