It seems to be a common misconception that Yoga is mostly suited to females.  When I look back over my years of attending a weekly yoga class, 80-90% of the students would be of the female variety.

For some men, the thought of going to a yoga class is about as inviting as seeing the latest chick flick!

It really is puzzling, because yoga has traditionally been practiced by men, and there certainly are plenty of amazing male role models and teachers, like Krishnamacharya,  B.K.S. Iyengar and  Pattabhi Jois …

However, since I began teaching, I have witnessed a growing number of men are attending my classes, it seems to be an encouraging trend.

Many athletes are also ‘jumping on the yoga bandwagon’. turning to yoga for functional strength, injury prevention, and mental preparation.  Take the Welsh and New Zealand rugby teams, it seems they take their yoga very seriously, and take their teacher on world tours with them.

There are also specific benefits just for men: Yoga can be an outlet to release mental and physical tension, especially for men who have a tendency to internalize stress and anxiety. It can also help stretch hip flexors and hamstrings, areas where men (or anyone unaccustomed to stretching) often have tightness. Yoga can be a wonderful complement to a fitness and mental health regimen — for everyone.

So, when I was approached by the lovely chaps at the new Aspire gym, to run a weekly ‘Broga’ class, I thought why not, after all, its a great opportunity to share my love of the practice, in a completely different environment.  We’re on week 4 now, and it has been a really fulfilling experience.  The class is filling up more each week (to the point where we may have to launch a second!) I had 10 yesterday.

Teaching a male only class has opened up my eyes to just how beneficial the Asanas (postures) and the breath focus (pranayama) is going to be for them.  Especially when the majority are also keen fitness enthusiasts, and very rarely stretch enough, let alone, find the time to focus on their breathing.  I also sense that the Savasana (relaxation at the end) is going to get a little longer, especially as the main posture work becomes deeper and more dynamic as they continue to practice.  Overall, I think this is going to be a very cool adventure, and as with all my Karliyoga classes, my favourite part of sharing/teaching my love/knowledge of yoga is the individual transformations 🙂