Over time, in the popular imagination yoga has become associated more with women than with men. However, my yoga class in Mumbai is popular with men as well as women. I firmly believe that yoga is as beneficial for men as it is for women and that men actually need to do yoga for the mental benefit as much as for physical fitness goals. Clearly, I am not the only one who thinks so! I was surprised to learn that it is extremely popular among these male celebs who do yoga; I think you will be as surprised:
Robert Downey Jr
Yes, Ironman! He is quite the yoga enthusiast. In fact yoga isn’t just about keeping fit; it is also something that helped him get over his drug addiction and keep clean. He works with one of LA’s best known yogis, Vinnie Marino. When he returned to movies after being hauled up on drug related charges, he went on to become among the highest paid stars in the world. At least some of his hard-won mental and spiritual balance owes itself to yoga.
Tom Hanks
The star of some of Hollywood’s most beloved and path breaking movies such as Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Sleepless in Seattle, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan and so many others, is also into yoga. He turned to yoga to help deal with the aches and pains that he had started to develop. “I started doing yoga, it’s the greatest thing you can ever do,” says the 59-year old. Plus, his aches and pains are now gone.
Matthew McConaughey
The star of hugely successful films like The Wedding Planner, A Time to Kill, Fools Gold and others has been into yoga for many years now. He enjoys doing yoga on the beach in particular. Fans often speak about him sitting in padmasan position and engaging in meditation on the beach!
Jeremy Piven
Golden Globe and Emmy award winning actor and producer Jeremy Piven dedicates a significant portion of his fitness regime to yoga. He picked up yoga to bring balance to his life and he apparently loves the way “it makes me feel. It’s incredible!”
Sting
Gordon Sumner, the lead singer of Police and later amongst the most popular solo acts in the world is a huge proponent of yoga. Earlier in life he did aerobics and jogging to remain fit but realized that yoga was challenging even for him. Now a regular practitioner, he believes yoga can reverse the aging process and lets him do things he could not even as an athletic teenager.
Alec Baldwin
In recent years he may not have been the picture of fitness, but being married to a yoga instructor drew him into yoga as well. He did prenatal yoga with his wife Hilaria Baldwin and also appeared with in her yoga videos; the two having tried out different types of yoga.
Akshay Kumar
Closer to home, our very own fit-at-50 Akshay Kumar is someone else who incorporates yoga into his fitness routine. Not only does he do martial arts and other types of exercises at the gym, he also does yoga. Rather than bulky muscles, he works towards building core strength, and a lean, toned physique. Yoga isn’t just about physical fitness for him. It is about the mind, body and spirit connection as well. He gets up at 4.30 to start his workout – at the time that yogis most recommend.
Sidharth Malhotra
One of Bollywood’s dishiest men also does yoga. Suveer Balvi, who trains Akshay Kumar also trains him. Malhotra started yoga to lose weight to prepare for a role. He found that yoga trained his mind and helped heal injuries. Yoga is now a part of his workouts.
You too can experience the all-round benefits of yoga. Call 99675 31905 to book a free trial class.