Yoga for Regular Guys, Gals, Soldiers and More
Smackdown on the Mat: Yoga for Regular Guys, Gals, Soldiers and More
As the sun sets over Griffith Park and the Hollywood Hills, Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) and his “favorite hot yoga babe” Angella Cole sit in lotus. The Rolling Stones are playing as Page’s strong voice instructs the class to get into “touchdown position,” an unusual term for a yoga class, but this is Page’s Yoga for Regular Guy/Gals (YRG). The former three-time World Championship Wrestling (WCW) heavyweight world champion is tall, middle-aged and extremely muscular. It seems incongruous that someone with such a colorful celebrity past in the hokey cartoon glitz and glamour world of professional wrestling would even teach yoga. As I look around the class I notice many Warner Brothers Studios employees, most of whom Page greets personally with direct eye contact and a ready smile. Behind the camouflage pants, the tattoos and the biker bandana, Page is a sweet guy who wants to help his students feel better.
This is accessible yoga and DDP, as he is called in the wrestling ring, believes in his practice. “The spirituality in my workout is the power of positive energy. Check your ego at the door and then you can take care of yourself.” The whole room is drenched in this odd mix of tough and touching, and the class really kicks butt when it comes to athleticism with positions that incorporate dynamic resistance: slow motion isometric muscle activation which engages muscular strength to raise people’s heart rates and increase their fat-burning capacity. It’s easy to work up a sweat.
Page barks commands at a quick pace, providing alternatives to more difficult poses, while breaking down each move so everyone in the room can work at his or her own level. Students use a wide-legged stance throughout the class. “I got that idea when I was on a boat for weeks during a surfing trip in Indonesia. No one could keep their balance without falling down. I discovered if you stood firm with your feet apart and knees slightly bent you could stand forever without toppling over. It makes a stronger more balanced base for yoga positions.” While Angella demonstrates at the front of the mirrored room, Page walks the room correcting in a loud, yet kind voice: “You can do this. I’m not going to give up on you.”
Yoga for Regular Guys, Gals, Soldiers and More
Students seem comfortable with his self-styled vernacular integrating English traditional yoga positions with approachable argots, sans the Sanskrit. “My vocabulary pulls guys in, like me, who wouldn’t be caught dead doing yoga. I tell everyone this isn’t yoga. It’s YRG.” Examples include: bar-back (half forward fold) catcher’s position (a modified squat, leap and pounce); superstar (crescent position or high lunge); and touchdown (feet hip distance, arms reaching to the sky) diamond cutter (standing cobra-like backbend with the thumbs and index fingers together overhead). In several positions Page repeats his wrestling trademark diamond-cutter hand gesture touching his two thumbs and forefingers to create a diamond shape with open palms. DDP says of his practice: “If yoga were a bicycle YRG would be the Harley.”
Page’s transition from body slams on the wrestling mat to downward-facing dog on the yoga mat was a struggle that transcended the past and led to surrender. Diamond Dallas Page, born Page Joseph Falkinberg, grew up in the small beach resort town of Point Pleasant, New Jersey. His parents divorced when he was three and Page was shipped off to live with relatives. Page excelled at sports and at twelve was poised to be one of the youngest star players in the Bantam Hockey League; then he was hit by a car while running to catch the bus to school. The crash broke his right kneecap and caused severe tendon and cartilage damage. Doctors strongly advised Page not to play contact sports again, but he ignored their advice, and by junior year was a top scorer on the basketball team.
The spirituality in my workout is the power of positive energy.
At the behest of his then-wife Kim, Page began practicing Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga videotapes in his living room. “In about three weeks, I felt the strength and flexibility begin to return in my back. Without Bryan I wouldn’t have kept going. I really got into his fun, upbeat, no-frills style.” Within a few months Page began improvising Kest’s workout to suit his needs. The result: Page re-entered
the ring and was awarded the world heavyweight championship title at the age of 43. Along with Kest, Page counts Jasmine Lieb, Shiva Rea and Rudy Mettia among his mentors.Ten years have now passed since Diamond Dallas Page left the glamorous world of Professional Wrestling behind. Several times a week he teaches YRG in the LA area, “YRG was created for everybody, that’s why I call it the best damn work-out on the planet. Anybody can do it.” Page has also written two books, acted in several films and tours the country as a motivational speaker. In 2004 he began traveling to Iraq to entertain the troops. “All those kid soldiers grew up with me in their living room. I was their hero when they were eight years old. I go there because they’re my heroes now.” Page avoids taking a stand on the war, “You can believe in the war or hate the war but you’ve got to love the warrior.” Page has visited Iraq three times in the past four years and recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan. “I go there because I admire those people over there. They put their lives on the line so we can sleep at night.”
Whether it’s soldiers, students or members of his online community, Page’s mix of yoga and strength-building exercise brings the practice to the masses by making it understandable, acceptable, accessible and real for anyone who wants to increase stamina and flexibility. “I’ve spent my whole life learning to adapt what I want to do to what people tell me I can’t do. YRG comes from that place. I’ve learned flexibility is youth not just in my body, but in my mind. If we all take a deep breath and remain flexible, the world is a way better place for everyone.”
For more information about DDP’s wrestling career or YRG at Equinox in Santa Monica, Warner Brothers Studios, on the beach or in other locations visit: Diamonddallaspage.com.
Kathleen Moloney Reddington is a Southern California-based writer whose work has appeared in publications including Shape, Self, LA Times Magazine, Los Angeles, Men’s Fitness, Health and LA Weekly
By Kathleen Moloney Reddington
