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Gwyneth's Gurus Laid Bare; From Acupuncture to Ayurvedic Medicine, Undercover With Miss Paltrow's Secret Therapists...

Posted on: Thursday, 17 February 2005, 18:00 CST

MACROBIOTIC diets, yoga, cupping - Gwyneth Paltrow has tried them all.

Now, in her quest for an even more perfect body, she is reported to be putting herself at the mercy of a devilish-looking contraption that looks as if it's come straight from the Spanish Inquisition. So what does the Oscar winner get from these weird procedures to which she subjects herself?

CARMEN BRUEGMANN bravely went undercover to visit Gwyneth's gurus and follow her routine of acupuncture, ashtanga yoga, gyrotonic sessions, ayurvedic medicine and a macrobiotic diet for a week. . .

I'm sure I cracked something - but it wasn't yoga

MY FIRST phone call is to Hamish Hendry, who holds daily classes in ashtanga yoga at the Regent's Park Arts Centre, close to Miss Paltrow's London home.

I arrange to go to a morning class after I'm told it helps if you're not fit in the first place - which makes me the perfect candidate.

The next morning, I arrive at the arts centre and change into a tracksuit, with bare feet, for my first session.

The room is smaller than I imagined and in it are nine or so bodies twisting and turning into horribly contorted positions. I'm urged to watch a few minutes of one class and notice a couple of people lying down, eyes closed, wrapped in blankets. How difficult can that be? Very, it turns out.

I can't stop staring at a girl sitting in a lotus-type position with her head to the floor and feet round her back. Can Gwyneth do that? Is that why her husband Chris Martin is so fond of her?

Thankfully, for a drop-in price of Pounds 10, a yoga novice such as me is expected to take it easy the first time.

First, we do some breathing exercises, then Hamish's wife Anna demonstrates my first exercise speedily and easily. I copy it with the grace of a baby elephant and the concentration of a goldfish.

Standing straight, then touching the floor with my hands, I hear three cracks coming from my arms and legs - will I ever be able to stand up straight again?

I marvel that this is the reason Gwyneth is said to rise at 4am when working so she can exercise for two hours before arriving on set - particularly when I notice the girl on my right is standing upside down on her forearms.

And I thought this was a beginners' class.

Just when I think I might have got the hang of it, my teacher makes it clear there is more to this yoga business than meets the eye. It's all linked to the Moon and the energy forces in our body.

Confused? I was.

Their only days off, you see, are the Full Moon and New Moon. Apparently, the water in our bodies is affected by the phases of the Moon, and the energy force created by the Moon and Sun being in opposition and conjunction affects emotions and energy.

Observing Moon days is a way of observing and honouring the rhythm of nature.

So now I know yoga is a lot dafter than I thought - but perhaps that's why Gwyneth likes it so much.

There's no treats in this treatment

FOR my next stop, I drop into a clinic near Harley Street where Miss Paltrow is said to be treated by Nish Joshi - described as 'the superimmunity man to the stars'.

His client list includes Cate Blanchett and Kate Moss, and his alternative treatments feature homeopathy and ayurvedic medicine, in which pulse and tongue readings are used to diagnose health conditions which are then treated with herbal remedies.

During my half-hour Pounds 90 consultation, I tell Dr Joshi about my imaginary aches and pains (though after the yoga they're not so imaginary any more) and the pounds I want to shed. I undergo acupuncture and massage, and two acupuncture pads are put in my ears to be left in for a week to stop any sweet cravings.

After a tongue and eye assessment, Dr Joshi sells me five tubs of herbal supplements and ayurvedic remedies - which cost Pounds 95 - to kick-start a metabolic detox diet.

He gives me a list of foods to avoid (no surprise to see my favourites: dairy, sugar, chocolate and coffee) and those allowed (such as white meat, vegetable juices, brown rice and goat's cheese).

All these gurus seem to have mastered the art of taking the treat out of treatment.

My cups Gwyneth over

THIS, I fear, is going to be the most mindbendingly weird treatment of the lot. Cupping is a technique which originated in India and Egypt more than 3,500 years ago. Heated glass cups are used to draw toxins out of the body.

It was responsible for the circular weals on Miss Paltrow's back at a New York premiere last year.

Normally used in conjunction with other alternative treatments such as acupuncture and herbal supplements, cupping is said to give relief from back pain, stiff shoulders, colds and flu.

I head to London acupuncturist Holly Dunbar - Ms Paltrow's therapist couldn't fit me in - to experience cupping for myself. The process involves creating a vacuum inside a cup by inserting a flame, removing it quickly and placing the cup on the body, usually the back.

The suction anchors the cup to the body and the skin covered is drawn up into it for a few millimetres. The area underneath is 'treated' and the energy, or Qi, is moved.

'In Chinese medicine, the reason you get colds is because you have an invasion from the atmosphere of all these pathogens,' says Miss Dunbar.

'The theory is that you put on these cups and they withdraw the pathogens.' No, I wasn't convinced either.

Two cups are placed on my back and at first, one feels incredibly tight and has to be loosened slightly. It feels uncomfortable, but not painful.

Afterwards, I am left with unsightly dark red marks, but no pain.

Miss Dunbar, who charges Pounds 40 per treatment, says she recommends this type of cupping once a week for six weeks to boost the immune system and ward off colds, so I doubt I'll see much difference. The red marks, however, will be with me for a while.

I don't really get the point

I PAY a visit to Gwyneth's acupuncturist, Garry Trainer. A down- to-earth New Zealander, he tells me that acupuncture is perfect for treating my neck pain.

After a deep neck and shoulder massage, he sticks fine needles around the area to help ease the aches and pains. Needles are also placed in my hands and leg.

According to traditional Chinese philosophy, our health depends on the body's motivating energy - known as Qi - which moves through channels beneath the skin. Qi consists of equal and opposite qualities - Yin and Yang - and when these become unbalanced, we can become ill. Inserting needles into channels of energy is said to stimulate the body's healing response and help restore its natural balance.

Mr Trainer's website boasts glowing testimonials from Sir Paul McCartney and, of course, Miss Paltrow, who says: 'I rely on Garry heavily to get me through any difficult period, physical, emotional or otherwise.' For the grand finale, Mr Trainer snaps my head and shoulders to both sides until the bones crack loudly.

The session cost a painful Pounds 70 and another is recommended. I say I'll ring . . .

Stretch marks anyone?

LESS than a mile from Miss Paltrow's home is James D'Silva's discreet basement studio. This is where the actress has just signed up for a regime of gyrotonic expansion, which involves exercising on a machine surrounded by a system of ropes, levers and pulleys to stretch stressed and inflexible limbs in all directions.

I phone Mr D'Silva, whose number seems to be held by an elite few. Despite being busy, he tells me there is a free appointment this morning if I can make it.

Inside the small carpeted studio there are two gyrotonic machines, which don't look as scary as I'd anticipated, as well as some Pilates machines.

D'Silva is coaching another client on the rack, so I settle in alongside, in the hands of Lara, his tall, sinewy assistant.

Stretching forward as far as physically possible, we do 'controlled resistance' using circular movements, with a corresponding breathing pattern.

Already I can feel pain in muscles I didn't even know existed. And Gwyneth pays Pounds 60 an hour for this?

Diet another day

MY FINAL call is long distance, to Nadine Barner in Los Angeles. This macrobiotic diet - lean fish, rice and vegetables, no bread or pasta - coach is reported to be one of Gwyneth's personal chefs.

I'd phoned Miss Barner a few days earlier to make an appointment for a Pounds 135 consultation and analysis of my diet. She told me to list my normal meal plan with five choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner, my cravings, plus my height, weight and date of birth.

I also had to send a picture of my face and a full-length shot including my bare feet. Apparently, it's for visual diagnosis, but already I'm starting to feel this is going to be just as wacky as some of the other treatments I've tried.

When I tell her I've read that she has worked with Madonna and Miss Paltrow and ask if she has cooked for any other celebrities, she simply answers: 'Yes.' When I make my follow-up phone call to Miss Barner, I expect to be told: 'Eat more raw vegetables.' But she asks: 'Are you close to your father?' As well as assessing your eating habits and cravings, she analyses face and body shapes and uses a feng shui astrology system known as the Nine Star Key to assess your personality type. I muffle my giggles when she tells me I'm a Number Six, which means I'm pragmatic and organised.

Miss Barner suggests I give up meat, cheese, flour and sugar, and introduce poached fish, grains and raw salads to help keep me grounded, calm and energised. Seaweed three times a week will help my hormones.

Other suggestions include carrot juice with cabbage. I begin craving toast.

The truth is a macrobiotic diet means no meat, no tomatoes, no potatoes, no eggs, no cheese, no ice cream, no wine. No life?

Source: Daily Mail; London (UK)

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