By Dorene Internicola

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new hybrid form of yoga that blends calisthenics and rehabilitation techniques is gaining popularity across the United States with its brawnier path to fitness.

Fitness experts say DDP Yoga may lack the relaxation benefits of a more traditional yoga practice, but it can be a well-balanced and effective exercise workout.

Shirley Archer, an American Council on Exercise spokesperson, said DDP Yoga features traditional yoga postures in a non-traditional format.

"The style is oriented toward a fighter's workout," said the Singer Island, Florida-based fitness and wellness expert.

The program incorporates all aspects of fitness-cardio training, muscle strength and endurance, flexibility and balance but it does not include the meditative or relaxation benefits of traditional yoga.

"If you do not include the meditative aspect of yoga," Archer said, "the benefit of balancing the nervous system and encouraging restoration is lost."

Professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page said he developed DDP for people who wouldn't be caught dead doing the traditional mind-body practice.

"At the end of 1999 I blew out my back," said Page, a three-time World Championship Wrestling (WCW) World Champion. "My wife suggested yoga and I thought, 'That's for girls.' But I tried it and was blown away by how much it helped me."

DDP Yoga mixes traditional yoga postures with what Page calls "rehab stuff and old-school calisthenics." In mid-class he will drop down for a set of pushups in a boot camp-like setting.

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Hybrid yoga focuses on brawnier form of fitness