‘Animal flow’ bodyweight workouts that combine yoga, gymnastics and breakdancing will have you crawling, lunging, stretching and tumbling like a child

Bodyweight workouts which incorporate animal-like movements that flow into one another grew in popularity in India – and globally – during the pandemic

They require no equipment and can be done easily in online classes or real-life settings, to develop endurance, mobility, balance, flexibility, coordination and strength

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Sharika Katoch, 47, has been doing “animal flow” (AF) workouts for three years, and loves the sheer novelty of them. The bodyweight workouts require no equipment and can be done in a small space anywhere. Photo: courtesy of Sharika Katoch.

Published: 8:15am, 9 Apr 2022

She lunges across the floor on all fours like a side-travelling ape, then switches position to walk like a four-legged creature. Almost seamlessly, she stands on her head and stretches her body like a crab.

Sharika Katoch, 47, has been doing these “animal flow” (AF) workouts for three years, and loves the sheer novelty of them.

“AF includes primal movements such as a travelling bear, scorpion switch and crab reach. I never get bored, as I can switch between movements of my choice. Deciding on what might be the next best position engages both my mind and body.”

The New Delhi housewife says that, although she has been “working out for decades”, she’s never experienced a workout whose movements just flow into each other so gracefully.

Sharika Katoch, 47, a housewife in New Delhi, India, does an animal flow workout. Also known as “movement meditation”, they allow her “to be a like a child”, she says. Photo: courtesy of Sharika Katoch

“Unlike the boring planks, squats and lunges I’ve done for years, AF allows me to be like a child – crawl like a spider, stretch like a crab or walk like an ape. It is a great change from other workouts,” she says.

Designed as a fluid series of bodyweight movements, AF workouts are gaining popularity around the world. Created by American fitness trainer Mike Fitch, they involve shifting from one movement type to the next without knees or elbows touching the ground, and combine animal movement patterns with yoga, hand balancing, gymnastics, and even breakdancing.