Friday, September 30, 2011

Gentlemen, guys actually do Yoga.

By Edith Green


Let's face it, at its initial mention; Yoga may not come off as the most masculine exercise. But that's just it-at its first mention. When you delve deeper into it, you will understand nothing could be further from the truth.

More guys are discovering this and thus much 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 had been even allowed to practice yoga-that with restrictions nonetheless applied occasionally.

Men now make up A quarter of America's 17 million enthusiasts and this figure is growing steadily. Perhaps it might be because several successful men in various walks of life attest to Yoga's efficiency and openly advocate its practice.

Take Hip-Hop entrepreneur, Russell Simmons for example, when I read he practiced Yoga (just like Sting, Quincy Jones and Woody Harrelson), it further elevated my belief that in no time perhaps NOT practicing Yoga will be noticed as strange.

Okay, maybe I over-stated that, however, for Simmons (someone viewed as a pioneer in such a masculine and testosterone driven way of life known as Hip-Hop) to openly show off his Yoga Skills in a current problem of the well-liked Yoga Journal Magazine, do not be surprised if more 'cats' start following suit.

This may occur a lot faster as I once read in an write-up on-line that the successful coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, frequently utilizes Yoga Philosophies within the training of both teams.

It had to have been efficient if it led to the Bulls being 3-time Champions and the Lakers winning their initial championship in 12 years back in 2000, both under his guidance. Now most men who practice yoga tend to favor the more athletic, fast-moving styles like Vinyasa and Ashtanga. Personally, I bow to the easy but potent 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 tough workout animals had been shocked at how strenuous yoga can be. They learned 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. A number of pro-athletes such as the Tennessee Titans operating back Eddie George, Broncos tight finish Shannon Sharpe, Oakland A's pitcher ace Barry Zito, NBA superstar Kevin Garnett and PGA standouts Ty Tyron and David Duval have all at some point attested to this reality.

Either way it goes, Yoga is becoming rediscovered on an almost every day basis by men as indeed being 'the' method to go as far as exercise; occasionally exclusively, oft-times in mixture with much more typical forms of fitness regimens.

So fellas, if you're you stilled not convinced this isn't just a 'girl's physical exercise, do this, go to your favorite search engine, kind up among the following: The Peacock, 4-limbed or wheel pose.

Attempt either 1 for a full minute and you'll be shocked-like my hard as nails friend as soon as said-to discover that "Yoga ain't no joke!"

Gentlemen, 'real' dudes indeed do practice Yoga.






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