Yoga means meditating on the Divine — the supreme. And, bhakti yoga is considered the highest form. There are many interpretations of yoga and yoga as an exercise is one of them.

Yoga is the purest, simplest, easiest and most convenient form of exercise. I learnt it when I was 14 years old. My teacher, Mrs Joshi, who must have been in her forties, taught me 45 asanas.

Years later, I went to learn yoga from her again. She looked the same — not a day above 40, her body like a 20 year old.

What made me believe in yoga was the ease with which she practiced it and taught me. Her body was like a rubber-band and her abdominals, better than John Abraham’s six-packs. I would feel ashamed that at 14, I couldn’t touch my toes with my fingers or lift my hips up or fold my legs for Padmasana and she would make it look so easy!

Yoga is a boon for people of all ages. Irrespective of your age, you can surprise yourself with your level of flexibility, positivity and patience that comes with continuous practice.

The breathing process of Yoga is the reverse of a strenuous work-out with weights. In yoga, you perform the movement as you inhale deeply and relax as you exhale and involves slow, deep, intense breathing, teaching you to breathe right — deep and from the abdominals (not the lungs).

Also when doing yoga, it is important to be in the moment and focus on your breathing.

Add to that, zero fuss or expense — you just need a straw mat or chatai (Hindi term) or paya (Malayalam term) and open windows for fresh air. Yoga is the most functional of all workouts. You feel energised, renewed and cheerful.

All these benefits got Hollywood beauties like Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Bollywood celebs like Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and many others hooked to it. So it is definitely worth the plunge into the world of yoga just to share its goodness.

The writer is a popular actor

(DC)