Men who do yoga find benefits, challenges
by Lisa Iannucci,
Whatever you do, don’t tell Mark Guay that yoga is just for women.
“Honestly, I don’t really care what people think, but there are just as many men as there are women who do yoga,” said Guay, a Wappingers Falls resident, teacher and founder of Your Life on Purpose podcast (YourLOP.com). “When I lived in Hawaii, it was a normal thing that everyone did. My first introduction to it was when I was a triathlete, and I overtrained and hurt my ankles. I was looking for something to do and started with yoga. I felt better both physically and mentally.”
Eduardo Torres participates in an Iyengar yoga class at Clear Yoga in Rhinebeck July 22. (Photo: Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal)
David Goldin started yoga when his wife, Susan, who has multiple sclerosis, was looking for an exercise to help ease her ailments.
“After watching what it was doing to help her, I started,” said the 69-year-old Clinton resident. “I used to have a really bad back and yoga has taken away about 95 percent of my problems. It almost sounds too good to be true, but it works. It’s also been really good for my posture.”
According to industry statistics, more than 20 million people practice yoga, but traditionally only a small percentage of them has been men, but that number is growing.
“Men can be intimidated by yoga, but remember that many yoga masters and guru are men,” said Roberta McGinley, owner of Tadasana Yoga Studio in Wappingers Falls. “It’s just about educating people about the benefits, which include stress and weight reduction, and breath control. It’s also great for lengthening muscles, and keeping your spine and core healthy. It helps your cholesterol level and immune system. It also keeps you focused.”
The American Yoga Association reports there are more than 100 different schools of yoga from which to choose. Some of the most well-known include Hatha yoga, which is the physical movements and postures, plus breathing techniques; Raja yoga, which incorporates exercise and breathing practice with meditation and study; and Tantra yoga: a way of showing the unseen consciousness in form through specific words, diagrams and movements. Read more…