PROPS to You: Yoga for Men

From male athletes to military vets, from dads to weekend warriors, from professional male sports teams to men who want a way to improved health, yoga classes for men are becoming an increasingly popular part of helping more men find their way to the mat.

It is no surprise:  Yoga in America, for various reasons, has turned into a league of largely women.  Yoga Journal’s 2012 Yoga in America Market Study reported that 82.2 percent of American adults practicing yoga are women; 17.8 percent are men.  

But this is changing, and many people--from yoga afficiandos to medical doctors--are applauding that.  All-male classes, all-male studios cropping up in larger cities, and the recent, sweeping movement of yoga presented as cross-training for male sports teams are becoming more and more common, making the news, and proving yet again that yoga is a worthy workout form for everybody.  

On Saturday, April 20th, from 1-2:30 p.m., Pink Lotus Yoga will offer Yoga for Men, a 90-minute class led by Sarah Lyon, an educator an PLY yoga instructor. Whether you are new to yoga or are familiar with it, this class welcomes you and will be both informative and engaging.

With a special emphasis on areas of the body where men tend to be tight--backs, hamstrings, and shoulders--as well as an emphasis on strengthening the core, Yoga for Men class will teach you how a yoga practice can simultaneously strengthen and loosen the body.  With the use of common yoga props, you will engage in yoga that when practiced regularly will help you in all facets of your life: stress reduction, increased flexibility, athletic performance, strength, and relaxation.

This class is part of Pink Lotus Yoga’s PROPS (Practice Reaching Our Perfect Selves) initiative, which is yoga designed for people who benefit from the use of props when they practice.*  Pink Lotus Yoga, an eclectic Lakewood studio, offers many styles of yoga both popular and new to the area and was was founded in December 2011 by Marcia Camino, E-R.Y.T., of Lakewood.  You can learn more about PLY and register for the workshop at www.pinklotusyoga.com.  Call 216-632-0816 or email pinklotusyogastudio@gmail.com for more information.

*Pink Lotus Yoga maintains that yoga is created for all bodies and genders despite what the media or a cursory look at the yoga ‘scene’ reveals. We also maintain that commonly used yoga props help all practitioners--regardless of construction, constitution, and level of yoga expertise--create healthy, maintainable yoga postures and thus a deeper, more meaningful practice. And when our bodies are aligned, we benefit greatly.  Among its many proven benefits, yoga lowers blood pressure, cleanses the body of toxins, improves breathing, and makes the body both strong and flexible.  Class size is limited to 10.