This asana is cool!

Manpriya Singh

Of course Baba Ramdev needs just a saffron wrap-around loin cloth to do every imaginable pose ever conceived in yoga. If that’s a barometer, Sonam Kapoor wore a pristine white kurta pyjama for a yoga scene in the film Ayesha (where fashion was the script). But looking fashionable for a yoga session need not vacillate between the two extremes. A cursory look at what to wear for a yoga session and while we are at it, the international celebrities who’ve made carrying the yoga mat a cool affair. Before we do that; something to amuse the anti-yoga clan. Hear it from Chris Rock—Why do people do yoga? To clear their minds? I embrace the clutter in my head.”

Celebrities in love with yoga

Revival mode
David Beckham
Way back in 2010, there were news all over on how the footballer was trying to save his career through yoga. And then we even heard about his wife Victoria doing yoga too. David Beckham is admittedly a fan of spinning classes and even Bikram Yoga after he was introduced to the practice by none other than Bikram Choudhury himself.

Open secret
Miranda Kerr
The Victoria Secret model swears by alkaline diet, biking and yoga.  It’s said that she religiously practices 30 minutes of yoga daily to stay the way she does.  Her YouTube videos on yoga are already viral.

Calming effect
Jennifer Aniston
The Friends star is quite a fan of the practice. She summed up the benefits of the practice quite aptly when she popularly said, “Yoga calms me down. It’s a therapy session, a workout and meditation all at the same time!” It is said that she practices yoga at least five sessions a week and it has also helped her quit smoking.

Truly inspiring
Gwyneth Paltrow 
Many years ago before even the International Yoga Day was coined and invented by the United Nations, Gwyneth Paltrow popularly spoke about the practice as to how, “Ashtanga yoga has completely changed me. I try to do it every day and the effect is amazing. It’s not just during the hours that I’m practicing. It’s about how it filters through into the rest of my life. It makes all the other ******* dissipate.” 

Metaphor for life
Madonna
Even though yoga didn’t stay in her life forever; it can’t be discounted that she popularly, way back in 1998 on Oprah Winfrey Show, swore by yoga saying how, “Ashtanga yoga is a metaphor for life.”

True proponent
Lady Gaga
Yes, we’ve all heard about how she strips down to bare minimums for her hot yoga sessions. But what’s often overshadowed is the fact that the lady has been a proponent of Bikram Yoga since as early as 2005. Much before it became this popular. 

Overcoming addiction
Robert Downey Jr 

Oh! The Iron Man owes some of his sturdiness to the ancient practice. Who doesn’t know about his difficult battle with addiction? He shared it all in a men’s magazine as to how he stayed clean with help from trainer yogi Vinnie Marino. 

manpriya@tribunemail.com

Comfort & fashion

Enough said about gym fashion. Yoga might be an ancient practice but it need not be performed in befitting costumes. Only cool outfits. 

Kompal Gaur, Reebok master trainer, lists out a very simple guideline, “The ideal yoga-wear should be the best blend of comfort and fashion. The yoga gear should enable you to strike a yoga pose in style and perform asanas with utmost ease and perfection.”  The latest yoga collection by Reebok features pop colours, graphic prints and cooling technology apparel. The collection includes bold graphic design pants, gingham and animal prints, girlie crop tops, uniquely defined sports bras and breathable jogger pants in vibrant strokes of yellows, blues and reds. Yoga sessions need not be boring. Even the yoga mats need not be just black. The apparel brand has pastel to bright coloured mats to make things a little more colourful. 

Leggings: The stretchable leggings enable you to perform limb stretching asanas with ease. 

Cropped tops: Enable a breezier workout session. Go for the trendy printed ones or in bold colours. 

Sports bras and tank tops: Strike challenging yoga poses and look stylish while at it. 

Look for motivational slogans: A motivational slogan on exercise outfits, always helps. Doesn’t it? 

Layering: is always a good idea while exercising. It lends stability and also you do not need to bother about adjusting clothes after every yoga pose.