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.'