BollyBlog

Is fitness a dreaded work out or a welcome, open embrace on a grassy meadow?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Does being fit require dreaded workouts with clenched teeth and a no pain, no gain attitude? Does being healthy in life mean slogging the self to the gym daily and then squelching out, Just do it; just do one more!?

Whether trekking it out on the treadmill or pounding the pavement, a conventional notion of being fit and healthy is that working out is necessary to achieve these states of wellness. We often dread the workout before, count the minutes to go during, and breathe a sigh of relief after. Whether or not we actually do it, we know we are supposed to because experts tell us so.

So, work out today finds its way onto a checklist of things we have to do. Does the mind experience this line item as a welcome addition? How often do we hear people say,
I cannot wait to force myself out of bed at 6:00 AM and pump iron!

In reality, whether it is from the anxiety of losing a few pounds, fitting into a certain outfit or being confident at an upcoming event, voices often exclaim,
Oh, I do not want to go to the gym today but I have to go!

Is work out amidst the items on your daily checklist?
If so, why? If not, why not?
If it is usually on your list of stuff to do, how often do you actually do it?
***When you do work out, what is the experience before exercise, during the routine and afterward?
***If you do not work out on a particular day, what is that experience like?
***What is the experience when just reading the word now, workout?

It is a fact that most people do not exercise regularly. Skyrocketing obesity in various parts of the world and resulting diseases and related fiscal and societal costs are in the news, spawning a support industry to try to inspire people to work out. Some are truly motivated from within, which is fantastic.

For most the external Rah-Rah cheerleading works from time to time and they grudgingly force feet atop the treadmill; or, with a heavy heart, haul the sedentary soul into the gym. For these people, sweating from the self literally requires wholesome will from within! For some, the internal mojo to just do it is sadly never achieved.

For everyone without internal alignment between physically active thoughts and actions, workout is a wandering word nomadically traversing the to-do list from day to day. It is part of a community of sub-list of shame, items that are supposed to be done daily but are not. Eventually, due to frustration and internal defeat, these items cease to make their way to external lists, but continue to hover over an unsettled mind.

But does being fit and healthy require an I have to work out attitude? Is that frame of reference even helpful? What do you think? When you see the word workout, does it elicit inspiration, lightness and welcome you with open arms like a Bollywood hero or heroine on a grassy meadow with the wind blowing through the hair?

By definition, workout, is something dreaded, almost unnatural, and required.

Hmmn...what if the quandary is just a packaging issue? You might have heard the adage:

No pain no gain.

Yes, pain has a purpose and can be beneficial. As Eckhart Tolle brilliantly explains in A New Earth pain and suffering can fuel the light of consciousness and help awaken the soul. But if fitness and health are approached as something dreaded we have to do, versus something natural, comfortable and, on the other end of the spectrum, something we long to do, might we approach this aspect of wellness differently?

Does anyone really say,

Oh geez, I have to go to the spa, I do not want to but I have to! OR

I do not want to wake up early for that massage but I just have to do it!

What if exercise was the same way?

What if the dreaded workout disappeared with the poof of a wand and instead sparkles and twinkles from within invited us to be joyful and, by the way, naturally shed weight inside and out?

Can you imagine a world where fitness and fun are symbiotic? Where exercise experiences are craved like spa appointments for the soul?
Where peace, love, joy and sweat string together like a blissful Sa-Re-Ga-Ma- Pa melody? And these states are experienced before, during, and after exercise?

Might more of us shed serious sweat and weight within and around and be light?

Fitness that is fun and natural is not just fictional and imagined like a faraway hero who holds our embrace only in Bollywood dreams. Follow this blog for ideas on how to emanate energy, be fit and well, and naturally experience peace, love and joy in the reel of real life!

Hello India, Hello Wellness!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Invited by a fantastic website, hellowellness.in, to be a Fitness Guru where I write weekly blogs and field questions and provide advice to the readers. The Hello Wellness Team is fantastic and wish them all the best. And excited to partner with them. And to now do what’s been on the ‘list of stuff that I really want to do’ for a while...write regularly. So look for regular updates here and on facebook. Hope you find them relevant, informative and perhaps insightful. Please read, enjoy. Welcome your comments and experiences on hellowellness.in if you are in India. If not in India, please share on this website and on facebook. Hello Wellness!
xoxo
Anuja

Here’s to the dancer within you!
Sunday, December 20, 2009

Thanks for an illuminating 2009! Each of you is very much appreciated for the twinkles and sparkles that emanate from within and around. BollyFit is beyond borders because of you. I am proud of the dancers, Guides and Give Team, all of whom help bring out the dancer within so many. Together, we spawn an intimate movement where ever we are. From international performances by our phenomenal Fitness through Dance students to private clients including Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who compete with a ground breaking Indian dance on ice that I created with their skating coaches. From blogs that inspire blossoms from within to beautiful babies born to students. From magic in sweaty studios each time the music starts to motivational speeches about Breaking the Matka and Ego Free Zone to thousands of corporate employees. From holiday parties to board parties. Stillness within even as the music around seems to stop. The cup floweth over From the bottom (and top) of my heart, thank you for bringing out the dancer in me. Here’s to the dancer within you!

xoxo
Anuja

Inspiring
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Who’s got the Twinkle?? Twinkle in the eye, that is...Susan Boyle has it. And so do BollyFit Dancers. Thanks to each of you in the classes for expanding beyond what we thought was the limit of our forms. If you’ve been in class over the last week, you know what I’m talking about! From the bottom - and top - of my heart - thank you for dancing with the flow - and love you! xoxo Anuja

So joyous to announce BollyFit Kids…for your kids….and mine!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

“Hi Friends! Gather your children....by popular request from many mothers, and with care and joy, BollyFit Kids is here! BollyFit Kids is a unique opportunity for kids. It’s not the kind of dance class where they can get anything wrong. It’s high energy. It’s learning new things, in new ways, with new friends. Children learn: A complete dance number synthesizing classical, folk and modern steps. Cultural connections around the globe through visual reinforments and props. To love and be at ease with dance and music from childhood.”

And I’m so proud to introduce BollyFit Kids Director, Holly Poppink. In addition to being an accomplished dancer, athlete and teacher, Holly continues to be a consistent, dedicated, and beautiful BollyFit student and performer. But Holly is so much more than these roles. She’s the type of teacher and role model we all want for our children. Patient, Kind, Gentle. Her smile evokes smiles and her joy creates joy around her. When she teaches children the love of dance...she walks the walk, literally! Holly has imprompu dance parties with her two young daughters - almost daily! And Holly is so comfortable with herself that she started taking piano lessons as an adult - just for the joy of it. For Fitness that’s Fun, I can’t think of a better BollyFit Kids Director! Together, we developed a wonderful program that we are proud to enroll our own children in.

Message from BollyFit Kids Director, Holly Poppink
“As a mother of two girls, I know there is not a lot offered for this age group. But when I discovered BollyFit, I knew I had danced into something special. As a trained dancer, accredited teacher, certified fitness instructor and hand-on mother, I am thrilled to share the joy of dancing with your children....and mine!”

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