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Yoga & Men
by Gaiam Staff
"I
want to teach men that it's good to come up against obstacles, it's good to be
faced with what you see as your weaknesses."
We hear so much
about yoga and women. What do you think yoga has to offer men?
First of all, more men take yoga than you think. My classes are about 30 to 50
percent men. I do think yoga has a lot to offer men. I just think it's harder
for men to begin initially because of the male stereotypes in our society.
Men are supposed to be strong and goal oriented and to identify physically and
mentally with sports. But what many men discover is that the stereotype of a
strong, independent male is very isolating and doesn't really work. They begin
to look inward and begin to move toward relationships with themselves and with
others. Yoga is all about relationships between the body and the breath, the
muscles and the skeletal structure, between your physical self and your
emotions, your mind and your body, yourself and your community. It gives men
permission to stop and listen to their inner voice.
Many men prefer
the rigors of contact or competitive sports. Can a yoga practice help them
perform their chosen sport better? How?
I think so. Every sport has a unique vocabulary and we often find it difficult
to translate the kinesthetic language of one sport into another way of moving.
If we've trained for years to be a gymnast, for example, our body responds a
certain way. Certain muscles are always contracted; others are loose. The body
sets up particular neurological and neuromuscular patterns that stay the same
and serve us in that sport. We breathe a certain way; we move a certain way. We
often injure the same muscles or ligaments in the same way.
Yoga brings the body back into balance, into its natural alignment. Yoga, with
its full spectrum of poses-prone, supine, backward bending, forward bending-can
teach someone where imbalances and physical weaknesses are and can help
strengthen the body. Yoga can help enhance an athlete's performance in his sport
by teaching how to breathe properly, how to relax and how to gain flexibility.
What advice can
you give men who may be interested in yoga but don't know how to begin?
Taking a yoga class in a health club is a good way to start. I'd also tell them
not to get discouraged. Most men are very competitive and have used their bodies
that way all their lives. Suddenly they come into a yoga class and everyone can
do the poses so much better than they can. They begin to compare themselves to
everyone else and it sometimes feels downright humiliating. Often their first
inclination is to give up. Staying with it will not only be good for their
body-giving strength, flexibility, and balance-but also good for balancing their
mind and emotions.
I want to teach men that it's good to come up against obstacles, it's good to be
faced with what you see as your weaknesses. By doing that, you not only begin to
understand who you are, but you begin to develop a sense of compassion and
acceptance.
Rodney Yee is a certified Iyengar yoga instructor and one of the world's
foremost yoga authorities. He has been featured in many of the
Yoga Journal Practice series and
Gaiam Yoga for Beginners series programs. Co-director of the Piedmont Yoga
Studio in Oakland since 1987, he teaches yoga worldwide.
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