A workout for body and soul

Nupur Biswas, 25, is 20 kg lighter. And much calmer. After years of ridicule and shedding tears in private, (often in changing rooms when the beautiful dress she tried on proved too small and too tight yet again), she made her way to the gym. She persevered month after month, lost excess weight, and found her confidence.

Six years later, she was in a dilemma again. She quit working out in the gym. “I was running on a treadmill all alone or lifting weights for six years,” she says. “The monotony of it just got to me.” In the meanwhile, she had also joined a TV news channel as a producer. Life was too fast for comfort, she says. And the fear of regaining weight always remained.

It has been a year since Biswas stopped visiting the gym. She now kick-boxes, does Power Yoga and aerobics. “It’s far more enjoyable and fun than working out in a gym. Here you are a part of a group doing the same thing,” she says. “I work late in the nights and I return home tired and stressed. But a session of kickboxing, Power Yoga or yoga in the morning, and I am so fresh and calm.”

Mumbai is teeming with all sorts of classes, signboards and hoardings, screaming out from every nook and lane the benefits of kickboxing, Tai Chi, Krav Maga, Capoeira, Power Yoga, Hot Yoga, and what not. It’s not difficult to understand why. People are leading stressful lives and they need a way to de-stress and regain some measure of calm.

Sunil Samant, 60, who runs the Asian Academy of Tai Chi, says, “Many join to lose weight and then get hooked. They realise the healing qualities of Tai Chi.” In the last four years, Samant claims to have taught Tai Chi to more than 700 people in Mumbai. He teaches Taiji Chi Kung Shibashi, which is based on the philosophy of Tai Chi and extracts some of the best movements from Tai Chi. It places emphasis on synchronising 18 movements with proper breathing techniques. It is considered to be a gentle and beautiful exercise routine that is both enjoyable and deeply relaxing.

Samant himself took up Tai Chi very late. At the age of 50, he retired as customer engineer for an IT company and took up Tai Chi to keep himself active. Today, 10 years later, he says he is fitter than ever. “I am happier and fitter than I was even at 30,” he says.

Bhavin Thakkar, 42, has a similar story. He was leading a contented life, working for Sun Microsystems as a computer engineer in the US.” And then one day I attended a session of Bharat’s Artistic Yoga. I just knew it that day that this was my true calling,” he says.

He learnt Artistic Yoga and is now an instructor for them. “I was not unhappy with my life before. But the sheer calm that I felt in that session of Artistic Yoga helped me make my decision.” Artistic Yoga, besides containing all the tenets of yoga, also contains cardio exercises along with partner stretches (where a person helps you stretch). Their idea is to make yoga more in tune with modern day stressful lives, where cardio exercises and stretches are extremely important.

Capoeira is also gaining a fan following. Having originated in Brazil, this art form combines elements of martial arts, music, and dance. It is now practised worldwide and regarded highly as a tool that can help people stay fit and relax. Reza Massah, who runs Capoeira India, says, “What makes Capoeira a great form of exercise is that it is fun. It is a group activity which combines dance, music and martial art.”

As for Nupur Biswas, she has not gained an inch in the last one year. And if anyone now calls her fat, she says with a laugh, “I will kick them.”