workout stretches your mind & body
Budokon-"Way of the Spiritual Warrior."
By Maria Howard, Media General News Service

What do you get when you cross martial arts with yoga and meditation?

You get a strengthening mind-body workout called Budokon.

If you've never heard of it, don't be surprised. It's hot on the West Coast, where creator Cameron Shayne instructs Hollywood darlings, such as Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox Arquette.

It's far less popular here on the East Coast, where just a handful of instructors have been given Shayne's permission to teach the combination class.

Deirdre Turner, who teaches yoga at several Richmond-area clubs, has taken courses from Shayne. Although she does not have the full Budokon certification, she has been given the OK to teach his format.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a Budokon class from Turner. It struck me as a creative way to put together snappy, muscle-engaging martial-arts moves with the flowing, flexibility-enhancing postures of yoga. For instance, there was an effective combination of moves that went from an elevated plank (holding push-up position), down to push-ups and back up to a yoga "cobra" stretch. That sequence worked the midsection, the upper body and then stretched the torso and the back.

The martial-arts-style kicks in the class brought up the heart rate, then the intensity dropped back before the closing meditation.

Turner said she first tried Budokon from a DVD put out by Shayne. She shared it with Helen Campbell, owner of 4025 Yoga, who encouraged her to pursue teaching a class.

People get bored with the same old workout, Campbell said. "This satisfies the need for yoga and cardio," she said.

The response to the class has been mixed. "People either love it or they don't," Campbell said.

Kirby Womble loves it. She danced ballet in her younger years, then took martial arts in college. Now, at 51, she's a regular at yoga and pilates.

"I like Budokon because it works different parts of my brain," Womble said. "It's spiritual, mental, and it's physical."

What Turner is teaching is the most basic moves from Budokon. She recently returned from a training session in Washington, D.C., where she spent two days with Shayne, learning his latest stuff.

"It really is art to see this guy," she said. He's extremely strong. But beginners should not be intimidated by what they see him or the Hollywood stars doing.

"Anyone can do it," Turner said. You just have to start with the basics and build on that.

And in this era of "fusion" fitness classes, where several formats are put together to provide a varied workout, the idea of Budokon is a logical one, Turner said.

"Yoga and martial arts have the same root, so it makes sense to have them together," she said.