body & soul

   the
        om
stretch

Yoga makes for beautiful bodies, inner calm - and undeniable flex appeal. Seven stars strike a pose

BY HONOR BRODIE
& LISA SIMPSON
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE MONTEZINOS

courtney thorne-smith
The Beginning: I bought Kathy Smith's video Yoga Basics about 10 years ago. Now I do tapes by Kathy, Brian Kest's Power Yoga and [tapes] by Ali MacGraw in my home. I just bought Richard Freeman's ashtanga [a rigorous, athletic yoga] tape.
The Routine: I do yoga six days a week after I do my cardio. One raises the spirit and one calms me down, which sets me up for my day. I can't imagine how frazzled I would feel without my routine - it boosts my mood so profoundly. I crave yoga now.
The Payoff: I've been a runner for so long that my hips are tight. Yoga makes my muscles look longer and makes me more aware of my body.

wendie malick
"Yoga opens you psychologically and physically and makes you look beautiful."
The Beginning: I used to think I had to feel a burn when I exercised - it had to hurt to make a difference. I started yoga because I was getting injuries from running and wanted to realign my body. Nobody wants to look like a question mark.
The Routine:: I practice hatha yoga [with flowing movements] twice a week. I'm a beginner, but there is no shame in yoga. You never feel competitive.
The Payoff:: By strengthening my abs and my core, my limbs function properly. It makes me high.

jennifer grey
The Beginning: [I started] six years ago. I do hatha flow yoga. I work with three different teachers; each one takes you on a different internal journey. Classes are nice because they offer a way of being alone in a crowd of like-minded individuals, and that's very satisfying.
The Routine:: I exercise live to six days a week, with yoga at least twice, Pilates, running and spinning. I could do sun salutations till the cows come home.
The Payoff:: I love what it does for my arms. It's an amazing workout - I sweat like a guy. Plus, it's the best stress reliever. By the end of a class, I've stopped thinking. It's a moving meditation. I feel like I've been away for a weekend.

mariel hemingway
"I'm 38 and can say I'll do yoga for the rest of my life."
The Beginning: I gave up hardcore athletic training after the movie Personal Best. And then, 12 years ago, I went to a power yoga class and it just knocked me out.
The Routine:: I practice five or six times a week, all different styles. I opened the Sacred Cow Yoga Studio [in Sun Valley, Idaho] in 1997 because I wanted a place to do yoga that was not the kitchen floor of my house.
The Payoff:: Yoga transforms your body into the body that's meant for you. You push your own body weight. I got my upper body strength from doing yoga. I used to do weights and never had cut arms like this.

jennifer beals
The Beginning: I started out six years ago with the idea that I needed more flexibility, and it just grew from there - there's so much more to it.
The Routine:: I practice all different kinds of yoga. Now I'm really starting to enjoy Iyengar yoga, in which you hold each pose for a longer period. Yoga is highly addictive. I have probably four yoga studio schedules in my car and, wherever I am in town and if I have a break in the day, I'll go to whichever one is closest.
The Payoff:: Once you've completed a wonderful class, you get a sense of the deepest, purest part of yourself. You feel like you are connected to everybody else in the world.

holly robinson peete
"I realized with yoga that my limbs look longer and I feel like I'm really fluid."
The Beginning: When I was 10 or 11 years old, my mom was really into it. I was always kind of fascinated, but I didn't start until two years ago, after I had my twins and had to get back in shape to return to work. Yoga really helped.
The Routine:: I practice at home and follow Baron Baptiste's videotapes. His style is power yoga - kind of difficult, with faster moves. It's a real workout. My assistant and I do it together, or I get my mom on the floor. I listen to really cool, relaxing yogi music.
The Payoff:: It's like brushing your teeth. If you go through the day without doing it, it's not a good thing for anybody.

lisa rinna
The Beginning: When I first tried yoga I hated it. But I kept going back because my teacher played good music, it was a fun atmosphere and my girlfriends loved it, so I just sort of forced myself. And then all of a sudden, it clicked, and I just loved it. It's been about four years.
The Routine:: I do yoga four times a week. I go to class, or my friends and I have somebody come to the house, or I do a tape alone. It's whatever is the most convenient around the baby.
The Payoff:: I've never taken Prozac, but I would imagine this is like a natural Prozac, because I am so happy doing it. And not only do you feel great afterward, your body just stays lean and tight.