Lose Weight Learning Afghan Dance

One of the biggest problems with aerobics DVDs and dance workouts is that they quickly loose our interest and become boring and repetitive.  Additionally, I am sure I’m not the only one who to find that so many programs that claim to be cardio workouts spend too much time trying to exercise every muscle in your body rather than sticking to the main objective which is to give you a cardio workout. 

Qatagani Dance

After spending lots of money on a number of workout DVDs and quickly loosing motivation with each and every one, I found myself surfing Youtube for to find examples of dances that would present a challenge and at the same time would hold my interest.  Though there are so many interesting types of dances around the world, the dance that I discovered to be an instant cardio workout was a type of Afghan dance called Qataghani.  I discovered this dance type only after watching many Youtube videos and learning many different types of Afghan dances.

Though they are all very interesting and have different levels of intensity, Qataghani was the only dance that turned into a cardio workout within the first minute of doing the dance.  In fact, I did not encounter one video where the dancer could sustain the dance continually for more than five minutes without stopping to take a breather.  The reason this dance is so intensive is that the base foot movement is a small step that is done over and over in rapid succession.  This means that that you are constantly moving. Sometimes this step can give the appearance of gliding.  Furthermore, the speed of this step can increase with the rate of the music. 

In addition to being a great workout, Qatagani is also a very graceful and beutiful dance.  Though some may classify this dance as a form of belly dance, it is much easier to learn than most belly dances since the main dance components are using your feet and arms.  The secondary components of shoulders and hip movements can be added as you learn.  Dances that are traditionally considered a type of belly dance incorporate multiple movements all around the body at once which is not necessarily the case with Qataghani.