Bollywood Booty

Bollywood Booty by Hemalayaa

Okay. I am not a dancer. Other kids did potty dances; I did potty tapping of the foot.

But I loved Bollywood Booty. I did not feel overwhelmed or confused. It was just a good, basic booty workout with a Bollywood vibe.

Hemalayaa does a nice job of making the "Bollywood" component accessible for the nondancers.

The set is a bit over the top, giving it a lush harem feel. It is a little too crowded for my taste, but it does show you can do this workout in a small area.

There is Hemalayaa doing the workout with two backup worker-outers. Hemalayaa is in mid-calf length pants that are tight to her fabulous legs. Then the two backups are in oversized, flowing pants.

Hemalayaa does a voiceover for the workout. It was a bit annoying at first, but I soon got used to it. She has a soothing, lilting voice. It is loud enough to be heard over the music.

The workout. Nothing fancy. The fanciest move is the "swan," which is basically a figure 8 hip movement.

Because it is a booty workout, it is squats and lunges. If you can do a Leslie workout, you can do this easily. There is one ten-minute segment where there is jumping and turning your back on the TV screen. I just omitted the backward turn portion. You can easily keep your feet firmly planted and still get a good workout here.

The workout is four ten-minute segments. In each segment, you build up on the choreography in that segment only. There is some overlap of moves, but each ten-minute segment stands alone. While I wouldn't say there is TIFTing, there is definitely repetition. If that gets on your nerves, this may not be the workout for you.

The moves are simple, sashays, lunges, plies, squats. She does a Bollywood version of the curtsy squat which was fun.

Hemalayaa also constantly involves the upper body, something I really appreciate. Oftentimes in a Leslie workout I am making up stuff to do with my upper body. Now I have more moves to fall back on.

I carry a lot of tension in my shoulders and writsts due to my job. After doing this workout, a lot of that tension was released. It was really a nice bonus.

There is a faint, very faint, yoga-speak vibe in this workout. Nothing overbearing, no chanting, but there is talk of painting your universe and reaching in and finding you or so such. The cooldown is definitey yoga-like.

Filmed in high definition wide screen with authentic music, Hemalayaa pulls the viewer in with her "not too serious" attitude (she keeps everything light and fun). The set is pretty and colorful as is her outfit and her 2 assistants outfits.

The workout is chaptered so you can choose the warmup, workout 1, workout 2, workout 3, workout 4 and the cooldown (or choose play all). The dvd also has a bonus 7 minute classical Indian dance called Odissi. There are also 2 audio choices: music & instruction or music only.

Incorporating dance with traditional squats, plies and lunges, you'll burn calories and tone the entire lower body. You can choose to do the entire 45 minute workout or choose to do any one of the 4 quick dance segments. Very easy to follow, you'll quickly be able to pick up all the moves and add in your own personal style.

Lots of hip sashay's, big arms (using fun names such as snake arms and light bulb) and plies along with big bounces get the heart rate up without any impact (no shoes required). The twisting movements really work the core, especially the obliques. Hemalayaa does alot of tempo changes; you'll learn the move then mix it up with say a "single, single, double". The entire workout brings a very sensual, feminine way to exercise (and embrace) your body.