It's no secret that Meghan Markle loves yoga – she even reportedly had a yoga studio built into Frogmore Cottage – and her passion for the calming, toning practice is down to her mother, Doria Ragland.
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Doria, who is a yoga teacher in LA, introduced The Duchess of Sussex to yoga when she was just seven years old. In 2016, Meghan told Best Health Magazine: "Yoga is my thing. My mom is a yoga instructor and I started doing mommy-and-me yoga with her when I was seven. I was very resistant as a kid, but she said, 'Flower, you will find your practice – just give it time.' In college, I started doing it more regularly."
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"I'll do yoga a couple of times a week – hot yoga, specifically," Meghan continued.
Meghan has also previously said: "I love an intense vinyasa class – and even better if it's blasting hip hop and done in a dark room with candlelight.
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Her attitude to yoga has relaxed since giving birth to Archie and Lilibet, with the practice reportedly a big part of Meghan's postpartum fitness routine.
Royal author Katie Nicholl previously revealed that Meghan and Archie had been taking part in 'baby yoga' together. "Apparently Doria took up postpartum yoga and baby yoga, and that's all Meghan has been doing," said Nicholl.
© Photo: RexMeghan Markle and Doria Ragland both did postnatal yoga
When she was based in London, Meghan sang the praises of exercise studio Heartcore in British Vogue, specifically the studio's Ritual class, a high-energy, cardio-based mat workout incorporating elements of yoga, Pilates and barre.
Doria is also a keen runner, completing the LA Marathon and 5km charity races too. Meghan has been less vocal about running than she is about yoga, but royal podcaster Roberta Fiorito, cohost of the Royally Obsessed podcast said that in 2015, Meghan had been planning to run a marathon (like mother like daughter).
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According to Fiorito, Meghan once said: "Running has always been my form of moving meditation, which I relish because it allows me to get out of my own head."
Meghan has quite a different approach to fitness to Kate Middleton, who favours HIIT sessions such as CrossFit and competitive sports - she's even been seen battling it out on tennis courts and hockey pitches.
Kate Middleton favours competitive sports such as tennis over yoga
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That's not to say there's not a place for yoga in Kate's schedule. The Duchess of Cambridge reportedly invited a yoga instructor from the island of Mustique to her 2011 wedding and also prepared for the birth of Prince George in 2013 with prenatal yoga sessions. She carried on her practice once George had arrived.
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