Hindus have thanked Oscar winner Hollywood star Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) for patronizing yoga. Roberts, who reportedly confessed of being a "practicing Hindu" few years back, recently reportedly urged singer Taylor Swift to "try yoga to tone her body, calm her mind and help manage stress". Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, appreciated Roberts for prescribing yoga to others. Yoga, referred as "a living fossil", was a mental and physical discipline for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Zed pointed out. Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical. According to United States National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. About 21 million Americans, including many celebrities, now reportedly practice yoga. Yoga is the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Rajan Zed adds. Julia Fiona Roberts, 45, one of the most successful Hollywood actresses besides a producer and fashion model, has won best actress Oscar for "Erin Brockovich" and earned Oscar nominations for "Pretty Woman" and "Steel Magnolias". She has a production company called "Red Om Films", and "Om" in Hinduism is the mystical syllable containing the universe. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA. BN
