Buti Yoga

In an era of ‘no pain, no gain’, yoga has been the only constantly evolving fitness form. With its mix of acrobatic stretching and serene meditation, yoga for many has been the perfect, low-impact workout for both body and mind. But then, the age-old traditional form of yoga that requires sitting cross-legged and some amorphous stretching and chanting Om now seems to be reserved only for the sadhus.

Calorie-scorcher
Founded by celebrity trainer Bizzie Gold in 2012, Buti Yoga is a calorie-scorching workout. A 75-minute class can apparently burn 800 to 1,000 calories. It’s practitioners say it not only fuses power yoga with cardio-intensive tribal dance and body sculpting primal movement, but also deeply engages your core for a toned tummy.

Buti Yoga is based on the SST (Spiral Structure Technique) which helps build muscles in a multi-dimensional way. It is a positive approach to fitness because it balances strength with flexibility and puts you in touch with your body at both a physiological and spiritual level, feel experts.

For yoga trainer Rina Hindocha, Buti Yoga is ‘just the latest health fad’

Designed for women
“Buti Yoga is a high intensity, yoga-based workout designed specifically for women. It is a hybrid of dance and yoga and mixes traditional yoga poses with pulsing and gyrating moves to tone the entire body while raising the heart rate. It’s fast-paced, fun, fierce, and feminine. Buti Yoga infuses “tribal dance” and “primal movements” to the mix, so there’s no telling exactly how effective the class is from a scientific point of view,” says yoga trainer Rina Hindocha.

Buti Yoga uses The Spiral Structure Technique to help sculpt and tone the deep abdominal muscles that stabilise and strengthen the body, say practitioners.

Not Yoga, say some
Despite its burgeoning popularity, there, predictably, are those who feel differently. “Buti Yoga definitely looks challenging and is another attempt at burning calories and looking good from the outside. But, why attach the term yoga to it? Yoga is a discipline, a holistic approach to feeling and looking good from the inside, too, which includes asana, pranayama and meditation. This one is a booty workout with music and dance and there’s nothing wrong with that, but please stop selling things in the name of yoga,” says Sakina Kapadia, a yoga expert.

“Humans are meant to move, so any activity that promotes movement is great for physical health. But, the journey of yoga is way beyond that and has nothing to do with what Buti Yoga has to offer,” feels Kamal Maliramani, yoga expert and founder of Energizer Yoga.

He further adds, “In yoga it is through knowledge, discipline, absorption, non-attachment and surrender to the universal force that we transcend the illusion of the mind and discover our true selves. That is the journey. Buti Yoga is just physical fitness. In fact, it gets you attached to your body and the way it looks or performs, which is simply not what yoga is about.”

Jennifer Love Hewitt credits Buti Yoga for transforming her body.

Risk of injury
Nevertheless, with its mix of tribal dance and hip-hop songs the new trend is here to stay. “This is definitely not some ordinary yoga practice. From the music to the attire, Buti won’t be like a typical yoga class. Buti is all about moving to the beat, so the songs are all about the beat, too. You will find a nice mix of tribal dance with hip-hop flair, woven through upbeat songs that keep the practice going strong from start to finish. Of course, with any movement there is the risk of injury. All the pounding of the feet without shoes might actually hurt the foot. So, for me it’s just the latest health fad,” stresses Rina.