Chin Chin's journey to health
Artist and environmentalist Chin Chin Gutierrez goes beyond physical well-being and searches deep into her soul to find true health. By Awi Curameng, M.D.

The body has to be respected," says actor-singer Chin Chin Gutierrez. "If you were given the power to direct and control every cell in your body, could you handle that?"

Her journey to health started 6 years ago, when she had an epiphany of sorts and became vegetarian. Her father, a botanist, had previously explained to her the concept of genes and inheritance, and how certain diseases are passed down from generation to generation. "A lot of [my relatives on] my father's side had cancer, and my mother has diabetes. Maybe I should change the pattern."

"Changing the pattern" might as well be the phrase that defines Chin Chin's career. Starting out as a model in 1991, she began acting for film and television in 1993 after graduating from college. She quickly distinguished herself, earning numerous accolades for her work, including an award for Best Actress during the first Asian Television Awards in 1996. She has worked with some of the Philippine movie industry's most respected directors, including Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Joel Lamangan and Olivia Lamasan. Chin Chin has even successfully forayed into theater, appearing in a Manila production of the Broadway hit Once On This Island, and last year's Darna, Ballet Philippines' dance-musical extravaganza featuring the popular comic book heroine. But strangely, full-fledged stardom has always eluded her.

Blame it on the prevailing perception that there's something a bit kooky about this 30-year-old artist. The reputation is undeserved, though not entirely inappropriate: in the lights-and-glamour world of Philippine entertainment, spending a great deal of time on environmental advocacy can quickly have you labeled an oddity, as is having a penchant for expounding on New Age, spiritual, non-gossip themes during print or TV interviews.

However, being true to oneself is not without its rewards. Last year, TIME magazine included Chin Chin in its roster of People of the Planet, dubbing her one of Asia's Heroes for her work with Mother Earth Unlimited, an NGO that "organizes workshops, tree plantings and litter cleanups to try to save the country's forests, beaches and waters." One gets the impression that this luminous young woman could hardly give a hoot about something as superficial as a bad rep. Her art isn't about celebrity; it's about feeding her soul.

NURTURING THE SOUL
"I've come to realize that you have to nurture your spiritual well-being," says Chin Chin. "Everyone has a need for something intangible, as opposed to basic necessities like food and shelter. We need spiritual food so that we can nurture ourselves and our relationships in a joyful way."

"Singing is a medium where you discover your voice, you discover how to listen to your soul," she continues. "You let others feel your presence, and you fill yourself with immediacy. Acting--when you hide behind a role--is a way to express life."

During her HealthToday cover shoot, she enthralled those present by actually painting on the canvas she brought along--a still life of flowers in exuberant color. "I don't paint regularly, I just paint when I need to. It's a solitary activity, but like singing and dancing and acting, it's a release. It's being in touch with pure energy!"

Her newest venture is her most audacious, strikingly original project yet: a double-CD called Uyayi (Lullaby), an enchanting 53-track assortment of the islands' lullabies. Chin Chin, in an enduring testament to her yearning for soul food, spent 3 years trekking the archipelago to interview village leaders, tribal shamans and housewives, all of whom passed on to her their intimate cradle music for her to document and eventually record. Naturally, the album has won widespread critical acclaim.

Writes The Manila Times' Rome Jorge, "Listening to Uyayi feels like coming home to one's dreams. [Chin Chin's] singing is heartfelt, vibrant and lyrical. [Beyond] being a worthy effort with anthropological or nationalist significance, Uyayi stands on its own as a well-crafted album invested with soul. It is simply a joy to be heard." A signal honor was Chin Chin being invited by Alliance Francaise, the French cultural institute, to present a concert of Uyayi songs at its annual Alliances en Resonance festival held at the Alliance Francaise Theater of the World in Paris last April, where she performed with album collaborators Joey Ayala and Bo Razon. They are the first Filipino artists to ever hold a concert in the world-renowned theater.

Chin Chin demonstrates how her philosophy is very much grounded in science when she points out that feeding the soul has implications in the physical world, as well. "When you don't feed the soul, it [withers], so one gets depressed and it affects the immune system." The sensible thing to do, she says, would be to take care of one's mental and emotional well-being.

LISTENING TO THE BODY
Chin Chin took charge of her physical well-being through the vegetarian lifestyle, under the close supervision of her physician-health coach. She consumes only the freshest fruits and vegetables, doesn't eat eggs, and eats very little dairy. Shifting to a veggie diet was a gradual process. "I took out pork [from my regular diet] after 1 month, then another month it was beef, then 2 months for chicken," she says, smiling. "But I gave myself 3 months before I let go of fish and seafood!"

Chin Chin is quick to clarify that a vegetarian diet certainly doesn't mean bland, nor will it cause one to lose energy: she makes sure she gets her necessary protein from a variety of beans, sprouts and nuts. However, she cautions that the lifestyle may not be for everyone, as it requires much discipline and commitment. "Everyone has his own journey [to health]."

The diet seems to be working for her, however. She walks around seemingly perpetually happy and content, certainly not possible for someone who is ravenous with hunger. More tellingly, in person she looks a full 10 years younger than her actual age.

Though she does go to the gym as regularly as she can, Chin Chin feels that it's crucial to "listen to your body. It will tell you what it wants." For her, health care is more organic than the obsessive counting of calories or daily aerobics classes. "You can plan an entire gym regimen for yourself--you're sweating, you're moving--but in the end you don't feel any rejuvenation. Maybe your body's just tired [of it]. Maybe it needs something else. Maybe swimming is better or just walking." Or perhaps meditation and yoga, which she practices.

Chin Chin says working out should be something enjoyable, not something that you have to do, otherwise "it becomes work, and it becomes stressful. The very thing that is supposed to make you healthy becomes a source of stress." When she was recently ill with the flu, Chin Chin took to gardening, which she found just as strenuous as working out, with a few added benefits. "It was like meditating, an exchange of energy." She recovered in no time.

LIVING A HEALTHY LIFE
To ease stress, Chin Chin's advice is, "Sleep! Get good hours of sleep. Do one thing at a time, and place your full concentration on what you're doing." She recalls the last 2 years of her life, when she "was able to handle so many things [going on], and I was prolonging my working hours, and getting by with only 2 or 3 hours of sleep. I accomplished a lot, but my health wasn't doing too well."

Chin Chin takes issue with the term "manage your stress" because it connotes wanting to hang on to that stress somehow. "Don't try to nurture your stress. Take that stress out!" For many individuals, that means not clogging up one's schedule with too many events and commitments, and reprioritizing to make time for things that truly matter.

"I think the most important approach to staying healthy is always being conscious of what you're doing. I started with simple things, and I kept asking 'Why?' Why am I doing this? Who am I doing this for? What will I get out of this? Do your homework, because the nitty-gritty [of keeping healthy] is up to you. All of a sudden, you begin to internalize everything, and instinctively you start knowing what's good for you."

And one begins living the serene, healthy life that Chin Chin Gutierrez does so gracefully.