‘Bhangra Blaze keeps me motivated’
With the music pulsing
through the room, I start to lose myself in the rhythm of the Bhangra dance.
My body feels energised and alive – the opposite to how
I felt when I used to pound the treadmill at my local gym.
Having spent much of my working life in an office, like many people, I’d put on a bit of weight over the years – peaking at a size 14.
Determined to improve my fitness, I’d joined a gym in 2014, even engaging a personal trainer to help get me moving.
But despite my initial enthusiasm, I found working out boring, and began to find excuses to give the gym a miss.
When I mentioned my struggles to my friend
Hattal last year, she told me she’d just started a really invigorating exercise class called BhangraBlaze.
She explained it was an workout based on
Bhangra, which is the traditional folk dance from the Punjab, in India.
‘But exercise just doesn’t work for me,’ I told her.
She pleaded with me to try it and, in late 2016, I went to my first class. I was a bit nervous, but everyone was so welcoming and put me at ease.
I was amazed to see people of all races, and even some men, getting into the rhythm. Soon, I was dancing away with everyone else – and the classes went by in a flash.
These days, I’m a different person – I’ve dropped to a size 12 from a size 14. I feel energised and fitter. Best of all, I have so much fun,
I forget I’m even exercising.
For more info, go to bhangrablaze.com