DDP Yoga

 
Following a successful career in sports-entertainment, iconic WCW competitor Diamond Dallas Page shifted his focus to a new arena: creating a revolutionary form of yoga that he originally called YRG Fitness. In the years since, YRG Fitness has evolved into DDP Yoga, and the former WCW Champion is changing lives with his innovative program. The core philosophy of DDP Yoga takes traditional yoga and adds various levels of resistance, different breathing techniques and power movements to achieve weight loss, lean muscle and improved cardio.

One of the program’s most impressive success stories, featured on “Good Morning America” in 2012, has been Gulf War veteran Arthur Boorman. Years of service in Iraq had taken its toll on the former paratrooper, who was told he would never walk without assistance after injuring his knees and subsequently gaining significant weight. In fact, Boorman struggled for 15 years until he discovered DDP Yoga. After 10 months of the intense routine, the Gulf War veteran lost 140 pounds, and he can now walk and run under his own power.

Boorman is just one of countless individuals who have benefited from DDP Yoga. Everyone, from professional football players to MMA fighters to everyday people, has employed the program as part of their daily fitness routines. Five WWE Superstars – Zack Ryder, Titus O’Neil, Darren Young, Santino Marella and Chris Jericho – have also adopted Page’s program, to aid their performance in the ring and improve their overall quality of life. Each of them touted the revolutionary program and described how they implement it into their lives.

“DDP Yoga is great,” Zack Ryder told WWE.com. “I supplement the program with my regular workout at the gym. Sometimes I like to do it before I hit the gym and other times I like to do the ‘Red Hot Core’ system of the program right after.”

Though he’s already in the top physical condition required of a WWE Superstar, the Long Island Iced-Z has noticed improvements in and out of the ring when it comes to performance, endurance and working out.

“It’s definitely helped my flexibility, which is really important,” the former United States Champion said. “DDP Yoga has helped create a higher level of impact when I jump up and hit that Rough Ryder, as well as some of my other moves.

“DDP is such a positive and motivational guy … that really helps when you’re going through the workouts on DVD,” Ryder added about the former WCW Champion.

Though they’re already being motivated by their new manager, A.W., The Prime Time Players have also employed the workout routine as part of their fitness regimen. Former Arena Football player Titus O’Neil offered a unique perspective on using DDP Yoga.

“I’ve done pretty much every workout you can imagine in my experience as a basketball and football player,” O’Neil told WWE.com. “DDP Yoga is more beneficial to me because there is a lot more movement involved. My biggest issue has never been strength – it’s flexibility, and this program has definitely helped with that.

“I used to do yoga when I played football,” O’Neil added. “But DDP’s system is unlike anything I’ve ever tried. It’s different and has everything – core, stability, strength, endurance … it’s very beneficial.”

O’Neil also introduced DDP Yoga to his tag team partner Darren Young, who told WWE.com that he never pictured himself doing yoga, but changed his mind after experiencing the benefits of the program.

“Like Titus, DDP Yoga has helped with my movements in the ring, but it’s also really helped me lose a lot of body fat and tone my physique,” he said. “DDP’s DVD is great, and I’ll use it any day of the week.”

Though Ryder and The Prime Time Players are relatively young Superstars who have employed the program to improved performance, two Superstars with many more years of experience have also enjoyed success after embracing the regimen in their lives.

“DDP Yoga has taught me many things,” Santino Marella told WWE.com. “One, how to hold the correct posture; two, how to breathe; and three, how to engage your muscles without weights.”

Like Darren Young, the United States Champion never pictured himself ever doing yoga, but noticed improvements in his health and flexibility within the first few weeks. Since then, he has recommended the program not only to his fellow WWE Superstars, but to anyone with a busy lifestyle.

“Sometimes you can’t make it to the gym,” he explained. “You may not have time or you’re traveling like WWE Superstars. But, if you have a computer or DVD player, you can do a session of DDP Yoga right in your hotel room.”

Of the Superstars implementing DDP Yoga, Chris Jericho certainly has the most experience inside the squared circle and he’s one of the program’s biggest supporters. Jericho shared how he was introduced to the program by his former WCW colleague.

“The last week of ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ I felt something go out in my back,” Jericho told WWE.com. “It was some of the worst pain I’ve ever experienced; I couldn’t sneeze, walk, sit or bend down without being in pain.”

Jericho’s years inside the ring had caught up with him; his outstanding performance in the dance competition aggravated a herniated disc in his back. The possibility of back surgery was enough for WWE’s first-ever Undisputed Champion to seek out alternative methods, including acupuncture. A photo tweeted from the acupuncture prompted Page to contact Jericho and implore him to give DDP Yoga a try.

The similarities between the former WCW stars immediately caught Jericho’s attention. Page’s years of competition left him with two herniated discs and a lot of pain before turning to yoga.

“At this point I was in such excruciating pain and was willing to try anything,” Jericho said. “I had never done yoga in my life, but after about five or six weeks, the pain started to go away. After two months it was gone.”

Jericho explained that he tries to implement DDP Yoga at least three times a week and if he does not use it for more than a week, he starts to feel the pain come back.

“The program has helped immensely; had I not started doing DDP Yoga, I would not have been able to return to WWE earlier this year,” Jericho revealed.

When the former World Heavyweight Champion returned to WWE in January 2012, both Superstars and fans immediately took notice of his physique, with many commenting that he looked to be in the best shape of his career. Jericho attributes it to DDP Yoga, a diet that complemented the workout routine, and the ability to do Page’s routine anywhere.

“The hardest thing about working out and traveling is finding a gym,” Jericho explained.  ”Whether I’m traveling with WWE or with Fozzy, it’s the last thing you want to worry about. So, I bring my DDP Yoga DVDs, and I can do it in a locker room during Raw or on my Fozzy tour bus. It’s amazing. I actually went on a cruise with my family and did a DDP Yoga workout right in our cabin.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, Jericho is also quick to take the credit for introducing his fellow Superstars to DDP’s program.

“When I came back, a lot of people asked about my physique and my workout, and I explained DDP Yoga to them,” he said. “Santino was actually one of the first [Superstars I mentioned it to].”

WWE Superstars put their bodies on the line every time they step into the squared circle and there are aches and pains that go along with it. For veterans such as Jericho, those aches and pains add up. After explaining to his fellow WWE Superstars, DDP Yoga has helped make those pains go away – as well as the discomfort associated with his herniated disc – and become a vital part of a number of Superstars’ workouts.

For more on DDP Yoga, visit DDPYoga.com.