Yogi to the stars puts moves down to martinis ... and pretzels
He has bent Madonna into a pretzel and turned Sting into a praying mantis. Duncan Wong is a 36-year-old, tanned, toned and tattooed yogi to the stars.
Wong has blended a mixture of ashtanga vinyasa yoga, kung fu, Korean martial arts and Thai massage into what he calls Yogic Arts - and the celebrities have fallen in line. 'Teaching Madonna and Sting is like teaching anyone who's very intense, brilliant, accomplished, wise and powerful,' says Wong, who has a studio in New York but is in town as part of an Asian tour. 'They are total yogi pioneers, the strongest and most devoted practitioners.'
Wong met the two superstars through New York-based gurus Sri Tripura Sundari and Deva Das - co-creators of jivamukti, a psychokinetic spiritual practice. First came Sting, who Wong met seven years ago while holding a yoga programme for Tripura Sundari and Das. And Sting, in turn, turned him on to Madonna.
'One Thanksgiving - it was my first Thanksgiving parade in New York - it was raining,' recalls Wong. 'I was on the third floor of a building, at an MTV party. I got a call from Sting's secretary, saying, 'Where are you?' But nothing had been arranged. I jumped in a cab and went to the address. I entered this dark room with huge candles and loud Pakistani music playing. And there were three silhouettes in the room, deep in mysore practice - an intense self-practice.
'I recognised Sting, Trudy [his wife] and then ... that's Madonna! I jumped straight in and adjusted [their poses]. Then she invited me back to train with her at her home. Now we have a sweet relationship. They are huge life teachers. Madonna is brilliant.
She moulded me as a teacher to fit her practice.'
Wong certainly looks - and speaks - the part, with earrings, a pierced nose, those tattoos and a slight but strong torso. Growing up in San Francisco, he was exposed at an early age to his father's kung fu, and was also introduced to Korean martial arts and fighting in the streets.
Wong's father was originally from Guangzhou (his mother is Scottish) and was, he says 'an old eccentric master type'. It is a trait that seems to have been passed down, as evidenced by Wong's sage-like explanation as to why he got into martial arts.
'I totally embraced it,' he says. 'I was fascinated by it from previous lifetimes. I have had many lifetimes, confirmed through visions. When you push your mind and body to extremes and you can get to deeper levels of memory and consciousness.'
From there it was on to yoga, a practice that has moved into the mainstream in recent years, as evidenced by the number of yoga studios that have sprung up in Hong Kong. But what is the attraction?
'[Yoga] allows you to have an internal experience, a spiritual practice,' he says. 'It's a journey. From a more mundane, practical aspect - people on the go, living in a metropolis, like the fact they can socialise, get flexible, detox, get strong. It's a holistic exercise ritual, a lifestyle enhancer, a full package.
'It gives you fitness, stress management and communal experience of happiness. People don't know each other's names, but they are half clad and in animal postures. It's sensual.'
Wong's classes are inter-disciplinary, mixing elements of yoga, martial arts and massage, but also dance, kickboxing, tai chi, Pilates and music. They are also, apparently, entertaining. 'I tell jokes,' Wong says, 'because it's such hard work, you know. I make people laugh because it's pretty intense, and pretty funny.'
Looking at a photograph of Wong on his website in the pretzel pose, I express disbelief that human beings can physically knot themselves in such a tangle. 'The pretzel!' he exclaims. 'I can teach it to you.'
'How long does it take to learn?' I ask sceptically. 'Ten martinis,' he says. 'Ten cocktails and you'll be so relaxed.'
Duncan Wong will give open-level classes this week at Pure Yoga studios in Central and Causeway Bay (CB). Today: 7am-9am CB, 7pm-9pm Central. Tomorrow: 7am-9am Central, 7.30pm-9.30pm CB. Wed: 9am-11am CB, 5pm-7pm Central. Thu: 7am-9am Central, 7.30pm-9.30pm CB. Members: $160 in advance/$200 on the day. Non-members: $200/$250. Central Studio: 16/F The Centrium, 60 Wyndham St, Central. Tel: 2971 0055. Causeway Bay: 25/F Soundwill Plaza, 38 Russell St, Causeway Bay. Tel: 2970 2299.
