This One's for the Bros

Since I have been attending yoga classes I have come to realize that the classes I attend are female dominated. I’m not sure why this is, maybe some men feel weird taking a class dominated by women or that yoga might not help them with their overall fitness. Fear not gentlemen, there has been a fad going on for a while called Broga, a yoga class dedicated to all male classes.

The Broga classes don’t differ much from any regular yoga class, they still focus on balance, flexibility and building self awareness, but as The Globe and Mail states “Yoga for guys means more Radiohead, less Enya.”

I think this is a great tactic to allow everyone to feel comfortable and reap the benefits a yoga class has to offer. Everyone deserves to de-stress, relax and get fit in a place they feel at ease.

So to all of the men, Bro Montana’s, dudes and muchachas out there go try a Broga class because you never know you might find the Jobin to your Pistol or just realize that you really like yoga.

Breathe and De-Stress

Yoga is sometimes underestimated and many people shy away from it because they are misinformed. Some say that yoga isn't a workout and that all you do is stretch, but those who do practice will tell you otherwise. Yoga isn't just stretching it’s about holding poses, breathing and pushing yourself past your comfort zone. Yoga is a great workout and the benefits that come with the practice are amazing.

One of the benefits of practicing any form of yoga is that it helps reduce stress. We all stress about things in our daily lives whether its school, work, family or friends and this can eventually take a toll on us mentally and physically. There are specific poses like Garland, Child's Pose and Shoulder Stand that can help reduce stress levels. Deep breathing can also help with stress such as slowly breathing through the nose and making your exhales longer than your inhales.

Reducing stress is important if we want to live happy and healthy so find what relaxes you after a long day. You can also visit these blogs for stress reducing tips, tricks and relaxing music: 

Audio Ambrosia
Calming Your Chaos

Why Yoga?

In my last two years of university I found myself stressed out to the point of no return.  The gym wasn't working and running wasn't as fun as it used to be.  I felt like I needed something new and different. I wanted something that was going to not only challenge me but help me relax.  Then I went to my first yoga class.  It was phenomenal, to say the least.  There were so many different components I needed to focus on simultaneously that I didn't have a chance to be stressed. It was an hour of sheer concentration on matching my breath with my movement, at that moment I was hooked.

There are so many things that I love about practicing yoga but there are also obstacles.  Some poses seem impossible to master even with continuous practice and sometimes during savasana your mind can’t stop racing for a single second. Sooner or later if you constantly make an honest effort you’ll start seeing results.  That’s the beauty in it; you get out of yoga what you put into it and this is why I want to blog about my practice.  Anyone can start a blog about yoga and there are hundreds of professional blogs written and updated by yogi’s who have been practicing yoga even before I was born but I want this blog to be relatable to every individual whether they are a seasoned or even a not so seasoned yoga student.