{"id":4979,"date":"2015-10-01T02:17:52","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T02:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keblog.demoapp.xyz\/?p=4979"},"modified":"2022-10-19T03:58:31","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T03:58:31","slug":"how-this-journalist-started-a-health-blog-for-filipinas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/how-this-journalist-started-a-health-blog-for-filipinas","title":{"rendered":"How this journalist started a health blog for Filipinas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When Sareena Dayaram, founder of the blog <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.healthbeginswithher.com.ph\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health Begins With Her<\/a><\/strong>, came back to Metro Manila earlier this year, she found herself in a totally different city. Even after nearly five years of working abroad as a journalist and more than four years of studying in the US, she is still being constantly surprised by the metropolis she grew up in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cManila is a different landscape from what it was when I left,\u201d she told me. \u201cI find that I\u2019m frequently discovering and rediscovering what the city has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So when Sareena found herself back home in Manila after leaving her job in Thomson Reuters in Hong Kong, she decided to do what probably would have failed in 2005, the year she left the Philippines to study abroad: blogging.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_26 counter-hierarchy\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">TOPICS<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"display: none;\"><label for=\"item\" aria-label=\"Table of Content\"><i class=\"ez-toc-glyphicon ez-toc-icon-toggle\"><\/i><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/how-this-journalist-started-a-health-blog-for-filipinas\/#Around_the_World\" title=\"Around the World\">Around the World<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/how-this-journalist-started-a-health-blog-for-filipinas\/#Giving_Back_by_Blogging\" title=\"Giving Back by Blogging\">Giving Back by Blogging<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/how-this-journalist-started-a-health-blog-for-filipinas\/#Trickle-Down_Health\" title=\"\u2018Trickle-Down Health\u2019\">\u2018Trickle-Down Health\u2019<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/how-this-journalist-started-a-health-blog-for-filipinas\/#Patience_and_Courage\" title=\"Patience and Courage\">Patience and Courage<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/how-this-journalist-started-a-health-blog-for-filipinas\/#Health_Begins_With_Her_Today\" title=\"Health Begins With Her Today\">Health Begins With Her Today<\/a><ul class=\"ez-toc-list-level-3\"><li class=\"ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/how-this-journalist-started-a-health-blog-for-filipinas\/#Check_out_Sareenas_blog_Health_Begins_With_Her_and_be_part_of_a_growing_community_of_healthy_Filipinas\" title=\"Check out Sareena&#8217;s blog\u00a0Health Begins With Her, and be part of a growing community of healthy Filipinas.\">Check out Sareena&#8217;s blog\u00a0Health Begins With Her, and be part of a growing community of healthy Filipinas.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Around_the_World\"><\/span>Around the World<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Sareena has a rich history of experience in her field. She went to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, US to take up her degree in broadcast journalism. Even as a student, she already showed her passion for the field when she joined the team of the student-run news channel ATVN.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStudents were responsible for scripting, producing, reporting, and anchoring nightly newscasts almost everyday. I got super excited and\u00a0wanted to learn how a show came together, how to shoot and edit, and how to report for video,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI also loved the idea of meeting interesting people and going to new places, and then being able to share those stories. From there I decided to apply to the Broadcast Journalism major at the Annenberg School of Communications [in USC].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After graduating from university, she bagged her first job in 2009 as a producer in the Mumbai financial news channel ET Now, a part of India\u2019s largest media conglomerate, The Times Group. She eventually worked her way to becoming a reporter, and then later an anchor for the channel.<\/p>\n<p>In 2012, she left ET Now to join the Hong Kong bureau of Thomson Reuters, one of the three largest international news wire agencies in the world. She continued her stint as a reporter and producer in Reuters, where she would, out of her many other beats, meet and interview the co-founder of Apple, Inc. Steve Wozniack.<\/p>\n<h4>RELATED: WHY MANILA IS THE BEST PLACE TO BE AN EXPAT<\/h4>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Giving_Back_by_Blogging\"><\/span>Giving Back by Blogging<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After 2 years in Reuters, she decided it was time to go back home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLiving abroad for so long makes one not only appreciate home, but also broadens our horizons and teaches you new things that you&#8217;re keen to bring back home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>While Sareena didn\u2019t initially plan to set-up an online magazine, her extensive background in journalism and her innate desire to do something health-related eventually led her to the idea of Health Begins With Her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs I began to reconnect with my friends and observed their understanding of health, I began to realize the significance of women of the household as gatekeepers of health and how healthy women could lead to healthier households and communities,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was then that I understood how important it was to grow up in a healthy environment since my mom is a nutritionist. So early on, she was able to instill a healthy mindset and habits in me, which is something that I always took for granted until now.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"\/blog\/things-i-didnt-expect-when-i-moved-abroad-away-from-the-philippines\">RELATED: 5 THINGS I DIDN\u2019T EXPECT WHEN I MOVED AWAY FROM THE PHILIPPINES<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Trickle-Down_Health\"><\/span>\u2018Trickle-Down Health\u2019<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The premise behind Health Begins With Her is simple, but powerful. Sareena believes that if the woman of the household begins to embrace the importance of health and being healthy, everyone around her benefits directly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like to call this Trickle-Down Health,\u201d she said, referencing the concept of trickle-down economics, which sees the further development and growth of upper-level income bracket \u2014 in this case, those who are already health-conscious and are leading healthy lifestyles \u2014 will \u201ctrickle down\u201d to benefit the less fortunate \u2014 those who do not have a wealth of information on wellness and health.<\/p>\n<p>Her website is not exclusive to moms, however. Her blog publishes posts that will be helpful to all women that proactively seek healthy living in: nutrition, environmentally-friendly beauty products, fitness, and in health and technology. Health Begins With Her is in the process of teaming up with nutritionists, fitness experts, and even doctors to help write and verify articles.<\/p>\n<p>Asked why she chose to start in the Philippines, she said that it was because Philippines remains to be a very matriarchal society, thus making this country the best place to start her blog.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was born and raised here. I&#8217;m a Filipino citizen and I know that the Philippines is still very much a matriarchal society, more than any other place I&#8217;ve lived,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe woman therefore has a crucial role in shaping our collective understanding of health and wellness. Filipina women are highly literate, empowered and influential \u2014 we&#8217;re the ideal purveyors of healthy living in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-4980\" src=\"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/sareena-on-dragons-back-hike1-300x222.jpeg\" alt=\"sareena-on-dragons-back-hike1\" width=\"300\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/sareena-on-dragons-back-hike1-300x222.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/sareena-on-dragons-back-hike1.jpeg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"\/blog\/fierce-femmes-5-inspiring-filipina-leaders\">RELATED: FIERCE PINAYS: 5 INSPIRING FILIPINA LEADERS<\/a><\/h4>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Patience_and_Courage\"><\/span>Patience and Courage<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>But putting together the blog was not easy at all for Sareena. Despite her time in the news, she still considers herself a newbie in the digital world. For one thing, she has never set up her own website. She had to learn everything from scratch, and for a while she had to do it all alone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn many days, it seemed like I was spending all-day working yet nothing was happening,\u201d she recalled. \u201cIt was a lot of work, and still is, to take on alone as when I first started since I hadn&#8217;t yet built up my team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was also difficult for Sareena to push herself to continue full-force with the blog when she only had a small audience to begin with.<\/p>\n<p>Because Sareena is conscientious about not only producing enough content for her website, she takes care to put together craft insightful pieces that actually value to their readers\u2019 lives. This effort in itself \u2014 the planning and the writing of substantial posts \u2014\u00a0was time-consuming on its own.<\/p>\n<p>But she presses on, because she believes that her blog, even if she must begin with a smaller audience, is what will eventually provide a long-term benefit for society at large.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is my humble mission to share with moms and future moms what it truly means to be healthy through knowledge from experts and practical advice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is so they may be beacons for healthier homes and, in turn, healthier communities.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Health_Begins_With_Her_Today\"><\/span>Health Begins With Her Today<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Sareena is now doing better when it comes to managing the blog. Her website, as you will see today, is now filling up with posts, and definitely looks more than what a \u201cdigital newbie\u201d can do.<\/p>\n<p>She now also has a team of writers helping her produce content, and has since taken up online coding classes on Code Academy to get up to speed with customizing the entire blog. She remains to work on her blog full-time.<\/p>\n<p>For those who are looking to start a blog for living, Sareena has some advice.<\/p>\n<p>It may seem easy for Sareena to start a blog, owing to her background in news, but she even she had to struggle to make it work. For a while after starting her blog, \u201cpatience and courage more than anything else\u201d was what kept her going when it seemed no one seemed to care.<\/p>\n<p>She also gives importance to time management. Since brainstorming, and executing substantial content takes time, bloggers who don\u2019t time wisely could lead to a very messy and flimsy blog.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStay committed to your blog. By that, I mean writing and producing insightful, thought-provoking articles on a regular basis. Make sure to add value to the lives of your readers in your own unique way and they\u2019ll keep coming back for more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Most of all, especially for those who want their blog to carry a specific message, Sareena advises bloggers to believe and stand for something.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStart connecting with people who believe in the same things. They&#8217;ll be your evangelizers,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Check_out_Sareenas_blog_Health_Begins_With_Her_and_be_part_of_a_growing_community_of_healthy_Filipinas\"><\/span><em>Check out Sareena&#8217;s blog\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.healthbeginswithher.com.ph\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health Begins With Her<\/a>, and be part of a growing community of healthy Filipinas.<\/em><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Sareena Dayaram, founder of the blog Health Begins With Her, came back to Metro Manila earlier this year, she found herself in a totally different city. Even after nearly five years of working abroad as a journalist and more than four years of studying in the US, she is still being constantly surprised by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":4982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4979"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neo-blog.kalibrr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}