International Yoga Day 2022: Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt among fans of ancient practice

Yoga is an ancient practice that’s meditative at its core; performing it on the daily has many positive mental and physical impacts on the body. This International Yoga Day, Gulf News celebrated alongside stars Anushka and Akansha Ranjan in Dubai. Here’s a look at some other Bollywood actors who swear by their yoga workout.

Even when she was pregnant with her second child, Jehangir, Kareena Kapoor kept healthy and positive thanks to her ‘favourite spot’: the yoga mat. She is often seen on social media in various asanas. She’s apparently able to do 101 sun salutations, bhujangasanas and even trikonasana.

Malaika Arora has always been an example of fitness, from her days on the big screen - remember ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’? – to starting a chain of yoga and exercise studios. Arora, who made a guest appearance in Netflix’s ‘Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’, is a fan of yoga; reportedly, her favourites are Chakrasana, Virabhadrasana, and Bhujangasana. However, she’s no stranger to acro yoga, aerial yoga and power yoga.

Newly-wed star Alia Bhatt is known for her petite – and fit – frame. And the one thing she attributes this figure to is yoga. Bhatt has posted a number of photos of herself doing yoga; pictured above is Kapotasana or pigeon pose, which is supposed to strengthen the spine and brain.

Sara Ali Khan thinks that Yoga is the most ingenious way to stay fit. Like many Bollywood celebrities, Sara also loves practising yoga. Ali Khan, who now has one of the fittest bodies in the industry used to weigh 96 kilos once. She has been vocal about the benefits of yoga and continues to practice it regularly.

Rakul Preet often shares snippets of her fitness diary on Instagram and her pictures are proof of how much the actress loves doing yoga.

The late Sridevi’s daughter Janhvi Kapoor is often seen packing off to the gym to workout. Her posts often show her performing asanas such as Sirshapada Natarajasana.

Shilpa Shetty has developed a holistic health application that offers yoga and fitness programmes. This app is an amalgamation of passion for fitness and yoga, which she’s been doing for about 17 years. She says it has become an essential part of her life and that yoga has changed her life. The 47-year-old actress attributes yoga for her glowing skin and toned body. Today, she is launching a special built-in AI-feature in her Simple Soulful fitness app that will enable users to correct their posture.

Bipasha Basu ,the Bengali Beauty took to yoga around seven years ago, and ever since then has intensely devoted to it. Bipasha is into Ashtanga yoga, which is a more rigorous and demanding form of yoga focusing largely on one's breathing. The 41-year-old star has been raising awareness of the benefits of yoga and the importance of keeping active in the current times when taking care of one's health and well-being is extremely essential. Sonam Kapoor, who is pregnant with her first child, is known for her fashion - and her fitness, but did you know the actor once weighed 86 kg? The actor went through a major transformation after she was approached for her debut film 'Saawariya'. Once she got the film, she went on a strict diet plan and workout regime and ended up losing 35 kilos. Kapoot then got involved in power yoga and artistic yoga and received training in Kathak to accomplish a toned body. Today, she follows the same routine and exercises. She tries different workouts every day in order to keep her motivation high.

Apart from being an advocate for sustainable living, Dia Mirza practices Yoga regularly to maintain holistic wellness. Mirza believes in aligning the body with the mind and looking for calm in the bustling chaos of city life by practicing yoga and meditation.