What’s in Carlos Yulo, Willie Revillame’s mental health training? Coach Hazel Calawod explains

MANILA, Philippines — Last month, TV host and senatorial aspirant Willie Revillame earned reactions and comments for his post showing him working out alongside Hazel Calawod, coach of two-time Olympics gold winner Carlos Yulo.

“Umpisa na para ma-kundisyon ang health ng mind and body ko for a commitment,” Willie wrote on Facebook.

“With Coach Hazel Calawod, the personal trainer of Gold Olympic Medalist Carlos Yulo," he added, tagging the Harvard-certified Human Factors Specialist.

In an exclusive interview with Philstar.com prior to her recent panel discussion for Watsons Philippines’ first ever “Move with PowHER” forum in Makati City, Calawod gave an overview of what goes into Yulo and Revillame’s mental health training.

“For a person working to optimize the mental skills, my scope of work would entail studying the person, studying the lifestyle of the person because you need to be able to see like, OK, what is the problem. If you don't study the person properly, you wouldn't be able to get results,” said the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Data Scientist.

“And then it also involves a lot of education, a lot of education about the brain, a lot of education about health in general so it can affect the change and you can affect like good chemistry in the brain. And it also involves a lot of motivation, a lot of discussion with regards to what are you feeling, what do you want and many other things.”

WATCH: Coach Hazel on the value of mental health skills training

She, however, emphasized that mental health training is not only for athletes like Yulo or a senatorial aspirant like Willie.

“Why you need mental health and why you need to also put some time for your mental health is that without it, you don't have enough focus,” she said. “Without it, you don't have much motivation for you to do things without proper alignment of your mind and your body, you're not able to fully express your craft.”

The sports occupational therapist sat in the “Move with PowHER” panel together with Women’s Run PH Chief Executive Officer Nicole Dela Cruz, an advocate for women in sports; Watsons’ Marketing, Public Relations and Sustainability Senior Assistant Vice President Sharon Decapia; and She Talks Asia advocacy platform co-founder Lynn Pinugu. 

Related: Coach Hazel Calawod recalls aftermath of ‘shipping’ with Carlos Yulo

To celebrate women’s wellness and empowerment, the forum had segments featuring PH Care, Gynepro, Jeunesse, and partners like Modess, Charmee, Cleane, and Sisters. Through engaging discussions on physical, emotional, and mental wellness, career growth, leadership, and advocacy, Watsons aimed to empower women to thrive in every aspect of their lives. 
“For me, it, it is still an untouched aspect in our society,” Calawod said of mental health. 

“And I'm happy that I'm here actually to share more about my advocacy for improving the mental skills of people because imagination, whatever it is that you can imagine with your mind once you're able to align your behaviors with that, you have no idea how powerful of a force you can be.” — Videos by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo; video editing by Martin Ramos, Anjilica Andaya

RELATED: How Carlos Yulo won at Olympics despite family problems: Coach explains