Practising yoga with Kubbra Sait is an experience — she laughs, hugs, patiently guides, and checks in with how you might be feeling after the pose. It may sound unorthodox, but it helps — especially in the times we are living in, where we are now asking: Are we safe? Will we see tomorrow? Ask Sait why the world needs yoga now, and she says, “Personally, when I started the journey with yoga, there is no competitiveness. It’s such a personal journey — what you couldn’t do yesterday, you can do today. It’s also a very connecting form of exercise — it grounds you.”

She says she has found love for all types of yoga — be it vinyasa, where you flow, or Hatha, where you hold the asana — “yoga can be tailormade for where you are in your mind, and to whom you are,” she says, as she sits with us on a mat at her Santa Cruz home. Sait started practising yoga two-and-a-half years ago when she injured her arm during a shoot. “So, my entire journey of getting stronger was beautifully layered with yoga. It became my way of grounding myself — initially my hips were so tight, I used to cry due to pain. But it got me to love my body,” she says.

As we breathe and get into our first cat and cow of the day, we ask her if she thinks it’s important to know the real Sanskrit names of the poses. For example, cat and cow is traditionally a mix of two poses — Marjaryasana and Bitilasana. “I think what you remember is what’s most relatable to you. And trying to remember the real names will keep you in your head, and the point of yoga is to get out of your head, and get into your body. I like the name, cat and cow. It is fun to remember. I don’t know the names! We don’t have to know everything — you are you. Just do it.”