Robert Downey Jr. covers Men’s Fitness magazine, where he’s photographed getting his yoga on with our friend, rock-star yogi, Vinnie Marino!
Downey Jr. is a big-time yogi and big fan of Vinnie Marino. Robert says, “Vinnie is the ultimate yoga instructor…skilled, occasionally brutal, yet compassionate and witty.”
Supine on a love seat in his home at the end of a leafy cul-de-sac in Brentwood, Calif., Downey attempts to explain his improbable comeback. Like many of his stories, this one meanders poetically and involves, oh, several hundred kung-fu metaphors. “I’ve just been at the ready, and when the opening was there, I hit it,” Downey says. “Guard your centerline, watch the lead elbow, look for an opening, make contact, exchange, advance or retreat and stay connected.” He’s fit, mellow and reflective after a morning of power-flow yoga with his teacher Vinnie Marino, part of what could be called Team New Downey, a large coterie that includes yogis, massage therapists, martial-arts instructors and people who know about herbs. “I need a lot of support… Life is really hard, and I don’t see some active benevolent force out there. I see it as basically a really cool survival game. You get on the right side of the tracks, and you now are actually working with what some people would call magic.”
Go Robert!