Men on the Mat

By Brooke Hewes, 7-31-08

Before beginning one of many asana classes at a recent yoga workshop, we —the 20 or so women in the room—took a moment to thank the two men for being there. We appreciate your energy, we said, and your willingness to go against the grain.

But what’s up with this “grain?” Why are there six or seven women for every man in most of the classes I attend? Sure, all the cute yoga clothes are heavily (if not exclusively) orientated to women, but I’m pretty sure the answer goes deeper than that. So, in an effort to shed light on this striking trend, I consulted two articles written on the subject by two men: instructor Rodney Yee and writer Andrew Tilin.

Apparently, both agree, it’s time the grain start reorienting itself.

Rodney Yee’s “Men and Yoga”
Rodney Yee is a world renowned yoga teacher based out of Peidmont, California. On the Gaiam Life website, Yee took at crack at the prevalent gender disparity in yoga classes (only after, however, disclosing that many men do in fact take his classes). The primary stumbling blocks for most men, writes Yee, are built out of masculine pressures, illustrated by ingrained stereotypes of the me-strong-and-muscular sort. It is difficult for men to don yoga clothes and practice asana because they “should be” throwing themselves off cliffs, from waterfalls and out of airplanes. They “should be” increasing their physical and mental strength in the great outdoors, not in the OM-Shanti atmosphere of a dimly-lit yoga studio.

Of course these generalizations are called stereotypes for good reason—they impossibly type cast roughly half of the human population. Still, while simplifications of “brawn” and” bra bro” may be unfair and antiquated, they do claim roots in some shade of truth. And whether or not these “types” fit you (male readers out there), they are certainly reinforced by contemporary magazines, advertisements and an hour or two spent at the bar after a day making “sick” turns through fresh “pow pow.”

Yee reminds male readers that yoga helps their athletic endeavors by teaching the subtle skills of contracting certain muscles while relaxing others. Overall, flexibility is improved; joints become stronger and more mobile; circulation is boosted; breath is steadier—all of which amounts to better performance in any endeavor (athletic or otherwise) off the mat.

“Where are all the Men?” by Andrew Tilin
A few years ago Yoga Journal dedicated an entire edition to men and yoga—specifically, to why the former aren’t engaging in the ladder, especially given the irony that yoga was originally developed by and for men. This issue included articles entitled “Real Men Do Trikonasana” and “An Alternative to Viagra.” They also took a poll trying to gauge why men are reluctant to join their lady friends in asana. Andrew Tilin’s well-researched and written article “Where are all the Men?” was especially credible because of the honesty with which he describes own journey off a bike into a yoga class, where he found “a world turned upside down”—pink mats, flowery clothing and self consciousness.

Tilin’s account begins with the numbers: only 30 percent of yoga students in America, according to a 2005 Yoga Journal market study, are men. Only one in 10 subscribers to YJ are male. Still, men want in, he writes—they’re not blind to the transformative powers that yoga has on their female friends. At the door, however, are sizable social, physical and emotional hurdles.

In America, Yoga made its way into the hearts of women first, courtesy of Indra Devi, the First Lady of Yoga, and her Elizabeth Arden sponsorship. Tilin refers to the initial spread of yoga in the states as yoga for housewives. Those men who did, and in much greater numbers do practice today, still aren’t your typical “guys’ guy.” In general, men gravitate toward adrenalin-producing sports, writes Tilin, and, in fact, their brains are wired to find release (to process anger and other emotions) through their muscles, not by centering their spine and connecting with their breath. (For those who don’t think that yoga can be adrenaline-producing have never tried Ashtanga or Power Yoga.)

Also, men may shy away from the mat for the simple truth that, both men concede, yoga can be painful(at least at first), which is aggravated by the fact that men loose flexibility faster than women.

Yee and Tilin are men talking about men—about the internal and external barriers that stand between much of their gender and the practice of yoga. There are, of course, many, many (SO MANY) exceptions to the above and so many exceptional male yogis it’s not even worth mentioning (just look at the lineages of the most popular forms of yoga in the United States). Still, it’s an interesting topic worthy of discussion.

Cue discussion: So, where are all the men?

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