Research Paper

           

              When I talk to my husband about yoga, every time he calls it yogurt.  Then, as soon as I hear the word yogurt, I instantly know he is not going to listen to what I am about to tell him. Do I need to name Yoga by something else when I bring it up? Sneak it in by saying "So, I was stretching today". He actually use to do some yoga at random, like the standing tree pose, which was his favorite, however I haven’t seen him do that for quite some time. All the men that I know do not want to do Yoga, even some don’t even like the thought of other men doing yoga. So why don't men do Yoga? I have been doing some research, and I have learned a lot from the information that I have gathered. “According to “Yoga in America” study done by Yoga Journal in 2008, of the 15.8 million Americans that practice yoga, approximately 72.2% are women and 27.8% are men." (Yoga Journal). So where are the men?

              Ever since I can remember, I have heard women are more flexible than men, this is probably because of our different body builds. However, what men do not know is that you can start small in yoga; you don’t have to make yourself into a pretzel right away. There are many poses that men can use to increase their flexibility; it can be even as simple as stretching before and after exercising in the gym. Some of these poses are the Cobra, Warrior 1, Half Lord of the Fishes pose, Standing Half Forward Bend, and the Bharadvaja's Twist. (Yoga Journal) There are also Yoga poses you can do in your car, or even at your office. "In the car it can be something as simple as stretching your neck by moving your head from side to side to each shoulder. Or moving your wrists around in a circular motion, one wrist at a time." (Yoga-Traveler)

                Another thing that I hear a lot, “Guys that do yoga are "Wimpy Guys"” (Yoga Journal), this would be the view of some men who do not do yoga would think of men that go to yoga classes. Come to find out, apparently a lot of important, strong men do yoga to help themselves keep calm. “The hood of the Humvee turned out to be the best place for continuing my practice while I was embedded with the Marines during the 2003 invasion of Iraq” (Mike Cerre, Yoga Journal Article).  "In Japan, I lived to go to yoga—it was my only way of escaping the oppression of military life." (Yoga Journal)  Men in the military sometimes turn to yoga to keep their minds sane while they are across seas, it also helps them keep their build when they do not have any time to keep exercising. "At Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California, the Marine Corps Community Services Semper Fit program offers six yoga classes a week. "The soldiers are asking for more as they become more familiar with it and realize its benefits," "  (Yoga Journal)  Yoga is also becoming popular in the sports world as well.  Blake Griffin is shown doing yoga moves on the Mens Fitness website. Also, in another article in Mens Fitness, Kevin Love mentions how he puts Yoga into his routine. According to Mens Fitness Magazine, MAA fighters also use yoga moves to loosen up their neck muscles. (Men's Fitness)

              Some men have told me that they think there are no physical benefits to yoga. That Yoga   only has emotional benefits, and you know, guys do not like getting in touch with their emotions. “Yoga boosts energy and speeds up your body's recovery. It can even help with back pain. (Mens Fitness) It can also “Establish self-confidence, increases motivation, Helps you maintain focus, Helps with coping with stress, and it can also help you communicate clearly.” (Lark) But again, those are also a big mix of emotional benefits. "The phrase I like to use is 'find the edge,'" says Brazil. "You want to push yourself until it's difficult." “Most yoga is a series of controlled, comfortable stretches. And it won't incapacitate you: You'll feel pumped.” (Men Fitness) “Yoga poses twist the body, and twisting massages the pancreas and adrenal and thyroid glands, boosting blood flow and improving organ function.” (Mens fitness) This will help you lose weight instead of intense exercising. But do not think Yoga can not be intense, believe me there are videos out there that the Yoga instructors do their poses very fast, and you feel the sweat. When you do yoga moves in a slow pace, it is safer for beginners, however, if you are use to the moves and breathing techniques then it will be safe to do the moves at a faster pace. Even the smallest of poses in yoga can slowly make your have better flexibility, and think about it, the more flexible you are, the more of an intense workout you will get.

               Men are afraid of the emotional benefits, this is because with most men, they were raised to believe that if they show emotion that they will appear weak. Unfortunately in some places in today's society this is still true. Almost every little boy is told to “suck it up and be a man” which, I do not want my son to complain about everything or cry every moment there is something wrong, however, I do want him to be able to do something to get his emotions out so he wont be so stressed out when bad things happen in life. Yoga is not only about getting in touch with your emotions “Yoga can also teach a guy who's overwhelmed by his many responsibilities that the best way to get things done is by being present—focusing on one thing at a time.” (Yoga Journal) Focusing on one thing at a time helps reduce stress, which can appear in our lives when we have too much going on. Also, Men shouldn't think of it as them being overly emotional when they get in touch with themselves on a yoga mat. They should think of it as letting problems go after every deep inhale and exhale. When you get use to doing breathing exercises, you will also find yourself doing them without the moves as well, which will help you with stress during your everyday life.

                Some men that have looked into yoga have maybe read something about how they can really hurt themselves if they do it wrong. This alone has scared one of my guy friends away from yoga. He actually tried it then he read about how he might hurt himself badly if he slipped up one time doing it, now he has decided he will not do it again. “Yoga is for people in good physical condition. Or it can be used therapeutically. It’s controversial to say, but it really shouldn't be used for a general class.”(NY Times) In the article the yoga teacher was basically saying that If you are not in a healthy physical state, it might not be a good idea to push yourself into yoga moves, especially if you have not tried yoga before. What you could do if you are not physically well do some yoga, you could do some easy beginners moves , if you feel pain, then stop doing the move.

                     Speed-o's anyone? Yes, women and men that do Yoga are often seen wearing an outfit that is very snug to their skin. However do we really need to have tight fitting clothes on when doing yoga? The answer is no. “We do try to give things a street appeal,” said Beaver Theodosakis, the founder of prAna, one of the largest yogacentric outfitters. “An elastic waist moves with you, but it’s kind of dorky. A shorter short is better for yoga, but we make the longer shorts that you could walk out onto the street in.” (NY times) Ruby shorts were recommend in the NY Times Dress Code, they "are short enough to offer freedom and, in heavy cotton drill, don’t slide up (that is, down) during a headstand." (NY Times)

             Can there be more time added to our days? I am sure there are some men out there that claim that they do not have the time to do yoga. I know that some women use that, and I am one of them. You can do 10 minutes of yoga each day and still get great results! There is a great 21 Day Challenge on the Yoga Journal site that will start you on easy and lead you to sightly harder. Think about it, even if you are not doing much on the stretching and flexibility, the 10 minutes that you are taking to try doing the Yoga, is time you are taking to yourself, it could be a form of meditation, a great stress reducer.

             Another one I have heard is that some men do not do yoga because they do not have a lot of patients or have ADD or ADHD. No doubt a person with ADD, it will take a while for the attention to stay on the yoga and breathing. However, it is possible, a person with ADD can learn yoga, the issue is that the learning will take a lot of time and patients. “In many cases, it takes a year or more for the effects of yoga to make any difference, while medication works in minutes. But the benefits of medication wear off along with the prescription. The effects of yoga—which include suppleness, poise, and better concentration—are much longer lasting: They develop gradually through a type of learning that transforms the entire person.” (Yoga Journal) Some of the benefits that a man with ADD can get from Yoga are: Self awareness, structure, coordination and physical fitness. Men or anyone that have ADD and want to do yoga, should do some research on the yoga teachers before choosing, the perfect yoga teacher for an ADD person needs to be super patient and willing to work with the same poses for long periods of time.
                Too overweight? Dont you dare think that for a second! Yoga has such simple stretches that you can do for relation that you can do them even if you are overweight! The goal is not to push yourself so you can meet the pose, the goal is to stretch is to comfortably stretch yourself while breathing calmly. These poses can be used for relaxation, or even for getting ready for the day. “While all sizes are welcome at MegaYoga, Mrs. Garcia, 36, said that tailoring the class to heavier people creates a more comfortable environment for students who are sometimes self-conscious about their weight.” (NY Times) “A lot of plus-size people are very embarrassed about sweating and struggling in front of people,” she said. “They try to be very well groomed and not stand out. Yoga can get very sweaty and awkward, so it’s easier to do when you’re surrounded by people who look like you. You don’t want to be the one sweaty, fat person in class.” (NY Times) Teachers need to create a classroom environment that is safe and healing for all students. When a teacher has succeeded in doing this, students with physical challenges will feel comfortable doing variations or modifications while the rest of the class does the full pose. They will know what they need to do to take care of themselves and will therefore feel empowered. They will not feel singled out, but rather they will feel taken care of.” (Yoga Journal) You can also use blankets and special yoga belts to help you stay in a position if you are overweight and cannot keep the pose on your own.

                 All these reasons above are the reasons I found why men do not do yoga. I personally think that most men that choose not to do yoga do not know enough information about it in the first place.  Therefore, they only assume things and refuse to try it out.  Now if the man has tried Yoga and found he does not like it then ok, but if he has not tried it and claims any of the above for a reason why he does not do it, I would recommend that he should at least try it for 2 weeks, 5 to 10 minutes a day and see if hit makes him feel any different. Then if he decides he does not like it, then at least he can say that he tried it out.