men in yoga class....

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Replies

  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    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'm glad someone who knows more than me about yoga understands my confusion around calling it cardio.

    I do yoga more for the practice than the exercise.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    Less manly.... of course...

    than what?

    These guys look pretty manly. I don't know who they are, some type of ninja soldiers?

    foto-prikolas-077_1.jpg
  • Vince_1964
    Vince_1964 Posts: 359 Member
    Been considering giving it a try myself ... I enjoy the P90X Yoga workout (and it is a "soaker" of a workout for 90 minutes). So, I've been looking into some of the local places here too - Bikram (hot) yoga - which has been described as personal torture and some others.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Less manly.... of course...

    than what?

    These guys look pretty manly. I don't know who they are, some type of ninja soldiers?

    foto-prikolas-077_1.jpg
    So, um, men in cammo and war paint acting all manly and stuff ... I think the rest of my day is shot while I stare at this picture.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    Yoga class - sure.
    Yoga pants - HELL NO!

    :angry:

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



    Some men look good in yoga pants.

    93ae06f71f70e410b26f0bd71681be1f.jpg
  • Legs_McGee
    Legs_McGee Posts: 845 Member
    I always have guys in my yoga classes; I don't think anything of it.

    A flexible guy = sounds fun to me!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    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'm glad someone who knows more than me about yoga understands my confusion around calling it cardio.
    :smile:

    I still say you should try it at least once before deciding you don't want to do it, though. You really do feel amazing after. And if you hate it, you don't go back.

    But if you DO try, let the instructor know you're a newbie.

    Well if I find a free class somewhere, I may consider it. :smile:
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I think this is a silly question. It's 2013. Men and women can and do, do the same things. There are no gender specific defined sports anymore. I can do what he can do. He can do what I can do. End of story.

    :drinker:
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
    I think this is a silly question. It's 2013. Men and women can and do, do the same things. There are no gender specific defined sports anymore. I can do what he can do. He can do what I can do. End of story.

    Can you pee in any direction, specifically horizontally? Or pee with ease standing up?

    False.

    Men can't physically give birth....except for that freaky incident a couple years ago **shiver**
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member

    Some men look good in yoga pants.

    93ae06f71f70e410b26f0bd71681be1f.jpg

    It's settled, Yoga will forever remain a mysterious activity that other people (besides me) do...
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member

    Some men look good in yoga pants.

    93ae06f71f70e410b26f0bd71681be1f.jpg

    It's settled, Yoga will forever remain a mysterious activity that other people (besides me) do...

    Oh come on, you can wear jeans if you want. No shoes though!

    joschi%20le%20male%20yoga%20creator.jpg

    Seriously though, I mainly teach therapeutic yoga for a nonprofit, so most of the men are 18 -72 years old, VA Hospital to the elderly. The elderly are the fun ones, some of them can't hear very well though so they end up yelling "I can't breath into my belly! It doesn't breath!" in the middle of a session. :)
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    It's settled, Yoga will forever remain a mysterious activity that other people (besides me) do...


    :drinker: :smokin:
  • Event_Horizon975
    Event_Horizon975 Posts: 226 Member
    Yoga class - sure.
    Yoga pants - HELL NO!

    :angry:

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



    Some men look good in yoga pants.

    93ae06f71f70e410b26f0bd71681be1f.jpg

    LOL -- I'm still not sold on this. :huh:
  • OllyReeves
    OllyReeves Posts: 579 Member
    I think this is a bit of a non issue. I pay membership fees for my gym, and I go to the yoga class as I am entitled. If anyone has any objection to my presence, they are more than welcome to not come again. I'm staying.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I think this is a silly question. It's 2013. Men and women can and do, do the same things. There are no gender specific defined sports anymore. I can do what he can do. He can do what I can do. End of story.

    Can you pee in any direction, specifically horizontally? Or pee with ease standing up?

    False.

    Men can't physically give birth....except for that freaky incident a couple years ago **shiver**
    That was not a man. lol

    I never quite got the big deal. That was a woman who wanted to be a man, but still had all the woman parts and hormones. So, basically, a masculine-appearing woman had a baby and it made international news ...
  • BobbyDaniel
    BobbyDaniel Posts: 1,459 Member
    I've done yoga workouts at home, I would be willing to do a class if I could find one.
  • junejadesky
    junejadesky Posts: 524 Member
    I teach yoga and we get plenty of men in class. I don't think the dynamic off puts any students and we welcome all with open arms! Plus... have you seen their chaturangas?? Men rock at yoga!
  • cedman1
    cedman1 Posts: 104 Member
    The PiYo class I attend once a week has help with my workouts and recovery since I started last November. It is also one of my favorite classes as the leg isolation work is almost equivalent to a mini leg session.
  • dodihere
    dodihere Posts: 490
    I am trying to talk my 45 year old husband into taking the class. He has heart problems and I think this would be a great addition to his exercise routine and perfect for his screwed up thinking now.
  • KimINfortheWin
    KimINfortheWin Posts: 251 Member
    matthew-mcconaughey-yoga.jpg

    Yes please! Although, I'd be super nervous if this particular man was in my yoga class! *fans self!*
  • fannyfrost
    fannyfrost Posts: 756 Member
    I had a male yoga instructor who was awesome :)
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I love going to my heated yoga class. There's anywhere from 3-6 guys in a class of 15-25 people. Doesn't really seem like a big deal.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    [The elderly are the fun ones, some of them can't hear very well though so they end up yelling "I can't breath into my belly! It doesn't breath!" in the middle of a session. :)

    One of my yoga teachers occasionally goes through a long demonstration of how the diaphragm pushes down on the abdominal cavity when you inhale, thereby creating the sensation of breathing into your belly and pressing into the bones of the pelvis. She just can't stand to say "breath into your belly." It's a little pedantic, but endearing.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    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:

    Can you define this "cardio zone"? I mean, my heart rate goes up when I am lifting, or after I climb the stairs up to the 8th floor. Am I in the "cardio zone"?

    And just to pretend we are still on topic, here's a picture of Dharma Mittra doing a headstand. Gasp--a man!

    col_image_01.jpg
  • Buddhasmiracle
    Buddhasmiracle Posts: 925 Member
    Although yoga and its various forms are often treated as "exercise," it is an integral part of the way many people embrace living, and its practice has nothing to do with gender.
  • mank32
    mank32 Posts: 1,323 Member
    :eyeroll:

    'what's missing' from ppl (in societies where the prevailing notion is that 'yoga is for girls') is:

    -the notion that conditioning of one's mind is equally as important as conditioning of one's body
    -the notion that mind conditioning and body conditioning are inexorably linked and should be sought together
    -the notion that males and females are *equally suited for* and may *equally benefit by* mind conditioning, body conditioning, AND most importantly the two in concert

    yoga is for humans.

    ETA: AND what buddha said ^^ :flowerforyou:
  • jmyrtle
    jmyrtle Posts: 44 Member
    I have had some great men join class and really give it 100%, however a few only come to meet women and leave when things don't pan out or complaints come from other students. So yoga is everyone who chooses to respect what it meant to do.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
    Why would it be weird? RDJ does it.
    robert-downy-jr-300x204.jpg

    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.

    The "western" version (it's not just Americans that do it), is just one aspect of the 8 limbs of yoga. I call it "sport yoga" and it just concentrates on the asanas (the poses), with some pranayama (breathing) thrown in. You can practise yoga without practising all 8 limbs, but you are not a yogi or yogini unless your intent is to eventually practise all 8 (imho).
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
    :eyeroll:

    'what's missing' from ppl (in societies where the prevailing notion is that 'yoga is for girls') is:

    -the notion that conditioning of one's mind is equally as important as conditioning of one's body
    -the notion that mind conditioning and body conditioning are inexorably linked and should be sought together
    -the notion that males and females are *equally suited for* and may *equally benefit by* mind conditioning, body conditioning, AND most importantly the two in concert

    yoga is for humans.

    ETA: AND what buddha said ^^ :flowerforyou:


    And I fully agree with this. Yoga means "union" and its intent is to unite the mind and body. If you're doing it to get fit, then it's "sport yoga". If you're doing it to stop treating your body like it's the vehicle "you" ride around in, then it's "yoga".
  • pawnstarNate
    pawnstarNate Posts: 1,728 Member
    I'll give it a try but, I am NOT wearing those yoga paints so all you women can be staring at my junk...that's just rude and you should be ashamed....oh wait, I do that to ya'll. Nevermind. Carry on

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