Guys, It’s official. Yoga is the new cool fitness trend for men.
Broga (or yoga for bros) has been gaining momentum over the last few years, with more dudes discovering the awesome benefits of being a regular yogi.
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Not long ago, yoga was very much a female space in fitness, with Babita Bahal of the British Wheel of Yoga estimating only two years ago that just three per cent of her clients were men.
We love that the guys are getting involved in our daily downward dog routine and hope that it helps to break down the divide between ‘macho’ and ‘girly’ sports that we still see in the fitness industry.
Here’s the lowdown on dudes who like to get their sun salutations on…
Yoga is actually really good for you
The big difference with yoga is the lack of competition and going against other participants.
“I feel like yoga gives me a totally new sense of my body and fitness level,” says Matt Winston, a member of Triyoga in London.
While men traditionally are thought to only be interested in a ‘ripped’, muscular physique, yoga can both help in weight training and general fitness.
Many men are cautious about trying yoga, believing their bodies will not be as flexible as women’s and that they won’t be able to keep up with a class, but this is not true at all.
While my mates took the mess out of me to begin with, they’ve ended up admitting that they can see a difference
Yoga is designed just as much for a male anatomy as a female, improving flexibility, building muscle strength, helping posture and increasing blood flow, among many other benefits.
“While my mates took the mess out of me to begin with, they ended up admitting that they can see a difference in both my training and my body.”
“Three of them have started coming with me now, it’s becoming our Wednesday night tradition before the pub!”
Famous Male Yogis
While it’s been considered a female orientated exercise in the UK for a long time, in reality yoga has a long male history.
The creation of Ashtanga yoga is credited by many to K. Pattabhi Jois, a male Indian yoga teacher who developed the popular style around the 1940s.
Look in the highest levels of yoga today also, there are many seriously amazing male yoga instructors and practitioners.
We were happy to discover there are a lot of famous guys out there who are also proud yoga lovers
David Swenson is widely believed to be on of the greatest yogis around. His story of leaving behind the traditional life in Kentucky to embrace a life of spirituality and health is seriously inspiring.
As well as practitioners, we were also very happy to discover that there are a lot of famous guys out there who are also proud yoga lovers.
A -listers like Hugh Jackman, Ashton Kutcher and Matthew McConaughey love their morning yoga, as well as musicians like Adam Levine and sportsmen like David Beckham.
It looks like guys have been secret yogis all along!
Where can I go to a Broga class?
Broga has now changed from being a funny slang word to an actual branch of yoga.
While both men and women are invited to the class, it is male orientated in its focus and strength and stability.
Broga classes are much like normal yoga, except for a focus on only one area of the body per class and a quicker, more hands on approach by instructors.
“I would never have done yoga before this year, but now I go every week,” says new yogi Nicholas Grantham.
“A lot of traditional male exercise focuses on strength. I like that yoga, just like climbing, gives you the chance to stretch out your body properly and realign yourself in a way you never get at the gym,” he says.
“It feels weirdly natural as an exercise for me. I think I’m going to keep it up permanently!”
Classes are super open to women, with some female instructors now training in Broga.
We’re going to go and give a Broga class a go very soon and meet some male yogi mates!
