Maritess De Ocampo

Portraits of Stephanie Zubiri by Maxine Lara Garcia

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Stephanie Zubiri

<p>She speaks about life as it is: beautiful and heartbreaking, joyful and grief-filled, expansive and humbling, all at once. There’s an honesty in the way she expresses herself that invites reflection, even when the truths she shares are difficult to confront.</p><p>As the founder of Soulful Feasts and the guiding force behind Soulful Journeys,<a href="https://www.instagram.com/stephaniezubiri/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Stephanie Zubiri</a> creates spaces where women can reconnect with themselves through retreats, embodiment practices, community, and inner work. </p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1785252663238SCOTT A WOODWARD - IMG_0918.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:405px"/></div><p>In this exclusive interview with ABS-CBN Lifestyle, she reflects on what it truly means to nourish the soul, practice self-care beyond wellness trends, and embrace life’s changing seasons.</p><div><strong>A Soulful Feast Is Made of Little Glimmers </strong></div><p>The name Soulful Feasts immediately evokes nourishment beyond food, and for Stephanie, that is exactly the point. </p><p>Physical nourishment matters, but the deeper question is what sustains a person when life inevitably becomes difficult. “For me, it’s all about what lights you up. What are the things that will keep you going when life gets dark? Because life can get challenging.” </p><p>She likens emotional and spiritual nourishment to a truly nourishing meal. While delicious food can delight the senses and bring pleasure in the moment, she believes true nourishment is measured by what continues to sustain us long after the meal is over. </p><p>“I see a soulful feast in much the same way. It’s about nourishing not just your body, but your mind and spirit. What are the things that will continue to bring you light, joy, energy, and encouragement in the most meager of times? How do you embrace joy?” </p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1785252743398SCOTT A WOODWARD - IMG_1075.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:422px"/></div><p>She adds, “The older I get, the more I realize there isn’t one long, sustained period of happiness. The biggest lesson life has taught me is that we have to be able to hold space for light and dark at the same time. Life happens. Everything, everywhere, all at once.” </p><p>For her, a soulful life is built not from grand milestones but from collecting what she calls “little glimmers.” </p><p>Those glimmers begin every morning: quiet moments with cacao, children greeting her with hugs and kisses before school, the affectionate cuddles of her dog. They continue through the women’s circles and retreats she facilitates, where she witnesses women choosing themselves and confronting old wounds that no longer need to define them. </p><p>&quot;Ultimately, a soulful feast is made up of countless little glimmers. Tiny moments of beauty, connection, and meaning that you collect, almost like catching ephemeral fireflies in a jar. One day you look up and realize your jar has become so full that it lights up the night.” </p><div><strong>Choosing Yourself Is Never Selfish </strong></div><p>For someone whose work revolves around caring for others, self-care has required continual practice. “The irony is that I spend so much of my life holding space for others.” </p><p>She has witnessed firsthand what happens when women finally choose themselves. “But when a woman does choose herself, the ripple effect is extraordinary.”  </p><p>Rather than grand gestures, self-care has become consistent rituals of love: slow mornings, returning gently to exercise, long showers accompanied by healing music, baths lit by candles, skincare rituals, traditional abhyanga self-oil massage, cooking nourishing meals, joyful dancing, laughter, listening honestly to what our body needs. </p><p>“Sometimes the most loving thing I can do is spend the day in bed, watch television in my pajamas and eat a bowl of Pad Thai. There’s no guilt in that. Sometimes that’s exactly what nourishment looks like.”</p><div><strong>Wellbeing is Being at Peace With Yourself </strong></div><p>Perhaps her greatest shift over the years has been redefining wellbeing itself. Instead of treating wellness as a checklist of healthy habits or visible achievements, she sees it as something much deeper.</p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1785252891317SCOTT A WOODWARD - IMG_1183.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:433px"/></div><p>Stephanie believes, “Wellbeing is actually not just a physical state. It’s really a state of being at peace with yourself.” </p><p>That peace is reflected in something as profoundly as simple affirmations such as: “I love myself. I honor myself. I see you wholly, with all your flaws, and I love you unconditionally.”</p><p>For her, this is the true definition of wellbeing. It’s not about fitness goals, hours spent meditating, or perfect skin. It is being able to enjoy your own company over lunch without reaching for your phone. It is laughing while pinching your own belly and thanking your body for carrying you through life. It is accepting the parts of yourself still growing without making them conditions for self-worth.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/people-culture-events/2026/7/24/bea-elizalde-showing-up-anyway-fear-resilience-leadership-1753" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Showing up anyway: Bea Elizalde on fear, resilience, and leadership</a></div><div><strong>Rest Is Something You Weave Into Everyday Life </strong></div><p>Modern culture often treats rest as something that must be earned. Stephanie intentionally resists that mindset. “We live in a culture that celebrates productivity, so creating space for rest has become something I do very intentionally.” </p><p>One of the simplest changes she has made is charging her phone away from her bedside. Without the temptation to scroll, mornings begin differently—preparing cacao, sitting quietly, listening to birds on her terrace with her dogs, or retreating to a quiet indoor corner when it’s raining. </p><p>“The important thing is creating that little pocket of stillness before the world begins asking things of me,” Stephanie emphasizes.  </p><p>She believes that even evening showers have become sacred. “It’s where I consciously wash away the energies that don’t belong to me anymore.” </p><p>She elaborates, “Those little rituals remind me that rest isn’t something I earn once I’ve worked hard enough. It’s something I deliberately weave into my day because it allows me to keep showing up fully for the people and work that I love.” </p><div><strong>Does Perfect Balance Exist? </strong></div><p>Among the many hats she wears as writer, entrepreneur, facilitator, mother, and creative—she no longer believes perfect balance exists. </p><p>“I don’t actually believe there’s such a thing as perfect balance anymore.”  </p><p>She reveals, “I’m the type of person who goes all in.” She describes balance instead as “shifting priorities.” Every morning begins with one question: “What matters most today?” </p><p>Some days the answer is work, other days it is motherhood. Sometimes it is her relationship, and sometimes it is herself. </p><p>Motherhood has also reshaped how she understands selfhood. “I’m always a mother, but I’m also a woman first.” </p><p>She values presence above perfection. “There was a season when I was physically with my children, but mentally and emotionally, somewhere else.” </p><p>Today, she strives simply to be fully present wherever she is. “I think presence is one of the most precious gifts we can give each other today.”</p><div><strong>The Dark Nights That Shape Us </strong></div><p>“To say that I’ve maintained a sense of inner steadiness would be a lie.” She rejects the myth that wellbeing means perpetual calm. </p><p>Stephanie believes true healing requires allowing ourselves to fully experience pain. “We have to allow ourselves to feel. To tremble. To quake with the hurt, the grief, the pain, the sadness, the longing.” </p><p>Not by bypassing, numbing, or decorating it with spiritual language—because this is how we get sick.  </p><p>“Our bodies don’t lie.” They remember what the mind attempts to suppress. </p><p>That is why Stephanie encourages people to cry, scream, be angry—to embrace the full visceral experience of being human. Only then, she believes, can joy also be fully experienced. </p><p>She shares, “Only in the darkest nights can the stars shine brightly.” </p><p>She speaks candidly about her own mental health, acknowledging moments when emotions became so overwhelming that she scratched herself until she bled. Her honesty serves one purpose: “You cannot go through these things alone.” </p><p>She believes that support, community, and love matter. Looking back, she no longer feels ashamed of those difficult seasons. </p><p>“They’ve forged me in fire. They’ve given me courage. They’ve given me wisdom. They’ve given me compassion.” </p><p>After everything she has experienced, she continues returning to one simple truth: “It’s love. Unconditional, unjudging love for everyone, everything, and yourself.” </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/health-beauty-fashion/2026/7/8/can-wellness-be-sustainable-marilen-elizalde-says-it-starts-with-the-basics-1235" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Can wellness be sustainable? Marilen Elizalde says it starts with the basics</a></div><div><strong>Flourishing Comes in Seasons </strong></div><p>For Stephanie, flourishing is not a permanent destination. </p><p>“I don’t actually think we’re meant to flourish all the time.” </p><p>Nature already teaches a different rhythm. “There’s a season to bloom. A season to shed. A season to hide away and hibernate. A season to germinate quietly beneath the surface. And then spring comes again.” </p><p>Our lives, our bodies, and even our souls move through similar cycles. As women, she believes these rhythms deserve to be honored rather than resisted. “So no, I don’t think flourishing is something we achieve once and then hold onto forever. Flourishing is honoring whatever season you’re in with grace, compassion, humility, and love.” </p><div><strong>Building Spaces for Transformation </strong></div><p>Today, Soulful Feasts continues to evolve. </p><p>She speaks enthusiastically about Soulful Journeys, retreats that invite participants to reconnect with themselves through place, community, and inner work. </p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DXMP7WLkUvT/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=648&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A2325532.800000012%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="863" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>This September 14-18, 2026 marks the third edition of <em>The Goddess Within </em>in Hoi An, Vietnam, in partnership with Namia River Retreat. </p><p>She is also excited about<em> Enliven the Dream</em>, a six-day journey through Australia’s Scenic Rim and Brisbane focused on dreamtending, nature, embodiment, and soulful exploration, happening from October 15-20, 2026. </p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZ9wgSmB5Ax/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=648&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A8721487.100000024%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="863" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Closer to home, Soulful Feasts continues bringing workshops to communities around the Philippines where they recently went to Cagayan de Oro. “We’re hoping to bring our Soulful Embodiment Practice to more communities around the country, including places like Iloilo and Cebu.” Meanwhile the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1sqO76DG1fo9OQJxS2Ad57?si=l3HkEfo0QBmvbguoP9EGfA&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=19d753fc1274477f" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Soulful Feasts Podcast</a> prepares to return after surpassing one hundred episodes. </p><p>Stephanie is especially excited about an online membership community which is in development so that more people can experience this work regardless of where they live. </p><p>Perhaps what excites her most, however, is watching Soulful Feasts grow beyond herself. </p><p>“Soulful Feasts has also become much more than me. That&#x27;s something I&#x27;m really proud of. We&#x27;re bringing in contributors, teachers and practitioners because I don&#x27;t believe I&#x27;m the only one with wisdom to share. There are so many incredible voices, and I want Soulful Feasts to be a place where those voices can be heard and where people feel safe enough to have meaningful conversations. And yes, I am quietly working on a very personal long-term creative project. I&#x27;m not quite ready to share it yet.” </p><div><strong>Self-Acceptance Rather Than Self-Improvement</strong></div><p>Before the conversation ends, Stephanie offers one final invitation. “Be inspired by other people, absolutely. Learn from them. But don’t lose yourself trying to become someone else.” </p><p>Purpose looks different for everyone. For some it is building a business; for others, it is raising a family. For others still, it is bringing kindness into the lives of those around them. </p><p>Whatever form it takes, she believes it begins with self-acceptance rather than self-improvement. “Whatever lights you up, follow that. You are already worthy. Even on your hardest days.” </p><p>Perhaps that is the heart of everything she has shared—not the pursuit of perfection, endless productivity, constant happiness. But instead, the courage to return to ourselves with compassion, presence and unconditional love, again and again, through every season of life; a gentle reminder that perhaps the answers we spend so much of our lives searching for have been quietly waiting within us all along.</p><div><em>Portraits of Stephanie Zubiri by Maxine Lara Garcia.</em></div>

<p>The Soulful Feasts founder reflects on self-acceptance and why true wellbeing begins with embracing every season of life with <i>grace, compassion, humility, and love.</i></p>

The Soulful Feasts founder reflects on self-acceptance and why true wellbeing begins with embracing every season of life with grace, compassion, humility, and love.

Stephanie Zubiri: Honoring every season with grace

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Stephanie Zubiri: Honoring every season with grace

Mawi Fojas De Ocampo

Published July 29, 2026 01:04 AM PHT

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Updated July 29, 2026 10:24 AM PHT

Read More:

Stephanie Zubiri

Soulful Feasts

Soulful Journeys

Health Wellbeing And The Self

Mindful Living

Seasons of Life

Self Care

Self Love

Self Acceptance

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