Though modern Yoga tends to be more popular amongst women, it was mainly practised by men for over a thousand years since its creation in ancient India. In today’s time the more people doing Yoga the better. Ryan Giggs credited Yoga for his prolonged career, so if you are a guy who has been curious about trying Yoga, here are a few points to drive it home that you should have started yesterday!
Mental & Emotional StrengthÂ
A good Yoga class will teach you how to temper your thoughts and feelings through awareness of your breath and concentration on sensations in the body. Theses are not altogether difficult activities to do but they give us great benefits when we practice them. Yoga is a great way to learn and hone these essential and often neglected skills. Even just trying a simple breath meditation can open up new doors to overall health and wellbeing.
Physical Strength & Balance
Most styles of Yoga will give you better overall strength, conditioning and balance. You might feel awkward at first in some of the poses but as you get better those skills will help with your posture, energy levels and sense of well-being throughout your day. It can be deceptively difficult for men as muscles that are not often used are stretched and toned – the increased flexibility and suppleness can be a major benefit for sports performance. Yoga also helps tighten and strengthen core muscles, which is also an important factor.
Stress Reduction
The benefits mentioned above will reduce stress which is proven to enhance your immune function and will help to prevent illness and quicken recovery time.
It’s Popular for a Reason
Yoga can give you a tremendous about of energy and boost your physical / mental fitness even if you consider yourself fit and healthy. Many pro athletes, famous actors and entire sports teams are using the benefits of Yoga to improve their skills and lives.
You might find you are the only guy in the class from time to time…. tell me again why that is a bad thing? The truth is they will be happy to have some male energy in the class. Be careful not to judge it on your first class if you don’t like it. Try as many styles and teachers as you can until you find somewhere that you love to practice. You might have Yoga included already in your gym membership or you can often get an unlimited trial month for a great price and your local studio. So, man, it’s time to get your Yoga on!
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