Why men should do yoga

Why Men Rarely Do Yoga

Despite the fact that yoga was created by men and all ancient texts were written with the expectation of yogis of this particular gender, in the modern Western world women are more often engaged in this practice.

More often girls go anyway, guys are usually two permanent people. Mostly they drop in to ask what it is. Maybe they think that these are some kind of group activities for girls (because they are in the majority in the group), or maybe they are shy - there are some stereotypes in their heads that this is a girl's occupation.

One of the reasons for this gender bias among yogis is marketing. Instead of tanned Indian men, advertisements commonly use the image of a slender white woman frozen in a complex asana. The second reason may be the perception of yoga as a sport in which you need to show something or at least be no worse.

Due to hormonal characteristics, men are less flexible than women. In addition, the structure of the female pelvis implies a greater range of motion, and many yoga asanas require significant mobility in the hip joint.

Viacheslav Sidorov

Some men are embarrassed that they are "wooden". They say: "When I become more flexible, I will come." But they are not going to compete to perform, but, on the contrary, to work on their bodies.

Despite strong opinions, yoga is suitable for absolutely everyone, regardless of gender. And for men, she brings no less benefits than women.

Yoga relieves stress

Chronic stress is a scourge of modern society. It plants immunity, increases the risk of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease.

Constant nervous tension harms people of both sexes equally. However, during times of stress, women produce more of the hormone oxytocin, which makes you gravitate towards other people and receive emotional support from them.

Men, on the other hand, tend to experience stress alone, without getting the necessary release.

Regular yoga has been shown to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, help you experience less stress in your daily life, and even reduce inflammation in your body.

Exercise helps with anxiety and depression

Women are more likely than men to suffer from depression, but, as with stress, they experience this condition in different ways.

Many men hide their emotional problems, become angry and irritable, and do not sleep well. They often go to the doctor with the physical manifestations of depression - heaviness in the chest, headaches, digestive disorders, which can complicate the diagnosis and hide the real reasons.

Yoga helps to cope with mental problems at the physiological level - it increases the amount of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. It is a neurotransmitter with decreased activity associated with anxiety and mood disorders. Yoga practice reduces anxiety, relieves symptoms of depression, and improves mood.

Yoga helps you think better

Another reason why yoga can scare men away is the spiritual component of the practice. The names of asanas in Sanskrit, mantras, meditation - unlike physical exercises, all this is perceived as something mystical and frivolous. In fact, this is not the case.

Meditation is a scientifically proven way to think better, faster and more efficiently.

Yoga and meditation stimulate the brain, help you achieve your goals, manage emotions, and form the right habits.

This is why many successful people, including the financier and billionaire Ray Dalio, the chairman of the Ford Motor Company Bill Ford, and the former CEO of Google.org Larry Brilliant, use meditation as a way to increase their productivity.

Even one yoga session increases the speed and accuracy of working memory and does it better than cardio. True, the effect is observed only after exercise and quickly fades away, but this is a good reason to start your day with yoga.

Yoga practice relieves back pain

A sedentary lifestyle or overworking exercise often leads to back and joint problems. As a result, lower back and neck pain becomes a constant companion of a man, reduces functionality and quality of life.

Viacheslav Sidorov

Athletes who have already started having problems with their knees or lower back often come to my classes. Football players, MMA fighters, karate players, hockey players, volleyball players. They get injured in sports, and then they decide that they need to work with their bodies.

Yoga can help manage low back pain, improve functionality, and reduce the use of pain relievers. It works as well as physical therapy and helps to get rid of chronic low back pain not only during exercise, but also for several months after they stop.

Yoga keeps your heart healthy

Men die more often than women from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and acquire them at an earlier age.

Cardio and high-intensity interval training are thought to help pump the heart and protect against CVD. This is true, but one recent study showed that when yoga was added to aerobic exercise, the benefits were greatly enhanced.

A tandem of yoga and cardio is twice as effective in reducing weight, cholesterol and blood pressure as the two alone.

Yoga improves performance in sports

She develops qualities that are useful for any sport:

Coordination and a sense of balance … Many asanas require a good sense of balance and strengthen the abdominal and back muscles needed for strength training, team sports, and martial arts.
Flexibility … Good joint mobility is essential for both strength sports and martial arts. Asanas will help develop general flexibility, release restrictions and increase amplitude in a wide variety of movements.
Concentration … Learning to focus on movement can help improve performance and avoid injury. Yoga teaches you to clear your head of unnecessary thoughts, and this directly affects your performance.

As you can see, it makes sense to add yoga to your workout schedule. However, you should not perceive it as another sport in which you need to show yourself and achieve heights. In this case, yoga can be dangerous.

How to do yoga so as not to hurt yourself

Men are often injured during yoga classes. Common injuries include muscle and ligament tears, dislocations of the knee and shoulder joints, fractures of the bones of the foot and lower leg, pinched nerves.

Men have more muscle mass and strength, and they try to use them in yoga to get into the right position. Such forced asanas, combined with lack of mobility, result in injuries.

Viacheslav Sidorov

Some men come to yoga as a competition - they want to show themselves, to be no worse. But this is not a sport, but an exercise for health. In sports, you need to step over yourself, strive to defeat rivals, and in yoga, you need to work only with your body. There is no need to chase others, you must rebuild the asana according to your constitution and capabilities. If you experience pain and suffering on yoga, it means that you are doing something wrong.

Don't chase after results, and remember that stretching and holding poses is only part of the practice. Such work will increase the mobility of the joints, but if during asanas you think about your problems instead of focusing on body position and breathing, the benefits of yoga will be much less.

Concentrate on the work of your body and breathing, take your time and exercise regularly. In this case, yoga will give you a healthy and flexible body, calmness and a sharp mind.