4 Misconceptions about Yoga

See! Men can do yoga too!

When inviting friends - especially guy friends - to join me for yoga, I always hear excuses from them why they can’t go and it inspired me to write something about it. I try to convince them to join but they always say that it’s too hard and they just can’t do it. Well, like any other activity you’ll have a hard time at first but a time will come when you’ll really get the hang of it. Here are some popular misconceptions (excuses from my friends) about yoga:

1. Yoga is for women

Madonna does it. Meg Ryan does it. We see a lot of female students do it. But this does not mean men can’t or isn’t allowed to do it. There are a lot of male celebrities out there who do yoga like Bono, Evander Holyfield, Jerry Seinfeld and even Ricky Martin. We must remember that the main purpose of yoga is searching for inner peace and a healthier body, mind and spirit. Everyone who wants to achieve this should be able to do so regardless of gender.

2. Yoga is only for Contortionists

You don’t have to be that agile or flexible to start doing yoga. One of the goals of yoga is to increase flexibility and avoid injuries in the process. If you’re not an active person or your muscles have not been stretched for so long then yoga will be able to help you in your everyday movements and eventually help you gain flexibility and strength. You will have more freedom in your movements whether you’re at home, at work and even during sports.

3. Yoga poses should all look the same

Everyone has a different body structure and frame and even flexibility. Years of working, toning and walking have made it that way. You don’t have to worry as your pose may look different from others but it doesn’t mean it’s the wrong pose or you’re not practicing yoga. If you’re yoga teacher approaches you and corrects you, he/she just wants you to learn and help you avoid getting injured.

4. Yoga is a sport or a competition

I’ve heard about this being a sport and therefore people compete with others in your class. Well, there are competitions for yoga but once you’re in a class it’s all about yourself and how much union that occurs in your mind, body and spirit. Because there are a lot of physical postures, called Asanas in Sanskrit, people think that this is a sport that is similar to body building. Yes, you will become fit and may lose significant amount of pounds but it these postures are meant for mental, physical and spiritual development. With this, yoga may be a means to have a better production in sports/workout but should still not be considered a sport.
Hope this helps you clear some things about yoga, helping you to get the guys to tag along with you.

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Thanks to Sergiu Alistar at Flickr for the interesting shot he took of the photo I captioned “Men can do yoga too!” (here is the original photo). Simply a great shot and definitely good composition. Would be interesting to see the guy-in-the-photo’s reaction when he gets to see what Sergiu Alistar captured.