User of the Month: Patty Lagera, Wedding Photographer + Videographer
🌏 patty lagera, @pattyinplaces + @pattylagera
📸 wedding photographer + videographer
🌊 auckland, new zealand
As a traveling wedding photographer and videographer, Alo Moves user Patty Lagera is constantly surrounded by breathtaking landscapes and beautiful vistas — and the view never gets old. Learn how the philosophy of being “romanced by life” allows her to appreciate every new adventure, every new yoga pose, and every new experience with a perspective of gratitude.
How long have you been practicing yoga, and what first drew you to the practice?
I started practising hot yoga around 2011, and it was only in 2018 that I explored other forms and truly delved into it in 2019. Fitness was what drew me first in my practice, and then it became a necessity for grounding and keeping a healthy mental, emotional, and physical balance.
Who are your favorite Alo Moves instructors?
My current favourite instructors are Calvin Corzine, Briohny Smyth, and Jade Alectra.
As a wedding photographer and videographer, your job has taken you all around the world (to more than 27 countries!). What are some of the most important things you’ve learned while traveling abroad?
I'm so grateful that my job brings me to places all over the world! For couples to trust me enough (and love my work) to bring me to an adventure with them is the most unreal experience. While traveling overseas, I've learned to keep an open mind (life brings us so many lessons through challenges and difficult situations), to stay kind to everyone around me (because we don't know what people in a specific culture are going through, and your simple, kind gesture or smile can brighten someone's day), and I've also learned to enjoy my own company.
What does a typical day in your life look like?
Surprisingly, there is so much variety that I don't really know what a "typical" day would look like, haha. Although, I am trying to create a morning and nighttime routine (because my schedule changes so often, and I need some stability in my life), which involves starting the day with a meditation, journaling, and some yoga. I’ll have breakfast while I do some emails and admin, then I’ll edit a bunch of photos and videos, perhaps I’ll have a meeting with a client, or maybe I have time to learn a new recipe. Then I wind down by going to circus training or seeing my boyfriend or some friends!
On your Instagram, you talk about the idea of being “romanced by life” — constantly in awe of the beauty in nature around you. Can you explain this concept and how it’s shifted your perspective?
A friend mentioned being "romanced by life" when I was newly single. I was always so in love with the idea of couples in love (and I think that's why I work in the industry) that I never really truly explored or experienced being romanced by life itself. There are so many aspects of life that pass us by, so why not take a breath and notice what goes on around us and see how life/the universe/God is romancing us. Birds chirping at sunrise, the ocean ebbing and flowing and kissing the sand, magical pinks and purples on clouds at sunset overlooking the beach. Or even a smile from a stranger, or someone letting you merge easily on the motorway, or good music in the train station. Or a few seconds longer in your headstand, or finally getting your heels down at Dolphin Pose. Who knows! Endless. Countless possibilities for life sending you sweet moments to remind you how loved and precious you are. I think if we take a breath and pause and reflect on how beautiful this life truly is — it'll change our lives.
I think it's shifted my perspective on daily living. I carry so much more gratitude in my heart. This is a great reminder actually, because I've had quite a rough couple of weeks and even just reminding myself that “Yes, life is romancing me daily” has just lightened my spirit.
You’ve spoken about the pressure that comes from comparing yourself to others on social media. As someone who works in an aesthetically driven field and has felt these feelings before, do you have any advice for those who struggle with that pressure?
Ah, the pressure from social media. It's a constant battle. I can always just leave and never go on Instagram ever again (I guess some people do), but there are also multitudes of beautiful and beneficial things on there. What I try to do is have a time limit and a purpose for when I go on social media (I try). Journaling helps too. I write honest thoughts and also remind myself of my truth and some affirmations. I try to be intentional around social media as opposed to endless scrolling and comparing. I think it takes time, but knowing your worth and knowing how special you truly are makes a massive difference. And hey, unfollow people who don't make you feel good about yourself! You have the choice on who to follow. Make sure it's positive and encouraging people.
You’ve accomplished a lot these past few years, from moving to a new country to getting back into circus training with aerial hoops and silk! What are your 2020 goals?
I've actually lived in New Zealand for 10 years now, but I moved to Australia in 2018 and then moved back “home” before the end of 2018. New Zealand is definitely home now (previously the Philippines) and it offers so much opportunity. I am in love with circus/aerial hoop and silk! My goal is to keep training and growing in that craft and potentially perform again! A funny/fun goal is to do a 10-second handstand (hello Journey to Handstand series, I'm looking at you!) and at least five pull-ups. Another goal is to lean in to the happy and believe in my fairytale. I've doubted relationships and my own love story for so long, and I think it's time that I simply let go and trust that there are good and beautiful things out there for me (us). I can push past fear and embrace the fullness of love.
In summary, I would love to continue looking after myself this 2020 — physically by training and keeping up with my practice, mentally by releasing things that no longer serve me and pursuing what makes me come alive, emotionally by leaning into the happy, and spiritually by practising gratitude and remembering that I am being romanced by life.
