MANILA, Philippines — A 300-year-old mango tree in The Farm at San Benito in Lipa City, Batangas is believed to possess magical powers.
“Every year, we have lots of typhoons in the Philippines, but that tree never suffered even from broken branches,” Rosemarie “Chef Marie” Pagcaliwagan, Kitchen Head or Executive Chef of The Farm, told Philstar.com in an exclusive interview last week.
Chef Marie recalled that when she prayed in the tree to be promoted from pastry chef to kitchen head, her wish was really granted.
“It’s really magical!” she said of the tree, “It’s like the (source) of the main positive energy of The Farm.”
Ever since fulfilling her dream, Chef Marie has made it a point to visit the tree at least once a week to pray there and relax.
The tree, according to The Farm staff, was the same one that actress Kathryn Bernardo visited while seeking healing from her controversial breakup with actor Daniel Padilla.
In fact, the tree is the first photo in Kathryn’s Instagram post about healing and moving on. The photo shows her touching the tree.
“Appreciation post for the little things that have been making me smile the past few weeks... No looking back, only moving forward,” she said in the post.
Apart from the tree, Kathryn shared some of her photos in The Farm – these include soaking in the spa’s hot tub, and just sitting by the estate’s natural provincial beauty by the pond at the foot of the majestic Malarayat mountains.
As an eco-luxury, holistic medical wellness resort, The Farm aims to provide evidence-based holistic healing and transformative, sustainable lifestyle retreats through natural and holistic medically-supervised health optimization programs planned and conducted by internationally-trained integrative medical doctors, spa therapists, nutritionists, living food experts, fitness coaches, and yoga teachers.
To find healing like Kathryn, The Farm recommends having a 60-minute Relaxation Massage from its spa; a 60-minute aqua therapy; a dip in its refreshing manmade waterfalls; and to take part in mindful activities that serve as educational diversions – these include yoga classes, sound healing, nature walks, Mandala flower meditation and Vegan food preparation demonstrations.
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Apart from Kathryn, actress Ellen Adarna, said The Farm, also found healing from depression at the estate. Ellen and husband Derek Ramsay now serve as co-facilitators of The Farm’s Kami No Ken Training, a program that teaches techniques for self-improvement and transformation to overcome physical and mental obstacles, tap into one’s inner potential, and discover one’s life purpose.