Kareena Kapoor Khan, Malaika Arora: Bollywood beauties who swear by their Ayurveda practices

Ayurveda has made a huge comeback in these past two decades. The irony is that it had almost become forgotten in India, but ever since the West discovered it and there were yoga studios and Ayurveda clinics mushrooming all over the US, it has become fashionable in India too. Quite a few of our Bollywood divas have taken to it in a big way and they swear by it. They go far beyond yoga -- and include a traditional diet, oil massage and panchkarma routines.

Remember about a decade ago when the beautiful Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor became an unbelievable size zero and had a glowing complexion too? Her nutrition expert, Rujuta Diwekar was responsible for her transformation. Rujuta has always advocated age-old Ayurveda wisdom – eat seasonal fruits and vegetables, add cow’s ghee to your diet, and always keep your meals light and satvik – all practises that Kareena followed.

Shilpa Shetty has found her peace at last through the Ayurveda practice of doing yoga daily. The recommendation in Ayurveda is that you follow Dinacharya, a daily routine that involves getting up in the 45-minute period before sunrise, chanting mantras, and doing your yoga routine, including an oil massage. Drink some warm water too – that helps flush out the toxins from your body.

Remember in your childhood your grandmother would tell you that a massage with good old mustard oil was the best for your body? An oil massage helps in circulation and a good scrub is essential to scrape off all the dead cells on the surface of your skin. What you must do is to use a natural loofah and rub that in a circular motion on your skin. An oil massage with coconut oil is credited with keeping the ageless beauty, Hema Malini glowing.

Just last year in summer, Mira Rajput shared on her social media accounts that she and Shahid Kapoor were midway through a detox session through Panchkarma. She wrote that she was in the midst of a 7-day detox programme. Panchkarma gets rid of your body’s accumulated toxins through diet to restore the body to its natural constitution. The benefits include better metabolism, blood circulation, better sleep and appetite.

Remember the time when Sonam was plump? Apparently, there was a time when she was almost touching 90 kg. She took to yoga and a strict yogic diet to trim down. Now, she is an influencer, a mother and a fashion diva. She hired Bharat Thakur, a yoga guru to design her weightloss programme. It is a well-known fact that Bharat Thakur is an alumnus from the Bihar School of Yoga. He knows his fundas about health, the traditional Ayurveda way.

Malaika is almost 50 and she is in great shape – better than young people who are still in their twenties. How does she keep fit? Again with yoga, and a very sensible diet rooted in Ayurveda practices. Here’s what she once posted on her Instagram account: “Good morning everyone. Yoga is a way of life. And if we incorporate yoga into our lives slowly and make it an integral part of our life, we would be in a peaceful state in our everyday life.”

A couple of years ago, Bipasha Basu posted a very useful immunity boosting recipe on her Instagram account. She wrote that it should be taken daily – a teaspoon of it with hot water or added to some food preparation. She recommended dal. The recipe is full of herbs and Bipasha had posted detailed instructions on how this wonder Ayurveda powder should be prepared.