Kareena Kapoor got huge attention when she returned in a zero size. Looking amazingly fit and healthy. Since then yoga has been the talk of B town and many celebrities have been into it. We got a chance to talk to celebrity Yoga trainer Payal Gidwani Tiwari.

Payal is the yoga trainer to a long list of A list Bollywood celebrities, CEOs and Politicians alike and according to Kareena Kapoor ‘Payal has helped me challenge my genes and transform my body.’ And according to the evergreen actress Sridevi “Payal’s form of yoga neither strains nor exhausts your body and mind. I am so satisfied that I have even introduced my children to yoga.’

Payal also runs her own Yoga wellness studio “Cosmic Fusion” in Santa Cruz Mumbai and has also authored a popular book” From XL to XS”. She and her husband have learnt yoga from Kaivalyadhama School of yoga, which is touted as one of the best yoga research institute in the world. Payal is also a professional interior designer. Payal gives us an insight into what actually is Yoga and its benefits.

Q. What is your method of teaching yoga?

Our method of teaching yoga is very different as we combine variations with yoga taking into consideration the clients body type; Before starting we search for our 5 components that we have set for all our clients which are endurance, stamina, flexibility, body composition and strength, these factors are extremely important. If we feel any of these 5 components are missing then they are considered unfit and we need to start building each component from scratch.

Q. About your book “from XL to XS.”?

A. People ask me, how my first book ‘from xl to xs’ happen I would like to add that it just happened by chance. It was never planned or in my bucket list. When I started out writing the book I put my clients and people who came to me for help as the base line taking into consideration their problems and situations, I realized people needed help and I couldn’t cater to every person around the globe individually therefore I wrote the book in such a way that they could put themselves in the people mentioned in the book’s shoes and relate to their problems better. I also wanted people to be aware and receive the right knowledge of yoga and motivate people to follow the 5000 year old science.

Q. What are the benefits from yoga?

A. There are namely three categories Psychological, Biochemical and physiological.
Physiological Benefits of Yoga: Stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium, Pulse rate decreases, Respiratory rate decreases, Blood Pressure decreases (of special significance for hyporeactors), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) increases, EEG – alpha waves increase (theta, delta, and beta waves also increase during various stages of meditation), EMG activity decreases, Cardiovascular efficiency increases, Respiratory efficiency increases, Gastrointestinal function normalizes, Endocrine function normalizes, Excretory functions improve, Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase, Breath-holding time increases, Joint range of motion increase, Grip strength increases, Eye-hand coordination improves, Dexterity skills improve, Reaction time improves, Posture improves, Strength and resiliency increase, Endurance increases, Energy level increases, Weight normalizes, Sleep improves, Immunity increases, Pain decreases, Steadiness improves, Depth perception improves, Balance improves, Integrated functioning of body parts improves

Psychological Benefits of Yoga: Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase, Mood improves and subjective well-being increases, Self-acceptance and self-actualization increase, Social adjustment increases, Anxiety & Depression decrease, Hostility decreases, Concentration improves, Memory improves, Attention improves, Learning efficiency improves, Mood improves, Self-actualization increase, Social skills increases, Well-being increases, Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase, Self-acceptance increase, Attention improves, Concentration improves, Memory improves, Learning efficiency improves, Symbol coding improves, Depth perception improves, Flicker fusion frequency improves

Biochemical Benefits of Yoga: Glucose decreases, Sodium decreases, Total cholesterol decreases, Triglycerides decrease, HDL cholesterol increases, LDL cholesterol decreases, VLDL cholesterol decreases, Cholinesterase increases, Catecholamines decrease, ATPase increases, Hematocrit increases, Hemoglobin increases, Lymphocyte count increases, Total white blood cell count decreases, Thyroxin increases, Vitamin C increases, Total serum protein increases.

Q. Your client list includes?

A. Sridevi&Boney Kapoor (actress), Kareena Kapoor (actress), Sanjay&Karisma Kapoor (actress), Rani Mukherji (actress), Saif Ali Khan (actor), Farhan Aktar (director/actor), Neelam Kothari (actress), Susanne Roshan (interior designer), Sandiya Mridul (actress), Konica Lal (politician), Shaheen Abbas (jewellery designer), Farah Khan (movie director), Vaibhavi Merchant (dance director/choreographer), Shailendra Singh (Managing Director- Percept films), Raju Manwani (Corporate Head), Roopa Vohra (Jewellery Designer), Divya Kohli (Industrialist), Rashmi Nigam (Actress), Shaana Dia (Actress/Model), Jacqueline Fernandez (actress), Malaika Arora Khan (Actress), Tusshar Kapoor (Actor), Ekta Kapoor (Director), Amrita Arora Ladak (Actress), Laila Khan (Painter), Tulip Joshi (Actress), Maria Goretti (Actress), Zoa Morani (UpcomingActress), Priya Dutt (Politician), Poorna Patel (Minister of India Daughter), Sonakshi Sinha (Actress), Dr Vijay Mallya (Group Chairman: UB Group)

Advice to our readers?

I recommend eating healthy and doing yoga regularly is the key to good health.