From Bodybuilder To dancer, She's Breaking All The Barriers

Bodybuilder and dancer at once, this woman is breaking all the barriers

- Priyadarshini Sen

Her sinewy frame, rippling muscles and a body crafted to flatter those brawny curves might make you think that Yashmeen Manak, 37, just fits the cliche of an athlete. But when she does an overhead press of 61 kilograms, casually showing her strength and then ends with the poise of an accomplished dancer, you know there’s much more to her. She’s our new power woman who was crowned Miss India at a competition organised by the Indian Body­building and Fitness Federation in March. What’s more, she is also a trained belly dancer. Yashmeen pumps iron with gusto and trains men to tone up their flagging physiques, but she could also take you off the hook by sashaying down the floor with shimmering grace. At her Gurgaon­based gym which she set up in 2003 to ride the mean wave of body­building after defying several odds, she tells us: “A slim woman is commonplace. I wanted to break that stereotype because normal is not always beautiful.”