Upala KBR (DNA; March 31, 2014)

Sushmita Sen is back in the news. The multi-talented actress is introducing a new fitness concept called Aerial Silk. Talking about it, the former Ms Universe explains how it all started, “I’ve had three really bad accidents on the sets. I injured my back terribly so working out was ruled out. The only exercise I did was physiotherapy and thereafter I had a very bad slipped disc in 2009 and so I put on tons of weight. It just led to a point where I was like ‘enough is enough’. I said to myself, ‘I can complain about a bad back for the rest of my life or I can do something about it’. So this young kid comes to me as my teacher with this unique new concept. He told me that the only thing I need to train is my mind and the body will just follow. And that changed my life.”

About the programme, she says, “I have been doing this for six years now. I can now remain suspended from the ceiling in mid-air. It’s impossible for someone with a back problem to do that. The Aeriel Silk programme helped me in strengthening my body and now I can do anything. Through this journey I found a fantastic concept to take to people. I wanted to promote something I believe in. So I am starting this studio called Inhale in an intimate controlled environment. It has no equipment and just 11 teachers and 12 students per batch. And we are going to teach you how to train with your own body weight so there is no dependence on machines or trainers. In just one month you can become adept.”

She reveals how she came up with the name for her studio. “It comes from the word inside and hale from healthy. I am very excited. I have an all girls Shakti team,” she says. The actress stresses that Aerial Silk is not yoga, pilates or aerobics. “It is a combination of many things — yoga, dancing, ballet, kalaripayattu as a form of martial art — all of it. We won’t teach you the actual martial arts but guide you to go forward if you like but we will teach you to train your mind to be able to do it. We have classes which involve yoga and aerial yoga. The experience will not be that of ‘going-to-the-gym’. It’s about you walking in and saying ‘I can never do that’ and then saying ‘Oh my God, I just did a rep of 10 of that in a month!’ So not only will you walk out with a more amazing body but you will actually walk out with a more determined mind and this is what Inhale is about. It’s all about getting a correct rhythm in breathing. It’s for men, women and kids. My little one, Alisa, will be joining the pre-ballet classes.

I hope it will encourage a lot of young people to take the concept forward — discipline the mind to make the body do anything it wants to. I am also hoping that a lot of housewives and young women who find gyms boring will join. Here they will be just doing doing 20 minutes of following your instructor.”

Sush adds that the programme will teach unique breathing techniques. “We have some really fabulous teachers who I am very proud of. It’s shocking as they are only in their 20s but they have already been in the business for the last 10 years. They are really driven young kids wanting to make a difference. Currently my office is being remodeled into a studio. We will also have open seminars for 200 people on the beach during weekends for free, to just come for the experience of Inhale. We have plans to move to a space of 30,000 square feet to incorporate more people. I just want people to be healthy and happy. A lot of times people look to external things to find themselves while you can find yourself within you. I want to tell everyone to just come and celebrate themselves.”