Vincent Braganza
Sarvesh Murgaonkar conducting Zumba session for Goa Police at Ganapati hall, Altinho.
Vincent Braganza
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Its a total body workout. Regular sessions of Zumba dance have the ability to reshape and refresh all parts of the body, like the hips, the arms, the heart and the mind
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Zumba: The fitness party and celebration
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Fitness training through music and easy to follow choreography has led to many finding Zumba the perfect means to attain fitness and a better way to exercise. Sarvesh Murgaonkar has been a Zumba trainer since 2014 and desires to have his own Zumba studio. Bharati Pawaskar visits a session to find out what the craze is all about
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Zumba fitness is a global lifestyle brand that fuses fitness, entertainment and culture into an exhilarating dance-fitness sensation. For Sarvesh Murgaonkar and his team, Zumba exercise classes are actually fitness-parties that blend upbeat world rhythms with easy-to-follow choreography, for a total-body workout that feels like a celebration.
“Research has found that one of the best ways to improve the condition of your cardiovascular system is by performing physical activity that stresses the heart and the best option in the world is Zumba dancing,” explains Sarvesh, a BBA in Travel and Tourism Management from 2011 batch. Counting the benefits of Zumba, he says it helps in weight loss by burning body fat. “It is one of the common reasons that people choose to join the group exercise classes such as Zumba. For the average person, engaging in Zumba dance workout for one hour will burn 600-700 calories.”
What is Zumba known for? It is stress reliever too. Zumba dance routines are all about releasing your inhibitions and losing yourself in the movements. It improves mood and one gains a positive self-image too. Zumba is an excellent option - it improves self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-image. It improves co-ordination and tones the abdominals. Many Zumba dance moves aid in working on the core abdominal muscles “ the girdle of muscles that gives the pelvis its strength and power. This means firmer abdominals and a lower risk of back pain.
“In short, it’s a total body workout. Regular sessions of Zumba dance have the ability to reshape and refresh all parts of the body, like the hips, the arms, the heart, and the mind,” states this 26-year instructor who loves dancing and thus embraced this type of fitness that combines dancing movements with exercises as a career and means of livelihood.
Sarvesh has been dancing since he was a kid of five and over the years, has inculcated and incorporated this habit into his lifestyle, making it a source of livelihood since 2014. He completed Kids Zumba certification in 2016. “I was basically interested in fitness training through music and found that Zumba was the perfect means for that,” he admits. His family supported his fitness endeavour and he plans to have his own fitness studio in Panaji with state-of-the-art musical equipment. Zumba incorporates the principles of interval training into every workout by using alternating fast and slow sequences to vary the intensity. It’s upbeat and fun. And it’s easy too. It offers non-intimidating learning environment. One can learn new dance steps in an easy-to-follow format.
Sarvesh started Zumba classes for the Goa Police five months ago and Navy a month ago. He now intends to do the same for the Army too. He also wishes to train children with special needs so that they can get maximum benefit out of this musical exercise. Sarvesh has been performing himself and also training others for the annual religious celebration organised by Bal Kala Sangh in Chimbel. “Ours is an organisation that is actively involved in offering a platform to the village children to exhibit their talents,” he shares, adding, “I feel every child in my village must get some platform to show his/her talent and have a talented person to guide them right from a young age.”
Sarvesh has been teaching Zumba to adults and kids in Goa. The teachers and parents of Lokchetana Primary School in Panaji are taking Zumba lessons from him since March 2015. This year in June, he included students above seven. He is certified to train kids between 7-14 years of age. The 7-11 year batch is known as Zumba Kids Jr and 11-14, Zumba Kids. He also has Zumba B1 licence. For 12-13 sessions a month, the fee structure for adults is between Rs 1500-2500 depending upon the type of exercises involves. For kids, the fees are lesser. In Goa there are around 50 ZIN and non-ZIN instructors, he counts. Sometimes few of them join hands to take a Master Class, which includes the clients of all coming together at one venue to do joint Zumba sessions. Sarvesh too takes such master class with Apeksha Rivankar, Siddhant Gadekar, Vaidehi Lotlikar and Anita Basarkatti.
It was three years ago that Sarvesh was introduced to Zumba and once mastered, he decided to teach others. Initially, it was a word of mouth publicity, especially when he was not certified to train others. Once he got his certification from Zumba Education Specialist (ZES) Suchita Pal, he began taking classes in Goa. The sessions are three days a week for any group and barring Sunday Sarvesh takes three sessions a day for all six days of the week for different groups - at Panaji, Goa Velha, Calagute and Verem. Isn’t that hectic? He nods in negative, “Not for me. I love Zumba and if I miss it for two or three consecutive days, I feel lethargic and tired. Zumba keeps me active, energetic and fresh.”
Saturdays are for the school kids. “Our kids enjoy the Saturday Zumba classes and look forward to attending them,” affirms Sita Sardesai, headmistress of Lokchetana Primary School in Panaji, where Sarvesh trains the teachers as well as parents during weekdays. It began with parents and teachers last year but this year from June, the kids also joined in, albeit, in separate sessions on weekends.
“The kids look forward for the end of the week. Their academic results are fantastic. The classes fill them with energy. They are offered nutrition advice too so that they maintain their energy level through the week. Zumba sessions bring out the hidden talents in them. They are pumped with confidence and their overall development is encouraging.
Citing his own example, Sarvesh recalls that he had a hobby of dancing since he was a kid of five. This hobby has now become his livelihood. Though Sarvesh has done BBA in Tourism Management and has three year experience in tourism under his belt, he was never happy with the odd duty hours in this field. Finally he decided to call it a day and quit. He remained jobless for six month and meanwhile joined Zumba classes. “With elements of music and dance, I found Zumba very relaxing. Once I learnt it I decided to make my career as a Zumba instructor and then I went to Mumbai to do the certification courses. After that there was no looking back,” he concludes.
