men in yoga class....

BeachIron

Why would it be weird? RDJ does it.

I've never done yoga, and this isn't exactly selling me on it...

My boss is from India and says he learned yoga from a master, or whatever he called him, and said that Americans do yoga wrong and for the wrong reasons. I explained that it can be anything and in the USA, it's kind of an exercise too. He said they have that too in India for the advanced folks, but it takes a lifetime to get there. Whereas here, Americans push way to hard to achieve. It's not about that. Anyways, I'm just rambling. Too much coffee.

I always enjoy the "Americans don't get it" arguments. I heard that a lot about martial arts when I was living in Japan and listening to rants on the importance of kata movements. It's also the main reason that I waited until we returned to put my daughter into MMA classes. I didn't need some xenophobic and sexist asshat telling her she didn't "get it."

I dunno about karate but for yoga, its not so much that Americans don't get it or that they're doing it wrong, its just that it isn't yoga. Which is fine and the western yoga is actually pretty healthy and flexible imo. I think my personal gripe with it is that they used a term that was sacred to many in the pure form and butchered it to the point that many Indians don't even recognize it anymore and its all completely commercialized now.

Things change. Ideas and practices evolve and are adapted by new cultures. It's been happening for tens of thousands of years as people have exchanged ideas and adopted their customs to the influx of new people and their ideas. That's not going to change.

Have the Indians butchered the English language?

Is the neru collar jacket a sign of poor taste and tailoring?

IMHO, no. People take was is foreign and make it there own. It doesn't make it any less valuable or illegitimate.

chimanlifts1

Hell will freeze over, pigs will fly, and North Korea will become a democratic state before I step foot in a yoga class.

Not because its stereotypically feminine or whatnot, only because the thought of moving my body in certain positions that are completely unnatural (for me) is unappealing.

I must say though, certainly not complaining at my gf picking up yoga, flexibility is a wonderful trait :bigsmile:

rml_16

I am, this is my cardio exercises

Is yoga considered cardio? You are just sitting there and meditating, right?

Modern yoga is extremely intense and you burn a decent bit of calories and earn flexibility for your body.

I did not know that. I was thinking it was more like Pilates where you do different poses and hold your body in that position. That's interesting that they've added cardio to it.

There is no cardio element to yoga except in cases where you might move quickly between poses.

However, try holding even the simplest yoga pose for 30 seconds and get back to me about it being "just about meditation and holding a pose." It ain't easy and it is very effective.

Better posture and flexibility help you have better workouts with other exercises that don't work on those things. Yoga is a wonderful addition to any routine.

YogaNikki

I am, this is my cardio exercises

Is yoga considered cardio? You are just sitting there and meditating, right?

Modern yoga is extremely intense and you burn a decent bit of calories and earn flexibility for your body.

I did not know that. I was thinking it was more like Pilates where you do different poses and hold your body in that position. That's interesting that they've added cardio to it.

There is no cardio element to yoga except in cases where you might move quickly between poses.

However, try holding even the simplest yoga pose for 30 seconds and get back to me about it being "just about meditation and holding a pose." It ain't easy and it is very effective.

Better posture and flexibility help you have better workouts with other exercises that don't work on those things. Yoga is a wonderful addition to any routine.

You should try one of my classes. I can guarantee popping in and out of handstands and transitioning to arm balances will get your heart rate up and into the 'cardio zone.' And I have TONS of guys taking my classes. They are awesome :-)

rml_16

You should try one of my classes. I can guarantee popping in and out of handstands and transitioning to arm balances will get your heart rate up and into the 'cardio zone.' And I have TONS of guys taking my classes. They are awesome :-)

Yes it gets into the cardio zone, but doesn't stay there for a sustained amount of time the way other cardio workouts do. It just simply isn't a cardio workout. I don't know why it needs to be. It has its own purpose.

Event_Horizon975

Yoga class - sure.
Yoga pants - HELL NO!

So, from this I'm to assume you feel men in yoga pants is a good idea

harvo

I am, this is my cardio exercises

Is yoga considered cardio? You are just sitting there and meditating, right?

Modern yoga is extremely intense and you burn a decent bit of calories and earn flexibility for your body.

I did not know that. I was thinking it was more like Pilates where you do different poses and hold your body in that position. That's interesting that they've added cardio to it.

There is no cardio element to yoga except in cases where you might move quickly between poses.

However, try holding even the simplest yoga pose for 30 seconds and get back to me about it being "just about meditation and holding a pose." It ain't easy and it is very effective.

Better posture and flexibility help you have better workouts with other exercises that don't work on those things. Yoga is a wonderful addition to any routine.

You should try one of my classes. I can guarantee popping in and out of handstands and transitioning to arm balances will get your heart rate up and into the 'cardio zone.' And I have TONS of guys taking my classes. They are awesome :-)

Looking thru your pics I decided I can totally rock 2 of the poses...
1. The one in the skirt
2. The one sitting next to your friend.....

escloflowneCHANGED

You should try one of my classes. I can guarantee popping in and out of handstands and transitioning to arm balances will get your heart rate up and into the 'cardio zone.' And I have TONS of guys taking my classes. They are awesome :-)

Yes it gets into the cardio zone, but doesn't stay there for a sustained amount of time the way other cardio workouts do. It just simply isn't a cardio workout. I don't know why it needs to be. It has its own purpose.

Agreed, I don't consider any of the yoga classes I do as cardio. It's a great workout but not if you're looking to burn a huge amount of calories!

Faery_Dust

Why would it be weird? RDJ does it.

I've never done yoga, and this isn't exactly selling me on it...

My boss is from India and says he learned yoga from a master, or whatever he called him, and said that Americans do yoga wrong and for the wrong reasons. I explained that it can be anything and in the USA, it's kind of an exercise too. He said they have that too in India for the advanced folks, but it takes a lifetime to get there. Whereas here, Americans push way to hard to achieve. It's not about that. Anyways, I'm just rambling. Too much coffee.

I always enjoy the "Americans don't get it" arguments. I heard that a lot about martial arts when I was living in Japan and listening to rants on the importance of kata movements. It's also the main reason that I waited until we returned to put my daughter into MMA classes. I didn't need some xenophobic and sexist asshat telling her she didn't "get it."

I dunno about karate but for yoga, its not so much that Americans don't get it or that they're doing it wrong, its just that it isn't yoga. Which is fine and the western yoga is actually pretty healthy and flexible imo. I think my personal gripe with it is that they used a term that was sacred to many in the pure form and butchered it to the point that many Indians don't even recognize it anymore and its all completely commercialized now.

I went on an holistic retreat where we did a Yoga class with the guy who ran the place. It was wonderful, it was a lot more about the movement of energy, stimulating chakras and things like that.

After I decided to give a Hatha Yoga class at my local gym a go, and it was absolutely rubbish. Nothing like what the guy taught us.

To the OP, give it a go, you have nothing to lose and you might love it

bumblebums

You should try one of my classes. I can guarantee popping in and out of handstands and transitioning to arm balances will get your heart rate up and into the 'cardio zone.' And I have TONS of guys taking my classes. They are awesome :-)

Yes it gets into the cardio zone, but doesn't stay there for a sustained amount of time the way other cardio workouts do. It just simply isn't a cardio workout. I don't know why it needs to be. It has its own purpose.

I would not take advice from anyone who thinks that getting one's heart rate up gets one into the "cardio zone".

Yoga is many things, it is many beneficial things, but it is not a cardiovascular (aerobic) workout. The only part of a class that comes close to an aerobic workout is sun salutations, and even then, the total caloric expenditure is not unlike an equivalent amount of leisurely walking. A teacher should really take more interest in learning about his or her subject.

rml_16

One thing people also have to keep in mind when discussing yoga is that there are different kinds. There are yoga practices that are just about stretching and meditation and are mild, mostly seated positions that don't necessarily burn any calories (or minimal) or build strength and there are what are commonly called power yoga practices that include lots of vinyasas, switching from pose to pose more quickly, working on strength, flexibility and balance and are more intense and more difficult and everything in between.

So the word "yoga" is kind of a catch-all and doesn't necessarily tell you what a specific class is going to be.

chancock6

No discrimination in anything. Let them in. As long as they aren't disruptive, I'm good with it.

YogaNikki

You should try one of my classes. I can guarantee popping in and out of handstands and transitioning to arm balances will get your heart rate up and into the 'cardio zone.' And I have TONS of guys taking my classes. They are awesome :-)

Yes it gets into the cardio zone, but doesn't stay there for a sustained amount of time the way other cardio workouts do. It just simply isn't a cardio workout. I don't know why it needs to be. It has its own purpose.

I would not take advice from anyone who thinks that getting one's heart rate up gets one into the "cardio zone".

Yoga is many things, it is many beneficial things, but it is not a cardiovascular (aerobic) workout. The only part of a class that comes close to an aerobic workout is sun salutations, and even then, the total caloric expenditure is not unlike an equivalent amount of leisurely walking. A teacher should really take more interest in learning about his or her subject.

I was making a point that you get your heart rate up. Not all yoga is just sun salutation/gentle stretching. And, having not only worn a HRM in other hot yoga classes that I take that are level 2/3 and having numerous clients wearing them, some of my clients burn 300 to 400 calories in a class (more than a leisurely walk).

I can assure you I am well educated on my subject. Thanks for the input. :flowerforyou:

bumblebums

You should try one of my classes. I can guarantee popping in and out of handstands and transitioning to arm balances will get your heart rate up and into the 'cardio zone.' And I have TONS of guys taking my classes. They are awesome :-)

Yes it gets into the cardio zone, but doesn't stay there for a sustained amount of time the way other cardio workouts do. It just simply isn't a cardio workout. I don't know why it needs to be. It has its own purpose.

I would not take advice from anyone who thinks that getting one's heart rate up gets one into the "cardio zone".

Yoga is many things, it is many beneficial things, but it is not a cardiovascular (aerobic) workout. The only part of a class that comes close to an aerobic workout is sun salutations, and even then, the total caloric expenditure is not unlike an equivalent amount of leisurely walking. A teacher should really take more interest in learning about his or her subject.

I was making a point that you get your heart rate up. Not all yoga is just sun salutation/gentle stretching. And, having not only worn a HRM in other hot yoga classes that I take that are level 2/3 and having numerous clients wearing them, some of my clients burn 300 to 400 calories in a class (more than a leisurely walk).

I can assure you I am well educated on my subject. Thanks for the input. :flowerforyou:

^^^ I know that not all yoga is sun salutations I've been practicing for 13 years.

rml_16

You should try one of my classes. I can guarantee popping in and out of handstands and transitioning to arm balances will get your heart rate up and into the 'cardio zone.' And I have TONS of guys taking my classes. They are awesome :-)

Yes it gets into the cardio zone, but doesn't stay there for a sustained amount of time the way other cardio workouts do. It just simply isn't a cardio workout. I don't know why it needs to be. It has its own purpose.

I would not take advice from anyone who thinks that getting one's heart rate up gets one into the "cardio zone".

Yoga is many things, it is many beneficial things, but it is not a cardiovascular (aerobic) workout. The only part of a class that comes close to an aerobic workout is sun salutations, and even then, the total caloric expenditure is not unlike an equivalent amount of leisurely walking. A teacher should really take more interest in learning about his or her subject.

I was making a point that you get your heart rate up. Not all yoga is just sun salutation/gentle stretching. And, having not only worn a HRM in other hot yoga classes that I take that are level 2/3 and having numerous clients wearing them, some of my clients burn 300 to 400 calories in a class (more than a leisurely walk).

I can assure you I am well educated on my subject. Thanks for the input. :flowerforyou:

Actually, no, you're not. The increased HR and HRM readings in hot yoga classes have been proven in several studies to be inaccurate and grossly overestimated. The increased heat increases HR, but not actual calorie burn. The HRM only measures HR and not other important factors.

You do get your HR up. It is not a sustained increase and the calorie burn is low. It is not a cardiovascular exercise.

harvo

OK ladies, let's not fight...it is supposed to be about me!

tmpecus78

I was taking yoga 3 days a week and was one of the few men in yoga class. oh well, doesn't bother me.

YogaNikki

You should try one of my classes. I can guarantee popping in and out of handstands and transitioning to arm balances will get your heart rate up and into the 'cardio zone.' And I have TONS of guys taking my classes. They are awesome :-)

Yes it gets into the cardio zone, but doesn't stay there for a sustained amount of time the way other cardio workouts do. It just simply isn't a cardio workout. I don't know why it needs to be. It has its own purpose.

I would not take advice from anyone who thinks that getting one's heart rate up gets one into the "cardio zone".

Yoga is many things, it is many beneficial things, but it is not a cardiovascular (aerobic) workout. The only part of a class that comes close to an aerobic workout is sun salutations, and even then, the total caloric expenditure is not unlike an equivalent amount of leisurely walking. A teacher should really take more interest in learning about his or her subject.

I was making a point that you get your heart rate up. Not all yoga is just sun salutation/gentle stretching. And, having not only worn a HRM in other hot yoga classes that I take that are level 2/3 and having numerous clients wearing them, some of my clients burn 300 to 400 calories in a class (more than a leisurely walk).

I can assure you I am well educated on my subject. Thanks for the input. :flowerforyou:

Actually, no, you're not. The increased HR and HRM readings in hot yoga classes have been proven in several studies to be inaccurate and grossly overestimated. The increased heat increases HR, but not actual calorie burn. The HRM only measures HR and not other important factors.

You do get your HR up. It is not a sustained increase and the calorie burn is low. It is not a cardiovascular exercise.

Lol. You're right. What was I thinking saying you get your heart rate up? (I never said that it was the equivalent of running and that you should trade out your cardio for yoga. I was just saying that we get our heart rate up and in the 'cardio zone' and trying to make the point that it's not just gentle stretching/meditation and that guys actually do it).

Forgive me for being so ignorant. :happy:

PlanetoftheAtheists

Less manly.... of course...

Event_Horizon975

I was taking yoga 3 days a week and was one of the few men in yoga class. oh well, doesn't bother me.

This is one of the SMARTEST things a man could do (apart from the whole Zen, physical health aspect) to improve his situation!! Great odds!