Anushka Sharma is living the dream of many young women in India. After a brief modeling career, she has firmly established herself as one of the top actresses in Bollywood.
Working like ’a maniac’
“I don’t think I was a good model,” Anushka recalls the beginning of her career. “I think I was born to emote and act. I would walk down the ramp and smile and they used to say, ‘Give us a blank look.’ It was really difficult not to smile!”
There is much more than the smile, of course. 
Recently, the 27-year-old was enlisted as ‘one of the 100 most influential women on Twitter‘ by The Huffington Post – Anushka is famous for boldly voicing her opinion on issues like the gender based wage gap in the movie industry or cruelty against animals.
Yet when on the set, she blends smoothly with the rest of the team. “Tell me one director who will go on record to say that I don’t get along with them?” she asks rhetorically. “I get along famously with all my directors because I am what I am today because of them!”
“When it comes to work, I am focused. I work like a maniac,” she admits.
Laying the foundations for success
Anushka knows that in order to thrive in the super-competitive industry she must be in top shape both physically and mentally. “But just as you can’t blindly follow fashion, you can’t follow fitness, either,” she says.
Her workout regime is therefore based on scientific evidence and personal experience.
“One has to understand that exercising triggers your happy hormones. There was a time when fitness was nowhere in my scheme of things, given my lean frame. Back then, on most days, I would feel exhausted and sulk. It was then that my friends told me to start working out. And within a very short time, there was a difference in the way I thought and worked.“
For an additional boost to her body and mind, Anushka also practices the Transcendental Meditation technique. Without it, she admits, she has a tendency to become ’a bit cranky’.
“Since the mind is a very powerful tool and is constantly at work, it’s very important to give it rest.
“Meditation works wonders for me when it comes to beating stress,” the actress says. “I meditate twice a day, once early morning and once before going to bed at night. It has a calming effect which translates into better health.”
Sources:
“The 1,000 Watt Girl,” Tehelka
“Anushka Sharma’s Rules of Fitness,” WonderWoman
“Anushka Sharma,” Bollynook.com
