I've stopped running my Pungra classes at Better GLL. The reason is that my vision for Pungra and what Better GLL wants for their centres have grown apart.

What I want Pungra to be

From the very start, Pungra was never meant to be one more slot on a gym timetable. I want these classes to be genuinely family-oriented — spaces where a parent, a grandparent, and a teenager could all reasonably be in the same room, moving to the same music, without any of them feeling like the odd one out.

That's a specific vision, and it doesn't always fit neatly into how a large commercial leisure operator needs to run its centres. Better GLL runs excellent facilities for a huge range of people, and my particular vision for Pungra needs more room to grow than that structure currently allows. So rather than sand down the edges of what I actually want to build, I've decided to step back and build it properly first.

What I'm doing instead

I haven't stopped teaching entirely. I'm still running my Tuesday class at Northwood School, 6PM to 7PM, and for now, that's staying as my only weekly class — deliberately. I'd rather keep one class running really well than spread myself thin trying to hold multiple slots together while everything else behind the scenes is still being built.

Here's what "everything else" actually is:

1. The Pungra Instructor Certification programme. This has been in the works since 2012 — a proper, rigorous pathway built with checkable credentials behind them: a recognised fitness qualification, insurance, a music licence, the lot. I want certification finished and solid before I start opening more classes.

2. Some educational books. A novel, Fell In Love With Bhangra, following one woman's real journey from a bored, restless fitness routine to building her own class from nothing. An audiobook on managing body fat, Fat Is Your Superpower, making the actual case for why "eat less, move more" alone so often fails people, and what the science says instead. And a recipe book, Eat To Energise Or Release Fat, with real, practical meals and ready-made shopping lists to go with them.

3. This new web site. This will build out with community features, workout videos and many more elements to help support people on their exercise to Punjabi music journey.

My timeline

I'm aiming to have all of this — certification and books — properly finished by the end of 2026. From there, the plan is to open two new classes in 2027, within the borough of Hillingdon.

I appreciate your patience while I get this right rather than rushed.

I hope you enjoyed reminising over some of the photos from over the last 2 years.

Stay informed

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Ravi Sandhu