Yoga is a bodyweight workout routine. No wonder, it does wonders in strengthening and toning your muscles, and breathing calm into your minds. On International Yoga Day (21st June), let’s take a look at how our B’wood celebs have embraced yoga as a part of their fitness regimen.
1. Malaika Arora
One look at her Instagram and her love for yoga and overall fitness becomes crystal clear. A strong proponent of yoga, she has talked about how her routine can be classified into 3 simple steps – Moving, Breathing , and connecting. Move includes physical exercises like yoga, breathing refers to breathing techniques that keep her mind calm and improve lung capacity, and connect through meditation, irrespective of its time span. And the results are fabulous to say the least. Some of her favourite asanas include Parivrtta Trikonasana with a stick, Utkatasana, Parivrtta Utkatasana, Ashwa Sanchalanasana, and Natrajasana.
2. Shilpa Shetty Kundra
Shilpa is an ardent advocate of the traditional Hatha Yoga, which is an integral part of her fitness regimen. This form of yoga combines asanas with mindfulness and breathwork. It specialises in bringing balance and strength to the body and the mind by channelling the vital force of energy. Tolasana (Scale Pose), Shirshasana (Yoga Headstand), Eka Padasana (One Leg Pose), Vrikshasana (Tree Pose), and Mayurasana (Peacock Pose) are some of the yoga poses that she swears by.
The diva devotes a few minutes of her fitness routine to Tratak Meditation, an ancient practice that is known for not only being a stress-buster but also strengthens eyesight, reduces unwanted thoughts, and improves concentration and the quality of sleep. The gorgeous beauty recommends the Gatyatmak Uttanpadasana or The Raised Leg Pose for post-partum women because it is one of the best exercises for the lower abdomen. It strengthens the pelvis, hips, and legs, along with the perineum muscles. It also enhances the functionality of the reproductive organs and powers the walls of the uterus post-childbirth.
3. Kareena Kapoor Khan
Kareena practises Bikram yoga and was known to do 101 Surya Namaskaras everyday. Now, she practises 40 of them in a room where the humidity is regulated at 40%. Apart from Surya Namaskaras, her yoga routine includes Virabhadra for sinewy legs, Bhujangasana for a strong back, and Naukasana for those washboard abs. A huge fan of comfy and well-fitted activewear, her Instagram handle gives us a glimpse of her love for yoga. She never misses out on mentioning it while talking about her fitness regimen.
4. Alia Bhatt
An ardent fan of yoga, it is one of the primary reasons why she got back her pre-pregnancy body and fitness after having baby Raha. Poses like Utthita Vasisthasana, Naukasana, Vrikshasana, Uttanasana, Dhanurasana, and Ashwa Sanchalanasana are some of her favourites. Utthita Vasisthasana introduces balance in the body by strengthening the arms, legs, and abdomen, while Naukasana strengthens the abdomen and enhances the health of the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Vrikshasana improves balance and endurance, Uttanasana is for digestion and relieving stress, and Dhanurasana specialises in improving posture and overall strength of the body.
5. Deepika Padukone
Deepika is partial to yoga because of the plethora of benefits that has given her throughout the years of her stardom and even before. It has contributed to how fit and healthy she is today. Apart from ensuring a toned body, yoga has breathed a semblance of balance to her body and mind, improving her stamina, boosting her concentration, and proving to be a stress-buster. Her yoga sessions include Surya Namasakara (10 cycles), Marjariasana, Sarvangasana, Virabhadrasana, followed by deep breathing, pranayama, and meditation.
6. Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Despite having moved to the US, the sultry lady is a fan of everything India – hair care, skin care, and fitness. And when you mention desi fitness, yoga is our pride. Priyanka sets aside two days for a thorough yoga routine every week. She swears by it because it helps her maintain balance between her mind and her body, keeps her flexible, exercises her muscles, helps her build strength, tones her body, and boosts her mental health. Some of the yoga poses she loves practising are Vrikshasana, Veerabhadrasana, and Ardha Matsyendrasana.
7. Anushka Sharma
Anushka has maintained time and again that yoga is a big part of her life. One of her favourite asanas is the super difficult Chakrasana that is known to strengthen arms, spine, abdomen, and legs all at the same time. It also does wonders in opening up the chest, and stretching the glutes, hips, thighs, and shoulders. During her pregnancy, she kept her yoga game strong, as was evident from her Instagram posts. She followed the advice of her doctors, who encouraged her to continue with her yoga routine, so long as she does not practise the ones that involve twists and extreme forward bends, and along with the necessary support. And she followed the doctor’s advice to the T.
8. Shraddha Kapoor
The star balances her heavy cardio routine with yoga and pilates. Both of which help her work on strengthening her core muscles and maintaining a stable physique. Whether she is on a strict diet during a shoot or on a vacation, there’s no stopping this girl from sticking to her yoga regimen. That hourglass figure doesn’t appear out of the blue, does it? And to get that, she toils hard at her fitness session and yoga is an indispensable art of it. One of her favourite poses include Svarga Dvijanasana. The diva practises asanas (Hatha Yoga), kriyas (cleansing techniques), restorative yoga, guided relaxation poses, and pranayama.
9. Sonam Kapoor Ahuja
Sonam came clean about her struggles with PCOS a few years back. And she believes that yoga has a hand in keeping her health condition under control. Yoga works as a wonderful stress-buster, which is what women with PCOS need as treatment. The advantages that she reaps from practising yoga is immense and, hence, she encourages everyone to include it in their daily fitness regimen. She cannot have enough of meditation and breathing exercises to keep her free from stress, be it mental or environmental.
10. Parineeti Chopra
This girl loves her morning yoga routine and cannot have enough stretching, deep breathing exercises, and meditation. In fact, she is addicted to stretching because of how they boost her physical and mental health. Parineeti is a fan of Ashtanga yoga-lates – a combination of the best stretches from yoga and core exercises from Pilates. She has been practising this for many years now, which is evident from the toned body that she flaunts now.
11. Sara Ali Khan
Yoga is one of the reasons why Sara managed to reduce her weight from 96 kgs that she was during her New York days. Now, she is by far one of the fittest beauties in B-town and practising yoga definitely is one of the reasons behind her slim and trim avatar. One quick look at Sara’s Insta handle and it is strewn with images of her fitness routine – quite a few of them with her in varied yoga postures! A proof of how she swears by it. One of her favourite yoga poses is Vrikshasana.
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