Something that is becoming increasingly more accepted as time goes by is this, Yoga is now not just for women. In fact, it is proving to be more beneficial to overall health and function in men. There has always been a stigma surrounding men doing yoga, along with the benefits for men. Some misconceptions are that yoga doesn’t build muscle, it just tones. Yoga, when done the right way, is some of the heaviest, most stress inducing, muscle building workouts you will ever encounter. Yoga, can not only help you get bigger, but actively assist you in improving your functional strength.
In today’s society the fitness culture revolves around how can I get the most results in the shortest possible time? Because of this, men avoid yoga because it takes time. The truth is, realistic goals take time, and we are a culture of instant gratification that doesn’t favor “hard work pays off”.
The flexibility and muscle control gained from a regular yoga practice has filtered into the highest levels of sport. The NFL champions, Seattle Seahawks, have an in-house yoga teacher and have made yoga practice and meditation mandatory for all their players, with the results obviously paying off. The Giants, Saints, Bears, and Jet’s offer it to players on recovery days, while other NFL teams, such as Lions, Patriots, & Chargers took note of the Seahawks sucessful induction of adding yoga to their training and have done the same. Two-time NBA champions LeBron James, and Kevin Garnett, as well as LeBron’s teammate, Kevin Love. What these athletes have realized, is that peak training alone can put a terrible amount of wear and tear on your body. The list is long…Russell Wilson, Shaquille O’Neil, Victor Cruz, Chad Wheeler, Ameer Abudullah, and Tom Brady (my personal favorite). By incorporating regular yoga practice, these athletes have been able to maintain their durability through the stresses and requirements of an incredibly high level of play. Anyone who participates in a rigorous or physically demanding training routine can reap these benefits, just the same as these top-tier athletes.
While regular yoga does improve your flexibility, it also improves your mobility. Mobility is the combination of motor control (muscular activation and bio-mechanics) and range of motion (flexibility). Yoga assists in improving this mobility so the body is able to move through range of motion with appropriate muscle control reducing injury risk. With how sedentary our lifestyles are now, we become movement restricted which reduces function and makes us more susceptible to injury.
With the amount of sedentary activity, coupled with high stress jobs, men across the globe need something that builds muscle, promotes movement and can reduce stress. Yoga ticks all these boxes and provides a multitude of long term holistic health benefits when practiced regularly.
Gentlemen grab a buddy, and get to class! Yoga is for the men, it’s a total body workout, and will challenge you on a whole new level. You can even call it “BRO-ga” if it makes it easier!
So Ladies, grab your guy and sit him down to read this post. Talk about what you did at class to your guy. The next time he complains that his back hurts show him child’s pose, or happy baby…. then drag him to yoga. We will take it from there!
Namaste-
Jessica