How Trish Stratus Went From WWE Legend To Yoga Icon

WWE Hall of Fame member Trish Stratus is this week's guest on Turnbuckle Weekly with Chuck Carroll.

If you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, they'll probably tell you that they want to be ONE thing.

Trish Stratus wanted to be a doctor, but ultimately became one of the most successful women in professional wrestling, earning a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. Through wrestling she got the opportunity to try acting and recently wrapped filming on Gridlocked, an action movie co-starring Danny Glover.

Also through wrestling, she rediscovered yoga and devoted herself to the practice. Her devotion led to the opening her own studio in Toronto, a global line of healthy-living products, boot camps, recipes, and a robust website that is a one-stop shop for wrestling fans and those looking to clean up their act through the Stratusphere Yoga brand.

Naturally, this also make her a successful business woman. And she's also a wife and mother.

Indeed, one could call Stratus the modern day renaissance woman.

I caught up with her shortly after the release of the Stratusphere Yoga DVD, which is her own creation of strength training movements with yoga poses.

After telling her my story about how I changed my life and lost 260 pounds, but lost a ton of flexibility in the process, she challenged me to try her brand of yoga. It's a challenge I readily accepted.

The voice of ECW Joey Styles and Canadian pro wrestling legend Lance Storm have also spoken highly of Stratusphere Yoga after she sent them copies of a DVD.

Check out 11 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus.

But of course, because this is a wrestling show and she is a WWE Hall of Famer, she didn't pass up the opportunity to talk a little bit about the squared circle and point out how the multiple hats she wears are all connected.

She credits yoga with saving her wrestling career after being diagnosed with a herniated disc in 2004. Frustrated that traditional therapies weren't working and not wanting to have to undergo surgery, she tried hot yoga at the suggestion of fellow WWE Hall of Famer Lita, who used it as she rehabilitated a broken neck.

Within three months, she was able to return to the ring.

"That last leg of my career I can say I think I was a better performer," she said. "I had better recovery which helped me be a better athlete. It just allowed me to take the wear and tear of what we did on the road a lot easier just by having my body more limber and agile."

Stratus also keeps an eye on the current crop of WWE Divas and thinks they're missing something by not being given the chance to mix it up in the ring with the guys like she did.

"I got to get in the ring with The Rock and Kurt Angle… Big Show tossed me over the top ropes," Stratus recalled. "Certainly, those things all resonate with the fans. "

Speaking of fans, they'll be excited to know she's featured in the recently released 'Queen of WrestleMania' series of Topps trading cards.

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But enough reading, it's time to listen. The full interview can be heard at the top of the page. As always, however, here are a few quotes to wet your appetite.

On current state of WWE Divas

"Right now you see the girls with the girls, which is fine, but you can only do so much with the same characters. Unfortunately, they don't have super developed characters at the moment… The potential is there because there's some great workers. That's what we had at the moment things shifted for us. We had the right things."

Ribs back in the day

"I wish I had a juicy answer. I really don't. So boring! I'm going have to make something up. Me and (Lita) discussed this other day. I was like, 'I really have nothing.' There was just that phase with us girls, as boring as it may sound and not Total Divas episode worthy, we were all just pretty cool all of us. We were really great friends… We were creating something special with the women's division… There wasn't much ribbing going on and I'm glad because it was nice. It was a really nice environment."

Being in Gridlocked with Danny Glover

"Such a gentleman and so sweet. He's a little bit older now… he reminded me of the wrestlers where you go backstage and wrestlers are getting up there and they're just sort of keeping to themselves and a bit quiet and they don't look as alive as you remember them looking. And the minute they get in the ring, or in Danny Glover's case, the minute they call action this man came alive and oozed charisma… He was amazing. He was really great about encouraging everyone and "great job kids!" Because a lot of the (actors) on the set were younger than him. He was like, "great job kids and thank you so much everybody." He's such a great guy.

Stratus says Gridlocked is an action movie that's a bit of an homage to the old school films like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon.

Read more from the world of Pro Wrestling.

Chuck Carroll is former pro wrestling announcer and referee turned sports media personality. He once appeared on Monday Night RAW when he presented Robert Griffin III with a WWE title belt in the Redskins locker room.

Follow him on Twitter @TheChuckCarroll.

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