How to have a massage

Your therapist knows what she's doing, but do you? BY INA AMOR MEJIA

ACHEY MUSCLES, STUBBORN KNOTS. You're sitting at your desk trying to get some work done, but your body is yearning for a massage. I feel you. Over here, the usual scenario is I call Anna, my years-long massage therapist with magic hands. An hour or so of her signature dry shiatsu massage and I am fixed. Other days, my husband and I go on a massage date to our favourite Chinese reflexology place on the other side of town. Either way, it's the same massage, every single time. And every single time it works wonders. When you've found the right therapist or massage place, the rest is really up to you. Here are a few lessons I've learned on how to get the most out of your massage...

Coconut Oil: A Daily Habit

How to easily get the benefits of this superfood everyday.BY INA AMOR MEJIA

WHEN COCONUT OIL took the world by storm a few years ago, I remember feeling a bit of a fond indifference to the health trend. I'm from the Philippines, one of the world's largest producers of coconuts and its byproducts. So I thought awesome, finally, but also, tell me something I didn't know. I spent childhood weekends playing under those tall skinny trees, I grew up on food using coconut milk, and I knew the nutty scent of the oil by heart. The irony is, it was never really a conscious choice to make coconut oil a daily habit. 

Well that's changed, A LOT... 

3 beauty recipes

We tried three beauty DIYs with coconut oil as the main ingredient. 
The verdict: easy, healthy, and they actually work. 
BY INA AMOR MEJIA

WHEN I THINK OF COCONUT OIL, I am reminded of my grandmother's beauty ritual. Every month, before 'cold-processed' was the method of choice, her beloved hairdresser would come to extract the oil by heating fresh coconut milk, filling the house with that creamy, nutty scent, and then massaging it into my grandmother's scalp. Though she kept it short, my grandmother's hair was glossy and thick, and it stayed that way until her last days. 

Today, I'm always looking for ways to use coconut oil at home. Recently, I tried three DIY beauty recipes that are not just easy, healthy, and fun to make---they actually do the job. My grandmother would have been proud...