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DVD Review: Beautiful Belly With Hemalayaa

FitSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Remember Hemalayaa, the woman who did The Dance of the Kama Sutra DVD and Bollywood Burn? Well she's back with this Beautiful Belly ($15) workout. She begins with a 6-minute cardio warm-up that's refreshingly quick-paced to raise your heart rate up immediately. Then Hemalayaa moves on to three 12-minute dance workouts you can do all at once, or choose one if you're pressed for time. Since most ab work tends to involve staying in one place, I was pleasantly surprised that this video involved so much action, and I really felt it in my core.

What I loved most about this video is that it didn't feel like exercise, but that I was on stage as the star of a dance musical. She encourages you to smile, laugh, enjoy life, and be proud of your body. While Hemalayaa is slightly corny, her sweet and encouraging personality is so endearing that you can't help but dance with her. Don't worry about being bored since the movements are so swift and sexy; you're too busy kicking, bouncing, shimmying, and stretching to lose interest. Plus all this moving around also ends up working your thighs, booty, hamstrings, shoulders, and back, not just your belly.

To see a clip of The Ellen DeGeneres Show with Hemalayaa as a guest this past Monday read more.

And here's a clip of the DVD:

Bollywood Makes Big Sissy Of Superman

GiggleSugar — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 01:00:00 -0700

It's a bird...it's a plane...it's a hormone driven, Bollywood Sissyman! Yes, that's right folks. Someone mistranslated the memo about Superman being a "superhero," because the Bollywood version is more like a super-zero. He may be able to fly, but he spends more time dancing and trying to make a move on Spiderwoman than he does fighting off any bad guys. Some Superman.

Hey Everybody, It's the Condom Song!

GiggleSugar — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 02:30:00 -0700

This just in from the Bollywood PSA vault: the 6-minute long condom song. It's got animation, sing-a-long lyrics, wacky mascots, and even a dancing chorus, but I'm not sure if a guy dressed as a condom and issuing threats is gonna do the trick...

Fitness Trend: Bollywood Dance Classes

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:30:00 -0800

It looks like I'm not the only one trying new ways to work out in 2009. Bollywood-style dance classes are catching on throughout the country, and people are loving the mix of traditional Indian folk dances with hip-hop moves. From New York to Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta, studio owners say they are having to add classes to meet increased demand.

Students learn Bollywood dances and are exposed to a culture they may not be familiar with, which makes the classes even more appealing for some. We can expect to see Bollywood dance classes appear on a bigger scale in the fitness world, and I think would be a fun way to get moving. While the classes are expanding in many places, they may not be available yet in your area, so take a peek into the hype with Bollywood workout DVDs.

Source

Move It at Home: the Bollywood Dance Workout

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:45:00 -0700

I love Bollywood music and I love dancing so I was super excited to try the Bollywood Dance Workout that I found on the Acacia website. I have to say it was pretty fun and it got me moving, though the program and instruction are fairly loose. There's not a lot of explanation of the movements or the routine. Unencumbered by details of the dance, you start moving and you stay moving. The entire DVD builds up to a free form dance jam at the end of the 50ish minute workout. You learned the moves now you get to put them to practice.

The Bollywood Dance Workout is playful and it is fun, exactly what a dance workout should be. Since you are dancing in the privacy of your own living room there is no one to mock you if you look silly, except maybe your cat or dog.

The workout is more in the high impact aerobic vein than anything I have done recently and if you have knee issues this might not be for you. There is a lot of deep knee bending and squats in the dance portion. The DVD does include a nice warm-up and a yoga inspired cool down, though.

This DVD definitely inspired me to dance and I want to see if I can find some classes on Indian Dance in my area, or maybe even a Bollywood style exercise class. If you are looking to get more world dance moves into your boogie vocabulary, you should check this DVD out.

Buy it from Acacia for $14.99. Try it before you buy and put it on your Netflix queue.

New Exercise Trend: Masala Bhangra

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:20 -0700

Last week we talked about the new workouts you wanted to try and today we're adding another to the list: Masala Bhangra. For those of you not familiar with Masala Bhangra, it's similar to the energetic dance numbers seen in Bollywood cinema and the worldwide hit Slumdog Millionaire.

Created by expat Sarina Jain, the hour-long cardio workout incorporates sliding steps, squats, jumps, turns, and lots of hand and wrist movement set against upbeat modern Bhangra music - a percussion-based genre that sounds like a mash-up of hip-hop and classical Indian music. The instructors are extremely motivating and the class environment feels more like a fun party than a workout regimen.

Jain first introduced the workout through a series of tapes in the 1990s but as she sensed the growing interest in Indian culture, she decided to teach classes as well. If you are a fan of dance workouts, give Masala Bhangra a try. It's a great way to burn 500 calories.

If you have done this workout, I'd love to hear what you think of it . . .

Misheard Bollywood Music Lyrics

GiggleSugar — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 13:00:00 -0700

We featured a "loose translation" of this popular Bollywood song a while back, but the following is the misheard lyrics version. If we believe everything our ears tell us, then the Bollywood bandwagon seems like a kinky good time! The unfashionable blue jeans and multi-colored t-shirts aren't workin' for me, though...

Bollywood Idol, Anyone?

GiggleSugar — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:00:00 -0700

Mr. Lover-Lover here is auditioning for "Pop Stars: The Rivals," a UK show with mission to create two competing pop groups. Although he's entertaining, something tells me our guy ain't gonna make the cut. But methinks he has Bollywood written all over him. Without further ado, ~~drum~~ hip roll please...

What Playing with a Wii Looks Like

GiggleSugar — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 02:00:00 -0800

I take it this is a very rough translation of the original singing in this Bollywood clip. People really do look like this with a Wii, though. I just wish they put it down their pants the way Jason Chen of Gizmodo does.

Name That Dance!

GiggleSugar — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:40:33 -0800

I have a new category for GiggleSugar: the "Say What?" category. The following fits in perfectly. What would you call the dance the little guy in this video is doing? Whatever it is, I think it might be the new "Macarena."