Trish Stratus may be retired from wrestling, but that doesn't mean she's at home resting. On the contrary, the seven-time WWE Women's Champion is nearly as busy as ever. Her most recent venture is the launch of her new Stratusphere Yoga DVD, the launch party for which was held this past Saturday at her Stratusphere Yoga studio.

The DVD, which is available nationwide at retail stores like Sears, GNC Nutrition stores, London Drugs, the Stratusphere studio, or online at Stratusphere's website, is intended for everyone from yoga beginners to experts.

"It's so versatile, because yoga is your own practice," she explained during an exclusive interview with SLAM! Wrestling. "These are moves that you can adapt at your own level. You never have to do the full extension, you don't have to do all the moves in a sequence. You just do what your body lets you do. The more you listen to your body, you'll find that one day you're doing a certain amount, and the next day you're doing more. When you start to have the body awareness and your breathing gets tapped into, that's when you can really progress your practice. That's the cool thing about yoga, it's an ever-changing practice."

The DVD is a natural extension to the Stratusphere brand, and a great way, she said, to help spread the message to people who don't have access to her studio.

"We've been open for nearly four years now. This is the headquarters, this is my home. I'm asked all the time to open other studios by people outside the greater Toronto area, but honestly I don't know if franchising is the answer. I think that I do reach so many people in other ways, through doing lots of appearances and meeting people at speaking events, that I can touch peoples' lives in that way. I think maybe that's the best way to spread the message. I'm not sure. But now, people can do Stratusphere Yoga at home with the DVD, so hopefully that will help."

For Stratus, the ability to see people transform their lives through yoga, as she did -- yoga was instrumental in her recovery from a herniated disc in 2005 without having to undergo surgery -- was a prime motivator behind creating the DVD, and she's proud to be able to help people achieve their goals by using her tools.

"It's quite exciting," she beamed. "We see people transform, and not just physically. Of course, you see people losing weight and getting more fit. But there's also a shift in peoples' way of doing life. It's really cool to watch peoples' approach to life change. My students and instructors had so much to do with the video. If you think about it, the past three years have been a testing ground to watch people, to get feedback on what works for people. I had the opportunity to create unique programs, and that's how I came about doing this one."

It's similar to how she has been able to help the players of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Argonauts, and even the prospects on WWE's reality show Tough Enough where she was a coach.

"I warned everyone," she laughed, "and told them that, 'Just so you know, what made me a better performer was my yoga, so I'm going to be bringing yoga to the show.' The kids loved it. It was neat to see a bunch of kids who wanted to be fighters embracing the integration of yoga into it. When I told them how it helped me as a performer and as an athlete, it really opened their eyes to it -- and a lot of them are still doing it."

She welcomes the chance to do another season, if the opportunity presented itself. At this point, there have only been discussions about doing another one, but with the new WWE Network debuting next year, she is hopeful that it will return, and she with it.

"Being a coach on Tough Enough was a perfect role for me to come back in. It fit perfectly with my schedule, too -- we were out filming in California for about two months. It was perfect and to parlay some of the knowledge and experience that I'd gained over the years and help these young kids who are pursuing their dreams, it was really cool."

Stratus, herself, got to pursue a dream recently, that of starring in a movie. The film, entitled Bounty Hungers (a change from the original name of Bail Enforcers) is planned for wide release in February.

"It was amazing," she said about the experience. "I really enjoyed it. I was able to do my own fight scenes and learn a new fighting art, which really appealed to me to accept the role."
Trish Stratus strikes a pose.
She did admit that the filming experience did take some getting used to, though, especially at the beginning. Particularly the lack of immediate feedback that a wrestling crowd provides.

"At first, I would think, 'Hey, what's going on? I did good, and nobody's cheering.' But then you get the wonderful moment of sitting in a theatre and seeing yourself on the big screen, and everyone starts cheering, that's really cool. And to see myself fighting with sound effects -- I've seen myself fight for ten years -- but with the addition of sound effects, wow that takes it to a whole new level."

She's hopeful that her fans will support her in that initiative, just as they've done for all of her others."

"My fans have been so amazingly supportive. I realize this when I come here to my launch party and it's full of people and support. I've been out of wrestling for several years now, so to see that they still come to support me, I really appreciate that. And even on Twitter, I see people saying that they did their Stratusphere Living workout, so it's neat to see that you're spreading a message, and it's sticking, and everyone is going to live healthier lifestyles. Every single venture that I've done, they've been there with me, and that means so much to me."

Trish Stratus discusses "WWE '12"

By: Ryan Murphy November 22, 2011 (Source: WWE.com)

For a Diva who retired in 2006, Trish Stratus has been very busy. In the past two years, the seven-time Women's Champion has rocked the house at WrestleMania, starred in her first feature film and launched a successful line of yoga products. Up next for the beautiful brunette? A virtual return to the ring as a downloadable character in WWE ’12. Trish found a moment in her hectic schedule to talk with WWE.com about video games, cage matches and the one Diva she would love to give a little Stratusfaction.
[WWE '12 - The Road to WrestleMania]
01:39

WWE.com: Every man in the WWE Universe would like to believe you’re a gamer, but we can’t imagine that’s actually true, is it?

TRISH STRATUS: What do you mean you can’t imagine it’s actually true? Of course it is! To be honest, in the last couple years, I’ve actually had to do more adult things like tending to my businesses, so my gameplay has gone down drastically. However, WWE ’12 is just the thing to pull me back into it. I honestly can’t wait to play it!

WWE.com: Was it a big deal for you the first time you saw yourself in a video game?

TRISH: Huge. Like the craziest moment ever. I think I was more excited watching me in the game than I was watching the Raw playback when I made my debut.

WWE.com: You’re making a virtual return to the ring as a downloadable character in WWE ’12. Any dream matches you plan to make happen when you get your copy?

TRISH: I always wished I had a Steel Cage Match, so now I can finally have that. The first thing I want to do is put me and Natalya in a Canadian Cage Match.

WWE.com: Does that mean you side with Kelly Kelly & Eve in their war against Natalya & Beth Phoenix?Trish battles at WrestleMania.

TRISH: I think my M.O. is more in line with that of Beth & Natalya. Once I entered WWE, it was a conscious decision for me to not be about modeling anymore — my career focus was all about what I did in the ring. I can, however, relate to Kelly Kelly & Eve. It’s tough, coming from one industry, to try and be taken seriously in another. That’s when it all comes down to just going out and proving yourself. All those girls are capable of doing that and leaving an impact in any world they decide to rock.

WWE.com: Your WWE ’12 character is included in a package with The Bella Twins. What do you think of Nikki and Brie?

TRISH: I’ve enjoyed watching them grow as performers. To me, the greatest thing is watching someone get to the point where they’re comfortable and confident in the ring and then they can allow their character to develop  Those two have done a great job of stepping into their role and owning it.

WWE.com: The imposing Kharma is also a downloadable character in WWE ’12. Would you have loved to step in the ring with that monster?

TRISH: Oh, completely. When she debuted, I think it was one of the first times since I retired where I would have dropped it all to go back and step into the ring with her. That would have been an epic rivalry. I would have loved to have wrestled her. Hopefully, she’ll come back so the WWE Universe can see more of her.
[Check out the Create Your Arena & Entrance features on THQ's WWE '12, in stores this November]
01:10

WWE.com: You always sound like you’re ready for a fight. Aren’t yoga fanatics supposed to be peaceful?

TRISH: Must be the Spartan in me! I love to fight, I love performing. Last year, I got approached to do an action movie called “Bounty Hunters.” When I read the script, I loved the role, but I accepted it mostly because I was able to do my own stunts. I play a bounty hunter, so they had me learn a fighting art called Krav Maga. I went into intense training for that. It was awesome to go back to fighting.

WWE.com: That sounds great. When will WWE fans be able to check it out?

TRISH: February 2012, “Bounty Hunters” will be available worldwide and I’m really excited about that

WWE.com: You own Canada’s largest yoga studio and you just launched Stratusphere Living products. Were you able to use yoga to get in shape for “Bounty Hunters?”

TRISH: That’s how the line developed actually. When I was getting ready for my movie, I had a bit of a yoga body,Trish Stratus does yoga. so to get my fighter body back I started developing these yoga fitness fusion workouts. I was carrying front row tickets to the gun show, so I started showing my instructors and my students. People were really reacting to it. I ended up producing a workout DVD last year and that’s what spurred the rest of the line. I have a whole line-up of products that are in retailers across Canada. They will be available on TrishStratus.com by December, just in time for the WWE Universe to have a Merry ‘Trishmas.’

WWE.com: It's the most wonderful time of the year. You retired in 2006. How does it feel to still be such an important part of WWE more than five years later?

TRISH: I’ve always said that the WWE fans are the most loyal in the whole world. They’ve stayed by my side supporting me ever since I left. It’s awesome to still feel so connected after so many years, and it’s great to be able to come back every once in a while. I know that wrestling will always be a part of my life, no matter what stage I’m at.