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International Yoga Day: From Shilpa Shetty to Malaika Arora, Celebs who took the entrepreneurial route with yoga On the occasion of International Yoga Day, here we take a look at how Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Malaika Arora, Lara Dutta, and many other celebrities not only practice yoga religiously but also turn their lifestyle choices into profitable businesses.

By Arundhuti Banerjee

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Shilpa Shetty, Malaika Arora, Lara Dutta

On the occasion of International Yoga Day, here we take a look at how Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Malaika Arora, Lara Dutta, and many other celebrities not only practice yoga religiously but also turn their lifestyle choices into profitable businesses.

There is no doubt about the fact that stress management has become an important part of our urban lifestyle, and it is accepted globally that nothing is better than yoga as a form of exercise and lifestyle choice to maintain a healthy life. Perhaps that is the reason why even the Prime Minister of our country, Narendra Modi, mentioned how, during his visits to various countries, everyone showed him curiosity around our very own yoga.

Bollywood, on the other hand, is all but glitz, glamour, and a stressful life behind the limelight. Yoga is the only healing element to handle the madness around it. It is not surprising then that Shilpa Shetty, Malaika Arora, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta, and many others opted out of yoga. They are not only practicing yoga but also spreading awareness about it. Be it through their yoga studio, social media content, or releasing DVDs, here we look at five celebrities who are turning their lifestyle choices into profitable businesses.

Shilpa Shetty: If Salman Khan is the OG superstar to go shirtless on-screen and gyming cool for Bollywood heros, Shilpa Shetty Kundra is the poster girl of yoga in Bollywood. She is one of the first ever Hindi commercial film heroines to talk about the power of yoga and the importance of fitness in 2010. Eventually, the Dhadkan released the first ever celebrity yoga DVD titled Shilpa's Yoga in 2015. It is still one of the go-to DVDs for many beginners who are stepping into the physical and emotional transformation of yoga. The one-hour, 12-minute video shows multiple asanas performed by Shilpa, and it also explains the importance of practicing yoga not only for physical but also for mental and spiritual health for any individual who is living a hectic life in urban pockets.

Malaika Arora: She is one of the Bollywood celebrities whose screen presence was more than enough to create mysteries around her fitness routine because of all her dance numbers since 1998 with Chaiyyan Chaiyyan. There is hardly anyone who does not admire her moves and her physical beauty. Now, the actress, who is in her 50s, does not look her age but rather looks pretty young! As she unveiled the secret behind her fitness, it is now known that she is a regular practitioner of the ancient form of yoga and also follows a healthy eating habit. The actress, who also has multiple business investments, started her venture into the fitness industry with her yoga studio, Diva Yoga. She co-founded the studio with Sarvesh Shashi, a yoga entrepreneur, and they have branches in Mumbai and Chennai.

Lara Dutta: The Miss Universe 2000 Lata Dutta always had an interest in dance, sports, and exercise. After her successful career in modelling, she entered the Bollywood film industry, and being part of a profession that demands looking in a certain manner, it was only natural for Lara to maintain her fitness in every phase of her career. However, the most interesting event happened in 2012, when, after getting married to Mahesh Bhupathi, she got pregnant. The actress came up with an interesting yoga DVD on prenatal yoga. This was the first time any Bollywoodcelebrity created awareness about prenatal yoga. The content of the DVD consists of yoga asanasand routines that should be followed during pregnancy under the guidance of experts.

Bipasha Basu: Actress Bipasha Basu started her career as a model, and after a successful ride in Bollywood with films like Ajnabee, Raaz, and Jism, among many others, she explored the business of the health and fitness industry. Being an actress, she used her star power and celebrity status to release multiple videos, performing exercise, yoga asanas, and dance to create awareness about self-love, self-care, and fitness. She first launched her fitness DVD alongside John Abraham in 2005, titled Bollywood Bodies. She released multiple DVDs afterwards, but the most interesting and wholesome fitness DVD was a three-part series titled 'Love Yourself'. In 2014, she released the third part of the video, in which she highlighted the power of yoga and why she finds peace of mind whenever practicing yoga.

Vidya Malvane: The air hostess turned model Vidya Malvane made her mark as a Bollywoodactress with the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De! India. Her introductory line, 'Vidya Sharma India' is still remembered by many! While the actress went through a dark phase of life after the accidental death of her first husband, Vidya admitted that it was yoga that she took refuge in to survive. Eventually, her social media posts on yoga motivated many to start their journey in yoga, so she started to take online yoga sessions, especially for her social media followers. Her content and talk around yoga motivated many, especially those who are going through a dark phase. They found the light at the end of the tunnel!

Arundhuti Banerjee

Former Content Editor

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