I would define myself as a proud procrastinator. I think of great and big things, I make elaborate plans, and then I put the execution part on some other day. Ladies and gentlemen, that day never comes.
The procrastinator in me once thought of working out
Similar was the case with my dedication to being a couch potato. I had elaborate plans of starting a regular workout to keep myself active and ward off any illnesses that I can attract due to a stagnant lifestyle. But my routinised work-life and procrastinating attitude kept me from a stretching even a limb for the longest time. Until one day my friend dragged me for a Pilates class that she had been attending in the neighbourhood.
Pilates mixed like water and oil with my life
I won’t deny that it felt great and I felt sexy. All those “low-impact flexibility and muscular strength and endurance” movements did feel rewarding just after the first few classes. But then I was done. My friend looked at me and announced, “I knew you wouldn’t renew your membership.” Firstly, honey, I was in it for just those eight classes I shelled a bomb for. Secondly, it didn’t motivate me to get out of bed.
Enter Bhangra…
Cut to that one day at work when all of us were called down to the canteen for a community-building workout session. Suddenly speakers start blasting with the latest Bollywood songs and we are soon following footsteps of this overenthusiastic trainer shouting “Hoye!” after every move. I totally judged this session in my head (and verbally) to come off as cool. Then bam! I was in the groove and I didn’t want that workout to stop, at least for the first 15 minutes–after that I was spent.
Before leaving, the instructor distributed discount coupons to his class and we went back to our desks. I mean, I napped and dreamt of dancing enthusiastically in front of a mirror. The minute I reached home, I looked up the classes online, checked my bank balance, used the discount coupon and enrolled to the evening classes near my home.
My classy Indian soul found comfort in a loud Bhangra dance class
That was the changing moment in my life. The minute I came out of my first class on a Wednesday evening, I knew that this freestyle Bhangra workout class was custom cut for me. Everybody was so hyped and shouting “hoye, hoye” was the energy I needed to break out of a monotonous life. It was a much-needed break from my otherwise regimented routine. While pilates, gyming, and krav maga are great, my true Indian soul found familiarity in a loud and sweaty Bhangra dance class.
