Beyond the yoga CDs and YouTube videos, yoga has been a constant
part of Shilpa Shetty’s life for more than 14 years, helping her overcome
ailments, look the way she does and as a catalyst for positive internal change
It all began when Shilpa Shetty was diagnosed with cervical
spondylosis in 2003 and a physiotherapist recommended a regular practice
of bhujangasana. “I started reading up on it and realised that to
strengthen a body part, if you strengthen the muscles around it, that helps
prevent a recurrence. I actually believe that the practice of yoga and the philosophy
of yoga make you a stronger person,” said Shetty, adding that is not, however,
saying that one might never fall ill.
The art of everyday
Years of practice and study have made her a committed yogin and
Shetty admits that she can both see and feel the benefits of yoga. “It works
with the inside of your head, which in this time and age we all need help with,
because we are dabbling in so much stuff. I really think I am able to do much
more today because I am more alert and open to learning.”
People have said that the 42-year-old mother of a
five-year-old looks better today than she did during her heyday as a Bollywood
actress, seen in movies such as Baazigar and Dhadkan. The slim
and tall Shetty agrees. “Today, I continue to do yoga because I have reaped the
benefits, and when people compliment me and tell me that I still look the same
or maybe better, I must say I agree.” Shetty did not always live a healthy and
clean life. She admits to having wolfed down junk food and having had a
careless attitude to health. The turning point was the birth of her son Viaan.
“Once I reached 35, and then had my baby, I began to realise
that age takes a toll and your body will make a shift every 12 years. It’s a
process, but how you combat that process is entirely up to you. I have seen how
I looked when I was 30, and now, 12 years down the line, I feel I look much
better,” says Shetty, sitting cross-legged on a sofa in the opulent basement of
her Mumbai home.
Inner peace
Shetty’s yoga journey began with Ashtanga yoga, but
nowadays, she’s immersed in the Bihar school of yoga under the tutelage of
Eknathji. “This school comes with the thought of overcoming sorrow—the kind
your mind or your heart is hit with. You can come out of that with yoga,
because it is meant to holistically cure you inside out. Most other practices,
such as weight training or pilates, treat you from outside in.”
While Shetty gets time to practise only three times a week,
she ensures she finds 10 minutes every day for breathing, meditation and
chanting. “I am also into a lot of freehand core strengthening and functional
training—stuff I can do with my body. It is important to do weight training,
because as you age, you lose muscle mass and bone density. I got into a bit of
weight training, because a few years ago, I was diagnosed with mild osteopenia.
Once you realise you are borderline, you should start building muscle
immediately.”
Encouraged by a sporty father, Shilpa played volleyball and
learnt karate when she was younger. She credits her good genes to her father,
but she acknowledges the value of yoga in affecting other aspects of her life.
“I was someone who used to question things a lot, especially when they would
not go the way I wanted them to go. After yoga, you realise that this too shall
pass. It just calms you. Yoga also helps you control, makes you understand your
willpower and helps you shed your ego. The deeper understanding of yoga is that
if you put in effort, you will reach your goal. It opens up your body and you
reach levels that you didn’t think you could reach.”
Eat like a yogi
Shetty has also incorporated certain lifestyle
modifications, such as changing her mealtime and amending foods. She has a
light dinner at 7.30 pm, in order to give the body time to rest and reboot. She
also attempts to eat organic and is currently setting up an organic vegetable
garden in her backyard. “I try to stay close to clean eating and to grow my own
food. I am going to learn to farm in pots and grow my own doodhi (bottle
gourd), zucchini and bhindi (ladies’ finger),” says Shetty.
As the world is embracing yoga, closer home, zumba and pole
dancing workouts are gaining steam. “With due respect, I am sure they all work
for people, but if you have yoga and all you need to invest is your time and a
yoga mat, why not? You are getting three uses out of one art form. You don’t
need to warm up, you don’t need to stretch before and you don’t need to stretch
after. Yoga is all in one,” she says.
++Decode your yoga style
A peek into some of the most popular versions of this system
So you’ve decided to hang up your shoes and twist your way
to good health instead? Or are recovering from an injury and are looking for an
activity that hastens the healing? Maybe you plan to use it as cross-training
for another sport, want to improve your flexibility or simply need to de-stress
on your mat?
It doesn’t matter what brings you to yoga, the point is you
have decided to try it out. But with the mind-bogglingly long list of styles,
variations and hybridisations of the practice out there, it can be somewhat
intimidating for a relative newbie.
As someone who has been dabbling in yoga, on and off, for
the last decade or so, I firmly believe one should begin their yoga journey
with a practice rooted in tradition. It helps understand alignment and breath,
instils discipline and opens your heart, mind and body slowly but surely, as
you go deeper into the practice.
Here are some of the most well-known traditional styles out
there. So choose the one that suits you the best and start om-ming.
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga
Codified by K Pattabhi Jois
This is an intensely dynamic, physically demanding practice,
in which the breath is synchronised with a progressive, continuous number of
postures ( this integration of movement and breath is called a vinyasa). Asanas
are performed in a set sequence or series, and one is “permitted” to move to
the next one only when they have mastered the previous one.“It is a great style
for a home practitioner,” says Bengaluru-based Prasad Bhatdundi, who teaches in
this style. It is also fantastic for the travelling yogi, he says. “You can go
anywhere in the world and attend an Ashtanga class, as the format of the class
stays the same, independent of the teacher,” he adds. It is a style that
requires patience and dedication—it often takes years even to complete the
first series—but its benefits are manifold, believes Bhatdundi.
Hatha Yoga
Believed to have evolved from ancient yogic traditions
dating back centuries
Hatha Yoga isn’t strictly a style of yoga—it is an umbrella
term for any system that uses postures, breathwork and dietary regulations to
prepare one for higher possibilities, says Chennai-based Divya Srinivasan, who
has been teaching Classical Hatha Yoga for over 15 years.
However, if a studio specifically offers you a Hatha class,
what can you expect? “A traditional Hatha yoga class is structured to cleanse
the body of toxins, help you breathe better and make your body supple and
strong,” points out Srinivasan. According to her, the possibilities of
exploration within a class are endless.
You may have a Hatha class that focuses on asanas that
stretch the hamstrings and the back, for instance. Or ones that help cultivate
balance, better breathing or upper body strength. One thing is constant though:
a Hatha yoga class will, “help one appreciate the body’s innate intelligence
and discover its potential,” she says.
Iyengar Yoga
Named after and developed by BKS Iyengar
Say Iyengar Yoga, and the first thing that will pop into
your head is, “Isn’t this the yoga that uses props?”While Iyengar did introduce
props to enable students to practise with greater ease, confidence and
stability, the practice itself is much more than props. “It is not so much
about the props; it is about alignment,” points out Bengaluru-based Pragya
Bhatt, who teaches and practises in the Iyengar style.
Perfect alignment ensures that you don’t injure yourself,
she says, adding that it is an accepting practice that can be modified to suit
all levels of practitioners.
Poses are held for longer periods of time here, and so
taking an Iyengar class a couple of times a week could be hugely beneficial to
students who prefer more fast-paced practices, believes Bhatt. “Studying the
asana so closely will add depth to their practice,” she says.
Sivananda Yoga
Based on the teachings of Swami Sivananda Saraswati and
Swami Vishnudevananda
The Sivananda training system revolves around five main
principles referred to as the Five Points of Yoga. These include asanas,
breathing, relaxation, diet and positive thinking, that come together to create
a system that “aims at naturally achieving the goal through creating a healthy
body and mind that leads to spiritual evolvement,” says the organisation’s
website.
According to Chennai-based Mansi Gandhi, a certified yoga teacher
of the Sivananda style, a typical class is fairly structured. It begins with a
pranayama, segues into surya namaskars and 12 basic asanas and finishes with
deep relaxation.
“It is a really accessible system,” she believes, adding
that the system could be tailored to meet the requirement of people across
different fitness levels pretty easily. “You can tailor-make the practice
without destroying its spirit,” she says.
Bihar or Satyananda School of Yoga
Founded by Swami Satyananda
Yoga nidra will take you into a state of consciousness,
midway between sleep and wakefulness, inducing absolute relaxation. “It was
Swami Satyananda who constructed this immensely popular and effective
practice,” explains Pradeep G Gowda, the founder of the a1000yoga chain of
studios, and a graduate from the Munger-based Bihar School of Yoga.
Meditation is an important aspect of this school
and the Satyananda Yoga system has a number of meditation techniques that
deepen awareness, “It is one of the only two Kriya yoga schools in India,”
explains Gowda. A class is a balance of various spinal movements and pranayama
practice and the teacher sits in the front watching, observing and guiding
every student, says Gowda who refers to it as, “a holistic, integral approach”.