Ryan Kwanten: Yoga Body

True Blood is seemingly everywhere this summer--as it well should be, its a great show and I love Charlaine Harris' books, on which the series is based. The very dim Jason Stackhouse is portrayed by a very bright actor, Ryan Kwanten. Mr. Kwanten talks to Muscle & Body magazine about living a healthy and balanced life, which for Mr. Kwanten involves a healthy dose of Vinyasa Yoga.

He says:

“I think it’s important to get your sweat on and to not just limit yourself to one particular sport,” he says of his varied fitness interests. “To do nothing but lift weights to me would be a quick death. Life has too many great things to offer in terms of physical exertion. I think you always need a sense of clarity, whether you get it through meditation or going for a hike, when it comes to bettering your life. It may not work for everybody, but it does for me. I come from a somewhat of a macho background when it comes to sports,” says the former boxer. “When a friend of mine suggested I try yoga to help with flexibility, I said, ‘No, that’s more for the girls. It’s not my cup of tea.’ But I tried it and it beat me up. That first class I was looking across the room and seeing girls and even guys putting their feet behind their heads, and I thought, Wow, that’s where I want to be. And I’m sort of naturally competitive, so once I sink my teeth into something I’m not going to let go.”

Being firmly rooted allows for more fearless inner exploration. As Ryan states at the end of the interview:

“To be a man means more than having muscles; there’s so much more to being a stand-up guy,” he explains. “I always loved that Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: ‘What lies behind us and what lies before us is small matter compared to what lies within us.”

Le sigh, check out the whole interview here.

Oh, and in honor of the True Blood aesthetic, here's a gratuitious shot of Mr. Kwanten's yoga-blessed physique: