Gaga’s trainer says yoga for health and fitness is one thing, excess exercise quite another

If you practice low-impact varieties like those taught at Dahn Yoga community centers, there's hardly any amount of classes you could take that would wear you out.

How much yoga is too much? If you practice low-impact varieties like those taught at Dahn Yoga community centers, there's hardly any amount of classes you could take that would wear you out. But for people in other, more aerobic regimens, doing yoga for health and fitness can quickly turn into over-exercising.

That was the main point put forth by Tricia Donegan during a recent interview with the Huffington Post.

If that name sounds vaguely familiar, it's probably because her friend and number-one client – songstress and eccentric clotheshorse Lady Gaga – recently praised her during an episode of the Ellen Degeneres Show.

Now, Donegan is speaking out against a trend she and plenty of public health experts have noticed among American women and men: pushing too hard to be thin.

She emphasized that maintaining a healthy weight and a fit body is a holistic pursuit, one that should be done slowly and safely, with the best stretching exercises and without radical dieting.

"I don't use the word 'diet' – it's an awful word. Whole foods are best. Eating slow is best," Donegan said, quoted by the news source. "Most important is self-compassion. If clients can be nice to themselves, they'll slowly make that internal change."