In the West, yoga classes have been dominated by women, but more men are starting to wake up to the mind, body and spirit benefits of this ancient practice. So tell us, gents, what’s been keeping you away?
As a male yoga practitioner, I have long found it interesting that most studio-based yoga classes are filled with women. Given the history of yoga in its various forms, and how men have dominated it, it’s quite interesting to see the reversal happening now. The core class for my yoga teacher training, which started last week, is split almost right down the middle — five men and six women. The studio owner was excited, and said it was the first time this had happened.
It makes me wonder what it is about yoga right now that has attracted so many women and, comparatively, not all that many men. I have some theories, but nothing that really feels like it addresses the whole works.
There has been some discussion online about the current issue of Yoga Journal, which has a man on the cover for the first time in nearly a decade. Media representations of yoga certainly have played a role in the great disparity in numbers between male and female yoga practitioners.
The discussion over at the blog Yoga Dork has an interesting mix of views. If you want to read a few rants by yours truly about consumerism, racial and gender stereotypes, it’s there in the comments as well. Here is a snippet from the original post:
“Meet LA yoga teacher and George Clooney’s cousin’s doppelganger, Matt Pesendian. Rumor has it this is the first time in 8 years a male yogi has graced the glossy face of YJ [Yoga Journal]. Congratulations! Men are yogis, too, even if some still think ‘that shit is hard.’”
Yet, as another commenter deftly pointed out, this yoga thing is also about accessibility. Matt doesn’t teach a separate “meat and potatoes” dude yoga, but he is, essentially, a man who practices yoga — it’s a helpful thing when yoga culture in the West is fem-dominated. (It is. See Yoga Journal.)
So sure, it’s easy to pick on YJ, which is currently the biggest publication of yoga representation. In all fairness, we have certainly seen men featured within the pages here and there, and naturally we admire this gent, but you tell us, does this help you men out there more inclined to get the yoga-ing?
If you’re a man, have you avoided yoga because of some sense that it’s all about women? And what do the women think out there? I’d like to hear from anyone interested.
Photo Credit
“Yoga Class” Evan Lovely @ Flickr.com. Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved.
Yoga Journal Cover featuring Matt Pesendian , March 11
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Hi Nathan, good to read you! 🙂 Thanks for pointing this out. I haven’t read the thread at Yoga Dork, but I wonder how much the sexualization of yoga and objectification of women figures into this phenomenon?
I think the recent viral video featuring Briohny Smyth doing impressive asanas in her black lacy underwear is a good example of the particular way that yoga and sexual objectification of women intersect in U.S. culture. (Which is not a dis on Smyth herself, but just my opinion about the wider cultural and political context in which she, and all of us, operate.)
This type of “girl-power” empowerment, sometimes known as lipstick feminism, probably has a lot to do with the popularity of yoga among white women (with some “multicultural” additions). It makes women feel both strong and sexy, which is not just a bonus but kind of a prerequisite (even for white women) for earning respect from other people — not just potential lovers or friends, but doctors, employers, PTA presidents, etc. Men experience sexual objectification, too, but not nearly to the same degree or with the same weight of historical patterns.
Plus, these days, normatively beautiful “masculine” bodies are often defined in terms of muscle bulk, rather than flexibility; and masculine activity is still closely associated with competitive, professional-hopeful sport, while (white) women are encouraged to jog, take spin classes, hog elliptical machines at the gym, and do yoga: more solitary activities.
One of the the shadow sides to this yoga = hott ladies thing is that we cisgendered* women sometimes can’t do yoga in public without feeling sexualized. I encountered this problem recently, when a male friend of mine (a former boyfriend) was visiting town and I wanted to take him to a yoga class, but my partner objected. He felt uneasy because he sees yoga as an inherently sexy activity. At first I felt a lot of resistance and some resentment, because I don’t feel sexual while doing yoga (I’m too busy focusing on my breath), and of course as a traditional spiritual practice it is not about performing sexiness at all. But ultimately I do have to acknowledge that U.S. popular media has thoroughly conditioned the average person to think about women doing yoga in terms of (a) tight clothing, (b) suggestive poses and flexibility, (c) sweating and deep breathing, and (d) tight, conventionally attractive bodies. And the Equinox video with Ms. Smyth supports this pattern, I think. As Waylon Lewis said on Elephant Journal,
Does this angle resonate with you? Do you experience a wide gulf between the sexiness projected onto yoga in media, and the feeling in the room when classes are happening?
* in my experience, yoga still remains hella inaccessible to transgender folks, who often face extreme scrutiny of the ways their perceived anatomy (more visible in tight yogawear) does or doesn’t fit their gender performance.
Also, yoga comes more easily to women, as they are inherently more flexible than men. So these western women are apparently inclined to do something that is easier for them, whereas for men, yoga is much more difficult for them to get along with at first. I am a very inflexible even for a male, who has been going to yoga 4-5 times a week for the last 6 months, and I have noticed only slight improvement in my flexibility (hardly at all really). When i look around in class, most of the women are effortlessly sliding into poses while the few men in the class are busting their asses just to keep up. So in the west, this is just women taking the easy route in their fitness.
I agree that, for many reasons, yoga in the UK and US has been very much “for women”. However, what’s also interesting is that more recently there have been many posts such as the one above, which I believe shows the beginnings of a broader understanding about what yoga is (or could be) and its benefits for everyone, male or female. The fact that so many men are now expressing their views about female predominance in yoga and asking these questions perhaps goes to show that things are changing…
There’s a funny and insightful book by Neal Pollack called “Stretch: The Unlikely Making Of A Yoga Dude” that got me thinking about (and subsequently, into) yoga. I’m still a rookie at it, but as I practice more it is serving me well. I get to stretch, get fit and meditate in one fell swoop!
As someone who is into productivity, this is more than I could ask for. Thanks for this article!