I'd like to pursue my online/studio yoga classes with Marky as my business partner. As a general rule, I work alone. But Marky is reliable, honest and easy to deal with. I'll worry about yoga and he'll take care of everything else. He'll be my go-to guy, videographer and marketing guy. Ideally, I'll negotiate the deals with the yoga studios and conduct the workshop.

2024 started out with me wanting to leave Siquijor for interaction and stimulation in a small city - one year in an isolated island living a monk's life was enough. I took 10 days in Jan-Feb to visit Bacolod, San Carlos, Toledo and Cebu City.

But I was also torn. In Lazi, Siquijor where I lived, I have 3 magical moments daily that I couldn't have in the city - sunrise yoga by the seawall (expansive alfresco setting, sea breeze, clean air and yoga space), Bolo Bolo Spring (for bike workout destination, dipping, water consumption and laundry rinsing) and sunset yoga by the seawall. These are the main take-aways not to mention eating fresh fish, drinking refreshing natural spring water for my water consumption, drinking pure tuba (fermented coconut sap), sourcing pure tableya (cacao tablet for sikwate drink), and cheap rent at P3k/month.

Lazi's seawall is always magical at sunrise and sunset

---

at my daily natural spring bath

While in Cebu City, I went to Bantayan with Marky to explore the place for a possible long-term residency - Siquijor wasn't bad, but I was looking for a "WOW" factor. After 3 days, I set my eyes on it as a permanent place to grow roots. It called out, the energy was positive and I met people who resonated with me - Audrey, the 3 siters (Charmagne, Joy and Gina) and Leonidas. Upon coming back to Siquijor, I sold the heavy and bulky stuff (LPG, stove, water dispenser, lounge chair, etc.). I packed my 2 heavy/bulky luggage and tried loading them on my motorbike - yikes, it was an accident waiting to happen. Instead, I loaded it on the bus bound for Cebu City without me. Ivan, at Hostel 7 Cebu, picked them up for temporary storage. Before leaving Siquijor, I received an invite from Joan of Fox and the Firefly Cottages to be one of the teachers for the Bohol Yoga Festival. It was inconvenient while doing my move, but of course, I said Yes, thinking I'll head back to Cebu after the festival, get my stuff and begin a new chapter in my life in Bantayan Island. Wrong!

Bohol was supposed to be a 3-day seque for the Bohol Yoga Festival. After that, my plan was to continue to Cebu City, get my stuff and continue my journey to Bantayan Island to start a new chapter. Little did I know this festival was the genesis for a string of events that would keeps me in Bohol.

Bohol Yoga Festival
(Apr 20-22, 2024) This event was super fun and the participants liked my brand of yoga (Siddhi activation) and my brand of teaching it (lots of explainers). The feedback was positive. I met a lot of amazing people and shared insights and perspective with them - some of them were instrumental in my continued stay in Bohol - Joan, Jing, Kaye and Jen. Joan invited me to stay a little longer to join them for a chill fun dive in Panglao, c/o Brylle. That was a lot of fun too.

Sub-teacher at Jing Yoga and Wellness Studio
(April 23-28, 2024) At the festival, I reconnected with Jing, an acquiantance from my 2017 stint in Loboc. She attended my class and perhaps found it positive despite her question, "Why do you say Elon Mush has Siddhi?" She needed a substitute teacher while she was gone for a week - and invited me to teach her classes and stay at her place. Of course I said yes - to me, this was not Jing inviting me but divinity talking to me in a veiled language I now understand.

This episode allowed me to share my yoga, meet new people, make a little money, have a roof over my head and continue my stay in Bohol.

A few weeks later, Jing asked me again if I could sub for her and stay at her place. She changed the compensation ratio which I found discouraging. I said No. This is perhaps the only time I said No to a proposal. I was thinking instead that I would start Kat's project early on. But that didn't happen until May 27. In hindsight, I should have said yes - not for the money but for the opportunities that would have opened up. Now, those doors are closed.

After my teaching stint with nothing else on the horizon, I purchased my boat ticket and secured all documentation with the Coastguard for my trip to Cebu.

Kat's Community Project
(Apr 28 - May 19, 2024) At the festival, I met 2 lovely lawyers who also attended my classes - Kaye and Jen. I received an invite from them after the festival to join them in celebrating Kaye's sister's birthday dinner at the posh Oceanica Resort. That's how I met the celebrant, Kat. She has a powerful presence, a community leader, involved in local politics and can shake and move things. Food was delectable and the conversation fluid and engaging. When I went home, I thought that was the end of it.

Hours before boarding my boat bound for Cebu City, I received a message from Kat, "I just wanted to check sana if youre interested to stay a few more days in Bohol to discuss the possibility of building a community here." I stopped by and decided that my boat for Cebu can leave without me. Until I found a place in Taloto, I stayed at her AirBnB for a good 3 weeks - Apr 28 - May 19.

Kids'Yoga and Meditation
(May 27 - Jun 20) The initial project was to provide productive time for kids during their summer break. Art, academic lessons and yoga were offered 4 days/week. I handled the yoga part with kids from 7-12 years old, but others were younger and older. It was a challenge handling them - it was like herding cats. Just to get them engaged, I had to bedazzle them with magic, storytelling and juggling. At the end, I felt more like a glorified baby sitter than a yoga teacher.

Adult Yoga
(May 27 - Jun 21) Concurrent to the Kids Yoga was the Adult Yoga from M-F. Often, 2 would attend, but towards the end of the program, maybe 5 people would be there. Sometimes, no one would show up. It wasn't a best seller by any means, but it allowed me to practice the kind of yoga I'd like to share/teach. The participants gave a positive feedback which demands more yoga after the June 21 program termination.

Moving to Taloto
(May 19) After 22 days staying at Kat's place, I found a place in Taloto just 2 km away for P6k/mo - bedroom, kitchen/dinning and bathroom. For a location that is still considered 'town center', it wass reasonable. I've already seen a few places at that price and they were all a dump. Moving was like deja vu - buying the same things I already bought (and sold cheap) in Siquijor and paying full retail here (water container/dispenser, pillows, kitchen utensils, wifi from the neighbor, etc). But I ended up buying more - electric fan, mattress. The heat is unbearable so I had to use the existing aircon - thank God for this aircon. Without it, I would have been forced to buy a new unit.

I don't trade Bitcoin and I don't know how. But Bitcoin has been on a steady rise and in late Feb, it surpassed its alltime high of PHP 3.2M. In mid March, it hit the PHP 4M mark - a new alltime high. I've only kept a few Satoshis as payment for yoga lessons. The amount wasn't meaningful, but with the rise of BTC and my consistent 'profit-taking' with every rise, I was able to travel, buy with a little less restriction and feel more at ease about the future (if I remain frugal, I can last a year without working). It paved the way for my move out of Siquijor to wherever life takes me in the Philippines.

A milestone was conducting the Siddhi-Activation workshop in Cebu at Re:Fit Wellness Center. This was a first for me and gave promise for more workshops in the future. Shortly after that, I received an invite from Joan to teach a class at the Bohol Yoga Festival. I taught 2 classes of Siddhi-Activation which was a pleasant surprise to the yogis - it was new and my teaching style was different. This became the genesis of more invites to follow. At the event, Jing, owner of Jing Yoga and Wellness in Panglao, asked if I could be a sub-teacher while she goes on holidays for a week. I could house-sit as well. After that, I was invited by Kat to teach yoga as part of her community outreach program. From a planned 3-day stay in Bohol, I was already on indefinite stay with Bantayan put on hold.

The last 3 years were forgiving in terms of means. Unlike the years before when my mind would constantly be racing, thinking where the next meal comes from, leaving me mentally exhausted and drained, 2024 was the best I had since 2004 in Canada (when I literally was carrying CAN$20,000 in my pocket for a month from the sale of the townhouse I used to share with my ex-wife. I digress, but I insisted to my Dad that I gift it back to him since it was his wedding gift to me - but the marriage failed, and I couldn't use the money for anything else in good conscience. He eventually accepted it and bought a Honda RAV4 SUV). 2024, with the surge in price of Bitcoin, I ended up having more money (without working for it). With this boon, I was able to make inter-island travel (without making hotel/resto deals), have rent-money for the full year, move to Bohol, and buy pricey things for my home - electric fan (this would have been unaffordable to me back in the day), small fridge, cast-iron stove, foldable chairs, etc. I could also eat in restos paying them full retail price (for years, I could only afford carinderia food - which I love).

All these things did not come unnoticed. Every single day I would feel my abundance and thank my benevolent universe for this blessing...every single day! I could just be filling my gas tank and burst into a gratitude mode for having the money to pay for gas. I really feel looked after....especially this year.

I'm not stopping here. I asked it for more money. I then received a message from Mike (reformed Triad gangster from Singapore) giving me all his Bitcoin Cash. Of course I declined - I'm not a big fan of free money. He insisted to the point of getting annoyed. I had to accept - but I'll just hold it until I find a way to stealthily gift it back to him. I wasn't rejecting the gift of my universe - just not this one.

2024 Delivered
Altogether, 2024 delivered. It gave way for transformation and mobility. I had more spendable money with Bitcoin's rise. I moved out of Siquijor, established a new chapter in Bohol, did a few inter-island travels, and opened up my yoga to everyone.

Yes to Life
2024 was characterized by saying Yes to Life by following my instinct, the Aha Moments, looming opportunities, transcending my habitual doubt-talk, and simply being pro-active. When I felt the need to leave Siquijor, I ventured out to Negros Occidental, Cebu and Bantayan Island. While in Cebu, I negotiated with several yoga studio owners which culminated in the Siddhi-Activation Workshop. Having decided to move to Bantayan Island, I committed myself to the move and packed all my things and had them trans-shipped to Cebu even though I still had no place in Bantayan. In the middle of my move, I said Yes to Joan to teach a few yoga classes at the Bohol Yoga Festival (even though it was difficult while I was moving). When Jing invited me to teach at her studio for a week, I said Yes. When I was invited to Kat's birthday celebration, I said Yes. When I was invited by Joan to join the festival crew for a dive in Panglao, I said Yes. Hours before boarding the boat (having purchased my ticket and secured Coastguard clearance for my motorbike), I said Yes to Kat on her invite to stay a few more days and explore possibilities. When I found a suitable place to relocate out of Kat's house, I grabbed it, even though I could have continued staying at Kat's place more than a month more. When I saw that my new place was practically beside the VDT of Bohol University where I held a few talks 7 years ago, I acted on the situation by reaching out to VDT for possible synergies. When Kat broached the Regenesis Project for both of us, I said Yes. When I realized I had to spend more than my usual when I relocated, I said Yes to the increased expenses (double the rent from Siquijor, mattress, electric fan, etc.) even though it was already out of my comfort zone. When I realized that just 1.5 km away was Tubig Daku where I could do my morning yoga, I acted on it by spending my mornings there. When the Guirigay clan had a reunion (my granny is a Guirigay), even though I didn't know anyone, I attended and met my distant relatives for the first time.

To the extent I have a regret, it was when I said No to Jing's 2nd invite to have me teach her class. She changed the compensation ratio which wasn't too bad, but still, I said No, thinking I would start Kat's program earlyon instead. But the program didn't start until May 27 - enough time for me to have done Jing's classes. I should have said Yes - not for the money but for the unseen opportunities. Now, those doors are closed. I'll never know what could have been.

I developed acute awareness when opportunities come knocking on my door. There is always an underlying counter self-talk or doubt, but being aware, I transcend it by saying Yes to life.

• 2024: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2024
• 2023: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2023
• 2022: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2022
• 2021: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2021
• 2020: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2020
• 2019: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2019
• 2018: A Year In Review Dec 31, 2018
• 2017: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2017
• 2016: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2016
• 2015: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2015
• 2014: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2014
• 2013: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2013
• 2012: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2012
• 2010: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2010
• 2008: A Year in Review Dec 31, 2008
• 2003: A Year In Review Dec 31, 2003