Yoga is garnering importance day by day. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi promoting it with due diligence, Yoga has turned into a fitness mantra in itself.
Not just the PM, but Bollywood celebrities including Shilpa Shetty, Kangana Ranaut and Soha Ali Khan propagate the vitality of yoga nad the benefits it beholds.
On the occasion of International Yoga Day on June 21, actress, recently turned author, and now a mother, Soha Ali Khan opened up about how she would always pick yoga over working out in the gym.
She has valid reasons for pursuing yoga devotedly, and it would be cloddish to miss it.
In an interview with Vogue India, Soha discloses why she turned to yoga.
"I first embraced yoga six years ago when I found my gym workout had become monotonous. I found that even though I was trim and toned, I was stiff and inflexible, especially my lower back and my hamstrings. I had read somewhere that the health of the body is in the elasticity of the spine, and so I turned to a qualified yoga instructor three times a week to increase my range of motion and to build my core strength," the actress said.
She also added that there are asanas for just about every muscle. Like for abdominal definition, there is something called as boat pose, for arm strength the crow pose, cat pose and downward facing dog for the back, and warrior pose and chair pose for a desirable derriere!
Soha Ali Khan soon realised that yoga would benefit her not only on the outside but also on the inside.
"Hormonal imbalances, insomnia, migraines and circulatory problems often plagued me. But I was surprised by the fact that it made me sweat and burn more calories than more traditional aerobic workouts. I set Yoga as a special workout on my Apple Watch so I could then observe my heart rate, which, whilst simply holding basic poses like the warrior pose was as high as when I was doing squats in the gym.
"I also found that a set of 100 Surya namaskars was equivalent to a cardio workout, burning approximately 500-750 calories," Vogue India quoted Soha as saying.
Soha also went on to say that once one is familiar with the basics, he/she can do it for free at home, sans any hectic exercise equipment, using one's own body weight for resistance and a mat.
According to the wife of Kunal Kemmu, is it not sensible to turn towards a comprehensive approach that combines strengthening and stretching poses with deep breathing and meditation?
Soha Ali Khan enjoys doing the ashtanga vinyasa (form) of yoga. over other forms. This form includes a series of poses that flow smoothly into one another and "leave you feeling inexplicably exhausted and rejuvenated at the same time".
So how as yoga helped the gorgeous actress and the mother of beautiful baby-girl Inaaya?
"When I was pregnant I was determined to stay in shape and to prepare my body for both the herculean task of labour and the hormonal hurricane it was going to be subjected to. Of course, we had to make certain adjustments to my yoga routine as my belly grew in size and my centre of gravity shifted. From the fourth month onwards, I did not do any poses that had me lying flat on my stomach or back and I had to be careful not to overstretch as pregnancy hormones loosen up your joints and make you vulnerable to injury," Soha told the magazine.
"At the end of each prenatal yoga class, I would be encouraged to listen to my own breathing, pay close attention to sensations in my belly and to bond with my baby. I could actually feel her most during these relaxation sessions and it was simply sublime," she added.
Soha Ali Khan continues to do yoga regularly.
In order to feel good at the outside and inside, keep diseases and problems at bay, shed pregnancy pounds, bring hormones back to a balanced state and to combat the stresses of life or being a new and paranoid mother, Soha highly recommends yoga to everyone.
