Yoga heals Bollywood


The Bachchans are all set to attend Baba Ramdev’s yoga camp to be held in the city next month.


Tinsel town's health-conscious are now making a beeline for yoga expert Baba Ramdev's upcoming camp in the city. Sources indicate that Amitabh Bachchan, son Abhishek and quite a few others are keen on attending the six-day long camp, which aims at popularising Pranayama (correct breathing) as an alternate therapy to deal with stress and various ailments. Enclosures with special security arrangements will be erected at MMRDA Grounds in Bandra Kurla Complex for celebrities before the camp starts on February 4.

An industry insider reveals, "While they are yet to finalise their programme as most of them are shooting in different parts of the country, quite a few of them are keen to attend one session at least. Mr Bachchan is out of the country on business and we will know the status once he is back in the first week of February."

The Bollywood brigade is increasingly taking to power yoga, pilates (another form of yoga) and meditation as part of their fitness regime. Bachchans are a regular at the gymnasium of a posh Juhu five star hotel. Recently a family friend recommended Baba Ramdev's yoga programme. What appealed to them is the fact that the yoga instructor, who has held a camp at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the capital previously, lays stress on Pranayams, which involves various breathing techniques rather than asanas.

Kareena Kapoor and Amrita Arora, who have immensely benefitted after pursuing yoga for months at a stretch, will be missing out on the annual camp. Amrita says, "I cannot attend it as I'm shooting on those days." Mallika Sherawat was a popular face at the camp last year. Bollywood celebrities including Madonna, Halle Berry, Sting and Jennifer Anniston are also praising yoga, and prefer breathing techniques to self-help books.