People picking on Priyanka ‘for no reason’

NEW DELHI: Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas has opened up about feeling “disheartened and discouraged” as some people from the South Asian community have been very cynical and negative about her success in Hollywood and keep “picking on her for no reason”.

The actress, who has made big breakthroughs in her career and pushed the bar for Bollywood, feels strongly that people from the South

Asian community should feel proud and acknowledge the efforts of the actors who have carved out a space for themselves in Hollywood.

“Very few brown people are in the entertainment business… you can count us on your fingers. We’re trying to create more opportunity for people like us, so why is there so much negativity?

“When I started working in Hollywood I realised it’s not normal to people’s consciousness that a leading man or woman can be Indian in a mainstream Hollywood show,” Priyanka said on the BBC Asian Network’s podcast.

GIVING birth to a baby can be extremely challenging for the mother’s body, and yoga can help with the elasticity and endurance power of expecting mothers. This can increase chances of a normal delivery, says a maternity yoga expert who runs a health and wellness yoga centre near New Delhi.

Kedar Nath, director of Maatriyoga, says the aim of pregnancy yoga is to help the mother bring the baby into the world with minimum hassle and no health complications. Positions and exercises can differ in each trimester.

The pre- and post-natal yoga sessions, now also conducted online, are focussed on maternal comfort, training to deal with labour pain and manage birth outcomes. Most of all, pregnancy yoga done in the correct way may help mothers avoid complicated surgical procedures.

Envisioning a platform for women’s empowerment and promoting holistic well-being, the health centre focuses on prioritising self-care in pregnancy. The wellness services support expectants and new mums, and infants in the first 1 000 days of life.

“About 90% of women prepare themselves for a normal delivery. However, only 65% are able to achieve this. There are factors such as eating habits and overall well-being which hamper the natural delivery process. Yoga not only helps in delivery of the baby naturally but also helps maintain the physical and mental well-being of the woman,” says Nath.

“Yoga also has meditative and spiritual value. It brings contentment, and gives peace to your mind. Yoga helps to fight with all the problems which a woman faces during pregnancy,” he adds.

“You need more oxygen during pregnancy, and your body adapts to meet this need in several ways. Yoga practices support this.”

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