By Somdeb Basu
Brand Director, Reebok India
Until I turned eight, I had eaten exactly three ice-creams in my life. Not because my parents were worried about my dental health but because I was a perennially sick child. I fell sick at the slightest provocation. As we say today, ‘my immunity had gone for a toss!’
Seeing my plight, my mother’s friend who was a yoga instructor offered to teach me yoga. For the first two years, it was the last thing I wanted to do but eventually as the ice-creams started flowing in, I realized yoga was responsible. It transformed my life from miserable to enjoyable and soon I was in a position to flaunt my strong immune system.
Since fitness was introduced to me at a very early age, it has stayed with me till today and I feel great to head a fitness brand because it comes so naturally to me.
Last winter, my colleague wanted me to join him at six in the morning for something that he described as “interesting in Gurgaon.” In the morning, it was dark and we were standing in the biting cold on a 5 km stretch of road that had been converted into a ‘non motorized vehicle zone’ by the Gurgaon police to help an NGO. Quite impressed, we started our search for the bright and healthy organizers of the initiative. The next thing we knew was that we were the official fitness partners of Raahgiri – a never before seen initiative by the people of Gurgaon.
With the mission to motivate people to take up fitness seriously, we started yoga sessions at Raahgiri. The first few times, we would just stand on the road and call people to come join us and induce in them a habit of working out but the task was not easy. We had to break the ice so we ourselves joined the classes and the instructor would teach just the two of us – me and my colleague. Gradually, people took notice and between postures we waved at them and invited them to join. Some would join while the others would just walk past saying, “Do you think respectable people will do yoga on the streets with 100 eyes ogling?” After a few rounds of classes, more people started pouring in.
In the initial week, around 50 people were working out with us. As time flew, the number went up to as high as 300. Continuing with the sentiment of the people and their excitement, ‘we introduced aerobics classes and Cross Fit sessions’. The biggest hit in the series were our dance classes that attracted an enthusiastic age group ranging from 5 to 80.
I love working out in the open every Sunday. It makes the entire excursion an interesting activity and is so much better than exercising in a regular claustrophobic gym. It also gave us an amazing opportunity to let thousands of people get fit with us. Now as I write, we are already reaching out to many more lives in different cities and constantly inspiring them to be ‘fit for life’. It is time for yoga! Out of the box – out of your room as open is the new cool!
Feedback: somdeb.basu@reebok.com
