PIX: Can you do yoga like Aditi?

Aditi Rao Hydari has been practising yoga for a long time now.

The actor, who is on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine's digital issue, has shot a series of photographs performing yoga at home.

'How I started practising yoga is a somewhat stupid story,' Aditi reveals in an interview to Nandini Bhalla, editor, Cosmopolitan India.

'I went to one of these alternative boarding schools, with no exams, and we sat under trees and watched the ants and sunsets. In the mornings, we had to wake up and exercise, and do these uphill runs and marathons. And there was no chance that I was going to wake up at 5:30 am and go for an uphill run, so I decided to join the yoga class -- because I thought I could sleep through it!'

'But when I joined the class, I loved it so much because I was so used to sticking my leg up or touching my nose to my knee and jumping around. So, it felt more like play time, and that's how my love for yoga began.'

'You know, there are times when I don't exercise for months, but I'll always do some yoga and I'll always dance.'

'I really enjoy yoga and dance because they feel so natural to my body. And I find that yoga grounds me; it roots me.'

'It's like going back to the basics. It's the breathing, and that feeling of letting go...'

'For me, yoga brings a sense of freedom. Because your body is allowing you take it where you want it to go.'

'It's almost a trust thing, with your mind and your body. If I'm feeling anxious or stressed, I'll just do some stretches and inverted postures, and I'll suddenly feel so open.

'Like there are immense possibilities...that nothing and nobody can stop you. That's how yoga and dance make me feel.'

Check out these pictures to see how effortless she looks!

All photographs: Kind courtesy Mallika Reddy/Cosmopolitan India