Former drug and sex addict Russell Brand loves his daily Kundalini yoga sessions because he finds it 'highly psychological and very beautiful'.

Russell Brand finds yoga 'trippy'.

The British comic - who has battled drug and sex addiction but been clean for nine years - starts every day with transcendental meditation then Kundalini yoga and finds the techniques 'overwhelming'.

He said: 'It changes consciousness, it's really good if you've had addiction issues. It's highly psychological, and very beautiful, and overwhelming, and real, and trippy.

'To have some meeting about a film that'll never get made, and then I go home and do a meeting about the TV show, then have a meeting about a film that might get made, so there's a lot of meetings.'

While Russell is still 'ambitious' he admits his current focus is helping other addicts seek help to get clean.

He said: 'I'm still ambitious, I'm very driven, but all I want to do is carry on doing things like this. Make people feel better in a way that is truthful and legitimate. Not temporary, in a sugar rush of nonsense.'

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Russell Brand explains his love of yoga

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Australian Asana yoga champion Sarah Wells prepares ahead of the 2012 national championships, being held today at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

IT MAY be one of the more peculiar national sporting championships, but competitive yoga has arrived in Melbourne.

The yoga ''grand final'', otherwise known as the 2013 Yoga Asana Championships, is being held on Sunday at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, and it promises to be a knock-down, no-holds-barred display of grace, compassion, selflessness and humility.

Confused? Don't worry. Reigning female champion Sarah Wells said everyone was, at first.

A composite photo of postures Australian Yoga Asana champion Sarah Wells creates in competitions such as the International Yoga Asana Championships in Los Angeles.

''It's a little bit contradictory for a lot of people, yoga and competition,'' she said. ''But it's not a typical Western competition.''

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The basic format is simple enough. Men, women and youths drawn from state heats have three minutes in which to complete seven postures. They are then judged, given a ranking, and the winners are crowned.

But yoga judges don't just consider the physical display of the poses. More ethereal criteria such as dignity, respect and poise also come into play.

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Grace under pressure: the twists and turns of competitive yoga

Lisa Rathke, Associated Press Posted: Sunday, February 10, 2013, 3:01 AM SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Travelers don't equate the hustle and bustle of airports with yoga, but now some airports are adding tranquil spaces where practitioners can stretch, meditate, and get away from it all. It's the latest effort to humanize and de-stress the unpleasantness of air travel: yoga rooms at airports. Burlington, Vt., is the latest of a handful of airports to add the amenity.

"We find that traveling can be stressful so we try to take a little bit of that out," said Eugene Richards, interim director of Burlington International Airport.

Travelers have found sanctuary in the small but light and airy space with its moss-green walls, bamboo floor, and yoga mats, while waiting for flights or when stranded.

One young family discovered the space after missing a flight to Japan due to bad weather.

"You saved the day for our 7-month-old baby," they wrote in a log of visitors to the new room. Other visitors have relished the quiet space, giving thanks in the journal.

"Wow, you made my day! No you made my month!" wrote a traveler who sometimes does yoga out in the open at airports, which usually draws stares.

Airports in San Francisco and Dallas also have opened yoga rooms in the last year.

But some travelers in Burlington were perplexed, even amused as they walked past the new space trailing their luggage behind.

"Yoga at the airport? I just thought it was odd," said Charlene Allis of Winooski, Vt., as she and her husband Bruce returned from Florida.

But another woman said it might be good for a friend who gets nervous while traveling.

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Yoga room for stretching, de-stressing