Have you done troga yet?

The first time you might have heard of Troga was in a sitcom, where one character, Mitch, asks the other character Claire who’s on a treadmill, “You never heard of Troga?”

Since then, in the past one year, it has become one of the most popular forms of workout and has got an amazing number of practitioners in the West. It is one of the many spinoffs of the yoga forms, which includes bike asana, spin yoga session and striking yoga poses on the treadmill.

Says Anandi Rai, a yoga expert who also conducts classes online, “Troga is a combination of resistance training and yoga. The technique involves a lot of TRX (total body resistance exercise). It uses ropes and webbings as props. These suspension ropes are attached firmly to the ceilings and you perform strength training exercises using your own body weight as the base. Resistance training in itself is strenuous. When you combine it with yoga, it can turn out to be the best form of workout.”

Developed by two Australians, rugby player Ben Lucas and yoga expert Kate Kendall, troga exerts full pressure on your abdominals, but doesn’t affect your joints. “This is a great form of exercise for those who are in sports. Even beginners can benefit from it,” adds Anandi. Shruti Singh, a marketing professional who shuttles between LA and Chennai, has tried out a few sessions of troga. She states, “The main advantage of troga is that you are supported by ropes. So, you can perform the most difficult of resistance training, including tricep curls, without the fear of hurting yourself. You also feel free to stretch harder when you move on to traditional yogasanas.”

So, how long before troga finds patrons in the country? Dr Amrapali Patil, yoga, fitness and weight management expert, says, “There have been several yoga trends — be it power yoga or hot yoga that created waves among fitness-conscious people here. So, it wouldn’t be too long before troga too makes inroads. It’s a great combination of strength training and yoga, and sounds beneficial too. But in a scenario where traditional yoga methods are favoured, it’s difficult to say how far this fad would be successful in sustaining itself.”