Fitness on the Dance Floor

Fitness on the Dance Floor

  • 25 Oct 2016
  • Rheanna Mathews
  • Features

Arunima Gupta of The Floor, speaks about her Zumba classes and how consistency is key to fitness

Words by Rheanna Mathews      Photographs from FWD Life magazine

 

Over the phone, she is effervescent; her energy and positivity somehow seem to seep into you and before long, you’re laughing with her like you’ve been friends for ages. A dancer by profession, Ms. Arunima Gupta began The Floor with Maria Roy in 2013, making Kochi her home, and she has only moved forward.

How did you get into fitness?

I’ve always been into fitness. I’ve been a contemporary dancer since I was 12. So as I was dancing, I was more aware of yoga and other forms of fitness. Zumba happened later on in life when I started The Floor in 2013. I wanted to find a fitness form based in dance and found Zumba and it was completely different and now I balance both my contemporary dancing and Zumba. It’s fun.

Did you always want your own studio?

That’s always been the plan. I have a dance performance troupe, ‘Aangik’ which I started in Hyderabad in 2009. When I came to Cochin and met Maria Roy, we had the idea of starting a school of dancers we could use for performances. But now, it’s become much more.

What response have your Zumba classes received?

It’s been tremendous, actually. From the very beginning, it’s been really, really good and the classes have always been full, though I see a lot more women enrolling than men, I don’t know why. (Laughs) Maybe because they shy away from dancing?

Do you have a role model? Someone you look up to, who inspires you to achieve more?

To be honest, I push myself to move forward. I’m a very self-motivated person. But there are many that I look up to and they’re all people I meet and deal with in daily life. It could be somebody who comes to the gym, it could be anybody. People in everyday life inspire me.

Is there a diet you follow? Do you think it is necessary?

I follow a simple diet usually. I’m not a tea or coffee drinker, thankfully. And I have my daily dose of honey and lemon every morning. A very natural diet, not something that you really look forward to; dal, roti whatever’s at home but I have small portions. I’m a very comfortable eater, I don’t say no to food all the time. I love chocolate and I don’t deny myself some, but I ration it. I also tell my clients this, to avoid snacking. And, I also stay away from fizzed drinks.

Do you get students from a particular age group?

I have students from a very broad spectrum, from all age groups. I have a lot of young people, and some of them are not even fat. Because Zumba is not just for those who are overweight and need to lose weight. It’s a way of keeping fit and it’s for everybody. I have a wide range of students coming to my classes, but nobody older than about 52. Some clients come to me, asking, how soon can I lose weight? Zumba isn’t something you do for a while until you shed enough kilos. Because as soon as you stop, all that weight will just pile back on. It’s something that you do to keep your body fit and you need to be consistent about it.

What would you say makes your classes special?

(Laughs) I think that’s a question for my clients. So this is something my clients tell me: that my classes are very positive, that they come out at the end of the class charged and with a lot of positivity. With Zumba, you can’t help but lose weight. That’s like a mantra. So that’s also something that affects people positively.

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