On International Day of Yoga, celebrities vouch for the ancient practice as the sure-shot route to fitness

Sheetal

It was our Prime Minister, Narender Modi’s speech in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014 which led the inception of International Day of Yoga. Since 2015, International Day of Yoga is being celebrated on June 21and it is a proud moment for Indians, as yoga is our gift to the world.

Bollywood celebs, including Deepika Padukone, Varun Dhawan, Malaika Arora, Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, Shilpa Shetty and Milind Soman, are the big promoters of yoga.

We talk to a few others and know what yoga means to them.

Listen to your body

I believe that ‘yoga adds years to your life and life to your years’. Always inclined towards doing yoga, I started two years ago and have never been better. It teaches you how to listen to your body. Lately I am enjoying my face yoga sessions.

Chitra Vakil Sharma, producer

Total routine

Suryanamaskar is my favourite, as each time I do it my body is rejuvenated. It brings so much flexibility and is also good for the mind. It includes everything and is a good 20-minute routine for everybody. I do 108 Suryanamaskars every alternate day.

Nikki Tamboli, actress

Teen love

I have been practising yoga since I was 17. It made me gain complete equilibrium. It just made me connect to universal forces and calmed me down. One of the most de-stressing things for me is when I meditate. I like doing Trikonasana.

Maninee De, actress

Power of fusion

While I have been advised by many friends to try out yoga, my go-to is weight-lifting and power-walking. So the fusion of weight-lifting and yoga asanas works best for me. I have been doing it for the past one year after my back surgery.

Somy Ali, actress

Flexible enough

I started doing yoga on alternate days before Covid. I got introduced to yoga through my friend in 2018. When I started, the main goal was to get a strong core and I wanted to be more flexible. It was really difficult at the start, as I couldn’t stretch and bend. It has been five years since I started doing yoga. My favourite is Uttanasana, which is highly recommended for flexibility.

Anuj Sachdeva, actor

Great for recovery

Yoga is very powerful and has helped me a lot. Three years back when I was suffering from a knee injury, had issues with my toe and back, yoga came to my rescue. Also, I had only five weeks to recover for Khatron Ke Khiladi. I think yoga played a very big part in me reaching the finale of KKK. So whenever I get time, I practice yoga. Pranayama, which is my favourite yogic practice, leaves you with a lot of confidence and that shows in your body language.

Balraj Syal, actor

Balancing act

My favourite yoga pose is Vrikshasana, also known as the tree pose. It is quite an easy pose and all about balance. It also strengthens your core muscles and is very beneficial. Initially I started doing yoga for fitness, but soon realised how calming it can be mentally as well. It’s extremely meditative.

Priya Banerjee, actress

Complete exercise

I have been doing yoga since childhood. In yoga, pranayama is the best. Yoga poses stretch every part of the body and pranayama helps in blood flow. Yoga makes the body flexible and skin supple. It is a complete exercise.

Nyrraa M Banerji, actress