Dance Your Way to Fitness
It is called Bollyrobics – doing aerobics to Bollywood beats. You can boogie to foot-stomping bhangra beat, and you know what? You can lose weight!!
Wouldn’t it be great if we could lose our weight, trim the waistlines and improve our body’s muscular tone in fun ways? If you say yes, let your hair down, swivel those hips trapped behind the desks in front of those monstrous computers, shake your arms and chests and shoulders enticingly to the beats of bollywood music. There is a craze for this kind of exercise workout, but it’s certainly not a flash-in-the-pan fad; though of course, it’s rising demand has been contributed in no small measure by the success of ‘The Slumdog Millionaire’. In India, the ever-proliferating dance channels and dance shows on the television have trumped up the demand for dance. So the craze is going to be around for a long time and evolve in accordance with the needs and dictates of the fitness market.
An important pioneer in introducing bhangra beats to the Western audience is Sarina Jain. Bhangra is a folk dance from Punjab in Western India. It’s a highly energetic, joyful, foot-tapping, hand-clapping dance form, highly suitable for adapting to exercise. As a certified fitness instructor teaching kickboxing, aerobics, and salsa, Sarina saw in Bhangra all the elements of body movements present in these exercise forms. Utilizing her knowledge of bhangra, Indian classical dance, salsa and hip-hop, she has developed cardiovascular and muscle strengthening workout. The movements require a strong ‘core’ and can tone the entire body – the abdominals, glutes, thighs, lower back and calves. You’ll need good coordination and a sense of rhythm as well. Take a look at Sarina Jain’s workout below:
Here, a group of people dance to the beats of drum:
Aren’t the group of children in the next video (WGN studios) having fun?
Many dance studios across the United States have incorporated these dances set to American pop songs.
I had fun watching this video; the song featured here is a popular dance number from the movie ‘Dil Se’.
I love ‘Dabbanguthu’, a street dance form of Tamil Nadu in South India as well. Many rural communities use this dance form during a funeral procession. Who says a funeral procession has to be sombre? It’s a matter of time somebody designs a workout routine around this. When the leading newspaper of India, Times of India, launched a special edition of its daily from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, they made use of this dance form to tell a story of the rise of an an actor-turned-politician (a common true-to-life scenario) who falls from grace when he ditches his party and joins the ruling party. A cut out character has been used to depict the dirty party-hopping that politicians employ every day. The song has been felicitated this year with ‘Best Use of Music’ during International Advertising Festival at Cannes.
Your feet itching to dance? Join the boogie-woogie crowd now.
Liked it
Guy Hogan | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Yes, I like to dance and I can keep a beat. Being able to dance, have fun and stay in shape is a great thing.
Southgate | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Interesting and informative;But dancing also requires a mind without any inhibition and reservation.Thanks for sharing.
CHAN LEE PENG | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Ya, dancing is a good exercise. If one dances correctly, it actually benefits health. Thanks and liked it.
ken bultman | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
I enjoyed the article from a cultural point of view. The dancing seemed a bit aerobic for my taste. I clap my hands and tap my feet while watching from the sidelines.
papaleng | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
I love dancing and doing it in as a form of daily exercise will surely give the right result.
RAJEEV BHARGAVA | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
i absolutely LOVED this article. i love the term bollyaerobics. i agree with you entirely 100%. dancing is probably THE BEST and most natural form of excercise like walking, running and swimming. all compliment each other and go hand in hand. brilliant work!
Diverseblogger | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Great article! They actually have this on demand and you can work out from your television for free and You do not have to buy the tapes! (A way to save money in this recession)
cebuanaeyez | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
This is actually becoming more popular here in San Francisco
valli | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Dancing is a good and natural form of exercise.
CA Johnson | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Great job! I love to dance and I agree that it’s a great form of exercise. I have added dancing to my workout routine. It’s so much fun that it doesn’t feel like exercise at all.
clavier | Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
This is cool! Dancing is one of the most enjoyable ways to be fit. Thanks for introducing Bollyrobics.
Dee Gold | Aug 22, 2009 | Reply
dancing is enjoyable and glad that it’s a step toward fitness
Atikin | Aug 22, 2009 | Reply
I never knew about Bollyrobics but I did read in one of my local papers in a teensy section about India that police men in Punjab were asked to reduce weight by dancing to bangra because they were far too obese to fit in with the nature of that job. This is a really good article in terms of a cultural aspect and a slightly more health related aspect. Good job, Uma!
BeatsMe | Aug 22, 2009 | Reply
I’ve never heard of Bollyrobics before but have heard often about Bollywood.
gourab | Aug 22, 2009 | Reply
Wow, I never knew about bollyrobics, or that youtube has all these videos. Nice article by the way.
emjhay | Aug 22, 2009 | Reply
Yes, dancing is one of the best ways to loss weight. Aside from it can enhance your talent in dancing, it can boost your self confidence by showing your talents. It is also a form of socializing. I wanna try the bollyrobics. It is very unique..Have fun dancing…
Monica Sappleton | Aug 24, 2009 | Reply
It sounds good to me. In fact that is how I get most of my exercise anyway – by dancing. So thank you for bollyrobics Uma and I’ll bookmark this later.
Monica.
Melody Arcamo Lagrimas | Aug 26, 2009 | Reply
I love to dance too but only when nobody’s watching