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Neeta Lal

She lunges across the floor on all fours like a side-travelling ape, then switches position to walk like a four-legged creature. Almost seamlessly, she stands on her head and stretches her body like a crab.
Sharika Katoch, 47, has been doing these “animal flow” (AF) workouts for three years, and loves the sheer novelty of them.
“AF includes primal movements such as a travelling bear, scorpion switch and crab reach. I never get bored, as I can switch between movements of my choice. Deciding on what might be the next best position engages both my mind and body.”
The New Delhi housewife says that, although she has been “working out for decades”, she’s never experienced a workout whose movements just flow into each other so gracefully.

“Unlike the boring planks, squats and lunges I’ve done for years, AF allows me to be like a child – crawl like a spider, stretch like a crab or walk like an ape. It is a great change from other workouts,” she says.
Designed as a fluid series of bodyweight movements, AF workouts are gaining popularity around the world. Created by American fitness trainer Mike Fitch, they involve shifting from one movement type to the next without knees or elbows touching the ground, and combine animal movement patterns with yoga, hand balancing, gymnastics, and even breakdancing.


Experts say AF’s popularity has surged during the pandemic.
“When I started teaching AF four years ago, only a handful of Indians were aware of it. But now, I’ve clients from across many Indian cities joining my Zoom and studio classes,” says Devrath Vijay, co-founder of two Bengaluru-based fitness studios – Sweaty Ninjas and Academy of Strength.
“I also have international clients from nations as diverse as Australia, the US, Middle-East and Europe.”
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Vijay is one of two master instructors of AF workouts in India and 20 worldwide. He says demand for AF has risen because it requires no equipment.
“During the epidemic months, when all gyms and fitness studios were shut down, people took to AF because they could work out from the comfort of their homes without any fear of catching the virus. Even people who couldn’t afford to buy equipment could join in,” he says.
“Animal flow is aimed at developing endurance, mobility, balance, flexibility, coordination and strength, and allows endless creative options based on a basic set of rules.
“For people cooped up in their homes with limited mobility during the coronavirus spell, they worked really well,” explains Devrath.




















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Bollywood stars are hooked on it. Actor Varun Dhawan often posts about his AF workout on his Instagram account, which has over 40 million followers.
Actor Vidyut Jammwal has also endorsed the workout for its ability to improve stability, strength and mobility, unlike conventional gym workouts that isolate and work on a few muscles at a time.
According to Nyela Saeed Kapadia, a Mumbai-based fitness trainer, the biggest advantage is that AF can be done anywhere – “wherever you can create a little bit of empty space – in a tiny flat, park, terrace or beach. It doesn’t require any expensive props and can be done both online and in studios”.


Kapadia, 46, says it is especially beneficial for urban dwellers who are prone to sitting for long hours at their computers and who would rarely attempt any workout involving primal movements like crawling, stretching and walking like an ape.
The response to Kapadia’s AF workouts has been so good that she now incorporates AF into many of her other fitness regimes.
“Apart from addressing muscles and joints, AF also helps in right and left brain coordination, bolsters spinal health and improves agility.
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“However, the workout needs to be supervised by a trainer, as it involves highly precise movements that flow into each other. These need to be done correctly for optimal benefits. Incorrect posture can lead to more harm than good,” she cautions.
The trainer adds that crawling positions play an important role in humans’ early neurodevelopmental stages, and offer benefits in adulthood as well by engaging the core.
“Animal flow is also known as ‘movement meditation’ because it helps one improve both physical and mental health,” she says.

Because of the animal-like movements, the workout is enjoyed by children and old people, who don’t need to leave the safety of their homes to exercise.
“The only thing you need for animal flow is your body. It’s an important stress buster, as I’m able to strike a balance between home chores, taking care of kids and of my septuagenarian in-laws,” says Rajdeep Kaur, 50, a housewife.
Delhi-based fitness instructor Ruma Taneja, 38, says that one can just use one’s bodyweight and flow from one position to another, and that AF opens up the body to enhance its strength, stability, and mobility, speed, power and endurance.


“It can be customised to suit your goals and work on different limbs and angles of the body, further challenging one’s joints and muscles to perform at their optimal capacity,” Taneja adds.
Vijay explains that AF involves breathwork, too, so the workout improves endurance.
“It looks simple, but it is a science-based exercise and each and every movement and posture is designed to improve the functioning of specific joints and muscles,” he explains.
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When you get down on all fours to do the workout, Vijay says, you are going back to your primal self, the most natural physical state we can be in.
“It’s like a child crawling. So when our palms are touching the ground, millions of our sensory neurons are activated, heightening our awareness of our body.”
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Wellness

‘Animal flow’ bodyweight workouts that combine yoga, gymnastics and breakdancing will have you crawling, lunging, stretching and tumbling like a child

Sharika Katoch, 47, has been doing  “animal flow” (AF) workouts for three years, and loves the sheer novelty of them. The bodyweight workouts require no equipment and can be done in a small space anywhere. Photo: courtesy of Sharika Katoch. 

Sharika Katoch, 47, a housewife in New Delhi, India, does an animal flow workout. Also known as “movement meditation”, they allow her “to be a like a child”, she says. Photo: courtesy of Sharika Katoch

Nyela Saeed Kapadia, a Mumbai-based fitness trainer, doing an “animal flow” (AF) workout. Photo: courtesy of Nyela Saeed Kapadia

One of Devrath Vijay’s animal flow workout classes. Photo: Instagram/@ninja.dev

Devrath Vijay, one of 20 animal flow master instructors worldwide, who operates two fitness studios in Bengaluru, India.

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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Coronavirus


Bodyweight workouts which incorporate animal-like movements that flow into one another grew in popularity in India – and globally – during the pandemic
They require no equipment and can be done easily in online classes or real-life settings, to develop endurance, mobility, balance, flexibility, coordination and strength



One moment you move like an ape, the next a crab – AF, or animal flow, workouts that combine yoga, gymnastics and breakdancing have risen in popularity, with Bollywood actors among their fans.
