CORE CONCERN

Namrata has been into sports from a young age, being a national-level squash player and a state-level football player. At the mere age of 16, she became the youngest ever Stott Pilates trainer. Her family history includes her father, Samir Purohit, who has found Pilates to be a life-changing experience. Together, they co-founded their Pilates Studio which has become a hub for celebs to achieve their fitness goals. Her extensive Bollywood clientele includes names like Malaika Arora, Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Varun Dhawan, Bipasha Basu and Arjun Kapoor, to name a few. We talk to the trainer, as she opens up about her fitness mantras

PILATES IS GOING TO GIVE YOU THE STRENGTH OF A WARRIOR BUT THE LEAN AND FLEXIBLE BODY OF A DANCER. SO IT’S THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BOOK, THE LAZY GIRL’S GUIDE. YOU WERE ONLY 20 WHEN IT WAS PUBLISHED Funny story: I was driving home from college one day. I got a call from Random House, India, and they said, “Hi Namrata, This is Random House India; would you like to write a book for us?” I thought someone was playing a prank on me. I literally didn’t know what to say and cut the call. I called my mom, I was 16 and didn’t realise Random House is such a huge publication house. My mom was like, “It’s huge; please call them back and talk to them.” So I called them back and they again said, “Would you like to write a book for us?” I was like, “Yeah, I haven’t written a book before but sure, I can try.” I actually love writing. I write a lot of poems. I wrote the book at 17 or 18. The book was published when I was 20 and I never thought I would author a book. I loved writing it. I guess more are to come. Especially now, I am hoping to write a book almost 10 years after my first book. There have been a lot of experiences, and a lot of things I have learnt during this period, which have evolved my thought process.

WHO WAS YOUR FIRST CELEBRITY CLIENT, AND HOW DID YOU TURN INTO A CELEBRITY PILATES TRAINER?

The first few celebs I trained were Manasi Scott, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bipasha Basu and Malaika Arora. Malaika’s been with me for more than 10 years now. These were the first few people who came to me. It was all word of mouth. It wasn’t like we did any marketing. We had someone walk in, they liked it, they told someone—that’s just how it went. Just like a domino effect. And touchwood, a lot of people have trusted us with their fitness journeys, from the sports world to the film industry in general. It is quite amazing. You get to meet so many different people from different walks of life and you help them on their fitness journey and achieve their goals.

SARA ALI KHAN, JANHVI KAPOOR, ADITYA ROY KAPUR, VARUN DHAWAN, KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN AND MALAIKA ARORA—ALL A-LISTERS ARE YOUR CLIENTS. HOW DOES YOUR TRAINING DIFFER FROM PERSON TO PERSON?

For the first class, I would look at their body type, their goals, how much time they have in hand, what their look might be for a certain role or film, and what their body is required to do—maybe a dance?

Janhvi had to do a cricket film, so her exercises revolved around her getting an athletic build. It depends on all these things. Also, their general body type and their lifestyle. Once you start seeing people’s body types, postures, goals, and lifestyles, you put all that together and design a workout based on all these four aspects. Each person is different. They have different lifestyles on different timelines. So I consider all these things, put them together, and see what might work best for them. The most important thing is that they achieve their goals in a sustainable way. It should not be that it can cause injuries. It should be an enjoyable journey. It should make them achieve their goals but leave them energised. So keeping all these things in mind, I plan the workouts.

CELEBS LIKE MALAIKA ARORA ARE WELL AWARE OF DIFFERENT FITNESS REGIMES. DO YOU TAKE IN THEIR INPUT AS WELL?

Over the years, we have all seen Malaika as someone who is focused and dedicated. I started training Malaika when I was 16 or 17. She was quite established and someone we all looked up to in terms of fitness,.When I started training her, the one thing I learnt the most was that consistency pays off more than anything else. She is also someone who eats and understands her body and is not afraid of listening to her body and taking a day off. She’s in tune with her body. At a young age, seeing that, I was like, “Yeah, it is important to listen to your body because see how it is repaying her now.”