More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A yoga teacher has struck up an unlikely friendship with MasterChef's Gregg Wallace as the TV host swaps cakes for yoga poses.
Tammy Foster, 41, from Stone, near Greenhithe has been streaming classes online during the pandemic.
After the lockdown was brought in the paid for yoga instructor decided to share exerts of her classes for free on a Covid-19 support group to help others with their physical and mental wellbeing.
Her Yoga Xtend sessions proved a hit with some remarking it was what "they most looked forward to everyday".
And her efforts have even helped the mum-of-two land a celebrity chef as a client.
Masterchef host Gregg Wallace has a well known love of buttery biscuit bases but changed his habits during lockdown.
With the help of a nutritionist and a personal trainer the 55-year-old shed four stone, sharing photos of his dramatic body transformation online.
Now the dad-of-three has set up Showme.fit, a wellness website to help inspire others to get fit, lose weight and reap the mental health benefits.
The TV host believes the key is know-how and is enlisting the help of a range of experts covering fitness, health and psychology.
Gregg, who lives in Kent, met Tammy after scrolling through Google looking for members living close to him to add to his team.
That is when he stumbled across the Dartford instructor's story on the mental health benefits of yoga on KentOnline .
But when the yoga teacher first got the call from the celebrity chef she thought it was someone playing a prank.
"He has a distinctive voice and I thought it was my husband's friend winding me up so I said 'oh yeah what do you want Gregg'?" she said.
However, when it turned out to be the master chef himself, Tammy was thrilled at the prospect of sharing an insight into her passion.
Much of her practice centres around helping her clients to feel at ease with their minds and bodies, she explains, rather than seeking to aspire to look a certain way.
Tammy feels Instagram in particular has distorted the image of the practice.
"We filmed a little video about what yoga is," she said. "It is not about getting a tight butt it is about keeping yourself sane.
She added: "He just thought wow that is the kind of yoga teacher I want on my membership site."
Gregg enjoyed the session so much he has now signed up as a client and has enrolled the Dartford instructor in his own online fitness programme.
"I must admit driving to his house I was so nervous," she said. "I didn't really know much about him because I don't watch much TV."
But she said Gregg, who was with his daughter, soon put her mind at ease.
"He is a really down to earth person – I feel like we have got a good work and friendship," she said.
And its not all health chatter either Tammy confesses as the pair even struck up a conversation about pie and mash, with Gregg, originally from Peckham, an avid lover of the dish.
The MasterChef judge launched Showme.fit, a new subscription-based portal with wife Anne, 33, who is also a cook in June.
People can sign up for £7 a month to gain access to exercise and meal plans, nutritional advice and talks with a motivational psychologist.
After its launch Gregg said: "I realised that a lot about losing weight is about showing people what to do – I didn't know how to exercise four years ago, I didn't know how to eat healthily no one showed me or told me about nutritional facts.
“Now, both these things are part of my daily lifestyle and I feel fitter, healthier and happier than I could ever have imagined so I want to help other people achieve the same."
For more information visit Showme.fit or follow Gregg on Instagram @greggshowme.fit
