We mentioned the Piv a few months ago after paps snapped a freshly yoged Jeremy, purple mat in tow, fast on his rebound from mercury poisoning. But, if only we’d known how deep that yoga river runs. Oh, it is deep! (and not “forced” due to illness as some are reporting). 
Often considered what French folks (and many bloggers Gawker) would refer to as a douchebag, Mr. Piven waxes poetic on the benefits of yoga in the next issue of Men’s Fitness (Aug. ’09) hitting stands July 13, and it sounds sincere (though we’re not entirely sure what that ‘twang’ comment is all about).
He tells MF of his initial aversion to all the yoga-spandex hocus pocus:
[he thought] “you have to wear a leotard. I mean, do you have to wear a bindi and hold incense.”
Then, he tried it…total convert:
“I loved the way it made me feel. It opens you out and you get great twang. It’s incredible. Ari’s got some quick-twitch anger, and to do that repeatedly you have to come from a place of stillness. It’s so funny because I’m naturally kind of calm. To be healthy you have to have those dualities in your life.”
Told you it was deep (twang tho?). Anyway, we’ve been hearing a bit about this here Piven and his yoga so we thought we’d do a little research for ya. Lo and behold, the P loves the Y, long time.
And now P+Y: A Brief History:
between birth and 2006 We are unaware of Jeremy’s exact moment of commitment to yoga but by 2006 he seems to be diggin it.
2006 Jeremy embarks on a pilgrimage to yoga’s birthplace in Jeremy Piven’s Journey of a Lifetime for the Discovery Channel. India native, and Top Chef sassy lass, Padma Lakshmi leads Piven through Delhi to Rishikesh where he meets Swami Muni Ji and joins in the candle ceremony closing the day. (above) [Discovery]
2007 HBO’s Entourage season 3: Piven’s foul-mouthed insult-slinging character ‘Ari Gold’ gets his yog on (above). Impressive actually (you veterans out there know that’s a pretty tough pose) (photo cred)
Feb. 2008 Hawaii: Sun and studding it up, P’s snapped Paparazzi style in mid-beach yoga (above). [Defamer]
“I sat across the aisle from on a plane, first row, with the extra legroom, and halfway through the trip he STARTED DOING YOGA, with his hat and shades on, standing in front of his seat. Unbelievable.”
2009 High flying Piven performs his asana mid-flight (just like our pal Uma). An eyewitness describes the scene (above). [Defamer]
July 2009 12 hours ago on Twitter: Piven confesses his poor decision of pre-yoga coffee indulgence.
So we have to hand it to the man…whether he’s a flaky fish or not, he sure does sound committed to a longstanding run on the yoga mat. Think we’d even go so far as to give Mister P the very honorable title of Celebriyogi of the Week! (even better than a Golden Globe in our humble opinion). Perhaps now he’ll chill out on all the YELLING.
Mid-flight asana…guess rich movie stars can do that kinda thing…the rest of us (particularly those of us over six feet tall) simply need to do a lot of yoga afterwards, to undo the effects of hours crammed in the seats in coach…
Twang? Twitch? Dualities? Headbutt the wind? Erm, do you have any idea what language this guy is speaking? Perhaps Hollywoodese? Its all over my head!! 😉
I saw his India journey and thought he was totally phony baloney. I’ve been to India three times and I thought he acted like an idiot. Yoga on a jet? PUH-LEEZ! the dude probably sits in first class where there’s plenty of room, he could get up and do back flips if he wanted to. the REAL story is someone like me in coach flying to India doing yoga in the aisle….
Linda – need pics of that!
surely it was first class.. plenty of room for his twang and headbutting.
Yoga in the seat and do it so no one else knows. Shh.