For a quick, covenient, soothing & free massage, go to A Tai Chi Wellness Store near you

January and February are commonly two of the coldest months of the year. Succeeding the Christmas season, this cold spell can do a lot of harm to people, especially those who ingested unhealthy stuff like cholesterol, fats and sugar during the holiday revelry. With these elements and lack of exercise, a common occurrence in cold weather, people are prone to colds and various aches and pains caused by what we locally call ‘lamig’.

One known remedy is going to a massage therapist, a spa or massage parlor. I found out that a Tai Chi Wellness Store is the perfect place for a soothing and free massage when I visited their branch at SM North EDSA. Using a herbal and coconut virgin coconut oil (VCO) line of liniments called Tai Chi Liniments and Rubs, the trained massage therapist relaxed my body and soothed away the stress, aches & pains.

A typical Tai Chi Wellness Store in SM

“People who want to try the free massage with the liniment will not worry about the sticky feeling and the strong scent normally attached to a liniment as it is VCO-based. Instead, it will leave your skin moisturized and will leave a subtle and relaxing scent,” says Kirk Chester Dy, marketing head of Rhodesian Distributors which markets Tai Chi and operates the wellness stores when I interviewed him.

VCO is recognized as the “healthiest oil on earth” and is proven by numerous clinical studies as having natural antiviral and antibacterial properties. It is also proven safe for both external and internal applications and has smoothing and nourishing qualities.

Numerous clinical tests found out that VCO penetrates deeper into the skin as opposed to mineral oil, which just stays on the skin superficially, due to its smaller molecules. This means the potency of the other natural medicinal ingredients contained in Tai Chi variants like Chili and Ginger are increased.

Tai Chi has different variants for different needs. The Chili Liniment has capsaicin, the curative compound in chili peppers that is a deep-heating stimulant, that enhances blood flow and relieves aches and pains. Capsaicin also provides soothing relief for severe arthritis and rheumatism.

The complete line of Tai Chi Liniments and Rubs: (from left to right) Tai Chi VCO with Ginger Extract, Tai Chi VCO with Chili Extract, Tai Chi VCO Ginger Liniment for kids and Tai Chi Ginger Rub.

The Ginger Liniment and Rub has ginger extract, which is scientifically proven to contain anti-bacterial, anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties, aside from being an insect repellant and a strong circulation stimulant. It also has methyl salicylate and menthol, which reduce inflammation and help dissolve blood clots (vasodilatation), respectively.

The Tai Chi Ginger Liniment for Kids is specially formulated for kids’ sensitive skin type.

Tai Chi products and Tai Chi Wellness Centers are found in popular malls such as in SM North EDSA, SM Valenzuela, SM Taytay, Robinsons Ermita, Robinsons Otis, Robinsons Imus, Robinsons Dasmarinas, Robinsons Metro East, Robinsons Cainta, Robinsons Novaliches, Metro Market Market, Sta. Lucia Mall, 168 Mall Cluster 5, 999 Mall, Tutuban Mall, Divisoria Mall, Zabarte Town Center, Malabon Citi Square, Araneta Square, Isetann Recto & opening this February at SM Annex and SM Fairview.

It is also found in major supermarkets & drugstores such as Mercury Drug nationwide. For product info, call its hotline at 367-4494 or (02) 364-9598.

I do love massages and I indulge once in a while. I also have spa clients for PR that's why I'm quite knowledgeable about massage types and techniques. But obviously I don't have much time and I'm always at the malls for meetings and work. Malls are my virtual office next to my actual office.

With Tai Chi Wellness stores in malls, now I know where to go for that quick but thorough massage without breaking the bank.

By Paolo Angelo Florenda

Tools of my Trade, A few of my favorite things!

As you can see my blog title up there is punctuated by an exclamation mark! I'm putting emphasis on my favorite things because they deserve it. They are my lifeblood and help me greatly in conducting my trade: Public Relations, Marketing, Events and Internet Viral Marketing. I'm in the communications & media business and I see to it that my & my clients' messages get across instantaneously and with our own selfish perspectives! :)

Now allow me to pay tribute to my tools of the trade!

Public Relations is by and large the business of creating perspectives. So the tools of the trade should be primarily designed for communicating within the standards of excellence.

My first and main gadget would be my trusty laptop, an HP Compaq Presario with a 500 Gig of storage space (enough as of now for my storage needs) and a speedy Intel Core 2 Duo processor (a wee bit too much actually for my current processing requirements). The graphics are definitely high tech as it is running on an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator on a High Definition Brightview Widescreen Display* platform, an *HP trademark by the way. When it comes to Imaging, i think HP is definitely up there if not the best. I would burn the midnight oil doing proposals, media and PR plans, strat papers, press releases in this all-in-one, multi-tasking gadget. I also do leisure time such as surfing the net for my fave sites, reading the news, playing strategy-based games and downloading stuff on this laptop.

The HP Compaq Presario on my work desk waiting for its master dutifully

My second gadget err gadgets are my cant-leave-home-without-it cellphones. My top dog is the Nokia E-72. Its all I could ask for for a business and personal phone. The features and applications are astounding. From e-mails, text messages, web browsing, video streaming to even creating documents, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations, this is a fantastic piece of very small and compact hardware. Theres even a dictionary to boot. I can also download third party applications which are very useful from Ovi.com, Nokia's online apps store.

Its actually a small replica of my laptop and is a very good substitute if I'm lazy to lug my main hardware around. And since I'm a loyal Nokia user through the years, I'm very comfortable with its user interface and the operating system that comes with it, a no-frills, no-nonsense Symbian 60.


I don't like touchscreens and I'm a big fan of qwerty-type bar phones due to its businesslike status so the E72 fits my personality nicely. Aside from the applications, it also has an excellent autofocus 5 megapixel camera that takes good point-and-shoot-like quality photos similar to high end digicams.

My cellphones atop a bunch of files, my typical work desk clutter, which I cant leave home without: (from left) a Samsung GT-E1080 , a Nokia E-72 and a Nokia 1680c-2

My two phone deputies are a Samsung GT-1080 and a Nokia 1680c-2 which have mostly basic features. My second phone is the Samsung which houses my Globe and wireless landline numbers. While the Nokia 1680 is my third and what i call emergency phone. My Smart Load Allowance is contained in this phone which powers my primary phone. I hate post-paid plans because I can't monitor my usage and I always end up with an astounding bill. Although my Globe phone is on post-paid due to the wireless landline it offers, a convenient and bright idea by the way. However, Globe needs to improve this service as call quality is suspect and dropped calls & party lines are prevalent.

The Samsung GT-1080 is really designed for texting and calling and is very easy to use, nothing fancy. I love to text with its soft and excellently-textured keys. I seldom commit typing errors with this phone. The ergonomic design fits & cradles perfectly in my hand. In fact I would rate this phone as 'the perfect texting phone'. Even the call quality is great: loud,clear and crisp. And there is a torchlight to boot for emergency cases.

The Nokia 1680c is also meant for call/text features but has some added functions like a VGA camera w/ flash, WAP (for emergency internet) and some financial apps like an Expense Manager and Converter. I seldom use this phone except when I need to reload my E-72 but I always carry it in my bag. The downsides to this phone is its hard-to-press keyboard and its very slow and always hanging UI. That's why I relegated this as my phone of last resort (READ: used during extreme cases of emergency!)

And lastly, I always bring my HP SB360 12 Megapixel Digital Camera with me to capture sudden great moments and of course for emergency client shoots or photo opportunities. According to a CNET Review, its actually one of the thinnest and lightest digicams in the market. As I've said earlier, when it comes to IMAGING, nothing beats Hewlett Packard.

My main imaging partner, an HP SB360 12 Megapixel Digital Camera. However, I sometimes take photos with my Nokia E-72 if there's an urgency since its camera quality is comparable to point-and-shoot digicams

Its a point and shoot digicam which has all the features that I need such as zoom functions (both digital and optical), an array of diverse settings for various requirements (a lot actually for a digicam!), smile & blink detection, multitude of shooting modes, red eye reduction and specs that are to my mind impressive in its class. I can even upload immediately the videos and pix to my YouTube and Facebook accounts since its YouTube Video-ready. On top of these, it has Digital Image Stabilization, an autofocus-like feature that takes steady photos even if your hands are shaking.

So now you know who are my real albeit lifeless partners in business! Although there is a multitude of equipment that helps me get through the day such as my all-in-one HP Printer (Im a big fan of HP evidently!), wireless router, mini Flash disks, memory cards, earphones etc., I think these are the gadgets I can't live without.



By Paolo Angelo Florenda

Bloggers will soon rule the media landscape!

Just concluded a simple awarding ceremony for the winner of the "Best Blog Post" competition for the 1st Online Product Launch of Bounty Fresh Chicken at their corporate office in Ortigas. The winner Jonel Uy of NomNom Club.com bested around 25 other equally-qualified bloggers for the coveted prize. By the way, he was recognized as one of the 'Top Ten Emerging Bloggers for 2009", a prestigious title bestowed to the most innovative and well-crafted blogs for that year for his 'Lets Go Sago' blog site.


This kept me thinking, as an old dog trained in the traditional PR ways, that bloggers like Jonel and other emerging new media such as websites, online news sites and forums, and the ubiquitous social networking sites are fast shaping up as preferred tools for mass communication. Established traditional media formats (TV, radio and print) should recognize this quickly and adapt to the changing times. The media wars are evidently shifting into the realm of Cyberspace.


Congratulations Jonel! And to Bounty Fresh pips and to our team Cando, Florenda PR & Marketing my hats off to you as well!

Jonel Uy, NomNom Club blogger (second from left) receiving his prize for winning the 'Best Blog Post' contest during the 1st Online Product Launch of Bounty Fresh Chicken from (left to right): Bounty Fresh Assistant Brand Manager Kath Gomez, Bounty Fresh Marketing Assistant Raya Bienvenida and Bounty Fresh Internet Marketing Officer Randy Dionio

Jonel Uy, NomNom Club blogger (left) receiving his prize from the AVP of Bounty Fresh Chicken for winning the 'Best Blog Post' contest during the 1st Online Product Launch of Bounty Fresh Chicken

By Paolo Angelo Florenda