Regine Tolentino On Being A Quarantine Mom

This mom, licensed fitness coach, host, and actress is ecstatic about slowly getting back to normal! Like the rest of the country (and the world, actually), she's been holed up at home for practically half a year, and she's more than happy to return to work slowly and safely. It's been a blast to rediscover the simple joys of getting dressed, doing her hair and makeup, and even setting official appointments for the day!

She did admit to not always being this appreciative of the experience, though. Her anxiety was at an all-time high in March, right around when the lockdown was imposed, as she had just given birth to her daughter. She was stressing over her health, post-birth recovery, finances, accessibility to resources, and uncertainty, overall. It wasn't a great time, but she countered it by making the most of her time at home. She never thought she'd be enjoying home-cooked meals as much as she does now!

Adaptability and positivity were the biggest values that directed her life during this time. Change came at breakneck speed and no one was prepared for it, and the only way she rolled with the unpleasant surprise of COVID-19 was to make lemonade out of the (many) lemons thrown our way this year. Her business had to close, she had to give up working out, and she needed to raise a newborn amidst a terrifying global health crisis; without flexibility and keeping hope alive, there was no way Regine could have made it out of the last few months alive!

Maintaining gratitude and adjusting priorities also became precious experiences to her. Re-assessing what's most important in life has kept her grounded all this time and was a major stress reducer for her. Yes, she was worried about losing material possessions, pausing her career, and keeping income streams flowing during this time (who wasn't/isn't?). However, the clincher for Regine is that those things now just come second to her. If her family is whole, healthy, complete, and safe, that's more than enough to give her confidence to face the days ahead.

She has a message to all moms: now is the perfect time to discover the art of self-love! Being a responsible mom does not mean you have to compromise "me time." In fact, Regine advises to take advantage of being at home most of the time as it's a rare period to be able to use all hours of the day as you please. Aside from tending to mommy duties, set aside a time in the day that's just for you and your well-being. Whether you like working out, reading a good book, enjoying a Netflix binge without interruption, soaking in the bath, putting on a little makeup, or even online shopping from time to time, do it! Moms don't exist for the sake of their families and their families alone; they're their own persons, too.

Yes, it's definitely more than possible to feel and be beautiful even in this time. More so, it's okay to want to be beautiful despite a pandemic! That's because to Regine, beauty isn't about conceitedness or an obsession with looking youthful, but a combination of health and attitude. To her, being beautiful isn't so much about looking great in photos or in the mirror, but how you approach life and the way you make people around you feel. When you feel good, life is good, and people around you are happy. When you feel beautiful, everything good will follow, naturally.

Looking back at her early experiences of quarantine, she considers her youngest daughter's birth as incredibly traumatic. It was the first time she went through a C-section, and her baby was born with pneumonia and needed to be confined for 10 days. She didn't see her youngest for days, and all the while, she could barely move and meet her own needs due to her surgery. (She joked that her post-partum depression came early; it was that bad for her). It was an ordeal, in all ways, but in the end, Regine and her family emerged more solid, more prayerful, and more loving!

She can't emphasize the importance of staying physically fit to stay well. Moms, dads, everyone needs to find time to exercise, but as Regine says, it doesn't need to be extreme! It's intimidating to think of "working out every day," but she does say that working out need not involve weights, tough poses, or endless cardio. Physical activity can just mean a brisk walk, a light jog (or even jogging in place!), or yes, even cleaning the house from floor to ceiling! Anything that gets you moving and on your feet can be considered exercise.

Health is at the center of everything she does, says, and thinks. If she's faced with a decision, what helps her figure out a course of action is to ponder on whether or not a choice will, or won't, benefit her health. Also, health to her is holistic! Physical health is of course the most obvious and apparent sign of well-being, but it's certainly not the only thing that demands TLC. Mental health, emotional health, and even interpersonal health are all equally important.

If there's anything she advises her girls that other moms can learn from, it's that kids shouldn't hold back with things in life that make them more confident. Investing in one's self is important, because it influences so much how they interact with the world and finding their own place in it.