So why don’t more men do yoga?
The many myths about yoga stand in their way: yoga isn’t a decent workout; it’s too touchy-feely; you have to be flexible to do it; and men’s bodies just aren’t built for its pretzel-like poses.
Yoga teacher Adrian Hummell has heard all the excuses.
“A guy will associate it with things like Pilates or aerobics, and they think of it as a chick workout,” he says.
“It’s almost a joke when guys say, ‘I don’t think I should do yoga because I’m not flexible’. It’s like saying, ‘I’m too weak, so I can’t lift weights’.”
Yoga was developed centuries ago by men in India, but its modern form has become feminised, says Loren Fishman, an assistant clinical professor at Columbia University’s medical school who has written several books about the health benefits of yoga.
“It became a sort of gentle gym, a non-competitive, non-confrontational thing that’s good for you. Yoga has this distinctive passive air to it. You get into the pose and stay there.”
Among those who reject the idea that yoga is just for women is Danny Poole, a teacher and trainer who uses yoga to help athletes.
Poole came to the practice reluctantly himself, having been dragged into a yoga class by his girlfriend.
“All I knew is that there were hippies doing it, and I was intimidated because I didn’t know what it was,” Poole says.
“Then I got hooked on it because I never felt so good.” (MORE)
Source: IOL Lifestyle
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