Russia’s President Vladimir Putin listens to Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, left, in Ufa, Russia, Wednesday, July 8, 2015. AP
UFA, Russia—He’s flown with cranes, petted a polar bear and tranquilized a tiger. Now Vladimir Putin is ready to face the Downward Dog.
In a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Russian city of Ufa, the Russian president said Wednesday he wants to try out the discipline of yoga.
Putin, speaking through a translator as the two met for a summit of the BRICS economic group, said “this is a very appealing kind of sport. I will consider what I can do in yoga, based on what I do in sports.”
Putin often shows himself as athletic and adventurous, engaging in judo bouts or arranging encounters with wild animals. In one incident, he reportedly shot a tranquilizer dart at a tiger that charged his group in a forest.