A yoga therapist, a dancer, a certified Energy Management and Integrative Wellbeing coach, a women’s health advocate, and a mother. Given all these roles, Dona Tumacder-Esteban has carved a place to call hers, one from where she can cultivate goodness that she can share with others. Read on to learn more about how yoga has helped Dona win her own body battles through meditation and choosing only the natural way to achieve overall wellbeing.

Mindfulness and More

After fifteen years of practice (and counting!), Dona has been able to reap the benefits of yin yoga and dancing as a form of meditation. As a yin yoga therapist, Dona also bridges old philosophies to modern ones to achieve an ultimate goal—mindfulness. Mindfulness primarily focuses on cultivating awareness, and this is what Dona claims to have taught her make better lifestyle choices.

She elaborates, “Because of this awareness, I am able to make better choices in my life—from what to put inside my body to what to put on my body, from being reactive to situations to being more responsive to what truly needs to be acted on, from becoming conscious of where I invest my energy to managing my energy in five aspects—physically, emotionally, mentally, environmentally, and spiritually.”

Dona practices mindfulness in all aspects of her life every day but while she has been at it for some time now, she considers herself as a work in progress. Being mindful helps her in making decisions based on her honest assessment of the present rather than being triggered by anxieties about the past or the future. Mindfulness also taught Dona how to become better at self-awareness and be more responsive to situations instead of simply being reactive.

As far as physical wellbeing goes, yin yoga has also given Dona a toned body. On top of that, she also learned techniques on how to effectively manage stress which, according to her, can help slow down the aging process.

Menstrual Health Education Mission

Yin yoga also paved the way for Dona to discover her other passion—educating people about menstrual health. Through the practice of yoga, Dona was able to confront her own physical discomforts during her time of the month, from something as mild as being bloated to insufferable migraines and even depression at times.

“The period is a blessing because it is one means of detoxification reserved only for women. If we know how to decode the symptoms that we experience, if any, it becomes a really good indication of our health history,” Dona explains. As she went on her yin yoga journey, Dona noticed that her discomfort during her period lessened gradually and that her cycle became regular. She also learned to apply the perspectives of traditional Chinese medicine and began adapting lifestyle changes to address her own menstrual cycle imbalances.

Through The Period Project, Dona looks forward to help more women become aware of their bodies and cycle, and to influence the shifting of society’s perspective about the period along with other gender-related issues.

Dona is also eager to share tips on how women on how people, women especially, can start taking better care of their bodies with or without yoga experience:

1. Check yourself. Dona practices what she calls “Fierce Truth Telling” every day to check in with herself. According to Dona, Fierce Truth Telling gives her a chance to put down her guard and peel off the armor she has built around herself. To accomplish this, Dona advises to be completely honest with ourselves and ask how we are physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. “Be honest enough to tell the truth about who you are without blame and judgment and with kindness and compassion towards yourself,” she adds.

Dona begins her Fierce Truth Telling by stretching her body to help it relieve from accumulated stress. A truth telling session encourages to cultivate awareness of what we truly need to adjust and recalibrate in our lives, which can help us making strategies towards attaining overall wellbeing.

2. Sleep at 10 PM. Dona encourages getting enough sleep, adding that it is the best way to recharge and repair the body. Having a hard time falling into deep sleep? Dona recommends creating a ritual. Start settling into a tranquil mood by putting away (or better yet, turning off) your gadgets by 8 PM and having a warm shower after a few relaxing stretches.

3. Track your period. “As women, we are blessed to have our menstrual cycle because it give us insight into our current state of health,” Dona shares. The period is a woman’s body’s way of detoxifying, and being educated about it can help us begin making lifestyle changes, no matter how small, towards wellbeing.

Apart from observing and tracking the monthly flow, The Period Project also helps explain to women period-related symptoms such as PMS, irregular periods, types of flow, emotional fluctuations and even menopause so that they can use what they know to attain holistic wellbeing. By learning intimately about the menstrual cycle, women can enjoy a hassle-free period, even a happy one.

Going Healthy—Naturally

Dona’s rationale when it comes to using natural product is quite simple—that the products she uses gets absorbed by her body through her skin. “If I use toxic products, it will eventually take a toll on my detoxification organs,” says Dona when asked how going natural helps her take care of her wellbeing,” she explains. As for natural products, Dona shared the Human Nature products that she can’t go without such as Natural Feminine Wash Protection for Red Days, Clarifying Shampoo, Salon Care Conditioner, and Gentle Berry Body Wash. She also extends natural care to her family by stocking up on Ocean Apple Kids Shampoo & Body Wash and Natural Dishwashing Liquid.

Currently, Dona is the leading Yin Yoga teacher in the Philippines and is conducting workshops and education programs related to yoga, women’s health, and Energy Management. Get to know more about her and The Period Project by sending her an email at mindbodydona@gmail.com.