Yoga helps me stay connected and grounded: Abhirami
, yoga is something that has been ingrained in her since childhood. On
, the Thug Life actress, who is also a certified yoga instructor, tells us, 'I wish I was practising yoga a lot more, but I am not able to find time for it every day.
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I try and do at least meditation or pranayama daily.
It brings a little more peace inside me. The philosophy of staying in the moment was brought into my life through yoga. It has helped me stay connected and grounded. It's a safe modality to slip into whenever I need to connect with my body.'
'For me, practising asanas is physical exercise; meditation is a very personal experience'
"There are two facets to how I look at yoga. Practising asanas and all, I would say, is more of a physical exercise for me. It doesn't require equipment, and it is easier to do when we have a busy schedule and don't have time to go to the gym.
Doing Surya Namaskaram 18 times is as good as a complete body workout, and it won't even take half an hour. Meditation, which is also part of the yoga philosophy, is a very personal experience for me.
It is more about grounding myself and finding peace of mind. I'd say I practice meditation more. Both have their own impacts on us.
'Yoga is a forgiving form of exercise'
Yoga is not injury-prone and doesn't have side effects.
It helps us slow down in life. Just half an hour of focused yoga can leave an impact on us throughout the day. People of any age or size can do yoga. Yoga is a forgiving form of exercise, and a good teacher can provide us with modifications as needed.
'Exposure to my parents' work made me take up yoga seriously'
My parents introduced me to yoga. When they attended yoga classes in Thiruvananthapuram, I would accompany them. I was very young and would try to imitate them. My parents are both yoga instructors now.
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My appa has been teaching yoga for 20 years now and is focused on ailment-specific yoga, while amma is focuses on geriatric yoga. Exposure to their work made me take it up seriously.
'The younger you learn yoga, the better'
My daughter is too young for yoga now. I think the kindergarten she goes to is doing some yoga activities with them. But yes, the younger you learn, the better. Eventually, I will definitely teach her. I am also a certified instruct or. I had done a foundational course and was teaching yoga in the US for a short while before COVID hit. If not me, her grandparents will definitely teach her. I have the body flexibility because I have been doing it since I was a child, but I seriously picked up yoga again only in the last 10 years.
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