Why more men need to practice yoga

male vector

Why more men need to practice yoga.

In ancient times, women were traditionally not allowed to practice yoga. Then came the time when we finally entered the field.  Fast forward to the yoga rooms of today, and I’ll paraphrase what one of my teachers once noted, “women have basically feminized the yoga industry.”

Here’s the thing though, gender exclusivity was never the end goal. Walk into yoga studio and over 70% of the room is bound to be female, in most cases.

It’s the same mystery as the shift in gender specific popularity of the colour pink. (Yes, the colour pink was originally meant for guys and through the 20th century we feminized that too😉)

Somehow, men convinced themselves or were convinced by society that yoga, a whole movement discipline initiated by our male ancestors was not relevant to their minds and bodies anymore.

But I’m here to argue how literally the opposite is true. In today’s world, men need yoga more than ever. Here’s why:

To increase physical mobility

Men have traditionally evolved to focus more on building muscle, lifting heavy things (even if they don’t work out), their bodies are expected to be sturdy support systems to bear heavy loads. Pair this up with a sedentary life of prolonged sitting at work, driving, and sitting on the couch, the answer = limited range of motion.

I constantly see cases of tight hamstrings, tight hips, tight psoas, super tight quadriceps, and tight shoulders, with sunken chests in my male students. Picture this student for a while. Strong or not, an individual with this much tightness is bound to experience limitation in how they can move their body.

Limited range of motion, a byproduct of partial or full muscle stagnation translates into a feeling of muscular tightness, which culminates into body pain. Guys, before you reach out for your topical muscle relaxant, try a yoga class.

For dudes with sedentary jobs, a yoga class will not just do the much-needed job of stretching their muscles, it’ll increase their ability to move their arms, legs, and joints in a healthy way. We call this functional mobility so you can do daily tasks with minimal physical limitation.

To restore the corporate spine and pelvis

Staring at our laptops and phones tends to, over the years, round our upper back, hunching up the shoulders while the lower back learns to slouch, the pelvis in a constant posterior tilt (tilting back) causing undue pressure on the lower back with poor use of the core.

(While this condition can plague both men and women, I see more women with full time jobs show up for a class to reverse damage, versus men.)

Remember our spine is the fountain of youth. As we age, our ability to sit and stand upright can be compromised if we do not return our posture to neutral.

I see male students struggle to sit on the floor, their pelvis just too tight to take it, even here in the Middle East and South Asia where traditionally our ancestors sat a lot on the floor.

Our pelvis is also our underrated fountain of youth. If the pelvis is neutral, the spine and the shoulders, knees, and feet will fall into their natural places, if it’s misaligned, there’s health trouble brewing ahead.

That’s where a yoga class comes in to remind you to sit upright correctly. So next time you slouch in a meeting your body reminds you, through muscle memory, to stay upright, throw the shoulders back and avoid reclining for extended hours to protect the pelvis and lower back.

Added bonus and common sense: Sitting upright is one of the easiest ways to exude confidence in social settings.

To improve their mental health

How many men do you know who go quiet when things get hard?

How many men do you know who display sudden outbursts of anger that seem to come out of nowhere?

Hoe many men do you know who use smoke, drink and use drugs to cope?

How many men you know with clear ego issues?

How many men have you seen have a good cry in your circle?

How many straight men do you know around you who journal their feelings?

How many straight men in your life articulate their feelings with authenticity?

How many men around you meditate?

Yes, things are changing. Millennial and Gen Z men have started showing up in therapy and far better than their dads and grandads in being sensitive to those around them. Still, there’s a long way to go. Peer pressure doesn’t help either.

Yoga, being therapeutic by nature, can help. Past the movement aspect of yoga, once we familiarize ourselves with the classes, we start to understand our own emotions, feelings, regulate them and step out feeling better. It is a healthy container and a sustainable outlet for human emotion where feelings are allowed to come and go without causing harm to anyone around us.

For better stewardship

Women CEOs run only 10.4% of Fortune 500 companies in 2024. The other 89.6% are still led by men. Most of the world’s political leaders are men. Most households in Asia, the largest and most populated continent, follow some modality of patriarchy where the male is supposed to be the head of the household.,

While the fight for gender diversity in the workplace, in politics and at home is another book on its own, I want to narrow in on the present situation.

Imagine what would happen if men in these leadership roles meditated and found a healthy outlet for the pressures on them, if they understood the communal value of human interaction inculcated through yoga philosophy, to regulate their feelings, and were healthier in their bodies? Result, healthier organization both at a micro and macro level. And maybe a less heartbreaking political world scenario.

Muscle recovery for the gym buff

So, you’re an active guy who gets his daily 10,000 steps in, practices progressive overload at the gym, practices resistance training in various other forms, has a strong core and strong muscle. Maybe you run too. You’re doing well.

Come to yoga to make room for recovery. Just as important it is for your muscles to contract to strengthen, it’s also important for them to stretch to keep them limber and mobile over time. Try it out, punctuate your workouts with yoga recovery, your next workout will feel even better.

Yoga won’t turn you into a hippie, it’ll bring you in touch with yourself

If you’re still scared, I’m here to tell you no one expects you turn into a hippie wear harem pants, and mala beads, hugging crystals. If that’s your jam, go for it. But if you’re a beginner start where you are, you are not entering a cult, you’re starting a simple practice to take care of your mind, body, and your community.

From critic to convert

The journey from dismissing yoga as a guy to embracing it might seem far-fetched, but it is completely possible. If you are a guy who is still critical, look around, find a male friend of a friend of a friend of a friend who goes to yoga. You will likely hear the story of a guy who once thought yoga was not for him, and then maybe life, curiosity or a doctor’s prescription drove them to a yoga studio. They started practicing and saw the benefits. Sit down with that guy, listen to his story, listen to him verbalize his transformative story.

A note on skeletal variation

Conditioning aside, many yoga poses look different in male and female bodies and that’s perfectly okay. This discipline may seem rigid at first, but it evolved enough to suit a wide range of variation in people’s bodies. When needed, a skilled teacher will provide you relevant modifications, adjustments, and props to suit the shape to meet your body’s needs.

This discipline is not gender exclusive; it’s meant for everyone.IT is also a fantastic complement to other self-care modalities. Give it a try.