Miss Oregon Manju Bangalore Shares Swimsuit Photo as "Swim Model"

Manju Bangalore is reminiscing in her swimsuit. In a new social media post the beauty queen-slash-astronaut-slash-Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition model shows off her amazing body in a bathing suit from the pages of the magazine. "The time I was a Sports Illustrated Swim model 🥹Sometimes life goes by us so quickly, it's hard to realize all the dreams we have brought to life 😭 I'm so lucky to have had the opportunity to be in the 2022 issue and walk in Miami Swim Week for the brand. Truly surreal. Will forever be grateful to my SI family for the journey," she captioned the post. How does the former Miss Oregon approach health and wellness? Celebwell rounded up her top lifestyle habits. 

Manju maintains that posing for the magazine was empowering. "[Editor] MJ Day and the rest of the team have pushed for female empowerment and ensuring that every woman feels represented. It's something that resonated with me," she told Fox News. "I think it's validating all the work I've done. It's validating that I have been through my fair share of struggles. I think most of us have. And I talked about that during my callback. I talked about my mental health struggles. I've never been given a space where I've been able to talk about those things. When I was selected as a finalist, it was another way they were validating my work, my journey and what I've been through. It was another way to validate girls who have been through similar experiences. It has given me a platform to show that I am limitless."

Manju became an astronaut candidate in 2021 and started training for space. "So I'm not quite at the astronaut candidate level. I am part of a scientist-astronaut candidate program. I know it sounds a bit similar, but basically, I'm part of this program that may lead to me getting selected to go to space one day. We are going through training that's quite similar to where we are doing aerobatic flight," she said. "We are doing high-altitude training, all those types of things to help you mentally and physically prepare for such a journey. One astronaut has already been selected. … It's an opportunity to go to space and conduct experiments on behalf of the program and further scientific research. That's my goal in furthering our human exploration. I also hope to represent women in STEM, reminding people that we are capable of anything we set our minds to."

Manju wants more women in STEM to celebrate and show off their bodies. "I think one major problem is that we're not allowed to be multidimensional. We're not allowed to be in a bikini and be a symbol of empowerment and aspire to go to space, do scientific research, do astrophysics research, or whatever it is. I think we need to have a better understanding that women are limitless, we're multidimensional. We are capable of anything we set our minds to. I think the big thing that's missing is empathy. We need to be empathetic to each other. The sooner we have that, the sooner we can understand it's not out of the norm for someone to be in a bikini one day and be in a lab coat the next day," she told Fox News. 

Bangalore prioritizes fitness. "I do strength training, like weightlifting. I have a trainer who's a Marine, so he gets my butt in shape *laughs*. I enjoy weightlifting," she told Fox News. 

Manju stays active even in her social life. One of her favorite hobbies? Bowling. "Pink for the bowling party tonight 💞Huge thank you to @laylahrose and the rest of the @missusa team for putting together such a fun-filled night for us," she captioned a post. 

Manju will also "do some cardio occasionally," she told Fox News. Physical activity is anything that gets your body moving. Each week adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity, according to the current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.