Guys do Yoga too!
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Let’s face it, at its first mention; Yoga might not come off as the most masculine exercise you can do. But I’m just say’n, at its first mention. When you peer deeper into it, you’ll realize nothing could be further from the truth.
More males are discovering yoga and finally more American men are now flocking to the yoga mats where once, it seemed, only women dared to tread. However the irony is in India where it originated, it wasn’t until recently that women were even allowed to practice yoga, and even then with restrictions.
Men now make up 25 percent of America’s 17 million enthusiasts and this figure is growing rapidly. Maybe it’s because several successful men in various walks of life attest to Yoga’s efficiency and openly advocate its practice.
Now most men who practice yoga tend to favor the more athletic, fast-moving styles such as Vinyasa and Ashtanga. Still others prefer to bow to the simple yet powerful Sun Salutations common to the Sivananda style of Yoga.
I showed this routine and some other balancing poses to a couple of friends once and these macho workout animals were shocked at how strenuous yoga can be.
They discovered that holding the asanas or poses such as the peacock pose, builds strength-not the brute strength of a power lifter but the tensile strength of a martial-arts master.
Several pro-athletes such as the Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George,
Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe, Oakland A’s pitcher ace Barry Zito, NBA superstar Kevin Garnett and PGA standouts Ty Tyron and David Duval have all confessed to practicing yoga.
Yoga is being rediscovered on a daily basis by men as indeed being “the” way to go as far as exercise; sometimes exclusively, oft-times in combination with more common forms of fitness regimens.
So guys, if you’re stilled not convinced that this isn’t just a girls exercise, do this, go to your favorite search engine, type in one of the following: the peacock, the 4-limbed or wheel pose.
Try either one of these poses for a full minute and you’ll be shocked-like my macho friend once said Yoga ain’t no joke!
Guys, real men indeed do practice Yoga…
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