David J. de la Torre's driver's license says he's 6 feet 1 1/2 inches, but he's convinced he's grown since starting yoga eight months ago.

"It would've been interesting if I would've measured the length of my body before I started and after because I think I'm probably standing taller," said de la Torre, director of the state's Art in Public Places program and the Hawai'i State Art Museum. "... I know that my shoulders are held back (more) and my spine is more erect."

The Kahalu'u resident, 58, practices White Tiger yoga, a contemporary yoga form that combines White Tiger kung fu and kundalini yoga.

"We use gentle, fluid, circular movements and breathing techniques for balance, stress release and energy flow," said David Wicker, who created White Tiger yoga 20 years ago.

Anyone can do White Tiger yoga, which also incorporates certain postures and stances to develop muscle tone, flexibility and strength, he said.

"Many students want to improve their flexibility and balance, others need to release stress for a full night's sleep, some enjoy moves like 'the Dancing Crane,' and many like how it tones and streamlines the muscles," Wicker said.

For de la Torre, White Tiger yoga has improved his range of motion, especially in his shoulders and neck, as well as his posture. Yoga has also helped strengthen his back.

With a history of lower- and mid-back problems, de la Torre was getting massages every two months, sometimes monthly, he said.

But since he started yoga, "I haven't had to go at all ... I just haven't been compelled to," de la Torre said. "I'd rather go to my yoga class than go to my masseur, which is a statement in itself."

BLENDING FORMS

Wicker developed White Tiger yoga in 1986 while a college student.

At the time, he practiced White Tiger kung fu to enhance his strength and muscle tone and to move more fluidly. He turned to kundalini yoga for flexibility, stress busting and inner calm.

"I soon discovered that many of the kung fu stances were similar to the foot positions in yoga," he said. "For example, the 'crane' in kung fu is very similar to 'tree pose' in yoga."

So Wicker began to experiment with combining the two systems into one workout that he could do in about an hour.

"What I came up with was apparently very inspiring because students from around campus would show up to learn what I was doing," Wicker said. In less than three weeks, he had more than 20 students.

Initially, Wicker was a reluctant instructor because he thought the presence of others would interfere with his own workout. Then during an unusually large class, he had the best workout of his life, he said.

"An unbelievable energy started flowing through me in which I felt incredibly strong and light as a feather at the same time," he said. "It was the large group of people that actually increased the power of the experience."

GOING DEEPER

White Tiger yoga's focus on breathing is another appeal for de la Torre.

It "offers a new perspective on your body and makes you ask yourself, are you using your lungs, your brain, your muscles to the full extent possible?" de la Torre said.

His disposition has also changed since taking yoga.

"I'm more introspective and I think I'm a better listener because yoga allows you to explore your inner self, too," he said. "I think there's a spirituality part of it that has been profound."

That spiritual aspect "has a carryover in the way you view life and the way you view yourself, your relationship to others and to the world at large," he said.

In addition to White Tiger yoga, de la Torre also practices ashtanga and hatha yoga, and spends time at the gym lifting weights, swimming or doing cardiovascular workouts on an elliptical machine or treadmill.

Being in the museum field is "labor intensive work," de la Torre said. But it's important for him to squeeze in exercise.

"I make the time now because the benefits far outweigh not going to these interesting classes," he said. "And it helps me in my work because it helps me with the stress that we encounter and it helps to increase your stamina during the day."

Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.