Why more women practice yoga than men

Did you know that on the average yoga classes are made up of 72% women and 28% men? So why are more women practicing yoga then men? I know of no scientific study that explains this but as a yoga teacher and a man here are my theories and comments.

Think they have to be super flexible. I can’t tell how many times I have heard guys tell me that they want to come to a yoga class but they didn’t think they were flexible enough. This is a big misconception! First of all, you come to yoga to improve flexibility and secondly if your muscles are tight, this is a good thing because your tight muscles will prevent you from injuring yourself. Those with hyper-flexible joints can easily sustain injuries because they push too far. Even if you consider yourself among the terminally inflexible, you will benefit greatly from yoga.

Think yoga doesn’t build strength. Many people view yoga as a series of simple stretching exercises (probably those who have never been to a yoga class.) At its best yoga seeks to balance flexibility AND strength. So if you are a guy and afraid you won’t be strengthening muscle let’s get you into a handstand for a few minutes and talk about it!

Not competitive enough. It’s true that competitive sports are fun – a great way to challenge yourself and interact with others. But playing competitive sports over time can take a toll on your body. Yoga is great compliment to any sport, can help reduce injuries and will enhance athletic performance.

The soft side. Yuck! (just kidding). There is a soft side to yoga – the spiritual and philosophical aspects, the gentle warm ups and cool downs, pranayama, meditation, and let us not forget to mention Shavasana! What macho guy in his right mind would want to experience these things? Ok, here’s the truth (at least as I know it) that to be our best, to be our happiest, to be balanced on the inside and out, we need to embrace our hard edges and the soft side, the yin AND the yang – our masculine AND feminine energies.

I would love hear your thoughts as to why more guys don’t practice yoga, weather you are man or woman! Email me at info@letsdoyoga.com