Fly to fight fat

BungFly, the first-of-its-kind bungee workout, has caught the fancy of fitness freaks in Bengaluru. The full-body cardio exercise helps build core strength.
Participants during a BungFly class |
Participants during a BungFly class |

Adventure junkies would swear by bungee jumping as one of the best adrenaline sports. Now imagine sweating it out—doing squats, push-ups, lunges, and yoga moves—while being tied to a harness around the waist, and then suspended from the ceiling using elastic, bungee cords at a fitness studio—running, jumping and diving to burn out the flab.

For the uninitiated, that’s BungFly, the first-of-its-kind bungee workout that has caught the fancy of fitness freaks in Bengaluru. Started by choreographer and wellness trainer Aastha Gulati in November last year, this studio in the city is among the six bungee work-out places across the world.

Gulati, who is the founder of Dhurii, an initiative to create a space that offers dance, fitness and wellness classes, says: “BungFly is a new fun form of a resistance workout that has been introduced in India by Dhurii. It is a full-body cardio workout with focus on building core strength. The bungee cords used in this unique workout extend enough to give the necessary bounce. The harness and interconnecting equipment are drawn from mountain climbing, so the safety concerns are also taken care of,” says Gulati.

In February, Dhurii organised a five-day holistic spiritual contemporary movement retreat in the wilderness at Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu with two other trainers—Ronita Mookerji and Abhilash Ningappa. “We have set out to achieve this through our team and by collaborating with professionals across the city, the country and abroad. Given that diversity always brings new learnings, we are committed to bringing the best of trainers to our members,” she says.

Early on, the moves are designed to make one comfortable with the bungee and find free movement. “With moves like runs, jumps and dives in advanced routines, there is little reason to stay away from a workout,” says the 31-year-old.

This workout is excellent for building one’s stamina. “A fitness enthusiast gets many benefits, including spine strengthening and better balancing,” she says.After conducting BungFly workouts and workshops at her two centres in Bengaluru, she held one each in Pune and Mumbai in December last year. At present, Dhurii is running weekend batches in Indiranagar and a once-a-week morning batch at St. Marks Road in Bengaluru. “We charge `500-600 for a drop-in class, and there are options to sign up for two-class and four-class packs, too,” she adds.

The sprightly young lady comes armed with not just BungFly training from Amsterdam, but has a plethora of spiritual and wellness certifications—from hypnotherapy, pranic healing, angel card reading, and Redikall healing to one in Thai and abdominal massage, hatha and yin yoga and craniosacral biodynamics work. Rumi’s saying, ‘let the beauty of what you love be what you do’ is her guiding thought and that’s the reason why she ventured into fitness when she started Dhurii in August last year.

“Dhurii means ‘axis’ and we see it as a representation of our goals—physically, mentally and spiritually,” explains Gulati.She is now focusing on setting up centres it different cities. “We are starting our first BungFly Teachers Training Course in Bengaluru in April and subsequently in Mumbai. The course has three levels—beginners, intermediate and advanced,” she says. After launching the bungee workout, Gulati has set her sights on bungee dance. So get ready to be buckled, strapped and ready to jive.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com