Ashley Dupre, the professional high-priced call girl who rose to fame after servicing kinky former NY governor Elliot Spitzer, told Page Six that she’s in a much better place now because she’s doing yoga all the time. Then she name dropped her yoga classmate, media mogul Russell Simmons, and said he’s also been a great help to her. She even went so far as to call him her “mentor”:

ASHLEY Dupre is using her body again – but this time for a wholesome purpose.

Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s infamous $4,000-an-hour escort credits the yoga classes she’s been taking for the better part of the past year with “saving her life.”

“The past year has obviously been very difficult for me,” Dupre tells Page Six’s Neel Shah. “Yoga has really helped me turn it into a huge learning experience. I’m working hard to take what I went through and turn it into something positive. Yoga helps me focus.”

The 5-foot-1 brunette has even made a new friend. “Russell Simmons and I have been going to the same class, and he’s just an amazing and wonderful person and spirit,” Dupre says of the rap impresario and Def Jam co-founder. “He’s become a mentor, and has helped me work through my issues. I feel liberated and honored that people like him support me. I’m starting to feel respected for who I am.”

[From The NY Post]

Russell wanted to set the record straight on his relationship with Ashley Dupre so he blogged about it in an account on his site, Global Grind. He basically said that the first time he noticed the girl was at a class this weekend and that all he did was show her how to do a pose she was messing up. She then approached him for help telling her story truthfully. He was impressed and seems to have bought her yoga act hook, line and sinker:

So, over the weekend, I went to my normal practice in the city and while bent over in uttanasana, I noticed a cute, little, short girl whose hands were not placed properly. When you do a complete forward bend, your fingers and your toes should go ten across on the floor, not the hands in front of the feet. I offered my help, which she thanked me for and she then moved on. Later, while doing a twisting triangle, I noticed again that she needed a little direction. So about an hour later when the class was over, she thanked me for the guidance and introduced herself as Ashley Dupré. I said to myself, “Oh my god, this 5 foot, 1 inch god-seeker was the $4000 “escort” of Governor Elliot Spitzer.” Before I could speak, she said “I’ve seen you here many times. This is my favorite place and I’ve been coming here regularly since I’ve moved back into the city, and have been practicing yoga for about a year. Yoga saved my life.” I had seen her in class before, but never said anything to her. We spoke for a few more minutes and I was curious to find out about how her “business” was going and was she benefiting from all of the exposure. She told me that she hadn’t taken a nickel since the scandal broke and the reason was because every deal that had come in front of her involved further destroying her spirit. It is almost impossible for a 23-year-old girl, like her, or anyone for that matter, to be able to resist the temptation of further exploiting yourself when they are throwing money in your face – like Penthouse and Hustler, who offered a video component as well for millions of dollars. She said these things are not her. They are her experiences, but not her. I said that it is amazing to see that you’re in yoga and trying so hard to lift yourself up. She wants to write a book, but the dilemma is that most publishers are too blind to see that people are more interested in her personal, honest evolution, rather than the exploitive tell-all. She told me that she wants to tell her real story, a story that she feels could inspire a thirteen year old girl and make her proud of her own path. A story of personal transformation.

[From Global Grind]

How much do you want to bet Dupre picked that class so that she could approach Russell Simmons and get his help? I saw this girl’s 20/20 interview – she’s not stupid and she’s certainly not contrite. She wants to get a career in music but before she can do that she needs to revamp her image. She knows that Simmons can help her with that, and he seems more than willing to. Going to a few yoga classes doesn’t make her a changed person. It took her like 3 days before she was able to get press by dropping Simmons’ name.