PH Embassy in Yangon Promotes Wellness with Filipinos in Mandalay 

Third Secretary and Vice Consul Stephanie Alexis Cruz talks about work-life balance and the importance of fitness in living a healthy lifestyle. (Yangon PE photo)

YANGON 29 January 2020 — For its first Gender And Development (GAD) Activity for 2020, the Philippine Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar organized a Zumba dance fitness session for the Filipino men and women on 26 January 2020 at Hotel Mandalay.

In her welcome remarks, Third Secretary and Vice Consul Stephanie Alexis Cruz talked about the importance of a healthy work-life balance for everyone, especially women, to achieve both physical and psychological wellness. She emphasized that it is especially important for women to have physical activity since women tend to neglect this due to having too many responsibilities at home and in the workplace. She also encouraged the attendees to get into some sort of fitness regime to counter stress in their lives rather than binge on food or what is commonly known as stress-eating.

The Zumba instructor, a Filipino teacher in Mandalay, Melanie Navarro, discussed and emphasized the importance of fitness in women’s lives and added that dance is only one type of fitness activity, but one that is a whole-body workout and definitely fun. She then led the group through a series of easy-to-follow dance steps to the tune of Latin music and a mixture of Pinoy pop songs and 90s hits. The men and women participants were then divided into 3 groups in which they were taught how to dance Bailando, after which the groups competed for the Best Performance Award for the session. Both men and women participants also performed the Tala Dance Craze by Philippine Pop Artist Sarah Geronimo as an intermission. The activity culminated with a sumptuous lunch, reminiscent of the traditional Filipino family meal.

A total of 44 Filipino teachers, with 12 men and 32 women, participated in the Fitness and Wellness Session: “Be Fit and Move to the Beat”. The activity is one of the Embassy's Gender and Development programs for 2020 to promote wellness among the Filipino men and women in Myanmar. END

Ms. Melanie Navarro, a P.E. teacher in Mandalay, leads the Zumba session. (Yangon PE photo)

Filipino men and women enjoy dancing to the beat of Latin music, Filipino hit songs and 90's favorite mix. (Yangon PE photo)

Filipino men and women participants in Mandalay with Third Secretary and Vice Consul Stephanie Alexis Cruz (middle in orange shirt) after the Zumba Fitness for Wellness session. (Yangon PE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.yangonpe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinMyanmar.