DDP Yoga
As much as I like DDP’s work in the ring, here’s where we get to the really good stuff!
After retiring from the wrestling ring, Dallas turned his attention towards yoga. After using his own form of yoga to help him recover from his back injury, he wanted to help show how it can help almost anyone. He first wrote a book called Yoga for Regular Guys, and later developed a series of workout videos for this new workout regimen. It was originally referred to as YRG – Yoga for Regular Guys – but the name was later changed to DDP Yoga. Dallas prefers to not refer to his workout as yoga, because he wants people to be able to tell the difference. With DDP Yoga, there’s not so much “sunrise salutation,” as with other kinds. Instead, you actively engage your whole body to increase your heart rate. This allows the user to approach the fat-burning zone easily, and you gain a great deal in strength, flexibility, and balance as well. Amazingly, most of the workouts only require about twenty minutes a day or less, but that doesn’t make them any less difficult. If you pair the workouts with a healthy diet, you’ll see results quickly.
Now I’m sure you’re asking, “How does a yoga workout make DDP a hero?” Well, that fact on its own doesn’t make him a hero, but it’s what he’s done with it that gets my attention. One of the things that makes DDP’s program unique is the community that he’s built around it. Dallas makes himself available to anyone who has questions about the program and is very interested in the results of everyone who uses it. His radio show, DDP Radio always makes time for caller questions, and his Twitter is always active. He’s constantly traveling around the world doing motivational speaker gigs and seminars about DDPYoga. He also went to Iraq to teach our armed forces the benefits of the program! Whether you’re a WWE superstar or just someone who’s looking to make a lifestyle change, he provides a supportive voice and a sounding board.
To further illustrate this point, I’d like to introduce you to a few people.
First is Arthur Boorman. Arthur was a paratrooper in the first Gulf War back during the 90’s and after too many jumps, his legs gave out and he became disabled. For fifteen years he was completely unable to walk without using canes. His weight ballooned to over 300 pounds and doctors told him he would never walk again. Enter DDP. Dallas encouraged Arthur to try the program and stick with it. Neither of them could have ever expected just how well the program would work. Not only can Arthur now walk unassisted, but he can actually run. Check out the video below for one of the most inspirational things you’ll ever see!
[fresh_video url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448″]
If you aren’t moved by that, then I seriously think there’s something wrong with you. But if you’re still not impressed, I have two more people I’d like you to meet.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts is one of the most unforgettable superstars that the wrestling world has ever produced, and not just because he often brought a six-foot python to the ring with him. He was a great worker in the ring and innovated the DDT finishing move, but he was known best for how he could speak. Jake is often cited as one of the greatest mike-workers in the business, and for good reason. His promos were intelligent, and had a sort of dark poetry to them. They implied how just how deadly he could be to his opponents. Jake was a master at manipulating the reactions of the crowd, and he used these skills to get inside the heads of both his opponents and the audience itself. Jake became one of Dallas’ most important mentors, helping him learn the psychological side of the business.
Scott Hall was one of the most respected in-ring workers of the 90’s. During his time in the WWF, he performed under the name Razor Ramon and became a four-time Intercontinental Champion. In 1994, his ladder match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X is often cited as one of the greatest matches in the pay-per-view’s thirty year history. When he made a surprise return to WCW in 1996, he became the spark that led to the arrival of the nWo. He also became a multiple time tag team and United States champion in his second stint with WCW.
However great both Scott and Jake were, they also had some vicious struggles with addiction. Both alcoholics and drug addicts, they became consumed by their vices as time wore on, gaining weight and allowing their bodies to fall into disrepair. Multiple stints in rehab didn’t seem to help either man for very long.
In late 2012, Dallas reached out to Jake to try and help him get back in shape by using DDP Yoga, and he offered Jake a room in his home in Atlanta. Jake accepted the offer to move in, and after months of working with the program, he’s lost over sixty pounds and has been sober for almost an entire year, barring a few slip-ups. The journey to sobriety hasn’t been easy, but the changes he’s gone through are clearly visible. He’s also been able to repair his relationship with his children. Earlier this year he was inducted into the Cauliflower Alley Club Hall of Fame. He’s shooting for an appearance at the 2014 Royal Rumble, and I can’t wait to hear his music play after that buzzer sounds.
At the beginning of this year, Dallas was informed that Scott was in a particularly dark place and he and Jake called him to try and help him. Scott told them that he was a dying man, and he was drinking vodka for breakfast. Jake and Dallas persuaded him that there was a way out, and told him how Jake had found success thus far. Impressed with Jake’s results, Scott also accepted the offer to live at the Accountability Crib and lived with them for five months. After some time passed, Scott was also able to repair his relationship with his estranged son Cody, and the rest of his family. They recently moved out of Dallas’ home and into their own apartment, and Scott is now managing Cody’s wrestling career.
Another experience that both Jake and Scott were able to share was the the support directly from their fans. Both Jake and Scott needed to have some surgeries earlier this year, and since both of them were without health insurance, they were unable to afford it. Their workaround was using IndieGoGo to raise money for both surgeries. The results were staggering. Jake’s goal was $9,200 dollars, and the fans raised $7,000 in twelve hours. Scott’s surgeries were more substantial with an $80,000 goal, but they raised a grand total of $110,000. I wish that I had known about these at the time. I would have happily given.
So let’s take a moment to recap. Dallas was able to achieve his dream by succeeding in one of the most difficult industries on the planet through hard work and dedication, even though he was in his forties, came back from a career-threatening injury when everyone he’d never wrestle again, developed a new health regimen that is helping to improve the lives of thousands of people all around the world, goes out of his way to help anyone he can, and invited two of his closest friends that needed his help to live with him and helped them to improve their lives by remind them of the reasons they still have to live.
I leave it up to you to decide your own opinion, but that sounds a hell of a lot like a hero to me!
I’m Jesse Blume, and in my humble opinion, Diamond Dallas Page is Most Heroic indeed! BANG!
P.S. In case you were wondering, yes, I use DDP Yoga myself.
