Yog up the fitness mantra

Yoga has a deep connection between your breath and body that leaves a calming effect. No wonder then that many people are now getting aware of its many health benefits. Catching on with the trend is city girl, Namrata Sudhindra who is now a yoga trainer at some hotspots.

Namrata's first tryst with yoga began over a decade ago, with a simple practice aimed at fitness. Little did she know that this would soon transform into a passionate yet sublime love affair that would consume every aspect of her life.

After modelling for many years, we wonder how Namrata took to yoga?

She explains, “I modelled for 10 years. I discovered yoga while modelling, as a means of staying fit. After exploring the differ ent forms of exercise available in the city, I walked into my first yoga class on a lark and was hooked. From the first class I found the practice of yoga energising and challenging. In three months, I was down to the size my body was meant to be with no additional dieting or other exercise required. My teacher at the time had to leave the country suddenly and that sent all our regular and that sent all our regular practices into a tizzy. It took me three months to realise the added benefits I was reaping from the yoga practice. Besides staying fit, it helped me keep my allergies at bay, helped me balance my metabolism, and kept me fit externally and internally. To quote one of the great masters, BKS Iyengar, “If your body is a temple, then asana is my prayer."

Coming from the city's creative and artistic family, Namrata's inclination towards art from her early days was quite natural. “My association with the arts has been from when I was a child. I come from a family which will always be involved on some level with the arts. We work together as a team for the BIAF (Bengaluru International Arts Festival) brainchild of my mother Suma every year, with my mother Suma every year, with packed venues and soul-stirring per formances. Music especially is close to my heart and I now com bine yoga and live music to cre ate unique experiences for my students. I recently did 108 suryanamaskars with live classical music and chanting at sunrise. My page facebook.com/nikayayoga has facebook.com/nikayayoga has more info on yoga."

She trained with Jaavad Khansalar (from the Bihar School of Yoga) and got certified from Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusananda Samsthana and is a regular participant at the International Yoga Festival, in Rishikesh. “I teach yoga at three corners of Bengaluru to make it accessible to most. I'm at the Natya Studio in Malleswaram, three times a week, at India's first yoga studio chain 136.1 in Indiranagar twice a week, and starting December at the yoga studio at the JW Marriot," she adds.

Adding about her hobbies, she says, “I love to travel. It teaches you to appreciate what you have or makes you want to aspire for better things. This year, I went to my favourite city New York, which always leaves me inspired and also Jamaica which made me appreciate what we have in India."

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