Washington - Look at any yoga class and you’ll find men in the minority. Studio owners and teachers say the ratio of women to men rarely goes much below 80-20.
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.”
Poole kept up with yoga and said it helped him avoid sports injuries as he grew older.
About 15 years ago, he became a teacher.
Poole decided to drop some of the elements of a traditional yoga class that could turn off guys: no chanting, no Sanskrit terms for poses, no music, no headstands or handstands that are difficult and prone to causing injury.
“I keep it easy and gentle, and I avoid trying to make the client not look good,” he says.
But he understands why many men, especially former athletes and guys who have spent years pumping iron, have trouble with the physical and mental aspects of yoga.
“Athletes with big muscles take a regular yoga class and it kicks their butt,” Poole says. “They tend not to come back.”
When men say they are bored with yoga, Poole thinks there may be something else going on. “Our egos are deflated because we can’t do some of the poses,” he says.
Ian Mishalove, owner of a yoga studio, says the spiritual side of yoga can inspire some people, while it’s a New Age nightmare for others, particularly for many men.
“If it’s flaky and too New Agey, soft or touchy-feely, that can be a turn-off,” he says.
Men often respond better, he adds, if yoga is presented as a way to relieve stress rather than a way to find spiritual contentment.
Men also have to be more mindful about injuries. While researching his 2012 book The Science of Yoga, William Broad, a reporter for the New York Times, found – based on a review of data about hospital visits – that although men practised yoga less than women did, they got hurt more often and more seriously.
He found that some yoga positions, such as shoulder stands and the plough, have caused serious injuries, such as cervical fractures and strokes.
Men also are more likely to push into a position rather than relax into it or avoid it completely.
“You start to get the impression that modern yoga isn’t really made for men,” Broad says. “It seems like it is designed for women and their bodies and their elasticities.” - The Washington Post