Santa Cruz Sentinel

He helps Hollywood work out their kinks... with massage, Qi Gong
By Ramona Turner .. Sentinel Staff Writer

Pleasure Point resident Lee Holden knows how to rub Hollywood the right way.
He spent last winter being the holistic adviser for the crew of "The Animal," a Rob Schneider film due out June1.

"Rob is really into holistic stuff and Qi Gong," said Holden, who's been an instructor of massage, acupressure, yoga and meditation for 10 years.

Holden teaches in his home and makes house calls to businesses in Santa Cruz County and Silicon Valley that want to help their employees de-stress.

He met Schneider five years ago through his sister, Karlee Holden, who costarred with Schneider in "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo."

"She had me come down and do stuff with her when I met Rob, and we hit it off," he said.

Schneider called on Holden and his relaxation teachniques last fall during the filming of "The Animal" in Sonoma.

"In between shots, we'd go off into the trees and do Qi Gong and yoga," Holden added. "Sometimes we'd do visualization of his next shot and stretch."

All that stretching came in handy because of the physical demands placed on Schneider, who also wrote the screenplay.

But sometimes he needed a bit more attention.

In the movie, there's lots of action and stunts like swinging from ropes and jumping onto cars and being chased by trucks," Holden said. " During one taping, he pulled a hamstring right off the bat in the first take, and they yelled for me. I stretched him out and did his pressure points so he could continue filming."

A typical day during the shoot was to get up at 5 a.m. While Schneider was having his makeup applied for the first scene of the day, Holden relaxed before leading Schneider in stretching , Qi Gong and yoga. Their days wrapped up at 8 p.m. with yoga and meditation.

"It was hard work, going from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Rob would crash out and do the same thing the next day," he said. "But he's living his dream: to make his own movie."

Holistic health treatments are gaining popularity in Hollywood, Holden said, citing that stars like the fact that they don't involve pills or side effects.

He travels to Southern California several times a year to study with Shen Hsu, who has taught relaxation techniques to the likes of Shaquille O' Neal and Ozzy Osbourne.

Holden eventually would like to open a holistic health center in Santa Cruz.