Disclaimer: These are simple my thoughts on DDP Yoga. I haven't been paid to say any of this, I bought the DVDs myself, and have no affiliation with DDP or his company.
I've never really struggled with my weight. I've gotten a little chunky and then slimmed down a couple times in my life, but I've always been fortunate enough to be one of those people with a great metabolism. I've never really given my diet a lot of thought, and for the most part just exercised when I wanted to.
But I'm in my mid-thirties now, and my body is starting to slow down. Not that I'm a broken old man or anything, but a couple years ago I started to notice that it was getting hard to bend over some morning and put my socks on. Jeans were fitting a little snugger. I had to face the fact that even if I could somewhat hide it, I was out of shape, and starting to feel it.
My back was the worst part. I never had problems with it growing up. I've always played a ton of street hockey, I played inline and ball hockey for years as an adult, too. Primarily as a goalie (albeit a bad one). I didn't stretch very well, I spent most of the warmup messing around with the guys and digging pucks/balls out of my net. And it didn't seem to be an issue, at least through my 20's.
But, like I said, I reached a point where bending over to put on socks was a chore. A painful chore. My back would hurt if I stood up for too long, or if I slept on the wrong side. I went to a chiropractor a couple times, but didn't really care for it. I'm a skeptic, if we're being honest. I tried googling possible ways to get my back to loosen up, and it seemed like everywhere I looked, yoga popped up. In particular, DDP Yoga.
As you may know, growing up, I was a huge pro wrestling fan. DDP (Diamond Dallas Page) was one of my favourites when I was a teenager. Self high five! He's long since retired from the wrestling world, and has spent years developing and promoting his yoga program; DDP Yoga. After flip flopping on it for months, I finally decided to bite the bullet and order his DVDs. I saw all these videos of incredibly overweight and broken down people going through life changing transitions, and just couldn't find any negative reviews of the program. Even now, search "DDP Yoga reviews" and you'll be hard pressed to find someone that speaks ill of it.
The DVDs showed up, and I liked it right away. But if I'm being honest, I still slacked off for the first few months. Programs of varying levels of difficulty accompanied the DVDs, and even though I was more than capable of doing some of the more advanced routines, I would justify sticking with the beginner programs and only stretched a couple times a week. Even then, I noticed a difference in my body soreness pretty quickly. I felt looser and my back pain started disappearing almost immediately.
Once I realized the yoga seemed to be making a big difference, I decided to get serious and go all in with it. I started doing DDP Yoga 5+ days a week, and the results were incredible! I still don't look like anything special with my shirt off (I still love junk food too much), but my flexibility has gone through the roof. A year ago, I couldn't touch my toes. Now I can stand on the palms of my hands while stretching my legs and back straight. I can almost do the splits. And most importantly, I don't dread putting my socks on anymore.
It's a great program. DDP is a good instructor, with a positive vibe about him. They offer modification ideas for almost every stretch they do for people that need them, and you don't feel sore the next day. There's a reason it's so hard to find a negative review of it. I now exercise practically every day, and rotate between weights, cardio, and yoga. Anyone that has seen me will tell you that I'm not the poster child for exercise or anything, but I can honestly say that I feel better physically than I have since I was a teenager. I'm motivated to workout for the first time in my life, and it absolutely started with DDP Yoga.
Again, not being paid to endorse it or anything. But I have to fill this blog, and it's fun writing about stuff I like. And I really like DDP Yoga.
Thanks for reading.
Adam
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