How I cheated on my Chanel flats with Nike trainers

MANILA, Philippines - Please don’t judge me because I’m in my workout clothes,” reads a hasty text to friends at a trendy metro restaurant. I don’t mean it, though. I was dressed in head-to-toe Lululemon, Nike Free 5.0 fits, and admittedly, the rest of my usual jewelry. They say athleisure is dead, but sorry. I’m not sorry.

It started innocently enough. A few Juju Cleanses here and there to drop some weight before a gala or beach holiday. Two-week home delivery diet services from NUIU before transitioning back into regular food. Then it was Barre3 classes that went from one to three times a week. Smashed avocado over wheat bread drizzled with walnut oil and chili flakes for breakfast. Getting up early to see Madrid on foot, running to that great churros place halfway across the city.  A nine-mile hike across Mt. Tamalpais while on vacation. Snaps of organic, gluten-free oatmeal with fresh fruits, chia seeds, and maple pecan granola #breakfast. Where is the bacon? WHO AM I? Did someone wipe a secret lobotomy from my memory? Did my dad finally give me the personality transplant he has always wanted? Did aliens really take over my body or did I just completely buy into wellness as the new luxury? I did. And it isn’t just me. Half your Facebook is getting ready for a marathon and a quarter of your Instagram feed is dedicated to stylish Instavideos of your fit friends and their custom workouts. People aren’t just dressing the part like when Chanel sent sneakers down the runway at their Haute Couture show or when Alex Wang did mesh maybe a dozen collections in a row. They’re embracing the lifestyle and chronicling it every step of the way.

For someone who used to wear her leisurely inactivity like a badge of honor, I never thought this day would come for me. One afternoon, after complaining all day about how my body felt weird and periodically stopping whatever it was I was doing to do variety of bizarre stretches (akin to how my dad would awkwardly practice his golf swing at the most inopportune moments), I couldn’t figure out why I felt so weird and antsy. “Maybe your body is finally looking for exercise,” said my gray-eyed companion behind a hot cup of ginger lemon tea.  Everything clicked into place. That week, I had attended four Barre3 classes and a couple morning runs in anticipation of a wellness weekend away at the Farm at San Benito. Idle just barely a day, my body was already revolting against inactivity. Can a fashion girl really hang up her heels for trainers? Perhaps for now. Hopefully, forever.

ATHLEISURE IS NOT DEAD

With the advent of athleisure, popularized in recent years by the explosion of Luluemon and reaching its pinnacle at Net-a-Sporter last year, it’s not hard to imagine that even the most stubbornly sedentary of people might inspire a bourgeoning fitness devotee, however late in the game. Fashion says that athleisure is dead, but Boston-based research firm Trefis posits that the global sports apparel market is set to grow $178 billion by 2019. That’s enough Spandex, Lycra and palatable polyester to get anyone excited about wearing their new exercise outfits to class and beyond. Some diehards are going above and beyond Nike Women and opting for Live The Process sports bras with price tags to match those of silk designer dresses — that’s upwards of P40,000 for stretch jersey. And you still have to get the matching pants that make your ass look like you’ve mastered pliés on your tiptoes. Cheesy jump shots at the beach are steadily (thankfully) being replaced with stylized shots of yoga inversions and dancer poses. We’re not even working out to have bikini bodies for the summer. We’re working out to look like Aussie superwoman @BiancaMayCheah in the classic Olympia X-Bra and tights.

These days, it seems there’s nothing that arouses both inspiration and envy more than a woman slipping out of a fancy Reformer at a private Pilates class and over to brunch with nary a hair out of place. And no, that’s not Jouer. That’s the radiating glow of health. Suddenly, it isn’t so much about the aimless traipsing about in active wear as a fashion trend or even the results of fitness activity; it’s about the value of an active lifestyle that pays dividends of health as well as the ubiquitous “likes.” Even Ellie Goulding just launched a fitness app with Nike. I mean, it’s Ellie Goulding. Weren’t we just getting trashed to her songs at music festivals two years ago? 

WOMEN DON’T SWEAT, WE PERSPIRE

All that dressing the part and eating the part would be futile without the actual exercise. My first foray into Barre3 showed me just how fanatical women can get with their workouts. I once purchased these grip socks from Plana Forma for a class I didn’t end up taking. When I mindlessly wore them to my first Barre3 session a week later, some girl gave me the once-over and sniffed in the other direction. I never thought that a bitch in fake pearl studs could make me feel small.  Needless to say, I wear Nike Studio Wraps to class now, but I am addicted to the ballet barre-yoga-Pilates hybrid class for all the right reasons. All that seatwork lifts your ass like a ballerina’s butt without having to do unattractive squats like a man. I also found that these types of classes create kind of a safe space where women get together in a nourishing environment to disconnect with their busy lives to reconnect with themselves. Somewhere you can breathe it all in and love it all out — much like my friend who loves crying it out at motivational spinning classes. Another friend credits the many Barre instructors as her stand-in shrinks for the hour. From stories about her conquests to the death of a dear friend, they’ve heard it all and… God bless them. 

EATING CLEAN

While it’s true that most of the fitness revolution filters in from tastemakers in the west, local businesses are a reflection of how excited Filipinos are to embrace this new revolution. It seems that there’s a Juju Eats, Detoxify Bar and the like strategically placed throughout the Metro. While fresh, leafy greens are not exactly as endemic to our palates as sinigang and adobo, we’re welcoming quinoa, flax seed oil, and avocados (hold the sugar) into our diets. When once there was only Corner Tree Café as the one bastion of vegan cuisine, The Peninsula Manila offers dishes from The Farm at its restaurants, and SUSI has just opened in Serendra to tempt even the staunchest meat-eaters with prettily plated vegan fare that enjoys a more refined and epicurean touch. ECHOmarket Sustainable Farms makes natural, organic food easy to prepare at home with fresh produce, specialties, and snacks that they bring from local farms to you. And have you seen how many chic bitches hang out at Healthy Options and carry those bags around like trophies? I walked out of there with cashew milk and I already felt like a winner.

Eating clean and healthy doesn’t have to mean chewing on cardboard crackers and looking down at a depressing plate of monotonous greens. Our feeds are brimming with well-lit photos of gluten-free oatmeal bowls dressed up with blueberries, bananas, granola, and pine nuts for breakfast and vibrant leaves drizzled with grape seed oil, bright red cherry tomatoes, and chunks of deliciously crumbled feta topped with dried cranberries for lunch. They’re making it so easy that it’s hard for me to be gross.

SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES

If there’s a small glimmer of hope for me, there’s hope for even the laziest girl out there. My personal catalyst was surprisingly less to do with style and more to do with substance. Breathing gave way to meditation, which created a space for healing and maybe a little growing up. It certainly helps to shed a few pounds as well as lengthen, tone, and stretch your muscles on the side. Particularly when you’re sailing into your late 20s and you aren’t digesting cheesy fries at night like you used to. Silly outfits, fancy workouts, and styling your health food aside, it’s sometimes nice to challenge yourself a little — to do something outside of your routine at work or in your personal life. A good hike clears your head like no cigarette can. When your view opens up to a breathtakingly verdant expanse of nature, you want to forgive every asshole who ever wronged you and forget every trouble you’ve ever had.

The global shift in wellness comes at a time when mindfulness and meditation have taken over the obsession with being busy (locally known quite literally as busy-busyhan). My foray into fitness was the result of grasping for a more sustainable lifestyle. Manila kicks the hell out of all of us in different ways. As women, we’re juggling more roles than ever and expected to look well-manicured, well-heeled, and fresh out of the spaThat’s not always an external expectation, it’s often our own. And why shouldn’t it be? Shouldn’t we always strive to be the best versions of ourselves? So maybe this kind of realization comes to everyone in small ways. A Thai yoga teacher once whispered in my ear that it doesn’t matter where you are — all you have to do is breathe.